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JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Fifty years ago, the real-life hockey team that inspired the motion picture “Slap Shot” provided Johnstown fans with a championship that sparked a chaotic on-ice celebration followed by an impromptu parade through the city streets.
The 1974-75 champion Johnstown Jets players and coaches – assembled by iconic team executive director Johnny “Big Daddy” Mitchell – are remembered and revered by local fans of “old-time hockey.”
Johnstown Jets Lockhart Cup presentation - Johnny Mitchell
Johnstown Jets Executive Director Johnny Mitchell (left) views the Lockhart Cup trophy at Cambria County War Memorial Arena on May 1, 1975. The Jets won the professional North American Hockey League championship in a four-game sweep over the Binghamton Broome Dusters. Behind Mitchell are Jets players, from left, Vern Campigotto, Pat Westrum, Bob Boyd, captain Galen Head and Mike Chernoff.
The Jets completed a four-game North American Hockey League series sweep of the Binghamton Broome Dusters and won the playoff championship May 1, 1975.
Many of the 4,088 fans at Cambria County War Memorial Arena stormed onto the ice in celebration, preventing team captain Galen Head and fellow veteran Vern Campigotto from completing a victory lap with the Lockhart Cup.
“To this day, that year and those times in Johnstown in that first year is such a memorable time in my life,” said Dave Hanson, a rookie defenseman on the 1974-75 Jets.
Hanson had a successful pro career and eventually advanced to the NHL.
He is better known for his role as one of the three bespectacled Hanson Brothers in “Slap Shot.”
‘So much good stuff’
“There is just so much good stuff about that time that you remember,” Hanson said. “To this day, there are people on that team that every once in a while I get to talk to or talk about.”
LOCKHART CUP LOGO
The Jets had a worst-to-first run through the North American Hockey League season. The 1970s-era NAHL was a professional league, unlike today’s NAHL, which is an amateur junior hockey league that includes the Johnstown Tomahawks.
As late as Jan. 18, 1975, coach Dick Roberge’s Jets ranked seventh in an eight-team league. Reaching the playoffs seemed unlikely.
Then, something magical happened at the War Memorial Arena and other venues throughout the NAHL. The Johnstown Jets began winning – and kept on winning, and winning.
Actually, the Jets tallied 23 victories in the final 31 regular-season games. The team possessed momentum and confidence as Johnstown secured the fourth seed in the postseason.
‘Everybody found their roles’
“I don’t think there was a big change in personnel or anything like that. Everybody found their roles,” said Jerry Welsh, a 30-goal scorer during the regular season, who added a team-best nine playoff goals with four game-winners. “That team became well-put-together in terms of chemistry toward the end.”
The Jets had an effective balance of hungry rookies and seasoned veterans who were accustomed to the grind of a long pro season. Goal-scorers and enforcers shared the ice. Two solid goaltenders took turns putting together win streaks down the stretch and into the playoffs.
“There wasn’t any one or two franchise guys who came in and made a difference,” Welsh said during a Jets alumni event Feb. 15 at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial. “Everybody accepted a role, including some of the third-line players who were hugely important.”
Once in the playoffs, the Jets were nearly unbeatable in series wins over Cade Cod (3-1) in the first round, arch-rival Syracuse (4-3) in the semifinal round, then a title-clinching sweep over Binghamton (4-0) in the best-of-7 championship series.
1975 JOHNSTOWN JETS CELEBRATION 1
Members of the 1974-75 Johnstown Jets celebrate their Lockhart Cup championship victory at Sunnehanna Country Club on May 1, 1975.
‘We had great players’“We had great players,” said John Mavrodis, 91, who was part of the Jets ownership group in the 1970s and operated iconic Johnnies Restaurant for 50 years. “It was the best team that we had for a long, long time.”
The rookie class included three brothers from Minnesota, all sporting thick-rimmed glasses and long hair. The Carlsons – Jack, Jeff and Steve – provided a physical presence and won their share of fights while using conventional and sometimes unconventional means, but these guys also could play.
