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Junior ice hockey season
Sports season
Sports season
The 1978–79 WHL season was the 13th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and the first under that shortened name after previously operating as the Western Canada Hockey League. The season featured twelve teams and a 72-game regular season. The Brandon Wheat Kings secured their third consecutive regular season title , posting the league's best record—accumulating a league record 125 points in the standings—and followed the title up with the team's first playoff championship, defeating the Portland Winter Hawks in the final series to capture the President's Cup .[ 1]
The season was the first—and only—season for the second incarnation of the Edmonton Oil Kings after the Flin Flon Bombers relocated to Edmonton prior to the season.
1978–79 Western Hockey League
Division
Team
City
Arena
Capacity
East
Brandon Wheat Kings
Brandon , Manitoba
Keystone Centre
5,102
Edmonton Oil Kings
Edmonton , Alberta
Edmonton Gardens
5,200
Regina Pats
Regina , Saskatchewan
Regina Agridome
6,000
Saskatoon Blades
Saskatoon , Saskatchewan
Saskatoon Arena
4,500
Central
Billings Bighorns
Billings , Montana
MetraPark Arena
8,700
Calgary Wranglers
Calgary , Alberta
Stampede Corral
6,475
Lethbridge Broncos
Lethbridge , Alberta
Lethbridge Sportsplex
5,479
Medicine Hat Tigers
Medicine Hat , Alberta
Medicine Hat Arena
4,006
West
New Westminster Bruins
New Westminster , British Columbia
Queen's Park Arena
3,500
Portland Winter Hawks
Portland , Oregon
Veterans Memorial Coliseum
12,000
Seattle Breakers
Seattle, Washington
Mercer Arena
5,000
Victoria Cougars
Victoria , British Columbia
Victoria Memorial Arena
5,000
East Division
Central Division
West Division
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Division semi-finals [ edit ]
Round robin format
Brandon (7–1) advanced
Saskatoon (3–5) advanced
Edmonton (2–6) eliminated
Lethbridge (5–3) advanced
Calgary (4–4) advanced
Billings (3–5) eliminated
Portland (7–1) advanced
Victoria (3–5) advanced
New Westminster (2–6) eliminated
Brandon defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0
Lethbridge defeated Calgary 4 games to 3
Portland defeated Victoria 4 games to 3
Round Robin format
Brandon (3–1) advanced
Portland (3–1) advanced
Lethbridge (0–4) eliminated
Brandon defeated Portland 4 games to 2