The Johnstown Jets were a professional

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 from

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

. 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 Cambria County War Memorial Arena is a 4,001-seat multi-purpose arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that is managed by SMG Entertainment. It was built in 1950, for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League. The arena was built on the si ...

. The Jets won consecutive EHL championships in 1951–52 and 1952–53. When the EAHL suspended operations in 1953, the Jets transferred to the International Hockey League, where they played two seasons. Johnstown were

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

finalists in 1953–54, losing four games to two, to the

Cincinnati Mohawks The Cincinnati Mohawks was the name of two professional ice hockey teams in Cincinnati, Ohio who played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. The first Mohawks' club were members of the American Hockey League (AHL) between 1949 and 1952 whil ...

. In 1955, the Jets joined the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

(a league founded from the EAHL), and won three consecutive EHL championships in 1959–60, 1960–61 and 1961–62. Johnstown remained in the league until its demise in 1973. The Jets then joined the new North American Hockey League in 1973. Dick Roberge coached Johnstown to the Lockhart Cup championship 1974–75, defeating the

Broome Dusters The Broome Dusters were an ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, United States at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The team logo was designed by Johnny Hart, artist of the comic stri ...

. That season's playoff run included the Carlson brothers,

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 * ...

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and Steve, who became the basis for 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 ...

in the movie '' Slap Shot''. Jeff and Steve Carlson portrayed their fictional selves in the movie, while former Jet Dave Hanson portrayed Jack. The Jets played four seasons total in the NAHL before the league folded in 1977. The team itself folded in the offseason, when the

Johnstown flood of 1977 The Johnstown flood of 1977 was a major flood which began on the night of July 19, 1977, when heavy rainfall caused widespread flash flooding in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, including the city of Johnstown and the Conemaugh Vall ...

damaged the arena's ice making equipment. Johnstown was later represented by the

Johnstown Wings The Johnstown Red Wings were a professional ice hockey team based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania They were founded as a member of the Eastern Hockey League in the 1979-80 season. The Red Wings were used as an affiliate to the Adirondack Red Wings of ...

(later Red Wings) from 1978-80. The Red Wings folded after two seasons, but hockey returned to Johnstown in 1988 with the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when th ...

, which named itself after the Jets' fictional counterpart from '' Slap Shot''.

Season-by-season results

NHL alumni

List of Johnstown Jets who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, 46 in total.

League All-Stars

The following players were named to the league's respective All-Star team, announced at the end of the season. Most All-Star appearances

References

EHL standings and statistics

IHL standings and statistics

NAHL standings and statistics

External links

- www.officialgamepuck.com

- Jets history

{{Johnstown, Pennsylvania Calgary Cowboys minor league affiliates Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Defunct sports teams in Pennsylvania Eastern Hockey League teams Houston Aeros minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs established in 1950 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1977 Ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania International Hockey League (1945–2001) teams Kansas City Scouts minor league affiliates Minnesota Fighting Saints minor league affiliates North American Hockey League (1973–1977) teams Pittsburgh Penguins minor league affiliates St. Louis Blues minor league affiliates Washington Capitals minor league affiliates