Steve Carlson eventually reached the NHL and later coached the ECHL Johnstown Chiefs for five seasons. During the Jets championship run, Carlson had 30 regular-season goals and a team-high 84 points. He added six goals and 10 points in the postseason.
The “Slap Shot” Hanson Brothers in Nancy Dowd’s script are based on the Carlsons.
Johnstown Jets 1974-75 championship team photo with names-trophy-results
The Johnstown Jets won the 1974-75 professional North American Hockey League Lockhart Cup championship 50 years ago. An iconic team photo that includes player names, postseason series results and the Lockhart Cup trophy has been popular among local hockey fans for decades.
Johnstown to CharlestownDuring the filming of the Paul Newman movie in 1976, Jack Carlson was on recall to the Minnesota Fighting Saints.
Dave Hanson, who actually inspired the role of Dave “Killer” Carlson in the movie, assumed a Hanson Brothers role.
Actor Jerry Houser took on the part of “Killer” Carlson on the fictional Charlestown Chiefs.
Filming at the War Memorial and sites throughout the region lasted from March 22 to June 9, 1976. “Slap Shot” was released in February 1977.
After their playing and coaching careers concluded, the Hansons began touring arenas, raising funds for charities and even appeared in beer commercials as well as two “Slap Shot” sequels.
In 1993, the Hansons made an impromptu appearance when Steve Carlson coached the Memphis RiverKings in the Central Hockey League. Fans lined up for hours and loved seeing the Hansons.
Eventually, their role reprisals took the Hanson Brothers throughout the country and across the world, until only a few years ago. They still separately reprise their roles and Steve Carlson operates Putting on the Foil LLC.
“Who would have ever thought?” said Dave Hanson, 71. “To this day, it amazes me. Jeff, Steve and I don’t hit the road together anymore, but (April 8) I was at the Penguins game and I was asked to make a couple suite appearances for UPMC organ donors. I’m thinking, ‘These people won’t know who the hell I am.’
“They had me put on a Penguins alumni jersey with No. 16 and my name on the back. I introduce myself. I’ve got people going, ‘Oh, my God, it’s one of the Hanson Brothers.’ I’m thinking, ‘Holy, crap.’ It just goes on. It’s amazing, and it’s still a blast.”
Johnstown Jets Carlson Brothers line
The Carlson Brothers, from left, Jeff, Steve and Jack, skate at Cambria County War Memorial Arena during the 1974-75 professional North American Hockey League season. The Minnesota siblings inspired the Hanson Brothers in the motion picture "Slap Shot." They also helped the Jets win the Lockhart Cup championship 50 years ago.
‘Something special’The real-life Jets had a bond both on the ice and away from the arena. Their success playing aggressive, old-time hockey translated into a movie script written by Nancy Dowd. Her brother Ned Dowd, a Jets forward, provided the basis for the Ned Braden character played by actor Michael Ontkean in the movie.
“There was something special about that team,” Steve Carlson said in a Tribune-Democrat interview during the title-winning Jets’ silver anniversary year. “We had a lot of talent. We hung out together as a team. We’d go to Brownies for lunch. We’d go to the Professor’s Inn and the Hendler Lounge, the Golden Key, the Forest Park Club. All the team members and their wives and girlfriends would show up. We enjoyed each other a lot. It was a special team.”
The veterans provided leadership and helped the rookies adapt to life in the tough NAHL. The grind included long bus rides to often hostile venues in places such as Binghamton, Long Island, Syracuse and Utica in New York; Lewiston, Maine; South Yarmouth, Massachusetts; and cross-state rival Philadelphia.
Galen Head Johnstown Jets captain
Johnstown Jets forward Galen Head captained the 1974-75 team to the professional North American Hockey League playoff championship. Head's retired No. 8 jersey banner hangs at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.
