TIM Stanger clearly recalls his debut for the Newcastle Northstars back in 2008.
Aged 18 and "terrified", Stanger saw less than 30 seconds of Australian Ice Hockey League action but the Novocastrian was hooked.
More than a decade later and having recently joined a small band of Northstars players to reach 200 appearances, Stanger loves the sport now as much as ever.
"You look forward to this time of year. We've got practice twice a week, sometimes we meet up at the gym during the week and we're always together on the weekend," Stanger said.
"For six months of the year we're just together all the time. The other six months of the year, it's like 'what do I do with my weekends'."
The experienced campaigner, a painter by trade who grew up in Charlestown and now lives at Edgeworth, has provided the Northstars with valuable versatility throughout 2022.
Despite frequently changing roles, Stanger has relished the responsibility that comes with adapting to any given situation.
"I've gone from defence, to forward, back to defence and back to forward," he said.
"Sometimes I rock up at the game and I don't know where I'm playing. 'What am I doing today?'.
"But I'm pretty blessed and fortunate to know my role, whether it's up front or defence. It's good to be that guy the coach and other players can rely on."
The 32-year-old says lifting the Goodall Cup in 2016 remains one his career highlights and feels the current squad can add a seventh national title to Newcastle's impressive collection.
"I've played a lot of seasons now. Sometimes it just feels right and sometimes there's an odd vibe. This season, right from the start, everybody has been buying in and doing what they can to get ready for finals. It's a good group of guys and I'm proud to be apart of it," Stanger said.
The Northstars, ranked second on the ladder with three rounds left to play before next month's play-offs in Melbourne, host Brisbane Lightning for an exhibition game at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
Beau Taylor and Richard Tesarik are both expected to return to the line-up.
It comes as the Newcastle sporting club officially farewelled one of its founding fathers this week, gathering for the funeral of premiership-winning coach Don Champagne who recently died at the age of 72.
"Don was my coach for the best part of my hockey career. I learned a lot from Don and he taught me a lot of things I still use to this day. He was just one of those guys you could always talk to about anything," Stanger said.
