Published: February 11, 2009 11:40 pm      

Lucky seven

Chiefs set to retire Kent's number

Reg Kent centered not one, but two of the most prolific scoring lines in Johnstown professional hockey history.

That fact alone probably merits the accolades Kent will receive Sunday when his No. 7 Johnstown Jets jersey is retired and raised to the Cambria County War Memorial Arena rafters, where it will join Don Hall’s No. 9, Dick Roberge’s No. 11 and Galen Head’s No. 8.

But all of those points only represented part of the reason for Kent’s success in Johnstown, where he still resides with his wife, Barb, a city native.

“I’m not saying he was Wayne Gretzky, but he sure had the mind of a Wayne Gretzky,” said Gene Peacosh, a natural center who played left wing on a line with Kent and right wing Galen Head in 1968-69. “He could see the ice surface. He could see everywhere. That’s what made him such a great setup man.

“Most guys could only see where they were skating. Reggie could see guys coming into position. If a guy was in the open, he hit him,” said Peacosh, 60, during a telephone interview from British Columbia. “Galen had a great shot off the right wing, and he’d hit him, but I didn’t lack any passes.”

Indeed. Kent (42 goals-97 assists-139 points), Head (67-54-121) and Peacosh (44-43-87) combined for 153 goals and 347 points that ’68-69 season in the former Eastern Hockey League.

It might be difficult to imagine, but the 1967-68 line of Kent (38-106-144), Head (53-52-105) and Johnny Gofton (63-59-122) was even more productive, with three 100-point men and a combined 371 points.

“Reg was a dipsy-doodler and stickhandler,” said Gofton, 65, of Tillsonburg, Ontario. “He could deke and hang onto the puck. We went down the wings and got free. He’d give us the puck and, ‘Bang.’ That was about it.

“There was a lot of chemistry. Things clicked for us. I could skate pretty good. Galen could shoot pretty good. Reggie seemed to attract the guys, then, ‘Bang,’ away we’d go. It was just the way it worked out.”

Kent finished as the third-leading scorer on Johnstown’s all-time list with 818 points, including 274 goals, from 1965-74.

The Willingdon, Alberta, native played 601 games for the Jets. His 144 points set a single-season record in ’67-68.

“Playing in Johnstown was great,” said Kent, 64, who has been a Chiefs’ season-ticket holder since he and his wife returned to the city six years ago. “I was a young kid coming out of the Detroit (Red Wings) camp. (Former Jets GM) John Daley brought me into town. It was a great experience. I played with a lot of great guys and met a lot of nice people. Johnstown is a really nice place to play hockey. We need to keep hockey in Johnstown.”

Some well-known names from Johnstown hockey history will help celebrate during Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. game against the rival Wheeling Nailers.

Among those scheduled to participate in the “Hockey Heroes Ceremony” are: Hall and Head; Chiefs’ 20th anniversary team members Dmitri Tarabrin and Rick Boyd; Johnstown Jets/Red Wings defenseman Harry Shaw; Jets enforcer Dave Birch; Johnstown Wing Steve Emmett; Jets goaltender Denny Erickson; and former Chiefs President/ECHL Chairman James Edwards Sr.

“It’s quite an honor,” Kent said of No. 7 being retired. “There are going to be a whole lot of people there. It’s wonderful. I’m very honored. There are some pretty classy people’s numbers hanging from the rafters.”



Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.