The Fort Erie Meteors are celebrating their 70th year of the franchise this season and plan to commemorate the milestone in a variety of ways.
“We have lots of things planned and in the hopper, and we’re hoping to make this a great year,” Meteors’ general manager/coach Nik Passero said.
Passero, whose father, the late Tony Passero, was a former player and owner of the team, said the idea to celebrate the anniversary began to take shape last season.
“We kind of decided that this was something – you know, 70 years is a long time, and a lot of people put a lot of time into it,” Nik Passero said.
Among the planned events are an alumni game as well as a memorablia display and posts on social media.
“We’re looking for alumni, memorabilia, you know, anything to make the year better,” he said. “I think that’s still in the planning stage.”
“We want to keep stuff rolling all year.”
Passero said fans and alumni should feel free to contact the team (info@femeteors.ca) with ideas or memorabilia.
“You know, anything that is from the Meteors in the last 70 years, we’d love to showcase and kind of go from there.”
The Meteors originated in the Niagara District Junior B Hockey League in 1957 and captured the league’s final championship in 1979. The next year they entered the Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League and are now a member of the Greater Ontario Hockey League.
The Meteors open training camp Aug. 17.
“I think we’re at a pretty good place,” Passero said. “You know, obviously, guys have been signed and stuff like that. I’m just excited to get everyone in town and get going here.”
The Meteors are coming off a solid 25/26 campaign that saw them finish third overall in the league with a 39-9-2 record before being eliminated by the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons in a wild, memorable seven-game semifinal playoff series.
“The offseason was a little bit longer than we’d like, and I think it’s given us a lot to think about and find ways to improve the program, and we’re excited to put those in action,” Passero said.
