Sharing the Hockey Spirit, Part II: "Alberta Bound"



Courtesy of Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendars

 (Cont'd from Part I)

I’m Alberta Bound/This piece of heaven that I’ve found/
Rocky Mountains and black fertile ground

Everything I need beneath that big blue sky/Doesn’t matter where I go/
This place will always be my home

-Paul Brandt, “Alberta Bound”

As Brian and Elizabeth Urlacher—the king and queen of hockey calendars—watch the Stanley Cup Finals, they must realize that The Most Coveted Cup is Alberta bound. Will Mason Raymond, the Canuck from Cochrane, AB and teammate Jeff Tambellini, the kid from Calgary, hold high the shiny silver chalice beneath Brandt’s big blue sky? Or will it be Bruins Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ference—both from Edmonton—that do the honors?

The Canucks lead the series 2–0, and Red Deer’s royalty seem conflicted about their loyalty: Elizabeth, whose favourite donut at Tim Hortons is the Boston Cream (renamed, at least temporarily, to the Vancouver Cream), writes, “…Andrew Ference–our Alberta boy! That’s top-shelf reason enough for us to be thrilled to see the Bruins win. We also hold tight to all things Canucks…Go Canada Go! This is a unique playoff series because we’re going to be stoked for who ever wins! It’s nice to be in such a friendly cheering position.”


A week later, and a day before Game Six in Boston, the Canucks up 3–2, the Urlachers call to clarify their written comments. Elizabeth says, “I’m gonna answer for myself, Brian (who then laughs). My loyalties always go to first of all, to our closest team. My second thought on that is if that if by chance the Bruins win, that I’d be so happy for my friend, Barry Wheeler in Corner Brook, Newfounldand that that’s just great too.”

Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo's home and away ups and downs, she says, as well as the see-saw victory pattern, have contributed to the saga of this Stanley Cup finals.

The queen yields to her husband, who says, “I’m Vancouver all the way. Boston’s won a Stanley Cup before; Vancouver’s never won one.” The king continues, “I can’t believe how bad (the Canucks) have played in Boston.”

“That’s why it’s a saga, Brian,” Elizabeth says.

“I think it’s going to go seven games,” he concludes.


Now, three and a half weeks after the Bruins conquered the Canucks, Boychuk and Ference plan for their day (sometime in August) with the sporting world’s most celebrated thirty-four-and-half-pound trophy.

And the Urlachers have resumed their routine: A stop at Timmys, where Elizabeth orders her Boston/Vancouver Cream and Brian buys a Honey Cruller; designing and producing the fifteen-month calendars, which hockey organizations will sell to raise funds for their programs; and perhaps listening to a country tune. All this as couple anticipates the Stanley Cup’s trip to the province famous for those heavenly Rocky Mountains, Chinook winds, and Paul Brandt. Alberta: the place the king and queen of calendars call home.

Sharing the Hockey Spirit, Part I: "Small Towns and Big Dreams"




Courtesy of Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendars

 

June 6, 2011

Maynard, MA

“…The best things around/that I have ever seen/Come from small towns and big dreams…”

-“Small Towns and Big Dreams” by Paul Brandt



Elizabeth Urlacher, one half of the married team that designs what she and her husband Brian call “the Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendar” shares, via email, that “Small Towns and Big Dreams” is her favourite tune by Brandt, a native Albertan. “It speaks largely of who Brian and I are; it reminds me of my small town community each time I hear it! It’s really a song about good people, good ethics, and community camaraderie.”



The Urlachers reside in Red Deer, Alberta. Equidistant between Edmonton and Calgary, Red Deer is home to Urlacher Photographics Ltd and is the focal point for those familiar with the Battle of Alberta: the rivalry between the Oilers and the Flames. The Urlacher household, however, is a harmonious one. Oilers all the way.



Elizabeth and Brian grew up as Oilers fans, so neither had to compromise hockey loyalties when they married. And in 2006, they fused their passions—hockey and helping others—and talents—imagination, photography and design—to pursue their dream.

“I’m not sure why...,” Elizabeth writes, “but we always pictured it as a fundraising calendar that would help kids play hockey. It just was—and so it now is.”

The realization of these big dreams is rooted in their childhood memories.



