At that time Stephenville Gardens was being built and this would be the first artificial ice surface in the area. Bud Carver was the first President. Other members of the first Executive were Bill Costello (Vice-President), Gordon Hancock (Secretary) and Max Snow (Treasurer). Gordon Aucoin was the rep from St. George's, Cliff Goodyear represented Stephenville Crossing and Max Snow was the Port au Port representative. When the ice was put on in January the Association was ready to play hockey. The first season lasted for 12 weeks.

The Corner Brook Minor Hockey Association must be given credit for its assistance in those early years. Brother Murphy and Brother Pike gave a lot of help and a lot of encouragement. Bob Evans was the N.A.H.A. Western representative at that time and also was a great supporter. Joe Byrne of Grand Falls was the N.A.H.A. Minor Coach and spent many hours at the Gardens with the coaches, players and referees.

The Association started of with a "C" rating for Provincial play. The N.A.H.A. Minor Council asked the Association to host a Bantam "C" tournament that first year. With no experience in running a tournament the Executive took the challenge. According to all reports the tournament was a great success and Stephenville became a hot spot for players to take part in tournaments.

At one time the Association had 719 boys registered with only 19 hours of ice time to play on! The games had to be cut to 45 minutes. Ice time was $2.50 an hour and later was raised to $5.00 and the Association thought that was awful. Player registration was $2.00. Referees and time keepers were part of the Association and were not paid for any of the games they officiated.

The Bay St. George Minor Hockey Association had players from St. George's to Port au Port. Players from outside Stephenville were bussed in at no cost to them. After a number of years it was decided that the cost of this was too high and something had to be done. The Executive at that time decided to change the Association's name to the Stephenville Minor Hockey Association. Changing the name did not prevent players from outside Stephenville proper from participating. Outside players were still welcome to join however they now had to find their own way to and from the stadium.

After a number of years the Executive decided to form the Hockey Mom's. A meeting was called and a large turnout resulted. Mrs. Gwen Walsh was the first President of the Hockey Mom's. The Hockey Mom's proved to be a great help to the Association. They did a great job raising funds and also ran all the Minor Hockey Banquets. As a fund-raiser the Association started the "Bay Expo". This was a large undertaking for the same people who also ran Minor Hockey. The Expo was a great continuing success.

All-Star teams were not picked until a month before the Easter tournaments. There was limited ice time to practice on and not too much emphasis was placed on the All-Stars. The Association provided all the sweaters and helmets for the rep team players and all the goalie equipment. Many Minor Hockey players moved up to play with the Senior Jets.

Today the Stpehenville Minor Hockey Association averages 200 registered participants annually. The boundaries of the Association cover Highlands to the entire Port au Port Penninsula. The old Stephenville Gardens has been replaced with the modern Stephenville Dome. Teams hold a "B" rating Provincially and Stephenville still remains a popular place for hosting tournaments. Particpants in those early years are now important members of the community. Many support Minor Hockey and assist with fund-raising and coaching.