Before the arrival of the Provincial Junior A Hockey League in Ontario, senior and intermediate hockey once captured the hearts and minds of fans throughout the Georgian Bay and southern Ontario region.

With the current success the being enjoyed by the Sunrise Toyota Tundras Senior A Hockey Club, devoted senior hockey fans are coming back to the rink.

In smaller numbers, mind you, but they are coming back.

Saturday, at 8:15 p.m. in Coldwater, the Tundras will host the Whitby Dunlops in game two of their 2008 Robertson Cup, Eastern Ontario Senior A Hockey League championship series.

The Tundras started the season as the Cook's Bay Canucks, were later re-christened the Simcoe County Canucks, before adopting their current moniker.

“Senior hockey is exciting hockey and people are finding that out when they come to games,” said Tundras owner, Orillia businessman Tom Ruff.

Ruff has been a devoted follower of senior hockey since the early 1970s, when he regularly attended Orillia Terriers Senior A Hockey Club games at the Penetang Street arena.

The Terriers captured the 1973 Allan Cup national championship, defeating the St. Boniface Mohawks in the final in Orillia in May of that year.

Bobby Orr and Dave Keon were among the 1,200 fans on hand that night to see Terriers parade the cup around the ice after the win.

A National Hockey League player with Detroit and Toronto, former Orillia resident Gary Marsh was a member of the Terriers championship team in 1972-73.

“Back then, it was typical small-town atmosphere, big time hockey. Back in the 1970s on a Friday night, fans turned out to watch the local team,” said Marsh.

Stories were legendary of emotions running over during and after Senior A games.

“It was the kind of stuff you could make movies about. Riots in Woodstock and the stuff that went on after games,” said Marsh.

Marsh now lives in British Columbia, having moved there from Orillia last October.

“In those days, the rivalry between Orillia and the Barrie Flyers was incredible,” remembers Marsh.

“Back in the early 1970s, the whole Senior A league was made up of ex-professionals and the league was really, really good,” he added.

The Barrie Flyers were led by the likes of Corby Adams and the late Darryl Sly, while the Terriers lineup included Marsh, Gary Milroy, Grant Moore, Tom Polanic, playing coach Doug Kelcher, Ron Clarke, Claire Alexander and Mike Draper.

“What you had to remember was that most of the guys on that team had played professional, except for maybe four players,” said Marsh.

Just how strong a Terriers team there was in those days was illustrated by the fact the team defeated minor pro teams in exhibition games at the start of each season.

Clarke and Alexander used their Terrier experience to go on and play professional hockey. Clarke played in the Central Hockey League, while Alexander went on to play defence with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After retiring, Alexander served as head coach of the Leaf’s AHL farm team, the St. Catharines Saints.

During his days with the Terriers, Marsh played on a line with Jim Keon and Charlie Cipolla, switching to centre from the wing position for the 1973 league championship series against the Barrie Flyers.

Orillia won that series in seven games and went on to face Thunder Bay in the next round.

“That year, we only had 16 players,” said Marsh.

Taking advantage of a unique relationship with Harold Ballard and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Terriers practiced two times per week at Maple Leaf Gardens.

This made for a shorter trip for most of the Terriers players, almost all of who lived in Toronto at the time.

“The three years I played with the Terriers in Orillia, I never practiced once in the rink at the community centre,” said Marsh.

During the 1972-73 championship season, the Maple Leafs gave the Terriers a set of their sweaters and the only modification was removing the Maple Leaf crest and inserting the letters O and T for Orillia Terriers.

In recognition of their 1973 Allan Cup victory, Marsh’s No. 7 sweater was given a place of honour in the display case at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In 1985 when the Marsh-coached Orillia Travelways won the Centennial Cup Canadian Championship, a team sweater was also put on display.