The captainFan favorite and respected team captain Galen Head provided one of the best feel-good stories. Then playing in his seventh season with the Jets and eighth overall (including one NHL game with the Detroit Red Wings), Head joined fellow veteran players such as Jim Adair, Reg Bechtold, Vern Campigotto, Mike Chernoff and Johnny Gofton.
“I haven’t slept for two days, thinking about this,” Head said in a Tribune-Democrat interview after the Jets beat Binghamton to win the Lockhart Cup. “I kind of felt tight at first. I felt we had to score a couple of quick goals, but they (goals) came late in the first period.”
Head scored on a pair of backhanders past Binghamton goaltender Rick Lemay 30 seconds apart in a 6-2 win in Game 4.
Years later, Head, who died in 2020, said, “It was unbelievable. I played before some very good crowds in Johnstown. But people were hanging off the rafters watching us play that game.”
Younger players who had a few seasons of pro experience bridged the gap between the veterans and rookies. Those included Dowd, Bob Boyd, Francois Ouimet, Guido Tenesi, Jean Tetreault and Pat Westrum.
Goaltenders Ron Docken (22-16-1 regular season; 1-3 playoffs) and Louis “Louie” Levasseur (12-10-2 regular season; 10-1 playoffs) complemented each other in net.
Johnstown Jets goaltender Louis (Louie) Levasseur
Johnstown Jets goaltender Louis "Louie" Levasseur posted a 10-1 postseason record in net to help the Jets win the 1974-75 North American Hockey League Lockhart Cup 50 years ago.
Climbing the standingsThe journey to the final series against Binghamton took a few unlikely turns.
The Jets had a 10-18-3 record and were one spot out of last place in the NAHL standings through Jan. 18.
“Some of the key players on that team were young guys,” Dave Hanson said. “Jeff, Steve and myself were rookies there. It probably took us half a season to acclimate and get used to the league, and understand what it was all about.”
But what led to such a dramatic change of fortunes on the ice?
“Dick Roberge recognized that maybe this team needs a little bit of a break and let the young guys go home (during a break in the schedule),” Hanson said of the Jets coach, Roberge, who skated 17 seasons in Johnstown, scored 1,699 points and was part of three straight championships as a player (1960-62). “We all went home for a couple of days and then came back.
“I don’t know what the big turnaround was,” Hanson added. “But we just kind of started playing pretty good hockey.”
1975 JOHNSTOWN JETS CELEBRATION 1
Members of the 1974-75 Johnstown Jets celebrate their Lockhart Cup championship victory at Sunnehanna Country Club on May 1, 1975.
The Syracuse jinxMany considered the NAHL best-of-7 semifinal between the Jets and the Syracuse Blazers as the defacto championship round.
The two teams split 10 regular-season games, with the home team winning each time.
The trend continued in the playoffs, with Syracuse winning at Onondaga County War Memorial in games 1, 4 and 5. The Jets won at the War Memorial in games 2, 3 and 6.
That set up a decisive Game 7 in Syracuse, where the Blazers were 32-5 at home.
Johnstown hadn’t won a game in Syracuse since 1971.
“We were going into that seventh game thinking, ‘Let’s play, let’s not get embarrassed,’ “ Steve Carlson said. “Going into the third period, we’re going out there saying, ‘Hey, we can win this game.’ ”
Carlson did his part, scoring twice in Game 7. The then-19-year-old snapped a 15-foot wrist shot at 16:51 of the final period as the Jets beat the Blazers 5-4 and snapped a 41-game winless streak at Syracuse.
Johnstown Jets Victory Celebration
Johnstown Jets players celebrate winning the professional North American Hockey League playoff championship on May 1, 1975. From left, Mike Chernoff, Dave "Killer" Hanson and Jerry Welsh share a moment after the Jets' 6-2 victory completed a four-game sweep of the Binghamton Broome Dusters at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
Waiting gameThe Jets hadn’t won a championship playoff series since 1962, when a team led by legendary Don Hall and Roberge captured a third straight Johnstown title.
