JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- The North American Hockey League has approved selling a junior league team in Mat-Su to an ownership group that plans to move the team to western Pennsylvania this fall.

Rick Boyd, a former player for the ECHL's defunct minor-league Johnstown Chiefs, is heading the Johnstown Sports Partnership that plans to move the Alaska Avalanche.

The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reported the deal Wednesday and says the team will play at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena.

The city about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh has been without a team since the Chiefs moved to Greenville, S.C. two years ago.

The city has a long hockey history and was once home to the Johnstown Jets, the minor league team that inspired the fictional Charlestown Chiefs in the cult movie hit "Slap Shot."