The Broome Dusters were an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

. They played in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, United States at the

Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena Visions Veterans Memorial Arena (formerly known as the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena and Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Binghamton, New York. The arena was completed in 1973, providing an e ...

. The team logo was designed by

Johnny Hart John Lewis Hart (February 18, 1931 – April 7, 2007) was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips '' B.C.'' and ''The Wizard of Id''. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated ''The Wizard of Id''. Hart was recognized ...

, artist of the comic strip '' B.C.'' and a Binghamton native.

History

The Dusters played in the NAHL, which served as the inspiration for the movie '' Slap Shot'', which includes a "Broome County" team. One scene in the film was specifically drawn from events that occurred in Binghamton. In the movie, the

Hanson brothers The Hanson Brothers are fictional characters in the 1977 movie '' Slap Shot''. The characters are based on the Carlson brothers, who were actual hockey players. The movie, which stars Paul Newman, was written by Nancy Dowd. The story was based ...

wear black-rimmed, Coke-bottle eyeglasses, and in one game, get into a fight immediately after the opening faceoff. In reality, both

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

and

Steve Carlson Steven Edward Carlson (born August 26, 1955) is an American former NHL professional ice hockey forward and a former minor league hockey coach. Biography Carlson was born in Virginia, Minnesota. He appeared in the movie '' Slap Shot'' as one of ...

of the

Johnstown Jets The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The Jet ...

wore similar glasses, and did get into a long fight right after an opening faceoff. Johnstown Coach

Dick Roberge Dick Roberge (born April 7, 1934) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey forward and coach. He holds the record for most minor-league goals scored with 752. He is thought to be the inspiration behind Paul Newman's character, Reggie Dunlop ...

told the '' Johnstown Tribune-Democrat'', "We got into Binghamton about two or three weeks before the playoffs. In the team warmup, we're out there and all the Binghamton players came out with the plastic glasses and big noses, every one of them, poking fun at the Carlson brothers. We went back in the dressing room and the boys said, 'Coach, as soon as that puck is dropped, we're pairing up.' We had one heckuva fight. They went about 30 minutes until everyone got tired. We met them again in the finals (1974–75) and beat them four straight." When the NAHL folded in 1977, the team was replaced by the

Binghamton Dusters The Binghamton Dusters were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The team logo was designed by Johnny Hart, artist of the comic strip " B.C." an ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

who previously operated as the

Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a ice hockey, hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Re ...

Season-by-season results

;Regular Season ;Playoffs

Team records

:Goals: 87

Dave Staffen Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

(1976–77) :Assists: 124 Rod Bloomfield (1976–77) :Points: 173 Rod Bloomfield (1976–77) :Penalty Minutes: 273 Paul Stewart (1975–76) :GAA: 3.61

Rick Lemay Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

(1974–75) :SV%: :Career Goals: 187 Rod Bloomfield :Career Assists: 310 Rod Bloomfield :Career Points: 497 Rod Bloomfield :Career Penalty Minutes: 505 Paul Stewart :Career Goaltending Wins: :Career Shutouts: :Career Games: 288 Rod Bloomfield

External links

The Internet Hockey Database - Broome Dusters

''The Dusters''
WSKG history of the Broome Dusters
- BinghamtonHockey.net - History of hockey in Binghamton
Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Sports in Binghamton, New York North American Hockey League (1973–1977) teams Ice hockey teams in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1973 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1977 1973 establishments in New York (state) 1977 disestablishments in New York (state) Boston Bruins minor league affiliates {{NewYork-sport-team-stub