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Johnstown Tomahawks
Johnstown Tomahawks
City	Johnstown, Pennsylvania
League	North American Hockey League
Division	East
Founded	1990
Home arena	1st Summit Bank Arena
Colors	Navy, red, and white;
Owner(s)	Tomahawks Hockey Partners LLC.; (John Koufis - majority owner)
Head coach	Mike Letizia (2014–present)
Media	The Tribune-Democrat, HockeyTV
Franchise history
1990–1991	Dearborn Magic
1991–1994	Michigan Nationals
1994–1996	Dearborn Heights Nationals
1996–2001	St. Louis Sting
2001–2005	Springfield Spirit
2005–2006	Wasilla Spirit
2006–2012	Alaska Avalanche
2012–present	Johnstown Tomahawks

The Johnstown Tomahawks are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's East Division. The team plays its home games at the 1st Summit Bank Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest extant franchise in the NAHL.

History

The franchise was originally called the Dearborn Magic, Michigan Nationals, and the Dearborn Heights Nationals when the team played in Dearborn, Michigan.^[2] before moving and becoming St. Louis Sting in 1996. In 2001, the Sting moved to Springfield, Missouri, as the Springfield Spirit. In 2005, they moved to Wasilla, Alaska, as the Wasilla Spirit, only to re-brand themselves as the Alaska Avalanche the next season. The Avalanche played out of the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla until the end of the 2009–10 season. The Avalanche moved to Palmer, Alaska, beginning in the 2010–11 season and played at the Palmer Ice Arena.^[3]^[4]

The team relocated to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 2012, taking the place of the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs, who moved to Greenville, South Carolina, in 2011. They became known as the Johnstown Tomahawks ^[5]^[6]

The Tomahawks played their first game on September 8, 2012, against the Port Huron Fighting Falcons and lost 4–3 in overtime. They won their first game in a 6–5 shootout on September 13, 2012, over the Kenai River Brown Bears. Their first home game at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena was played on September 29, 2012, losing 3–2 in a shootout to the Michigan Warriors.

The 2018–19 season was the most successful for the Tomahawks so far, as they were regular season champions of the North American Hockey League, along with East Division regular season and playoff champions. The Tomahawks advanced to the Robertson Cup Semifinals, where they lost to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs two games to one. The 2018–19 team set franchise records for wins, points, and points scored.

Season-by-season records

Note: as of conclusion of 2022–23 season^[7]^[8]

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
St. Louis Sting
1996–97	46	8	38	0	16	123	248	—	8th, NAHL
1997–98	56	23	32	1	47	188	237	1,718	7th, NAHL
1998–99	56	34	16	6	74	211	180	1,611	3rd, NAHL
1999–00	56	18	35	3	39	164	230	1,605	5th, NAHL
2000–01	56	15	36	5	35	170	263	2,034	5th, NAHL
Springfield Spirit
2001–02	56	23	29	4	50	182	222	1,533	3rd, West
2002–03	56	15	36	5	35	129	240	1,689	5th, West
2003–04	56	13	39	4	30	153	259	1,803	7th, South
2004–05	56	20	29	7	47	144	188	1,027	6th, South	Did not qualify
Wasilla Spirit
2005–06	56	23	33	2	48	133	187	1,307	4th, West	Lost 1st Round, 2–3 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs
Alaska Avalanche
2006–07	62	16	39	7	39	148	242	1,699	6th, South	Did not qualify
2007–08	58	16	38	4	36	158	270	1,251	5th, South	Did not qualify
2008–09	58	23	30	5	51	172	224	1,505	3rd, West	Lost 1st Round, 1–3 vs. Wenatchee Wild
2009–10	58	32	19	7	71	198	178	1,393	2nd, West	Lost 1st Round, 0–3 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs
2010–11	58	32	22	4	68	193	173	1,479	3rd, West	Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. Wenatchee Wild
2011–12	60	35	19	6	76	192	173	1,161	3rd, West	Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 vs. Wenatchee Wild
Johnstown Tomahawks
2012–13	60	27	21	12	66	179	171	1343	5th, North	Lost Play-In Series, 1–2 vs. Port Huron Fighting Falcons
2013–14	60	28	27	5	61	167	181	1130	4th, North	Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. Port Huron Fighting Falcons
2014–15	60	25	27	8	58	166	191	1167	5th, North	Did not qualify
2015–16	60	31	24	5	67	197	200	1502	3rd of 4, East 12th of 22, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 3–0 vs. New Jersey Titans Lost Div. Finals, 0–3 vs. Aston Rebels
2016–17	60	40	16	4	84	209	148	1502	2nd of 5, East 4th of 24, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–3 vs. New Jersey Titans
2017–18	60	23	33	4	50	142	195	1136	5th of 5, East 20th of 23, NAHL	Did not qualify
2018–19	60	47	9	4	98	245	150	1029	1st of 6, East 1st of 24, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 3–2 vs. Northeast Generals Won Div. Finals, 3–2 vs. New Jersey Titans Lost Robertson Cup Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs
2019–20	51	34	13	4	72	185	140	755	2nd of 7, East 6th of 26, NAHL	Season cancelled
2020–21	54	39	10	5	83	220	144	876	1st of 6, East 2nd of 23, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 vs. Maryland Black Bears
2021–22	60	34	20	6	74	225	148	797	2nd of 6, East 9th of 29, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 vs. Jamestown Rebels
2022–23	60	29	26	5	63	189	211	1312	5th of 7, East 21st of 29, NAHL	Did not qualify
2023-24	60	36	21	3	75	208	178	792	4th of 9th Eastern Division, 11th of 32 NAHL	Lost Div. Play-In, 0-2 vs. New Jersey Titans