I moved to North Bay from Brampton in February of 2009 and tried to immerse myself in the local sports scene as quickly as I could. That meant spending a lot of time at Memorial Gardens. Between Jr. A, OUA, OHL – there’s been plenty of big hockey games that have taken place at The Gardens over the last ten years that I have gotten to see personally, as well as other events like the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling.
It is a venue that underwent a renovation at the start of the decade and a venue that will hopefully host many more great sporting moments in the city’s history over the next ten years as well.
Here are the top ten sporting events at Memorial Gardens this past decade:
10. The unveiling of the renovations and opening night for the North Bay Battalion
It had already been over a decade since an OHL team from North Bay played a regular season Ontario Hockey League game at Memorial Gardens. But on October 11th 2013, the Battalion suited up for the first time in front of the home fans inside the newly renovated Memorial Gardens and played the Peterborough Petes. It was a 2-1 loss for North Bay but more than 4200 fans took in the game and took in the excitement of seeing what “$12-million” could buy you in a facility that was now up to OHL standards. Former North Bay Centennial Nick Kypreos was part of the pregame festivities and Chase Hatcher (son of Derian Hatcher who was a Captain of the Centennials) scored the first goal of the game, albeit for the Petes but still the name recognition was a nice tie in from the old team and the new team. It marked the beginning of a new era for Major Junior Hockey in North Bay and it was a night many will remember not just for the game but for the magnitude of what it meant to once again have OHL hockey in the Gateway City.
9. East-West
To single out just one would be unfair to the students and staff that put tremendous time and energy into planning and executing this event. This past years was no different and it would mark the end of an era as it would be the final East-West event to include Widdifield Secondary School. Meantime, St. Joseph Scollard Hall got national attention with their game show themed cheer this year and that showcased what this event is really all about; school and community spirit. Some of these high school players may never get the chance to play in front of a bigger or louder crowd and to lace up the skates and step onto the ice in that type of atmosphere is a dream scenario for any athlete.
8. Peca’s perfect shot pushes the Redmen aside.
After three straight trips to the playoffs in their first three seasons, the Nipissing Lakers had found the McGill Redmen to be their main nemesis, knocking them out of the OUA post-season twice in their first three years. But in a late-season game on February 2nd 2013, the Lakers battled and grinded their way through 60 minutes of hockey to get the 1-1 game into a shootout. The first seven shooters were stopped by McGills Hubert Morin, while the Lakers Dan Spence shutout eight straight Redmen. That’s when Dorian Peca came to centre ice and got the only goal of the shootout over the goal line for a thrilling 2-1 victory for the home side. It was the biggest regular season win in the four year history of the team to that point and it set them up for a first round playoff series against the defending CIS champions McGill. 11 days after the shootout win, Nipissing would repeat their success with a Game One win over McGill before taking the series in three against the Redmen in Montreal. The Lakers would be eliminated in the next round against UQTR, but on that cold night in February at Memorial Gardens, a shootout victory over McGill sent the Lakers and their fans through the roof when Peca ended their losing streak against the Mighty Redmen.
7. Miller to Moutrey to Kujawinski to end the game in double OT
It was the longest playoff game to that point for the Battalion in North Bay. Coming off their first season in which they went all the way to the OHL finals, the troops found themselves in familiar territory the very next year when their Central Division rivals the Barrie Colts would line up as their opponents in the Eastern Conference Semi-final series for a second straight year. Barrie took the opening game, but North Bay got the next two right back. On to Game Four on April 16th 2015. North Bay took a 2-0 lead into the third period and were leading 3-1 after the first five minutes. But the Colts got two back off the stick of Roy Radke to tie the game at 13:50. For the next half hour of on ice play, nobody could beat Jake Smith in net for the Battalion nor Mackenzie Blackwood of the Colts. But just before the four minute mark of the second overtime period Troops defenceman Brenden Miller carried the puck out of the defensive zone down the left wing side and found one of the two major trade deadline acquisitions in Nick Moutrey, behind the Colts blue line. Miller gave the puck to Moutrey, who spotted the other major trade deadline acquisition Ryan Kujawinski streaking in on the right side of the zone. Moutrey, fed the puck to Kujawinski and on the 49th shot of the game, the Iroquois Falls native sent the Gardens into a frenzy when he beat Blackwood to end the game and take a 3-1 series lead over the Colts. North Bay would finish that series before being eliminated by the Oshawa Generals in the next round.
