The team came to the city in 1982 after the new owners of the Niagara Falls Flyers failed to get a deal for a new arena, and chose to relocate to North Bay which already had an adequate facility in operation.

The team can trace its roots back to St. Catharines, Ontario, where it played from 1943–1976, as the Falcons, Teepees and Black Hawks, winning the Memorial Cup in 1954 and 1960.

In the OHL championship series that year the Centennials and Generals faced off again with the same result, Oshawa defeating North Bay 4 games to 3.

Since the Oshawa Generals were both host and champion, a revision to the Memorial Cup format was made where it was reduced to a three team tournament and the North Bay Centennials eliminated.

Determined to return to the Memorial Cup, coach and general manager Bert Templeton began building his team for another championship run.

Injuries began to take their toll on the team as they headed to the 1994 Memorial Cup, played in Laval, Quebec.

North Bay dropped all three games on the round-robin; losing 5-4 to the Laval Titan, 3-1 to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, and 5-1 to the Kamloops Blazers.

North Bay also won three division titles, and made three trips to the OHL championship series.

The legendary Bert Templeton carried over from Niagara Falls and guided the team for its first twelve years in North Bay.

The Gardens was built in 1955 and currently is home to the North Bay Battalion, and also hosted the 1998 OHL All-Star game.