North Bay's Nate McDonald may be attending US College more than a 7-hour drive from his hometown of North Bay, but that did not stop him from adding a well known North Bay landmark to his goalie mask.
McDonald, received an NCAA Division I hockey scholarship from Cornell University last fall and is in his freshman year with the Cornell Big Red.
To celebrate and show off his North Bay pride, McDonald added the Gateway to the North sign over his left ear.
McDonald says the gateway sign on the mask has a few meanings for him.
"North Bay really shaped me into who I am today, not only as a hockey player but as a person as well," said McDonald.
"I love where I'm from, and putting the gateway sign on there allows me to carry a little piece of North Bay with me whenever I step on the ice.
"The City of North Bay and all of its great hockey fans have always supported me in hockey, so I thought it was only fitting to have something on there to show how much I appreciate it."
McDonald, wrapped up his junior hockey career last spring with the OJHL's Markham Royals. Prior to that, he was the NOJHL's league MVP as he led the Powassan Voodoos to an NOJHL title in the spring of 2017.
"Seeing the gateway sign is also a reminder for me of my year playing for the Voodoos," he admitted.
"Each time I see it I'm reminded of how lucky I was to play at home that year, and I'm reminded of the special season that we had and what it took to win that championship and it makes me want to bring it every day so that I can help in any way possible to bring a championship to Cornell."
McDonald is not the first goalie to celebrate North Bay on a goalie mask.
If you recall last February goalie Justin Peters, who used to skate on Trout Lake with his North Bay area cousins, had a Trout Lake pond hockey image painted on the back plate of his Team Canada goalie mask for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
See related: A little piece of North Bay Canadiana honoured on Olympic goalie mask
