Imagine going to a professional ice hockey game in the heart of Staten Island. It almost became possible in the mid-1980s when the Atlantic Coast Hockey League — in which Vince McMahon of wrestling fame once owned a club, the Cape Cod Buccaneers — formed a team called the New York Slapshots.
Named after the famous film, the Slapshots were based in the Windsor Terrace offices by the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Their home rink was going to be the 3,500-seat Phil Esposito Sports and Entertainment Center in Travis.
Adding to the excitement, former Philadelphia Flyers left wing Dave "The Hammer" Schultz was named coach. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with Philadelphia, Schultz was the elite enforcer on the ferocious Flyers teams nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies."
There was just one problem: The arena was never built. It turned out to be a scam, and the money vanished.