The new ownership group of the Tomahawks has placed high importance on honoring the heritage of the decades-long history of hockey in Johnstown. “Hockey has been here for 70-plus years now. We are simply borrowing it and trying to write our own piece of that history”, local minority owner Craig Saylor said. “The history of hockey in our town is strong and it is important for us to honor that.” A major piece of Johnstown’s hockey history is the start of a legendary career for longtime NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas. The 28-time Emmy Award winner Costas will visit Johnstown on Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3rd as the Tomahawks take on the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks. Costas called the Tomahawks office himself to set up the details of his visit. Tomahawks Director of Ticketing, Brandon Shaffer says, “Bob called like any regular Tomahawks fan would. He said he wanted to come to our game, tour the arena, and show his son where he got his start.” Trying not to show the star-struck side, Shaffer added, “It was a cool phone call to get.”
The Tomahawks will also honor former Johnstown Jets star Jimmy Mair on Friday, January 26th with a pregame ceremony on the ice. Mair will be in town for the first time since his retirement from law enforcement and is looking forward to meeting fans. Members of Mair’s friends and family have been working with the Tomahawks staff to plan the on-ice ceremony and in-game meet and greet. Tomahawks director of business operations, Derek Partsch, says the event has been great to plan. “Jimmy’s friends have gone above and beyond to help us set this up. They’ve given us everything we need and we hope to honor him [Mair] properly.” Fans will be welcome to meet and visit Jimmy Mair throughout the Tomahawks game on Friday, January 26th at 7:30 pm. To continue the theme of honoring the past, the Tomahawks will don special Johnstown Red Wings jerseys on Saturday, February 3rd. The Tomahawks wish to invite any former Red Wings players to the game to be honored. Red Wings players able to attend the game are encouraged to email Tomahawks director of community relations, Melissa Kauffman, at melissa@johnstowntomahawks.com.
The special Red Wings-themed jerseys worn by the Tomahawks on 2/3 will be auctioned off online following the game. Purchase your Hockey Heritage ticket package today at https://fevoenterprise.com/event/thawkheritage or individual game tickets at johnstowntomahawks.com.