WHILE it has been Thunder Bay for over five decades now, memories still linger amongst the local hockey brethren old enough to recall the epic on-ice battles between Fort William and Port Arthur.
One such classic was the 1965 Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League final between the Fort William Canadiens and the crosstown rival Port Arthur North Stars.
Ironically, Alex (Moe) Irving had guided the North Stars the four previous campaigns, but took over the coaching reigns of the two-time defending TBJHL champion Canadiens in the fall of 1964 from veteran Habs bench boss Mickey Hennessy, who had been promoted to a full-time scout with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.
Meanwhile, stepping in for Irving with Port Arthur was another future Lakehead hockey icon, Albert (Ab) Cava, who was just 25 at the time when he was appointed head coach of the Stars.
Despite the modification behind the bench, not much changed for the Canadiens as they went on to finish comfortably in first place during the course of the regular season in the four-team standings, which also featured the Westfort Hurricanes and Fort Frances Royals.
As the league’s front-runner, Fort William took on the Schreiber North Stars in a best-of-five district series.
Schreiber actually surprised the Canadiens with a Game 1 triumph, but Irving’s squad rebounded to take the next three contests and punch their ticket to the Thunder Bay final.
As for Fort Frances and Port Arthur, they tangled in a best-of-seven affair to see who would earn the right to meet the Canadiens in the quest for the Lakehead championship.
The Royals, who finished in second spot, thumped the North Stars 12-5 and 8-3 to gain the upper hand early on.
However, the Ports stormed back to win four of five, including taking the finale on home ice by a 6-3 count, led by 18-year-old Ray Adduono’s two tallies and singles from Toivo Aapro, Dominic Pellegrino, Brian Phalen and Ron Wheele and the goaltending of John Adams.
Buoyed by big crowds at the Fort William Gardens and Port Arthur Arena, the highly anticipated meeting between the long-time rivals definitely went on to live up to expectations.
With time on their hands, it was decided the clash for local supremacy would be a best-of-nine competition.
After the visiting North Stars skated away with a 5-2 decision to begin things, the Canadiens answered with an away win themselves, in earning a 3-1 triumph.
Murray Smith, with an early marker, along with Ralph Stewart and Lynn Margarit in the late going, helped secure the victory while Aapro connected for the Stars.
Next came a high-scoring Game 3 at the Gardens that saw Port Arthur fly out to a quick 7-0 lead before withstanding a Habs comeback bid and prevailing 10-8.
Adduono was once again the offensive spark plug for his side, as he tallied four times.
Among the Fort William goal scorers were Smith, John Schella and Peter Serediuk with two apiece while Stewart connected on a penalty shot.
A feisty fourth contest saw Canadiens’ goaltender Don Gale turn in a crisp 27-save performance to even the series at two wins apiece following a 5-2 penalty-filled decision.
The south side squad then won Game 5 by a score of 4-1, followed
by another tenacious contest as the teams battled to a hard-fought 5-5 overtime draw in Game 6.
Smith drew Fort William level with a third period effort to sent it to extra time where Adduono and Fort William’s Peter Grant both found the back of the net in OT as the teams settled for a tie.
Hard pressed throughout, the teams continued to go back and forth with the Stars taking the next two meetings by counts of 5-1 and 5-2.
It was then Fort William’s turn to respond in a must-win game, and they did just that, prevailing 6-5 to send it to a 10th and deciding contest.
The finale saw Port Arthur’s star lead the way once more, as Adduono supplied a first period hat trick as part of a 6-3 victory to finish off the intense series that left very little separating the two highly-skilled and tenacious teams.
While the North Stars went on to be stymied by the stalwart netminding of Fort William product Wayne Stephenson, and the Winnipeg Braves, in the Memorial Cup western playdowns, reflections remain after prevailing in another definitive on-ice showdown with their foes from the other side of the Lakehead.