Make Time For Stuffing

WCHA Coaches Fit Thanksgiving Plans Into Teams’ Busy Schedules

by Christopher Boulay/CHN Writer (@chrismboulay)

Camaraderie and cohesion develops on the ice during games and practice, but it also happens off the ice. Coaches have unique opportunities to develop relationships throughout their team throughout the year, often while traveling. But few weeks are like this week.

Teams all over the country are prepping for games this weekend, but with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, coaches are planning not only how to approach their opponent, but also how to manage the logistics of a major holiday, whether on the road or at home. For WCHA teams, that situation often becomes more interesting, because of sheer amount and type of traveling teams in that conference do.

Michigan Tech, for example, is on its way to Fairbanks, Alaska for a series. The Huskies made sure to leave plenty early to get there in time for a Thanksgiving meal at a local establishment.

Northern Michigan travels to Alabama-Huntsville this weekend, so the team will be spending Thanksgiving on the road. The Wildcats have to fly from Marquette, Mich., to Chicago, before landing in Nashville, which is the usual spot teams go when heading to play the Chargers. The team will spend the day Wednesday in Nashville before attending the Nashville Predators' game vs. Vegas at Bridgestone Arena.

There’s limited ice availability due to an SPHL game in Huntsville, so the team will remain in Nashville for practice before heading to Alabama for a meal Thanksgiving night. Once there, Thanksgiving dinner and a night of board games are on tap for the team and staff.

For Bowling Green, school is in session Monday and Tuesday, the team has a home-and-home with Notre Dame, with the opening game Friday in South Bend, Ind., a 2.5-hour drive. With the short drive, it makes Thanksgiving celebrations a little easier. Players who have families within a couple hours of the school will have the ability to go home and spend it with their families.

“Our players from Newfoundland and British Columbia aren’t exercising that option,” Bowling Green head coach Ty Eigner said with a laugh.

Players that would have a bit longer of a trip will have two options: either go hang out with the coaching staff and their families, or they can go to sophomore forward Alex Barber‘s grandparents’ house, since they live in Bowling Green and offered to host anyone who was interested.

So the Falcons will practice mid-morning, allow everyone to get their Thanksgiving in before meeting back up and getting on the road for the weekend’s games that night.

With college hockey being an international game, there’s more than just Americans who are celebrating the holiday. While Canadians have their own Thanksgiving celebration in October, accommodating everyone depends upon the team.

“As an American, we want to make sure they understand that there’s only one real Thanksgiving, and that’s ours,” Eigner quipped. “We allow them to celebrate theirs.”

Eigner couldn’t hold back his laughter as he finished the joke. Both of Eigner’s assistants, Curtis Carr and Maco Balkovec, are from north of the border.

“We have Americans and Canadians,” Eigner said. “In my time, we’ve always had Canadian guys (who) will celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving on that date, which is great. We’ve had Canadian coaches who celebrate it. The U.S. Thanksgiving, everyone celebrates that. There’s the school break that goes with it (too). I think it’s fun for the kids who aren’t from the U.S. to come down and experience American Thanksgiving. In the 10 years I’ve been here as a coach, we always opened our doors to players.”

Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny and his staff combine the two holidays into the American Thanksgiving in November.

“I always told the guys. I missed being a player, because in pro hockey, you used to get two Thanksgivings,” Potulny said. “We’d all go to the Canadian guys' house for the first one and they’d come over to yours for the second one.”

“We just settle on the American one, but we make sure everyone gets their turkey.”

Getting prepared for the weekend’s games plays out a little differently during a holiday week, with the distractions of being away from home for the players, along with fitting a celebration into food schedules and travel. The staff of each team takes care to ensure they’re on schedule and ready to refocus after the break.

“Once you flip the script on Thursday and move on to Friday, it’s a game day,” Potulny said. “It’s no different than if you have a team who plays on Thanksgiving. You celebrate it the day before, on Wednesday, and (Thursday) is a game day. It is a business trip and that’s your day that you gotta get zoned in and ready to play.”

One of the biggest aspects of holidays is the ability to get the younger players more involved in team activities off the ice. Road trips typically help with this, as well, but it’s different to have a roster learn how to be closer together when they have a holiday to spend away from their families.

Northern Michigan already had one big road trip under their belt — it traveled to Boston University for two games in October.

But this one is different.

“The first trip of the year is a lot of newness and freshness," Potulny said. “It’s a great opportunity to really get to know your teammates on the road. And now, you’ve been together for a couple months. There’s a holiday coming up. The more you celebrate those type of things, having guys sitting around each other, it grows your team.”

While people sit down with loved ones this Thursday, it’s important to remember it as a time of year to reflect on the good things life and what people are fortunate to have — especially the bonds between people and good times spent together.

“These guys become your family,” Potulny said. “You’re with them every day for about seven months of the year. Players live together. You travel together. You’re around each other. When it comes to holidays, and Thanksgiving in particular, where the players are here, I think it’s important to celebrate that holiday and spend time as a team.”

There’s going to be a day for players and staff to enjoy each other’s company, relax and bond. After that, it’s back to business to continue the quest to move up the WCHA standings and gain some ground in the Pairwise.