Jets coach (Claude) Noel fond of North Tonawanda hockey memories, article (Niagara Gazette, 2012-01-18).jpg
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Title
Jets coach (Claude) Noel fond of North Tonawanda hockey memories, article (Niagara Gazette, 2012-01-18).jpg
Description
Photo: Liam Richards. Article: Bill Hoppe.
Looking for a local connection to the NHL? In 1975-76, Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel started his professional hockey career playing forward for the Buffalo Norsemen, the wild North American Hockey League team that enjoyed a one-year run at Sportsplex.
A 20-year-old Noel didn’t even have his driver’s license yet. He walked to and from the rink, then known as the Tonawanda Sports Center, on Ridge Road in North Tonawanda.
The NAHL was so brutal the Norsemen forfeited a deciding playoff game in Johnstown, Pa., following a brawl during warm-ups. The hockey film “Slap Shot” based a scene on that melee.
Still, 36 years later, Noel couldn’t stop smiling while recalling his rookie season on Jan. 7 inside the First Niagara Center prior to the Jets’ 2-1 overtime win against the Sabres.
“I really enjoyed my memories here because I was young and I was single and I had a one-bedroom apartment. It was great,” said a nostalgic Noel, whose Jets host the Sabres tonight. “I was starting my pro career. I was making $250 a week. What more can you ask?”
The Norsemen featured some familiar names, including early Sabre Steve Atkinson, former NHL goalie Les Binkley and player-coach Guy Trottier, a star with the American Hockey League’s Buffalo Bisons.
The league even had players from “Slap Shot,” including the legendary Hanson Brothers – Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson and Dave Hanson.
“This was in ’75. They had black-rimmed glasses and they had, I think, the white tape on it. I’m not sure about the knuckles because I was allergic to wood. I would go nowhere near the corners,” Noel cracked. “I never really dealt with them too much. They were tough boys. They’re friends of mine now. But they were tough boys. I remember.
“Whew. You had a fear when you play in the mid-70s under those conditions. I learned that lesson pretty good. It was some pretty wild moments. In Buffalo there’s so many stories. Great stuff.”
Noel recalled a 12-hour bus trip to play Beauce Jaros outside Quebec City.
“Just before that a player in the league got suspended for a game for biting off the bottom of a guy’s ear, and I thought, ‘What kind of league are we in here?’” Noel said. “The game started at 9 so the merchants could go to the game, and it was just crazy. And we got veteran players, and we got down to two lines quickly. The veterans were like, ‘Oh, my back.’ What’s going on here? It’s pro hockey.”
Noel called the year an “eye-opener,” especially the Johnstown incident.
“I remember the ride back on the bus I thought, ‘This is going to be a heck of a career if we got to play in this league for five or six years,’” Noel said. “I think it scared me to death enough to work out in the summer and hope I get an opportunity.”
Noel signed with the Sabres in 1976, although he never played for them. He spent four productive years with the Hershey Bears, their AHL affiliate, however.
“So it scared the bejesus out of me,” Noel said about his NAHL season. “It helped my career actually because I ended up signing a contract and ended up playing in the American League for five years.”
He eventually earned seven NHL games with the Washington Capitals in 1979-80.
By the way, Noel began driving at the end of his Norsemen campaign.
“I borrowed my friend’s car,” he said, “and drove across the border to Niagara Falls and got my license.”
Looking for a local connection to the NHL? In 1975-76, Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel started his professional hockey career playing forward for the Buffalo Norsemen, the wild North American Hockey League team that enjoyed a one-year run at Sportsplex.
A 20-year-old Noel didn’t even have his driver’s license yet. He walked to and from the rink, then known as the Tonawanda Sports Center, on Ridge Road in North Tonawanda.
The NAHL was so brutal the Norsemen forfeited a deciding playoff game in Johnstown, Pa., following a brawl during warm-ups. The hockey film “Slap Shot” based a scene on that melee.
Still, 36 years later, Noel couldn’t stop smiling while recalling his rookie season on Jan. 7 inside the First Niagara Center prior to the Jets’ 2-1 overtime win against the Sabres.
“I really enjoyed my memories here because I was young and I was single and I had a one-bedroom apartment. It was great,” said a nostalgic Noel, whose Jets host the Sabres tonight. “I was starting my pro career. I was making $250 a week. What more can you ask?”
The Norsemen featured some familiar names, including early Sabre Steve Atkinson, former NHL goalie Les Binkley and player-coach Guy Trottier, a star with the American Hockey League’s Buffalo Bisons.
The league even had players from “Slap Shot,” including the legendary Hanson Brothers – Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson and Dave Hanson.
“This was in ’75. They had black-rimmed glasses and they had, I think, the white tape on it. I’m not sure about the knuckles because I was allergic to wood. I would go nowhere near the corners,” Noel cracked. “I never really dealt with them too much. They were tough boys. They’re friends of mine now. But they were tough boys. I remember.
“Whew. You had a fear when you play in the mid-70s under those conditions. I learned that lesson pretty good. It was some pretty wild moments. In Buffalo there’s so many stories. Great stuff.”
Noel recalled a 12-hour bus trip to play Beauce Jaros outside Quebec City.
“Just before that a player in the league got suspended for a game for biting off the bottom of a guy’s ear, and I thought, ‘What kind of league are we in here?’” Noel said. “The game started at 9 so the merchants could go to the game, and it was just crazy. And we got veteran players, and we got down to two lines quickly. The veterans were like, ‘Oh, my back.’ What’s going on here? It’s pro hockey.”
Noel called the year an “eye-opener,” especially the Johnstown incident.
“I remember the ride back on the bus I thought, ‘This is going to be a heck of a career if we got to play in this league for five or six years,’” Noel said. “I think it scared me to death enough to work out in the summer and hope I get an opportunity.”
Noel signed with the Sabres in 1976, although he never played for them. He spent four productive years with the Hershey Bears, their AHL affiliate, however.
“So it scared the bejesus out of me,” Noel said about his NAHL season. “It helped my career actually because I ended up signing a contract and ended up playing in the American League for five years.”
He eventually earned seven NHL games with the Washington Capitals in 1979-80.
By the way, Noel began driving at the end of his Norsemen campaign.
“I borrowed my friend’s car,” he said, “and drove across the border to Niagara Falls and got my license.”
Date
2012-01-18
Collection
Citation
“Jets coach (Claude) Noel fond of North Tonawanda hockey memories, article (Niagara Gazette, 2012-01-18).jpg,” North Tonawanda History, accessed August 13, 2025, https://www.nthistory.com/items/show/4329.