Twice a week, 80-year-old Winston Gilks wakes up before dawn, drives around 45 minutes to the rink and then straps on the pads.
“I love the game and I’m going to go as long as I can. It’s in my blood I guess,” said Gilks.
Gilks is the oldest player on the Miramichi Retired School Teachers, a group of around a dozen skaters that play for an hour at the Miramichi Civic Centre every Monday and Thursday at 7:30 a.m.
“He’s an old guy, but we still like to shoot the puck at him,” said Claude Leberge. “He’s pretty good. He stops the puck really well.”
Sixty-eight-year-old Gerald Doiron has been playing with Gilks for about six years.
“Really, really nice guy. I just got to know him when I got here, but I didn’t know he was that old,” laughed Doiron.
The goalie at the other end of the rink on Thursday, 71-year-old David Minor, said Gilks is great at stacking the pads.
“He’s got that down pat. He does great for a man his age,” said Minor.
More than 80 players have laced them up for the team since they started getting together around 30 years ago, 21 have since passed.
They play in Miramichi, N.B., from the first of October until the end of March and occasionally travel to play games against other teams.
“Just a bunch of guys that like to get out and play hockey and think we’re still young,” said Laberge.
Ken St. Germain has been playing hockey all his life.
“It keeps me in shape, and I love it. The camaraderie and the boys that you meet. I’ve played all over Canada,” said St. Germain. “It’s just my life I guess.”
Two weekends ago, the retired teachers played a championship game against a team from Fredericton that ended in a 7-7 tie.
The teachers brought another goalie just in case Gilks couldn’t go the distance.
His backup, a 16-year-old, an age gap of close to 65 years.
“He only started skating last fall so I went out with him a few times and showed him a few things,” said Gilks. “He’s skating well, he’s doing well.”
Gilks started playing in net at 16 when his team switched him from forward to goalie.
“They shoved me in net, so I’ve stayed there ever since,” said Gilks.
St. Germain is in awe of the shape Gilks is in.
“He’s my neighbour and I get my firewood from him. The guy cuts about a hundred cord of wood, splits it by hand every year. I don’t know where he gets the energy, but he’s a powerful young lad,” said St. Germain.
His secret to longevity between the pipes is pretty simple.
“Work just about as hard as you can and watch what you eat,” said Gilks.
As far as how long he can keep going, Gilks has a tentative plan.
“I told the boys I was going to go until 85. My knee is starting to go on me, so it’s hard to say,” said Gilks. “I don’t know if my knee is going to last.”
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