The players and their fans had to wait a bit longer as neither Binghamton nor Johnstown had ice available.
The War Memorial hosted a previously scheduled home show for four days and an arts festival for three days. Binghamton’s arena was already booked with a circus.
So the championship series was delayed 10 days. The Jets practiced at Alpine Arena in Wilkinsburg near Pittsburgh, and the Broome Dusters worked out in Elmira, New York.
Johnstown won 5-1 in the opener, took Game 2 by a 7-4 score as 4,700 fans watched in Broome County, and then won 2-1 in Binghamton behind Levasseur’s 36 saves in Game 3.
No one was going to beat the Jets in that fourth game. At 10:42 p.m., May 1, 1975, the final seconds ticked off and ended a 13-year championship drought in Johnstown.
“We just all came together and it just started rolling. Once we got on a roll, it didn’t slow down,” Dave Hanson said of both the title-clincher and the season. “It just kept speeding up.”
Johnstown Jets defenseman Dave Hanson surrounded by fans on ice
Johnstown Jets defenseman Dave Hanson mingles with hockey fans and media on the Cambria County War Memorial Arena ice on May 1, 1975. The Jets had just won the North American Hockey League championship, the city's first professional crown since 1962.
CelebrationThe War Memorial public address announcer asked fans to remain off the ice.
The plea was ignored.
“That was amazing,” Dave Hanson said of fans joining the players on the ice after the win. “The movie captures that, where it was incredible first-off that the War Memorial was just packed with people. You had the low glass then and even some of the doors didn’t even have glass. The fans came spilling out, just mobbing you. It was incredible. It was a blast.”
Chuck Mamula spent 22 years as a Tribune-Democrat photographer. He was on the ice and captured numerous memorable shots of the emotional interactions.
“It was crazy. The Jets drew big crowds,” Mamula said. “I never was part of a professional title like the Steelers winning a Super Bowl. I was never on the field for anything like that.”
Johnstown Jets Championship Parade | Galen Head with trophy
Galen Head of the Johnstown Jets holds the North American Hockey League Championship Trophy during a parade of downtown Johnstown, PA, on May 2, 1975. Photo by The Tribune-Democrat
‘Nobody expected a parade’The Jets’ “Big Daddy” Mitchell coaxed his coach and players into one more winning moment the day after the title win.
On short notice, he and city officials organized a parade through downtown Johnstown.
High school bands from Greater Johnstown, Richland and Greater Johnstown Vo-Tech performed as Jets players sat in convertibles. Perhaps best symbolizing the moment, a Tribune-Democrat photo featured Head on the back of a car, hoisting the Lockhart Cup with both hands while wearing sunglasses and a plaid leisure suit reminiscent of the 1970s.
“The parade was quite frankly shocking,” goaltender Docken said during a 25th anniversary interview. “We just won the championship. Fine, that’s great. To show up the next day, and they have this parade.
“You see the people turn out like they did, it was absolutely unbelievable.
“It was like a New York type of thing. It was overwhelming. It was wonderful.”
Johnstown Jets defenseman Guido Tenesi with Lockhart Cup Trophy
Johnstown Jets defenseman Guido Tenesi stands next to the Lockhart Cup trophy during a postgame celebration at Sunnehanna Country Club on May 1, 1975. The Jets won the professional North American Hockey League playoff title earlier that night.
Mitchell’s ability to persuade his players to assemble the morning after a postgame gathering held at Sunnehanna Country Club still impresses Hanson.
“Nobody expected a parade,” Hanson said. “Suddenly, the next thing I know, I remember ‘Mitch’ is trying to track everybody down. We’re all hung over and ‘Mitch’ is tracking everybody down to get us to show up downtown for a parade, which was a big impromptu gig.
