The love of old time, northern Ontario hockey, turned the sheet of man-made, natural ice surface at Fred Salvador Stadium into the battleground for the first annual Hollinger Outdoor Classic, between the Blue Team and the Red Team last Friday afternoon.
The classic outdoor game featured a group of hockey lovers, who have been at it for 54 consecutive years. The first game was played in December, 1963.
“From the historic Mac to the historic Hollinger, and the nostalgia of outdoor rinks!” declared Wayne Bozzer from Timmins' YMCA and also the founder of the Timmins Sports Hall of Fame. "That is what this game is all about."
The players get together for a weekly game on Fridays at the historic McIntyre Arena.
This year the gang wanted to highlight the Sk8te Hollinger, man-made natural ice surface for hockey, along side of the hugely popular figure eight pleasure skating surface put together by Ken Pye, of the Tree Bandits and his hundreds of volunteers.
“It’s also a way of highlighting the importance of Fred Salvador Stadium to the City of Timmins,” said Bozzer. “This field means so much to the people of Timmins, and with the discussion about what to do with the grandstand, and the future of the field, we thought this would be a way of reminding Timmins of its importance.”
The final score, not that it matters, was allegedly 11-4 for the Red team. But the claim was disputed by the Blue Team who say they won by that seven goal margin and that Red team was spewing alternate facts.
But for this writing, declare the final score to be an 11-4 draw.
“Also to be fair,” said Bozzer, “We still haven’t received the results of some scoring that occurred at the furthest reaches of the outdoor rink, as those results were delayed by that nasty snow storm caused by an Alberta Clipper and those goals may not have been included in the scoring sheet.”
“So, the final score may not be indicative of the close nature of the game,” Bozzer said.
One of the Blue team reps said the Red Team may have had an unfair advantage.
“Red had two extra players, and one of them was an illegal alien, which could explain why the Red team was playing at a level that was out of this world,” the perplexed Blue team player said.
“All I know is the Blue team gave it our all. At least 120 per cent,” he added.
In the after game glow of the portable trailer, that served as the change room for both teams, the Blue team still could not verify which planet the alien originated from.
“I think it was Connaught or Shillington,” whispered a Blue player, surreptitiously. “ Maybe even Val Gagne!”
The post game bantering continued with lots of laughter and red cheeks and noses.
“This game really is about the spirit of Timmins, and loving winter sports,” said Wayne Bozzer, one of the organizers and promoters of the Hollinger Outdoor Classic.
“We usually play indoors at the Mac, but thought this would be a great way to promote the effort of Sk8te Hollinger, and the terrific job Ken Pye (Tree Bandit) and his volunteers have done building the figure eight pleasure rink, and now this hockey rink in Fred Salvador Stadium,” explained Bozzer.
Friday's outing was especially significant for the players, as one of the original Blue team member and organizer, Euro Narduzzi passed away at age 78, a week before the 2017 edition of the game. Narduzzi who was born in Schumacher, taught at Timmins High and Vocational until his retirement in 1994.
Narduzzi stopped playing about 15 years ago, but was always on hand to drop the puck between the two teams.
The colour of the Blue vs. Red uniforms represent that divide in Timmins, between those who cheer for the the Toronto Maple Leafs, and those who cheer for the Montreal Canadiens.
When the series began in 1963, the teams were composed of teachers or former teachers of Timmins High and Vocational School. Today, the teams still feature some teachers, but they also include members of the Timmins community at large.
And if the conspiracy theory, or alternate facts expressed by Blue Team can be believed - a couple of illegal aliens.
