Forty-six years is a long time between celebrations, but that just made things sweeter for the Park Street Collegiate Institute (PSCI) Trojans hockey team.
The Trojans won the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) hockey championship in the 1972-1973 season, the only team to accomplish that feat in the long history of PSCI hockey.
The Trojans reconnected earlier this month to rekindle memories, swap stories and bask in old friendships revitalized.
The team was led by Coach Brian 'Punch' Pounder, who was instrumental in sparking the reunion.
"Punch secured our championship banner last year and that set the wheels in motion," said co-organizer and Trojan assistant captain Wayne Orton.
Orton and Michael McMullen, the Trojans captain, took it from there.
"The pride in Punch's eyes when he brought the banner to a PSCI function in November was so obvious, that I took one look at Warren and said we need to get the band back together," said McMullen.
And that is exactly what happened, with 13 of the 16 skaters attending the reunion.
At the reunion, the Trojans were missing sparkplug winger George Ramsay, the team manager and teacher, Mr. John Stanga, equipment manager Mike McConnell and statistician/PR man Ralph Gordon, who have all passed on.
The team shared a moment of silence before the reading of an epic poem penned by Pounder. The poem captured the contributions of all team members and brought more than a little emotion to the surface for the Trojans.
Defenceman Terry Boyd, who made the trip from Sault Ste. Marie, said: "Punch was way ahead of his time in terms of principles, beliefs and expectations for the team and individual player behaviours. Many of us carried this wisdom with us as guidance and we certainly wanted to express our appreciation to Punch for these life lessons."
McMullen recalled the inauspicious start to that magical year on the ice.
"We started the season with a close exhibition loss and one of our star players refused to shake hands after the game. Punch gave him a week to apologize to the other team and show respect at all times in all situations. He chose not to," said McMullen.
"Punch held a team meeting and asked the team if we could live without him and enter the season short-handed."
The team unanimously supported Pounder's principle and moved forward without a key asset.
Peter Bailey, also an assistant captain with the Trojans that year, said: "You learn from this. No one is above the team or our shared values and principles. Even if it involves a close friend. "
With nostalgia in the air and much catching up to do, the Trojans replayed their march to the championship.
The team qualified for the fourth and final playoff spot on the last day of the regular season, then had the daunting task of going through No. 1 Alliston and No. 2, the cross-town rivals, the ODCVI Blues.
The Trojans swept aside the Alliston team in a two-game total goal series, winning 8-7. They had to come back from a three-goal deficit in the final period to win.
As exciting as that comeback victory was, the Trojan-Blues series was the real deal.
ODCVI had a 5-4 win and a 5-5 tie to their credit in the regular season against Park Street, but the Trojans had momentum on their side.
Fans lined both sides of the old Orillia Community Centre as students from both schools had been bussed or walked down to the rink.
The rivalry and a healthy animosity was prevalent and when McMullen accidentally cut open the Blues leading scorer for 13 stitches, the tension ratcheted up several degrees.
According to four-year Trojan varsity player Rick Cuiper: "Mike to this day swears the high stick was an accident, it didn't matter. Blood had been spilled and you needed your head on a swivel the rest of the series."
Steve Parnham was a standout in the playoffs in net and was a huge difference against the Blues.
Parnham reflected on his season: "I came off the bench earlier in the year to replace injured starter Rene Faulkenham. I was a baby-faced Grade 10 student and I was playing with men ... These guys had to shave again by noon and guys like Pete Bromley, Mike Charles and I didn't know what a razor was."
The age gap on the team from 15 to 19 was more like a junior hockey team than high school.
Coach Pounder reflected that this wasn't a problem.
"We had the right chemistry, the right principles, the right leadership and tremendous belief in each other," said Pounder. "The boys made me proud then and still do."
The Trojans also celebrated their much-loved coach's 84th birthday at the reunion.
