Howie Hodge wrote:
The old NAHL would make some of you cry. The Buffalo Norsemen, The Beauce Jaros, Philidelphia Firebirds, Johnstown Jets, Mohawk Valley Stars, Cape Cod, and a couple other I don't remember.
Slapshot was based on this league. I saw a pre game brawl in Buffalo (old Tonawanda Twin Rinks) where Buffalo and Beauce brawled before the officials got on the ice; just like in slapshot, except this happened first. Beauce wanted to get at Buffalo's Greg Neeld, who had a glass eye, and wore a full face shield because of this. Well he was a chirpy fellow, and didn't wear his helmet in warm ups....
Also, having played up in Canada as a youth, it could get very nasty. You wouldn't know they were our "Neighbors To The North" based on the abuse we had heaped on us on the ice, and from the stands. The stuff in this thread DID happen in the seventies; I was there.
yeah, slapshot was based on many stories of ned dowd (who played ogie oglethorpe) who played with the jets. of course, the hanson brothers are real, however, one couldnt be used in the movie, because he was in the NHL at the time, so they brought in carlson. or the other way around. anyways:
"A scene in the film shows the Hanson brothers jumping the Peterboro Patriots during pre-game warm-ups. This scene is based on events in a mid-1970s North American Hockey League playoff series between the Johnstown Jets and the Buffalo Norsemen.[5] The Jets had a black player on their roster, and during a playoff game held in North Tonawanda, New York (a northern suburb of Buffalo where the Norsemen played their home games) a Norsemen fan held up a derogatory sign stating that blacks should be playing basketball. The next game in the series was held in Johnstown, and the Jets retaliated by attacking the Norsemen players during the warm-ups, with a huge brawl erupting. The Norsemen players and coaches then returned to the dressing room and refused to come out to start the game. The game was awarded to the Jets by forfeit, as was the playoff series since the "win" gave the Jets the needed number of victories to capture the series.[5] In an ironic twist of fate, in 1978 the NHL's Buffalo Sabres drafted a black player, Tony McKegney, who became the first black player to make a major impact in the NHL. McKegney played his Buffalo Sabres home games in front of many of the same fans who had attended Buffalo Norsemen games.
Another scene from the movie is also based on a real life event. In the film, Jeff Hanson scores a goal and is hit in the face by a set of keys thrown by a fan. The Hansons then go into the stands after the fan and Jeff Hanson punches out the wrong fan. After the game, the Hansons are arrested for the incident. In real life, a similar incident occurred in Utica, New York in a game between the Johnstown Jets and the Mohawk Valley Comets.[5] Jeff Carlson was hit in the face by a cup of ice thrown by a Utica fan and he went into the stands after the fan with his brothers Jack and Steve. All three were arrested and Dave Hanson gathered the money for bail for the Carlson brothers."