The Johnstown Chiefs were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

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 ...

team located in

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 ...

, that played in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when that league was formed. The Chiefs lasted for 22 years in Johnstown, and was the last of the founding ECHL teams playing under its original name and in its original city. The Chiefs relocated to

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the county seat, seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenvil ...

, following the completion of the 2010 season.

Franchise history

The owners originally wanted to name the team the Jets in honor of a team that had played in Johnstown from 1950 to 1977, mostly in 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, ...

. However, the old Jets' former owners still held the trademark for the name and refused to allow the new team to use it. A contest was held by the owners, allowing the people of Johnstown to vote for the new team name. The cult hockey movie ''

Slap Shot ''Slap Shot'' is a 1977 American sports film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league ice hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a decli ...

'' had been filmed in Johnstown, and featured a minor league team called the Charlestown Chiefs. The fans readily jumped on the tie-in, and the Johnstown Chiefs were born. The Chiefs played their home games in the historic 3,745 seat Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, where most of the hockey scenes in the movie ''

'' were filmed. Despite popular belief, the Chiefs uniforms colors (black, gold, and white) were not chosen because of the local fans' connection to the

Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, and

Penguins Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

. Shortly after the emergency lease had been approved by the Cambria County War Memorial, head coach

Joe Selenski Joe Selenski (born 1955) is a former minor league hockey coach and general manager. Atlantic Coast Hockey League Selenski got his start as a coach and general manager with the Troy Slapshots of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. The Slapshots wou ...

traveled to Canada to find the team uniforms and called War Memorial Marketing Director Dennis Grenell at 3:00 AM to tell him that the only uniforms he could find were black and gold (similar to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

' uniforms of the 1970s), but he did not have enough money to buy them. Grennell agreed to pay for the uniforms using his own credit card. Coincidentally, the Chiefs' first minor league affiliation would be with the Boston Bruins. The Chiefs along with the

Wheeling Thunderbirds The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Le ...

(now known as the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey L ...

) played the role of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1995 film Sudden Death starring

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the ag ...

. The premise was the Penguins playing the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

for the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

when terrorists attempt to hold the Vice President hostage in the arena. On August 17, 2007, the Chiefs announced that they entered into an affiliation agreement with the NHL's

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

. During the 2007–08 season, the Chiefs served as the Avalanche's secondary minor league affiliate. On September 18, 2007, the Chiefs announced they had also entered an affiliation agreement with the

for the 2007–08 season. Prior to the 2008–09 season the Chiefs re-signed their affiliation with the Avalanche and entered into an affiliation agreement with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

, replacing the Bruins, on August 22, 2008. For the 2009–10 season, the Chiefs were the secondary minor league affiliate to the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. Jeff Flanagan took up the role of head coach to start the year. After leading the team to an ECHL cellar dwelling 9–19–7 record, Flanagan was fired, replaced for the remainder of the season by majority owner Neil Smith on January 10, 2010. In February 2010, the Tribune-Democrat reported that television reports from

, stated that the Chiefs would be relocated to Greenville following the season and compete at the

BI-LO Center Bon Secours Wellness Arena (formerly the BI-LO Center; The Well) is a multi-purpose arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The arena serves as the home of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. History The Bon Secours Wellness Arena was buil ...

. Greenville had previously been home to the Greenville Grrrowl, who played in the ECHL from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

when the ECHL revoked Greenville's franchise rights. On February 17, 2010, the league announced that the Chiefs would be relocating to Greenville after the league's Board of Governors voted unanimously in favor of the move. News of the relocation also made the press in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, including the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', due to Smith being the former president and governor of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

and former general manager of the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

. The team, renamed the

Greenville Road Warriors The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gr ...

, then became affiliated with the Rangers. The team played their final game as the Johnstown Chiefs on Saturday April 3, 2010. The result was a 5–3 loss to the Elmira Jackals. According to a pre-game address by minority owner Ned Nakles to the fans in attendance, the Chiefs name, logo, team records and history would not follow the franchise to Greenville, but would remain in Johnstown under ownership by a non-profit group to possibly be used again should a new team enter the ECHL in the city. The

, the ECHL affiliate of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

, announced prior to the Chiefs season finale that they would play 10 of their 36 regular season home games and one preseason game at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena during the 2010–11 ECHL season.

Season results

Records as of 2009–10 season. ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, PCT = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''

Playoffs

*1988–89: Defeated

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

4-0 in semifinals; lost to Carolina 4–3 in finals. *1989–90: Did not qualify. *1990–91: Defeated Erie 3–2 in quarterfinals; lost to

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

4–1 in semifinals. *1991–92: Defeated Erie 3–1 in first round; lost to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

2–0 in quarterfinals. *1992–93: Defeated

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

1–0 in first round; lost to Wheeling 3–1 in quarterfinals. *1993–94: Lost to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

2–1 in first round. *1994–95: Lost to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

3–1 in first round. *1995–96: Did not qualify. *1996–97: Did not qualify. *1997–98: Did not qualify. *1998–99: Did not qualify. *1999–00: Defeated Roanoke 3–1 in first round; lost to Peoria 3–0 in quarterfinals. *2000–01: Lost to Trenton 3–1 in first round. *2001–02: Defeated Peoria 3–2 in first round; lost to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

3–0 in quarterfinals. *2002–03: Did not qualify. *2003–04: Lost to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

1–0 in qualifying round. *2004–05: Did not qualify. *2005–06: Defeated Trenton 2–0 in qualifying round; lost to Toledo 3–0 in first round. *2006–07: Lost to Trenton 2–0 in qualifying round. *2007–08: Defeated

2–0 in qualifying round; lost to

4–0 in first round. *2008–09: Did not qualify. *2009–10: Did not qualify.

Chiefs alumni who have played in the NHL

Retired numbers

The Chiefs retired four numbers: the numbers of Don Hall, Dick Roberge, Galen Head and Reg Kent, all of whom had played for the Johnstown Jets. * 7 – Reg Kent, number retired on February 15, 2009 during a pregame ceremony prior to a game against the

. * 8 – Galen Head, number retired by the Chiefs on October 18, 2003 during a pregame ceremony prior to a game against the Long Beach Ice Dogs * 9 – Don Hall, Hall's #9 was originally retired by the Johnstown Jets on April 6, 1962. A separate ceremony involving a banner raising was held by the Johnstown Chiefs during the Chiefs' 1989-90 season. * 11 –

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 ...

, Roberge's #11 was originally retired by the Johnstown Jets without a ceremony after the completion of the 1971-72 season. A separate ceremony involving a banner raising was held by the Johnstown Chiefs during the Chiefs' 1989-90 season.

League Awards

All-Stars

The following players were named to the ECHL All-Star team, announced at the end of the season. * 1988-89, Scott Gordon, First Team, Goaltender * 1988-89, Rob Hyrtsak, First Team, Center * 1991-92, Mark Green, First Team, Left Wing

Additional Awards

The following players received individual awards from the ECHL, announced at the end of the season. * 1988-89, Scott Gordon, Top Goaltender * 1988-89, Tom Sasso, ECHL Rookie of the Year

References

External links