“Of course, when ‘Mitch’ talked, everybody jumped. We respected him so well, but we also feared the little ******.”
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
Continue reading...
The 1974-75 champion Johnstown Jets players and coaches – assembled by iconic team executive director Johnny “Big Daddy” Mitchell – are remembered and revered by local fans of “old-time hockey.”
Johnstown Jets Lockhart Cup presentation - Johnny Mitchell
Johnstown Jets Executive Director Johnny Mitchell (left) views the Lockhart Cup trophy at Cambria County War Memorial Arena on May 1, 1975. The Jets won the professional North American Hockey League championship in a four-game sweep over the Binghamton Broome Dusters. Behind Mitchell are Jets players, from left, Vern Campigotto, Pat Westrum, Bob Boyd, captain Galen Head and Mike Chernoff.
The Jets completed a four-game North American Hockey League series sweep of the Binghamton Broome Dusters and won the playoff championship May 1, 1975.
Many of the 4,088 fans at Cambria County War Memorial Arena stormed onto the ice in celebration, preventing team captain Galen Head and fellow veteran Vern Campigotto from completing a victory lap with the Lockhart Cup.
“To this day, that year and those times in Johnstown in that first year is such a memorable time in my life,” said Dave Hanson, a rookie defenseman on the 1974-75 Jets.
Hanson had a successful pro career and eventually advanced to the NHL.
He is better known for his role as one of the three bespectacled Hanson Brothers in “Slap Shot.”
‘So much good stuff’
“There is just so much good stuff about that time that you remember,” Hanson said. “To this day, there are people on that team that every once in a while I get to talk to or talk about.”
LOCKHART CUP LOGO
The Jets had a worst-to-first run through the North American Hockey League season. The 1970s-era NAHL was a professional league, unlike today’s NAHL, which is an amateur junior hockey league that includes the Johnstown Tomahawks.
As late as Jan. 18, 1975, coach Dick Roberge’s Jets ranked seventh in an eight-team league. Reaching the playoffs seemed unlikely.
Then, something magical happened at the War Memorial Arena and other venues throughout the NAHL. The Johnstown Jets began winning – and kept on winning, and winning.
Actually, the Jets tallied 23 victories in the final 31 regular-season games. The team possessed momentum and confidence as Johnstown secured the fourth seed in the postseason.
‘Everybody found their roles’
“I don’t think there was a big change in personnel or anything like that. Everybody found their roles,” said Jerry Welsh, a 30-goal scorer during the regular season, who added a team-best nine playoff goals with four game-winners. “That team became well-put-together in terms of chemistry toward the end.”
The Jets had an effective balance of hungry rookies and seasoned veterans who were accustomed to the grind of a long pro season. Goal-scorers and enforcers shared the ice. Two solid goaltenders took turns putting together win streaks down the stretch and into the playoffs.
“There wasn’t any one or two franchise guys who came in and made a difference,” Welsh said during a Jets alumni event Feb. 15 at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial. “Everybody accepted a role, including some of the third-line players who were hugely important.”
Once in the playoffs, the Jets were nearly unbeatable in series wins over Cade Cod (3-1) in the first round, arch-rival Syracuse (4-3) in the semifinal round, then a title-clinching sweep over Binghamton (4-0) in the best-of-7 championship series.
1975 JOHNSTOWN JETS CELEBRATION 1
Members of the 1974-75 Johnstown Jets celebrate their Lockhart Cup championship victory at Sunnehanna Country Club on May 1, 1975.
‘We had great players’“We had great players,” said John Mavrodis, 91, who was part of the Jets ownership group in the 1970s and operated iconic Johnnies Restaurant for 50 years. “It was the best team that we had for a long, long time.”
The rookie class included three brothers from Minnesota, all sporting thick-rimmed glasses and long hair. The Carlsons – Jack, Jeff and Steve – provided a physical presence and won their share of fights while using conventional and sometimes unconventional means, but these guys also could play.
