Dick Roberge (born April 7, 1934) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

retired professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward and coach. He holds the record for most minor-league goals scored with 752. He is thought to be the inspiration behind Paul Newman's character, Reggie Dunlop, in the movie

Slap Shot ''Slap Shot'' is a 1977 American sports comedy film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd, and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league ice hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity ...

and appears in the film in an uncredited role as a referee.

Playing career

Roberge spent the majority of his career with the

Johnstown Jets The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Hockey League, Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War M ...

, joining the team at the start of the 1954-55 IHL season. He stayed with the Jets until the completion of the 1955-56 season where he led the league in goals scored (64) and points (118) before spending a season with the

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

of the Western Hockey League. After playing three games with the Royals, Roberge returned to the Jets for the 1957-58 season. Roberge would lead the Jets with 37 goals but finished second in EHL scoring that season, finishing only one point behind linemate Don Hall and nine points behind Ken Coombes. With the exception of a one-game call-up with the

Pittsburgh Hornets The Pittsburgh Hornets were a minor-league professional men's ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contrary to popular belief, the Pittsburgh Hornets did not evolve from the International Hockey League's Pittsburgh Shamrocks. The ...

during the 1962-63 season, Roberge remained with the Jets until his retirement after the 1971-72 EHL season. Roberge finished his career with 1,232 minor league games played, which is currently the 9th highest all-time total Despite being born in Canada, Roberge spent a season on the U.S. National Team in 1965-66 Roberge's #11 was retired by the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now ECHL) when th ...

during the 1990-91 season.

Coaching career

Roberge spent several years with the Jets as a player-coach, but eventually asked to relinquish his responsibilities as coach so he could focus on playing hockey. On July 22, 1971, GM John Mitchell granted a release to Roberge from coaching the Jets He eventually returned to the team as a full-time coach during the 1974-75 season where he led the team to the Lockhart Cup as winners of the

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American profession ...

playoffs. Roberge later returned to Johnstown to coach the Johnstown Wings but was not nearly as successful, finishing 25-42-3.

Awards and accomplishments

Eastern Hockey League

*Most goals scored, single season: 1955-56 (64); 1960–61 (56) *Most points scored, single season: 1955-56 (118); 1960–61 (116); 1964-65 (139); *Winner, Boardwalk Trophy: 1959-60; 1960–61; 1961–62

North American Hockey League

*Winner, Lockhart Cup (1974–75, as coach)

Acting career

Roberge had a brief cameo in the movie

, which was filmed in Johnstown. He appears in the film as referee Ecker, who throws the Hanson Brothers out of a game.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberge, Dick 1934 births Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey right wingers Johnstown Jets players Living people New Westminster Royals (WHL) players North American Hockey League (1973–1977) coaches Pittsburgh Hornets players Ice hockey people from Saskatoon Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 20th-century Canadian sportsmen