The 1976–77 Southern Hockey League season was the fourth and final season of the Southern Hockey League. The Roanoke Valley Rebels ceased operations, and two new teams were added for the season. The Baltimore Clippers transferred from the American Hockey League, and the Richmond Wildcats were an expansion team. Both the Richmond Wildcats and Greensboro Generals folded on January 3, 1977, due to financial problems. On January 7, the Tidewater Sharks folded after missing payroll, and the Winston-Salem Polar Twins pulled the Polar Twins out of the league. The remaining three teams considered adding a fourth team, but the league was short on funds when Greensboro and Winston-Salem defaulted on $25,000 loans. The league also considered playing a round-robin tournament to determine a champion, or develop an interlocking schedule with either the North American Hockey League or the International Hockey League. On January 22, 1977, both the NAHL and IHL rejected the proposal, and the final game was played on January 31, 1977, although the league planned on playing a 1977–78 season.

Standings Final standings of the regular season.

GP W L T GF GA Pts Hampton Gulls 50 32 16 2 198 152 66 Tidewater Sharks 41 26 13 2 158 131 54 Charlotte Checkers 50 22 25 3 180 186 47 Baltimore Clippers 47 21 24 2 182 169 44 Richmond Wildcats 38 21 16 1 160 144 43 Greensboro Generals 40 15 24 1 140 173 31 Winston-Salem Polar Twins 42 11 30 1 130 193 23

WHA/NHL affiliations Southern Hockey League franchises were primarily affiliated with World Hockey Association teams, however some also had agreements with National Hockey League teams. Summary of WHA/NHL affiliation agreements:

SHL team WHA parent clubs NHL parent clubs Baltimore Clippers Edmonton Oilers none Charlotte Checkers Birmingham BullsWinnipeg Jets Buffalo Sabres Greensboro Generals none Atlanta FlamesCleveland BaronsColorado Rockies Hampton Gulls Cincinnati StingersMinnesota Fighting Saints none Richmond Wildcats none New York RangersSt. Louis Blues Tidewater Sharks Calgary Cowboys none Winston-Salem Polar Twins none New York Rangers

Scoring leaders Top 10 SHL points scoring leaders.

RankPlayerTeamGoalsAssistsPoints1Don GriersonBaltimore3045752Claude Chartre Hampton 2038583Paul O'Neil Hampton 2134554 Jack Surbey Charlotte 2132535Ted LongHampton1636525Ron Morgan Hampton 2131527Cam ColborneGreensboro/Charlotte1434487 Dan Djakalovic Hampton 1830489Pat DonnellyHampton2324479 Ken Gassoff Winston-Salem163147

References