Steve Carlson eventually reached the NHL and later coached the ECHL Johnstown Chiefs for five seasons. During the Jets championship run, Carlson had 30 regular-season goals and a team-high 84 points. He added six goals and 10 points in the postseason.
The “Slap Shot” Hanson Brothers in Nancy Dowd’s script are based on the Carlsons.
Johnstown Jets 1974-75 championship team photo with names-trophy-results
The Johnstown Jets won the 1974-75 professional North American Hockey League Lockhart Cup championship 50 years ago. An iconic team photo that includes player names, postseason series results and the Lockhart Cup trophy has been popular among local hockey fans for decades.
Johnstown to CharlestownDuring the filming of the Paul Newman movie in 1976, Jack Carlson was on recall to the Minnesota Fighting Saints.
Dave Hanson, who actually inspired the role of Dave “Killer” Carlson in the movie, assumed a Hanson Brothers role.
Actor Jerry Houser took on the part of “Killer” Carlson on the fictional Charlestown Chiefs.
Filming at the War Memorial and sites throughout the region lasted from March 22 to June 9, 1976. “Slap Shot” was released in February 1977.
After their playing and coaching careers concluded, the Hansons began touring arenas, raising funds for charities and even appeared in beer commercials as well as two “Slap Shot” sequels.
In 1993, the Hansons made an impromptu appearance when Steve Carlson coached the Memphis RiverKings in the Central Hockey League. Fans lined up for hours and loved seeing the Hansons.
Eventually, their role reprisals took the Hanson Brothers throughout the country and across the world, until only a few years ago. They still separately reprise their roles and Steve Carlson operates Putting on the Foil LLC.
“Who would have ever thought?” said Dave Hanson, 71. “To this day, it amazes me. Jeff, Steve and I don’t hit the road together anymore, but (April 8) I was at the Penguins game and I was asked to make a couple suite appearances for UPMC organ donors. I’m thinking, ‘These people won’t know who the hell I am.’
“They had me put on a Penguins alumni jersey with No. 16 and my name on the back. I introduce myself. I’ve got people going, ‘Oh, my God, it’s one of the Hanson Brothers.’ I’m thinking, ‘Holy, crap.’ It just goes on. It’s amazing, and it’s still a blast.”
Johnstown Jets Carlson Brothers line
The Carlson Brothers, from left, Jeff, Steve and Jack, skate at Cambria County War Memorial Arena during the 1974-75 professional North American Hockey League season. The Minnesota siblings inspired the Hanson Brothers in the motion picture "Slap Shot." They also helped the Jets win the Lockhart Cup championship 50 years ago.
‘Something special’The real-life Jets had a bond both on the ice and away from the arena. Their success playing aggressive, old-time hockey translated into a movie script written by Nancy Dowd. Her brother Ned Dowd, a Jets forward, provided the basis for the Ned Braden character played by actor Michael Ontkean in the movie.
“There was something special about that team,” Steve Carlson said in a Tribune-Democrat interview during the title-winning Jets’ silver anniversary year. “We had a lot of talent. We hung out together as a team. We’d go to Brownies for lunch. We’d go to the Professor’s Inn and the Hendler Lounge, the Golden Key, the Forest Park Club. All the team members and their wives and girlfriends would show up. We enjoyed each other a lot. It was a special team.”
The veterans provided leadership and helped the rookies adapt to life in the tough NAHL. The grind included long bus rides to often hostile venues in places such as Binghamton, Long Island, Syracuse and Utica in New York; Lewiston, Maine; South Yarmouth, Massachusetts; and cross-state rival Philadelphia.
Galen Head Johnstown Jets captain
Johnstown Jets forward Galen Head captained the 1974-75 team to the professional North American Hockey League playoff championship. Head's retired No. 8 jersey banner hangs at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.
