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San Diego Gulls (WHL, 1972-73)

Well, that was a long layoff, wasn't it? Kinda lost interest in doing this awhile ago. Been wanting to get back to posting programs, but never got around to it. The computer and scanner I use are, shall we say, stubborn. 

Anyway, here are a couple more from my collection. The next two posts will be for the San Diego Gulls. 


1972-73 Regular Season--Gulls vs. Salt Lake Golden Eagles
     The San Diego Gulls were part of the old Western Hockey League, a minor-pro circuit based along the Pacific coast and Southwest United States. The Gulls joined the WHL in 1966 and were the third hockey team to represent San Diego since 1940.
     Former Red Wing and long-time minor leaguer Max McNab was coach and GM for the Gulls for most of their existence. After 1971-72, McNab turned over coaching duties to assistant Jack Evans, who stayed behind the bench for the franchise's final two seasons.
     In 1972-73, the Gulls finished the season with a respectable 32-29-11 record, good enough for third place in the WHL. Offensively, the Gulls were the second-lowest scoring team in the league, with only 239 goals. They were led by center Bob Courcy's 33 goals and 71 points. Three other players scored at least 20 goals.
     Defense, on the other hand, was the Gulls' strong point that season. San Diego allowed the fewest in the WHL in 1972-73, a mere 223. They only used two netminders that season, Ken Broderick and Bob Champoux. Broderick had the bulk of the starts, going 23-21-6 with a 2.94 GAA and 3 shutouts. The veteran Champoux went 9-8-5 in relief, with a 3.31 GAA and 1 shutout. 
     In the playoffs, San Diego drew the Phoenix Roadrunners, the regular season champions, in Round One. The Gulls made a series of it, but Phoenix eliminated them in six games. The Roadrunners would eventually take the WHL Championship in four straight over Salt Lake, the opponent from that night's program.
     Cute logo, isn't it? Plenty of black-and-white ads and pictures in this 36-page program. The cover has some color pics. Can't beat the price though, $0.50!


Sources:
San Diego Gulls Statistics: 1972-73, (from hockeydb.com)
Western Hockey League Statistics: 1972-73, (from hockeydb.com)
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