December 5, 2020… the last time the Thunder Bay North Stars played a regular season game at the Fort William Gardens.

The streak of 307 days will come to an end Friday as the Superior International Junior Hockey League squad will play a pair of games this weekend against the Wisconsin Lumberjacks.

“The players are excited, yeah sure there will be nerves playing on home ice but I think they’ll adapt pretty fast,” said North Stars Head Coach Rob DeGagne. “We don’t play in too many big buildings in our league. The ice is a little bit softer, the building is warmer… is there going to be home advantage? I’m sure there will be for the guys who have played there before, and hopefully the fans will give us a boost as well.”

If you’re going to the game, the Gardens will operate at up to 50% capacity, or 1,696 for fixed & accessible seats.

The building has been undergoing renovations to have it ready to host the 2022 Scotties from January 28th to February 6th.

The Lumberjacks have two wins, a loss and an overtime setback so far this season. This will mark the first time that an American franchise will cross the border.

It’s also been a while since the Kam River Fighting Walleye played a regular season game as they hit the road for a pair of tilts with the Red Lake Miners.

They were supposed to skate with the Lakers on September 25th but that game got post-poned.

The Fish opened the season with a 4-2 win over the North Stars on September 18th thanks to 22 saves from goaltender Austin Madge and goals from Christian Veneruzzo, Keaton Mercredi, Brad Fortier and Ethan Lang.

“We’ve been fortunate to be in the comfort of our own barn now for quite some time. The group is excited and nervous about the first road trip in franchise history but our message after the bus trip will be to shake the nerves quickly because Red Lake is a good team and that’s a tough place to play,” said Head Coach Matt Valley.

The coach added about the Miners (2-2-1-0) “They have a faithful fan base and it’s a good organization that plays to their strengths. Geoff (Walker) is a great coach and does a heck of job of recruiting players. They haven’t had the start to the season that they’ve wanted and what better team to turn things around against but us, a squad that hasn’t played in two weeks.”

The North Stars are home for the next five games while the Fighting Walleye are in the midst of a four game road trip.