History
A year after Johnstown's 1977 flood, former Jets Executive Director/GM John Mitchell founded the Johnstown Wings of the Northeastern Hockey League. Mitchell used his connections with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings for the 1978-79 NEHL season.
Mitchell worked with Lincoln Cavalieri, who was president of Olympia Stadium Corporation. At the time, Olympia Stadium Corporation owned the Detroit team, and Mitchell was able to secure an affiliation with the Red Wings. Johnstown worked closely with Detroit General Manager Ted Lindsay and Assistant GM Jim Skinner to develop players. Mitchell eventually ran into financial difficulties. With the assistance of local businesses and a local television station that ran a "Keep Hockey Alive" promotion, enough donations were raised to help fund the Wings' expenses for the season.
The following season, a group of 10 prominent local business people took over the team, now the Johnstown Red Wings in a new version of the Eastern Hockey League. The 1979-80 team had difficulties on the ice and also lost money, but negotiations with the War Memorial for a new lease were underway when the EHL folded. The Red Wings hired a new coach for the 1979-80 EHL season. Marty Read, the new coach of the Red Wings, had previously played his college hockey at University of Michigan. The Red Wings played for one season, disbanding after a 24-45-1 season. . Following the 1979-80 season, the team ceased operations.
Johnstown would go without hockey until January 1988, when the Johnstown Chiefs were brought back as part of the AAHL's inaugural 1987-88 season.
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