6. Irwin sends Lakers to McCaw Cup finals
The Nipissing Lakers Women’s Hockey team burst onto the scene in the OUA women's conference and became one of the top contender’s year in and year out for the McCaw Cup Championship. However their first three years ended just short of getting to that coveted game. But year four was different. Led by the steady presence of Jackie Rochefort on the backend, the Lakers had a great combination of rookie and veteran talent to match up against the Toronto Varsity Blues in the OUA semi-finals series. With the series tied at two, it was a winner take all affair at Memorial Gardens on March 3rd 2017. Jade Gauthier, Kaley Tienhaara, Bronwyn Bolduc and Sam Strassburger would all solidify themselves as big-name players in this season and all contributed with either a goal or an assist throughout the first 60 minutes of play. But Toronto was a deep team and they matched the Lakers stride for stride and briefly held a 2-1 lead before the Lakers tied things in the second. The third period ended with nobody able to get another goal on the board in regulation, but at 12:12 in overtime it was Brooklyn Irwin banging home a rebound to send the Lakers to their first-ever McCaw Cup Championship.
While the Lakers would lose in that one winner take all game against Guelph, the Women’s Hockey Team became the first and to this date only team in Nipissing Lakers history to advance to an OUA championship game.
5. North Bay hits a Grand Slam at Pinty’s
40,000 spectators went through the doors of Memorial Gardens throughout the week of October 21st, 2019 to take in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling Masters event. That shattered the previous record set by the 2018 National event which brought in 23,500 spectators when it was held in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“You could tell that they were having so much fun. It made it easy for us, especially going into this final game, a lot of the slams you go to, don’t have this kind of fan support,” said Matt Dunstone, the skip of the winning men’s team shortly after raising the trophy. “We’re lucky to play in a Slam that has this sort of fan support. There are hundreds of teams in the world that would love to be in this position.”
Sudbury native Tracy Fleury took home the championship on the women’s side and said, “I definitely felt the crowd support, I have a lot of family and friends in the stands, which meant at lot to me. There was lots of young people out which is really good to see. They are the future of the sport, so it’s good that so many young people are interested in the sport.”
She added, “North Bay does such a fantastic job with the event, they always do.”
Attendance records, two amazing final games and national exposure with the games broadcasted on Rogers Sportsnet. This event was truly a shining moment for the Gateway City as a whole and a memorable event at Memorial Gardens.
4. Game Seven Clincher for Trappers
The only North Bay based team of the past decade to win a league championship at the Jr. A level or higher in hockey. The 2012-2013 North Bay Jr. A Trappers had already secured a berth into the Dudley Hewitt as the host squad. But they weren’t a team that was going to rest on those laurels as they engaged in a hard fought, back and forth, NOJHL Championship series against the Soo Thunderbirds that went the distance. The Trappers actually had a 3-1 series lead, but couldn’t finish the series at home in Game Five and lost 3-2 in overtime on the road in Game Six. So with Game Seven at home, the Trappers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and held steady for a 2-1 advantage into the late stages of the third period.
A quick aside, I used to host a show called Sports Firing Line on YourTV (TV Cogeco at the time). We had a couple of players come in just before the start of the series and one caller phoned in and told Brandon Janke he’s holding his stick too tight and needs to loosen up a bit. He had been a big part of the offense all season but had yet to find his rhythm in the post-season.
Flash forward again to Game Seven and with four minutes to play, the Trappers were trying to survive a sustained offensive zone attack from the Thunderbirds who were looking for the equalizer. They pinched in, lost the puck and Trevor Hunt (with two assists already on the night) sprung Janke free out of the zone. Janke took the puck from just behind centre ice and went in all alone, beating the Soo goaltender on the blocker side to give North Bay a 3-1 lead with under four to play.
Not sure who that caller was, but maybe his words were in Janke’s ears as he raced down the middle of the ice at Memorial Gardens on that night of April 24th, 2013. A few minutes later the clock would run out and the Trappers would claim the NOJHL championship in front of 1161 fans.
3. Paul pulls Battalion into the second round
Many will remember the first season in North Bay for the Battalion as a Cinderella story. But it almost ended in heartbreak in round one of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the Niagara IceDogs. The Troops took the first game of the series but fell behind 3-1. They came home and won game five before taking game six on the road. Year One and the First Playoff Series; why wouldn’t it go to a Game Seven?