The captainFan favorite and respected team captain Galen Head provided one of the best feel-good stories. Then playing in his seventh season with the Jets and eighth overall (including one NHL game with the Detroit Red Wings), Head joined fellow veteran players such as Jim Adair, Reg Bechtold, Vern Campigotto, Mike Chernoff and Johnny Gofton.
“I haven’t slept for two days, thinking about this,” Head said in a Tribune-Democrat interview after the Jets beat Binghamton to win the Lockhart Cup. “I kind of felt tight at first. I felt we had to score a couple of quick goals, but they (goals) came late in the first period.”
Head scored on a pair of backhanders past Binghamton goaltender Rick Lemay 30 seconds apart in a 6-2 win in Game 4.
Years later, Head, who died in 2020, said, “It was unbelievable. I played before some very good crowds in Johnstown. But people were hanging off the rafters watching us play that game.”
Younger players who had a few seasons of pro experience bridged the gap between the veterans and rookies. Those included Dowd, Bob Boyd, Francois Ouimet, Guido Tenesi, Jean Tetreault and Pat Westrum.
Goaltenders Ron Docken (22-16-1 regular season; 1-3 playoffs) and Louis “Louie” Levasseur (12-10-2 regular season; 10-1 playoffs) complemented each other in net.
Johnstown Jets goaltender Louis (Louie) Levasseur
Johnstown Jets goaltender Louis "Louie" Levasseur posted a 10-1 postseason record in net to help the Jets win the 1974-75 North American Hockey League Lockhart Cup 50 years ago.
Climbing the standingsThe journey to the final series against Binghamton took a few unlikely turns.
The Jets had a 10-18-3 record and were one spot out of last place in the NAHL standings through Jan. 18.
“Some of the key players on that team were young guys,” Dave Hanson said. “Jeff, Steve and myself were rookies there. It probably took us half a season to acclimate and get used to the league, and understand what it was all about.”
But what led to such a dramatic change of fortunes on the ice?
“Dick Roberge recognized that maybe this team needs a little bit of a break and let the young guys go home (during a break in the schedule),” Hanson said of the Jets coach, Roberge, who skated 17 seasons in Johnstown, scored 1,699 points and was part of three straight championships as a player (1960-62). “We all went home for a couple of days and then came back.
“I don’t know what the big turnaround was,” Hanson added. “But we just kind of started playing pretty good hockey.”
1975 JOHNSTOWN JETS CELEBRATION 1
Members of the 1974-75 Johnstown Jets celebrate their Lockhart Cup championship victory at Sunnehanna Country Club on May 1, 1975.
The Syracuse jinxMany considered the NAHL best-of-7 semifinal between the Jets and the Syracuse Blazers as the defacto championship round.
The two teams split 10 regular-season games, with the home team winning each time.
The trend continued in the playoffs, with Syracuse winning at Onondaga County War Memorial in games 1, 4 and 5. The Jets won at the War Memorial in games 2, 3 and 6.
That set up a decisive Game 7 in Syracuse, where the Blazers were 32-5 at home.
Johnstown hadn’t won a game in Syracuse since 1971.
“We were going into that seventh game thinking, ‘Let’s play, let’s not get embarrassed,’ “ Steve Carlson said. “Going into the third period, we’re going out there saying, ‘Hey, we can win this game.’ ”
Carlson did his part, scoring twice in Game 7. The then-19-year-old snapped a 15-foot wrist shot at 16:51 of the final period as the Jets beat the Blazers 5-4 and snapped a 41-game winless streak at Syracuse.
Johnstown Jets Victory Celebration
Johnstown Jets players celebrate winning the professional North American Hockey League playoff championship on May 1, 1975. From left, Mike Chernoff, Dave "Killer" Hanson and Jerry Welsh share a moment after the Jets' 6-2 victory completed a four-game sweep of the Binghamton Broome Dusters at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
Waiting gameThe Jets hadn’t won a championship playoff series since 1962, when a team led by legendary Don Hall and Roberge captured a third straight Johnstown title.
