Ernie Wakely

Ernest Alfred Linton Wakely (born November 27, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 113 games in the National Hockey League from 1962 to 1972, and 334 games in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1979.

Career Wakely was a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues. He also played for the Quebec Aces, the Cleveland Barons (AHL), Winnipeg Jets, San Diego Mariners, Cincinnati Stingers, Houston Aeros, Houston Apollos, and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. Wakely was goaltender for the 1958–59 Memorial Cup-winning Winnipeg Braves of the MJHL.

In the 1969–70 NHL season Wakely took over in St. Louis for Glenn Hall. Wakely appeared in 30 games, won 12, and recorded an NHL league-leading goals against average of 2.11 in leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. Although Wakely did not start the first game of the Final, he replaced Jacques Plante early in the game after Plante was injured. Wakely played well through the second period, but Boston prevailed in that game 6–1 and swept the Blues in four straight games to win the Stanley Cup.

The following season, Wakely played in 51 games, won 20, and posted a 2.79 GAA. Two years later, he played with the Winnipeg Jets and former Chicago Black Hawks star Bobby Hull in the World Hockey Association. No other goalie played more games in the WHA and his 16 shutouts are also a WHA career record.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1957–58 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 27 12 14 1 1640 121 1 4.48 — 5 2 3 300 20 0 4.00 — 1958–59 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 30 22 7 1 1810 107 1 3.54 — 8 7 1 490 22 1 2.69 — 1958–59 Winnipeg Braves M-Cup — — — — — — — — — 16 12 4 960 45 1 2.81 — 1959–60 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 27 15 11 1 1640 99 1 3.62 — 4 1 3 250 15 0 3.50 — 1959–60 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 4 1 3 0 240 16 0 4.00 — — — — — — — — — 1960–61 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 31 18 13 0 1860 111 2 3.57 — 3 0 3 210 14 0 4.00 — 1960–61 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 9 4 5 0 540 43 0 4.77 — — — — — — — — — 1961–62 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 2 1 0 1 120 4 0 2.00 — — — — — — — — — 1961–62 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 3 2 1 0 180 10 0 3.33 — — — — — — — — — 1961–62 North Bay Trappers EPHL 6 1 4 1 360 18 0 3.00 — — — — — — — — — 1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .897 — — — — — — — — 1962–63 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 41 26 12 3 2460 122 2 2.97 — — — — — — — — — 1962–63 Spokane Comets WHL 3 1 2 0 180 16 0 5.33 — — — — — — — — — 1963–64 Quebec Aces AHL 8 3 5 0 480 33 0 4.12 — — — — — — — — — 1963–64 Omaha Knights CPHL 59 38 16 5 3540 173 2 2.93 — 10 8 2 600 19 3 1.90 — 1964–65 Omaha Knights CPHL 15 11 3 1 900 40 0 2.67 — — — — — — — — — 1964–65 Cleveland Barons AHL 10 2 8 0 600 49 0 4.90 — — — — — — — — — 1964–65 Quebec Aces AHL 20 9 10 1 1228 77 1 3.76 — 4 1 3 240 17 0 4.25 — 1965–66 Cleveland Barons AHL 1 0 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 Quebec Aces AHL 1 0 1 0 60 6 0 6.00 — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 Seattle Totems AHL 27 12 14 1 1617 83 2 3.08 — — — — — — — — — 1966–67 Cleveland Barons AHL 70 36 25 9 4187 216 0 3.10 — 5 2 3 301 10 0 1.99 — 1967–68 Houston Apollos CPHL 57 24 21 10 3312 163 1 2.95 — — — — — — — — — 1968–69 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.00 .852 — — — — — — — — 1968–69 Cleveland Barons AHL 65 25 28 11 3852 1 3.27 — 5 2 3 304 20 0 3.95 — 1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 30 12 9 4 1650 58 4 2.11 .930 4 0 4 215 17 0 4.74 .877 1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 51 20 14 11 2858 133 3 2.79 .902 3 2 1 178 7 1 2.36 .919 1971–72 St. Louis Blues NHL 30 8 18 2 1605 91 1 3.40 .894 3 0 1 113 13 0 6.93 .800 1972–73 Winnipeg Jets WHA 49 26 19 3 2889 152 2 3.16 .892 7 4 3 420 22 2 3.14 .895 1973–74 Winnipeg Jets WHA 37 15 18 4 2254 123 3 3.27 .896 — — — — — — — — 1974–75 Winnipeg Jets WHA 6 3 3 0 355 16 1 2.70 .925 — — — — — — — — 1974–75 San Diego Mariners WHA 35 20 12 2 2062 115 2 3.35 .895 10 4 6 520 39 0 4.50 — 1975–76 San Diego Mariners WHA 67 35 27 4 3824 208 3 3.26 .895 11 5 6 640 39 0 3.66 — 1976–77 San Diego Mariners WHA 46 22 18 3 2506 129 3 3.09 .896 3 2 1 160 9 0 3.38 .880 1977–78 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 6 0 5 0 311 26 0 5.02 .822 — — — — — — — — 1977–78 Houston Aeros WHA 51 28 18 4 3070 166 2 3.24 .897 — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Birmingham Bulls WHA 37 15 17 1 2060 129 0 3.76 .880 — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Phoenix Roadrunners PHL 1 1 0 0 60 4 0 4.00 — — — — — — — — — WHA totals 334 164 137 21 19,335 1064 16 3.30 .893 31 15 16 1740 109 2 3.76 — NHL totals 113 41 42 17 6234 289 8 2.78 .907 10 2 6 509 37 1 4.36 .872

Awards and achievements

Turnbull Cup (MJHL) Championship (1959) Memorial Cup Championship (1959) MJHL Top Goaltender (1961) CPHL Championship (1964) Engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1965, and 1968 with Montreal (he only dressed for two games in playoffs and did not play) Played in 1971 NHL All-Star Game Played in 1972–73 WHA All-Star Game and 1973–74 WHA All-Star Game Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame Inaugural member of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame (2010)