W. Thomas Earl is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 347 games in the World Hockey Association.
Career Earl debuted for the varsity team at Colgate University in 1967 and swiftly became the team's star. His time with the Red Raiders coincided with the team being a middling squad, preventing him from achieving any postseason success, however, Earl was able to shine during his time in Hamilton. As a junior, he shattered the program record with 37 goals during the season, accounting for nearly a third of the team's total all season. He was named team captain for hit senior season and repeated his goal production while adding an additional 5 assists to finish with 62 points, another program record. When Earl was finished with his college career he held nearly all goal-scoring records for Colgate. In the years since almost all have been surpassed but he continues to hold the school record for game-winning goals with 18 overall and 10 in 1970 (as of 2020).
Earl continued playing for the Kansas City Blues immediately after Colgate's season ended in 1970. He shifted from Wing to Center and played a more defensive-oriented game as a profession. The change paid off, however, and when the WHA was formed Earl became an inaugural member of the New England Whalers. Earl helped New England win the Avco Cup in 1973 and remained with the club until 1977. He finished his career after a short stint with the Rhode Island Reds.
Awards and honors Award Year All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1969–70 AHCA East All-American 1969–70
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM1965–66 Niagara Falls FlyersOHA 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1967–68 Colgate UniversityECACStatistics Unavailable 1968–69 Colgate UniversityECAC —— 37 20 57 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Colgate University ECAC —— 37 25 62 0— — — — —1969–70 Kansas City Blues CHL 5 2 5 7 0 — — — — —1970–71 Kansas City Blues CHL 64 19 25 44 33 — — — — —1971–72 Kansas City Blues CHL 64 15 18 3323 — — — — —1972–73New England WhalersWHA77 10 13 23 4 15 2 3 5 101973–74New England Whalers WHA 78 10 10 20 29 7 0 2 2 21974–75 New England Whalers WHA 72 3 8 11 20 6 1 1 2 121975–76New England Whalers WHA 66 8 11 19 26 17 0 5 5 41976–77 New England Whalers WHA 54 9 14 23 37 1 0 0 0 01976–77 Rhode Island RedsAHL8 3 5 8 4 — — — — — WHA totals347 40 56 96 116 46 3 11 14 28
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