Dayton Gems ( original ) The Dayton Gems were a minor league ice hockey team based in Dayton , Ohio , and members of the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977 , and 1979 – 1980 . In the fall of 1964 the lobby of their new arena , Hara Arena , had a natural gas explosion . The damage was minor and the expansion team was assembled from various cast - offs and young players looking for their first break in minor league hockey . The International Hockey League was a single - A level bus league at the time consisting of six to ten midwestern teams , with intense rivalries between the Toledo and Columbus teams . In those days the players had off - season jobs such as insurance salesmen and construction workers to supplement their small incomes from playing hockey . The IHL was not considered to be a professional league at the time . Dayton was the host for several IHL all star games due to the large attendance in their 5 , 600 seat arena . The Gems played exhibition games against the US Olympic team as well as the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League . The team had a few games a season televised locally as well as all games broadcast on the premier AM radio station in town . Other teams in the league copied the uniform styling of the Gems . The Dayton Gems were the first adult team in North America to make helmet s mandatory , long before the NHL adopted them . Team history . Local businessman Lefty McFadden provided the financial base for the team and acquired the team franchise for the International Hockey League . The Gems , taken from the nickname for Dayton , Ohio , the Gem City , were affiliated with the Boston Bruins for several years . The Bruins provided some of the players and the trainer for the team . In the 1970s , the Gems became an affiliate for the Washington Capitals . After winning the Turner Cup two years in a row in 1968 – 69 and 1969 – 70 , General Manager Edgar " Lefty " McFadden was selected as the minor league executive of the year . He then moved to Washington to assist the Capitals . The Gems struggled on and off the ice for the next few years as attendance decreased from 5 , 000 to 1 , 000 a game . The 1970s downturn in the economy , especially the auto industry , reduced disposable income for the fans , along with the increase in hockey violence , hurt the attendance . The Gems recovered to win their final Turner Cup in 1976 . Their red , white and blue uniforms with the crest of a hockey player superimposed over a diamond , are on exhibit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto . The Gems went into dormancy after the 1976 – 77 season , and were resurrected for the 1979 – 80 season . The revived Gems lasted only one season before ceasing operations for good . Coaching strengths . McFadden took players such as Warren Back , Larry Wilson , Jim Anderson , and Tom McVie and turned them into league all stars . Don Westbrooke , the regular season league scoring champion in 1969 – 70 , was a converted defenseman obtained in a trade in 1967 . The Gems won three Turner Cups and lost in the finals twice during their fourteen year tenure . Gems players in the NHL . A few players were able to make the sizeable jump to National Hockey League ( NHL ) teams . Return of the Gems . In May 2009 the Dayton Daily News reported that a group of investors had contacted Hara Arena management about bringing an IHL team , to be named the Dayton Gems , to Hara for the 2009 - 2010 season .