It's been almost 50 years since the Timmins Northstars started an 11-year run in the Northland Intermediate Hockey League.
Next weekend, players and fans of the now defunct team are taking a trip down memory lane.
Aug. 17 the former intermediate A hockey team is having a reunion at the McIntyre Arena.
It starts at 2 p.m. with a social for the players, followed by a supper.
At 7 p.m., the doors are open to everyone to stop by and reminisce. Admission for the open house is a voluntary donation to the Timmins Rock, who will be running a silent auction at the event.
It was a Timmins Rock throwback game earlier this year that spurred the reunion.
In January, the Rock wore the Northstar jerseys for a game at the Mac.
About 35 players are registered for the event so far.
“I’m hoping that whether you played one game or you played multiple seasons with the team that you come out because I think this has been far too long since a reunion was tried to be organized and I think the people will enjoy themselves. Come out and see the guys, there’s no reason not to. I think that it’s an opportunity to rekindle the friendships we had before,” said Rick Stefanich, who played for the team in the '70s.
Stefanich recalled Friday night games at home against Chapleau, or spending Sunday afternoons on the road playing hocky in Kapuskasing or Hearst.
"It was a lot of fun in those days, it was a lot of comaraderie amongst the boys from the ‘70s. We were all working people, everyone went to a job every day and then played hockey in the evenings or on weekends,” he said.
The Northstars roots trace back to 1973 when Joe Campbell and the late Bill Moffat led a group to approach the Mattagami League to gauge interest in forming an intermediate A league. The Northland Intermediate Hockey League was soon formed, with play beginning the next year.
Over the years, the team won eight league championships, six NOHA championships, and three All-Ontario championships.
In 1983, with former NHLer Bep Guidolin behind the bench, they won the Eastern Canada title, earning a ticket to the All-Canadian finals in Winnipeg.
The fans were a big part of the team's success.
And they're encouraged to show up to the reunion.
“I am looking forward to have people come through that door that were maybe eight, 10, 12 years old...when we were living legends in our own mind, and have them come now as an adult because it was so much fun,” said Stefanich.
“It was nothing to see 2,000 people in the McIntyre arena on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday to watch the Northstar game.”
For more information on the event, you can contact Stefanich at 705-235-5620, Brian Beyer at 705-235-5628, or Steve Kidd at 705-274-1173.