JOHNSTOWN —
Grabbing a taco and a beer at Scott’s By Dam or filling a bag full of sweets at The Candy Store have long been pregame traditions for many local hockey fans.
However, the Johnstown Chiefs left in 2010 after calling the city home for more than two decades. Since then, only a few ECHL minor league contests, youth tournaments and high school games have been held at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
But now hockey is back full time.
The Johnstown Tomahawks, a Tier II Junior A team from the North American Hockey League, will play their inaugural home game tonight.
The contest against the Michigan Warriors will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Beforehand, fans will have a chance to relive some of their favorite rituals, like stopping in Scott’s or the candy shop, two well-known downtown businesses located on Market Street near the arena.
Scott McLachlan, owner of Scott’s By Dam, expects to have a full bar for hours before the puck drops.
“(Hockey fans) know to get here early; boom,” said McLachlan. “I don’t take reservations. I don’t care if it’s the president. I’m not going to take the reservation.”
Bill Felix, The Candy Store proprietor, has anticipated the return of hockey ever since Johnstown landed an NAHL team in the spring.
“When they announced it, I was so happy that people had to tell me to shut the hell up about it,” said Felix, whose business has been located on Market Street for a quarter-century. “They wanted to go home and see their wives and kids and I kept talking.”
Downtown restaurants, bars and hotels are expected to receive an economic boost from the Tomahawks’ home games.
“I think it’s just a great opportunity for the city of Johnstown,” said city Councilman Pete Vizza. “Certainly I would expect a positive impact for the businesses. ... Even moreso than the economic impact, I think it will be a morale booster for the city of Johnstown and its sports supporters. Johnstown is a hockey town. I don’t see any downside to this.”
The team has already made a noticeable local financial impact with its extensive advertising and marketing campaign that is expected to spend $100,000 by the end of the season. The Tomahawks employ six full-time employees. Other part-timers will be used on game days.
“That alone is a huge contribution from the ownership group to the local community,” said Tomahawks General Manager Rick Boyd.
Tomahawks
Related Photos
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Members of the Johnstown Tomahawks stretch before a practice session this week at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The Tomahawks play their home opener at 7:30 tonight against the Michigan Warriors. Todd Berkey
Discussion
Impact play: Businesses hope to benefit from Tomahawks
- Tomahawks
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MAKING AN IMPACT | Tomahawks’ first season helps business, community
The Johnstown Tomahawks filled a void for the city’s hockey-starved fans while also pumping a boost into the region’s economy during their inaugural North American Hockey League season.
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Despite playoff loss, first Tomahawks season successful
The Johnstown Towmahawks’ inaugural season opened with an overtime loss at Port Huron and ended with a gutwrenching overtime setback to the Fighting Falcons Sunday at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
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IT'S A WRAP | Miller’s overtime goal ends Tomahawks’ inaugural season
The result of Sunday’s NAHL Robertson Cup Playoff game wasn’t the one that the Johnstown Tomahawks wanted. Port Huron’s Ian Miller made sure of that just 3:28 into overtime.
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MIKE KOVAK | Another stinging playoff setback
Before the puck dropped Sunday afternoon, the Olympia ice resurfacer crashed into the boards and a linesman lost his balance on his way to the ice at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
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Tomahawks confident as Game 3 approaches
The Johnstown Tomahawks played winning hockey on the road throughout the 2012-13 NAHL season, but that fact did little to quell the team’s collective apprehension as it headed into Game 2 of the North Division play-in series Friday night at Port Huron.
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Tomahawks force deciding Game 3
The Johnstown Tomahawks will get at least one more game.
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Tomahawks shut out in playoff opener
A trio of third-period goals proved too much for the Johnstown Tomahawks to match as the Port Huron Fighting Falcons took Game 1 of the NAHL’s Robertson Cup North Division Play-in series by a 3-0 tally Thursday at McMorran Arena.
The Fighting Falcons, the North Division’s fourth seed, used goals from Ryan Nick, Mitch Maloney and Rick DeRosa to grab a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series. -
Tomahawks planning on short series
No offense hockey fans, but the Johnstown Tomahawks aren’t planning to play a home game in front of a potentially sold-out, sure-to-be-raucous crowd Sunday afternoon at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
The goal for these Tomahawks, who qualified for the NAHL playoffs in their inaugural season in the Flood City, is to win two games at Port Huron (Mich.) starting tonight and advance in the best-of-3 North Division play-in series. -
Johnstown to open playoffs at Port Huron
If the Johnstown Tomahawks are looking to bring postseason hockey back to Cambria County War Memorial, they’ll have to at the very least forge a split of the first two games of their best-of-3 play-in series against fourth-place Port Huron.
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Loss drops Johnstown to fifth seed in playoffs
The Johnstown Tomahawks fell 2-1 to the Jamestown Ironmen and finished in the No. 5 spot in the NAHL’s North Division on Saturday.
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