The 1978–79 AHL season was the 43rd season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurated the Ken McKenzie Award, for the most outstanding marketing executive, showing its commitment to marketing and public relations.
| 1978–79 AHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Regular season | |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy | Maine Mariners |
| Season MVP | Rocky Saganiuk |
| Top scorer | Bernie Johnston |
| Playoffs | |
| Champions | Maine Mariners |
| Runners-up | New Haven Nighthawks |
Nine teams were scheduled to play 80 games each. The Maine Mariners repeated as first overall in the regular season, and won their second consecutive Calder Cup championship.
Team changes
edit- The Hampton Gulls do not resume operations.
- The New Brunswick Hawks join the AHL as an expansion team, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, playing in the North Division.
- The Binghamton Dusters switch divisions from North to South.
Final standings
editNote: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
| North | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Mariners (PHI) | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 103 | 350 | 252 |
| New Brunswick Hawks (CHI/TOR) | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 92 | 315 | 288 |
| Nova Scotia Voyageurs (MTL) | 80 | 39 | 37 | 4 | 82 | 313 | 302 |
| Springfield Indians (LAK) | 80 | 33 | 38 | 9 | 75 | 289 | 290 |
| South | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven Nighthawks (NYR) | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 101 | 346 | 271 |
| Hershey Bears (BUF/WSH) | 79 | 35 | 36 | 8 | 78 | 311 | 324 |
| Binghamton Dusters (PIT) | 79 | 32 | 42 | 5 | 69 | 300 | 320 |
| Rochester Americans (BOS) | 80 | 26 | 42 | 12 | 64 | 289 | 349 |
| Philadelphia Firebirds (CLR) | 80 | 23 | 49 | 8 | 54 | 230 | 347 |
Scoring leaders
editNote: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernie Johnston | Maine Mariners | 70 | 29 | 66 | 95 | 40 |
| Wayne Schaab | Maine Mariners | 80 | 41 | 50 | 91 | 43 |
| Kirk Bowman | New Brunswick Hawks | 80 | 26 | 56 | 82 | 44 |
| Bobby Sheehan | New Haven Nighthawks | 70 | 33 | 48 | 81 | 26 |
| Rick Meagher | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | 79 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 57 |
| Dave Lumley | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | 61 | 22 | 58 | 80 | 160 |
| Claude Noel | Hershey Bears | 76 | 30 | 50 | 80 | 27 |
| Dale Lewis | New Haven Nighthawks | 76 | 29 | 51 | 80 | 20 |
| Rocky Saganiuk | New Brunswick Hawks | 61 | 47 | 29 | 76 | 91 |
| Andre Peloffy | Springfield Indians | 77 | 28 | 48 | 76 | 138 |
Calder Cup playoffs
edit| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Calder Cup Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Maine | 4 | ||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | New Brunswick | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 3 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Maine | 4 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | New Haven | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New Haven | 4 | ||||||||||||
| South Division | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Binghamton | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Hershey | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Binghamton | 3 | ||||||||||||
Trophy and award winners
edit- Team awards
| Calder Cup Playoff champions: |
Maine Mariners |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular Season champions, North Division: |
Maine Mariners |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular Season champions, South Division: |
New Haven Nighthawks |
- Individual awards
| Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player: |
Rocky Saganiuk - New Brunswick Hawks |
| John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer: |
Bernie Johnston - Maine Mariners |
| Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year: |
Mike Meeker - Binghamton Dusters |
| Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year: |
Terry Murray - Maine Mariners |
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average: |
Pete Peeters & Robbie Moore - Maine Mariners |
| Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year: |
Parker MacDonald - New Haven Nighthawks |
| Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award Sportsmanship / Perseverance: |
Bernie Johnston - Maine Mariners |
- Other awards
| James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive: |
Harry Sinden |
| James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage: |
Eddie St. Pierre, Moncton, (newspaper) Arnie Patterson, Nova Scotia, (radio) Jack O'Neil, Springfield, (television) |
| Ken McKenzie Award Outstanding marketing executive: |
Roy Mlakar, New Haven Nighthawks |