And it was a nail biter. Jake Smith did his thing as usual, stopping virtually everything that came his way outside of a late goal in the first. But Niagara rode that one goal through the next 20 minutes, and things were looking dire for the Troops with just 20 minutes remaining in regulations.
“We started the third period down 1-0 and we had our backs against the wall. But you have to give our players a lot of credit. They battled extremely hard and found a way to get the job done,” said former Battalion Head Coach Stan Butler after that game.
“I told the players after the second period that it would be a shame to have battled back to tie the series and not play your best game in Game 7. We didn’t play very well in the first two periods, but we were down only one goal.”
After firing 16 shots at IceDogs goaltender Brent Moran in the second, the Troops found quality over quantity was the way to go and at 6:05 of the third, Alex Henriksson finally got one past Moran to tie the game when Moran stopped a shot by the Zach Bratina at the right post. Henriksson picked up the puck, wheeled around the net and tucked it inside the left post.
Just over three minutes later Nick Paul finished off a passing play into the zone started by Captain Barclay Goodrow, who dished it off to Ben Thomson who got the one-timer pass right onto Paul’s stick on the right-wing circle and Paul shot it over the blocker side.
The Troops then shut down the game at that point and would secure the first-round series in seven games in front of 4,249 fans on April 1st 2014.
2. Jones falls in love with North Bay
She’s been the face of Women’s curling for well over a decade and when Jennifer Jones came to North Bay for the Ford Women’s World Curling Championships she embraced the Gateway City and Memorial Gardens as a truly remarkable, and marketable venue.
Then she went on to win the whole thing just to put the icing on the cake.
“I honestly have to tell you this is one of the biggest thrills of our entire curling career,” said Jones after the event.
“The crowd here has been unbelievable. Playing Team Canada in Canada is amazing but I just really feel like the whole city has gotten behind us, from going to restaurants to just the hospitality, to the cheers we get, to just the support and they are cheering for every other team,” added Jones.
“I will forever remember this world championship as one of my most favourite memories in my entire curling career.”
And the organizers will remember how thrilled the city was to have such a big event as over 70,000 spectators enjoyed the event from start to finish.
1. Troops take Eastern Conference Championship
Remember the Cinderella story discussed in number 3? Well, this is what it all led to; an Eastern Conference Championship that was clinched on home ice in their first season in North Bay. The Battalion had gone from being middle of the pack, to Central Division champions, to the brink of elimination in the first round, to sweeping an Oshawa Generals team that many pundits picked as the favourites to win the series. The Battalion not only defeated the Generals but they swept them in four straight games, culminating in a 3-2 victory on April 23rd 2014.
The game went back and forth with Marcus McIvor opening the scoring for North Bay, followed by Michael Dal Colle tying the game for Oshawa near the end of the first. Alex Henriksson regained the lead for the Troops in the second, before Dylan Smoskowitz once again tied it for the visiting Generals, half-way through the third. Then with just over six minutes to play, Jamie Lewis took a pass from Brenden Miller over the blue line and rifled a shot over the stick side shoulder of the goaltender, (North Bay native) Ken Appleby. It was the first goal of that post-season for Lewis and it would hold up as the series clinching goal as North Bay got 31 saves from Jake Smith to capture the Bobby Orr trophy in front of 4,235 fans. Interestingly enough it had been 25 years since North Bay defeated Oshawa in the Leyden Division finals to move on to the OHL championship, which they captured against Detroit.
And while the North Bay Battalion would come up just short against the Guelph Storm, it was a fitting way to culminate a crazy first season of OHL hockey in North Bay.
Watching guys like Barclay Goodrow and Ben Thomson and Matthew McLeod lift the trophy was a really touching moment. They were the three overagers on the club and for Barclay he wore it like a badge of honour to make sure that this team was going to have some kind of success in their initial run in the Gateway City. He took it upon himself to get everyone to buy in to their potential and truly got the most of the group.
It is rare that a team can have a moment like this in front of their home fans and even more rare to be able to do it the first year after a relocation. But the night that the Battalion won the Bobby Orr Trophy at Memorial Gardens will not only stand out for this decade, but for many more years to come.
What did you think of the list?
Are there any that didn’t make it that you think should have been on here? Feel free to comment below!
