The echoes of a championship season rang through the Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens as the 1975-76 North Bay Trappers gathered to mark the 50th anniversary of their provincial title. Seventeen players from the championship squad reunited with family, friends and fans to relive a victory that defined an era in North Bay hockey. The team, known affectionately in its day as “the big, red machine,” captured the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League crown in a marathon series that stretched to an unprecedented eighth game. Championship forged in resilience The Trappers’ path to glory was anything but straightforward, having dropped the first three games of the championship series to the North York Rangers before mounting a remarkable comeback. Joey Omiccioli recalled the team’s chemistry as the driving force behind their success while speaking with CTV News on Wednesday. “We had young guys that were really good at putting the puck in the net. We had role players. We had enforcers. We had seasoned veterans. It just putting all that together,” Omiccioli said. Dave Saad, chairman of the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame, described the series as the city’s most iconic sporting moment. “Of all the things that have happened, I think in hockey in North Bay, this thing is the most iconic moment,” Saad said. Series that defied convention The championship series went to a decisive eighth game under the point-based playoff system then in place. Saad explained the unusual circumstances that forced the extra contest. “Joey Omiccioli scores three minutes into overtime to take the lead and then North York scored with three seconds left in the timed overtime,” he said. “Those was the rules and that was it. Both teams were tied with 7 points.” The Trappers entered the third period of Game 8 trailing 2-0 before team captain Claude D’Amour and Mike MacParland inspired a comeback, with North Bay ultimately winning 5-2. Fans showed unwavering devotion The series showcased the extraordinary dedication of North Bay supporters. After Game 7 in North York, the team returned home at three in the morning to find fans already lining up for Game 8 tickets. “They went to the line to get tickets for that night’s game. They did not go home. This was three in the morning. They were standing in line wrapped around waiting for when the tickets opened,” Jim Fox, one of the team’s stars, said. Bob Witiuk, who was 14 years old when he experienced the Trappers phenomenon, recalled the electric atmosphere while at the arena on July 22. “We were all hanging off the rafters up top,” Witiuk said. Fox, who went on to the NHL and now serves as colour commentator for the Los Angeles Kings, scored the empty-net goal that sealed the championship. He noted that Memorial Gardens held a special place in his heart. “We were the only northern team in the league, so to speak. So, I think everyone really bonded together here,” Fox told reporters. Reunion decades in the making Some of the players and head coach Don “Butch” Turcotte have since passed away, while others could not attend the event. Since that game 50 years ago, some players settled in North Bay, but many moved on, making the reunion a long-awaited gathering. Witiuk brought his childhood stick to have his hockey heroes sign its blade and reflected on the team’s enduring legacy. “The big, red machine,” Witiuk told reporters. “That’s what they were called in the day.” “It was truly Hockeyville back in the day,” Witiuk added with a smile.