The players and their fans had to wait a bit longer as neither Binghamton nor Johnstown had ice available.
The War Memorial hosted a previously scheduled home show for four days and an arts festival for three days. Binghamton’s arena was already booked with a circus.
So the championship series was delayed 10 days. The Jets practiced at Alpine Arena in Wilkinsburg near Pittsburgh, and the Broome Dusters worked out in Elmira, New York.
Johnstown won 5-1 in the opener, took Game 2 by a 7-4 score as 4,700 fans watched in Broome County, and then won 2-1 in Binghamton behind Levasseur’s 36 saves in Game 3.
No one was going to beat the Jets in that fourth game. At 10:42 p.m., May 1, 1975, the final seconds ticked off and ended a 13-year championship drought in Johnstown.
“We just all came together and it just started rolling. Once we got on a roll, it didn’t slow down,” Dave Hanson said of both the title-clincher and the season. “It just kept speeding up.”
Johnstown Jets defenseman Dave Hanson surrounded by fans on ice
Johnstown Jets defenseman Dave Hanson mingles with hockey fans and media on the Cambria County War Memorial Arena ice on May 1, 1975. The Jets had just won the North American Hockey League championship, the city's first professional crown since 1962.
CelebrationThe War Memorial public address announcer asked fans to remain off the ice.
The plea was ignored.
“That was amazing,” Dave Hanson said of fans joining the players on the ice after the win. “The movie captures that, where it was incredible first-off that the War Memorial was just packed with people. You had the low glass then and even some of the doors didn’t even have glass. The fans came spilling out, just mobbing you. It was incredible. It was a blast.”
Chuck Mamula spent 22 years as a Tribune-Democrat photographer. He was on the ice and captured numerous memorable shots of the emotional interactions.
“It was crazy. The Jets drew big crowds,” Mamula said. “I never was part of a professional title like the Steelers winning a Super Bowl. I was never on the field for anything like that.”
Johnstown Jets Championship Parade | Galen Head with trophy
Galen Head of the Johnstown Jets holds the North American Hockey League Championship Trophy during a parade of downtown Johnstown, PA, on May 2, 1975. Photo by The Tribune-Democrat
‘Nobody expected a parade’The Jets’ “Big Daddy” Mitchell coaxed his coach and players into one more winning moment the day after the title win.
On short notice, he and city officials organized a parade through downtown Johnstown.
High school bands from Greater Johnstown, Richland and Greater Johnstown Vo-Tech performed as Jets players sat in convertibles. Perhaps best symbolizing the moment, a Tribune-Democrat photo featured Head on the back of a car, hoisting the Lockhart Cup with both hands while wearing sunglasses and a plaid leisure suit reminiscent of the 1970s.
“The parade was quite frankly shocking,” goaltender Docken said during a 25th anniversary interview. “We just won the championship. Fine, that’s great. To show up the next day, and they have this parade.
“You see the people turn out like they did, it was absolutely unbelievable.
“It was like a New York type of thing. It was overwhelming. It was wonderful.”
Johnstown Jets defenseman Guido Tenesi with Lockhart Cup Trophy
Johnstown Jets defenseman Guido Tenesi stands next to the Lockhart Cup trophy during a postgame celebration at Sunnehanna Country Club on May 1, 1975. The Jets won the professional North American Hockey League playoff title earlier that night.
Mitchell’s ability to persuade his players to assemble the morning after a postgame gathering held at Sunnehanna Country Club still impresses Hanson.
“Nobody expected a parade,” Hanson said. “Suddenly, the next thing I know, I remember ‘Mitch’ is trying to track everybody down. We’re all hung over and ‘Mitch’ is tracking everybody down to get us to show up downtown for a parade, which was a big impromptu gig.
“Of course, when ‘Mitch’ talked, everybody jumped. We respected him so well, but we also feared the little ******.”
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
Continue reading...