Brian, whose imagination sparked the business, writes, “Growing up in the Drumheller Badlands and playing hockey on the frozen Red Deer River—at times there was no snow and I could skate for miles! If I missed the net I’d have to chase the puck for what seemed like forever to retrieve it (and that’s why I became such a prolific goal scorer and never missed the net.)

The Badlands, Brian continues, are known as the Dinosaur Capital of the World (Glen Rose, Texas also stakes a claim), and the enduring images of his early hockey days will be featured in a calendar some day.



Elizabeth recalls her halcyon hockey days, when the calendar would flip from fall to the frozen months. “Each winter,” Elizabeth writes about her family’s farm about forty-five minutes west of Red Deer, “Dad would plow a section of our backyard. He taught my big brother and me how to flood it with precision to create a sheet of ice that would be our winter rec center right in our own backyard. I remember my brother and I actually wearing old-old skates (similar to the antiques we feature in our calendar). A puck and a couple plastic hockey sticks ordered from the Simpson Sears Catalog were everything we needed. We’d play out there almost every night that the temperature would allow us to. I was a little more of a Jamie Salé (Alberta girl and Olympic gold medalist), in that as soon as I could put on figure skates, I was really at home on ice. Even if they weren’t a perfect match for playing hockey, I wore them while playing hockey!”

The hockey and calendar business—travel to nearby small towns and to other sites far and wide across Canada (think Newfoundland); capturing the images on camera; designing the fifteen-month calendars to include ample space for recording family activities, hockey statistics, and season highlights; and coordinating production, marketing, and distribution efforts—keeps Brian, a photographer and Elizabeth, a photographer and graphic artist, more active than Bruin goalie Timmy Thomas.



The Urlachers postpone their dates with calendars, though, when the playoffs are on TV. The Urlachers, like any hockey fans worth their metal, are watching the grown-up versions of those kids—who grew up in towns from Smithers, BC to Bonavista, NL—as they pursue their loft, shiny silver (and nickel) dreams.

As the splendor of the Stanley Cup Finals unfolds, sharing the spirit of hockey with good people is one of the best things around.

Stay tuned for Part II.

Head Over Heels: Top (Half) Dozen Favourite Hockey (and Donut) Movies

A song I recently heard on my iPod triggered thoughts of hockey movies and their soundtracks, so I figured I’d list, not necessarily in order, my favorite hockey (and donut) movies.

Wayne’s World: Although neither hockey (nor donuts) is the central theme of this popular movie, it’s hard to ignore Stan Mikita or the ringed confections he sells in his shop. And “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Ballroom Blitz?” Party on!

Miracle: The best pure hockey movie. 100% inspiration. For the underdog in all of us, “Dream On”!

Mystery, Alaska: Starring Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds and with cameos by Barry Melrose and Mike Myers, why this film didn’t do better in the theatres is a…question to which I don’t have the answer. The soundtrack includes “The Star Spangled Banner” and “O Canada”. Fitting for a film featuring Alaska but filmed in Alberta.

Slap Shot: You had to know this one would be on the list. Besides the Hanson brothers and their toys and the puck hitting the radio announcer’s head, the soundtrack makes me want to sing “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”.

Strange Brew: I know who Bob and Doug are, but I haven’t seen the whole movie. But if Chris “Donut Boy” Howell says this flick is his favorite hockey movie, then that’s good enough for me. The two hosers’ Web site even has an audio clip about donuts. Take off, eh?

13 Going on 30: Like Wayne’s World, this movie isn’t really about hockey (and there are no donuts, only Razzles). But the main character’s last name is Rink, and she dates a fictitious New York Ranger. How could you not fall “Head Over Heels” for this one?

Well, gotta Go-Go and get back to my iPod.

AMHL Thursday: Wings

“What’s on your iPod?” George Morton asks me on the drive from Concord Valley Sports to Maynard (MA).

Clapton? Meat Loaf? The Beatles?

I don’t tell George about Alberta's Paul Brandt, whose song “I’m Gonna Fly” was stuck in my head thirty minutes before my game against Aaron Sherman and the Bruins.

Early in the first period a Bruins’ defenseman fell down near center ice. Avalanche left wing Scott Harvey snared the loose puck and flew past the D-man.

Breakaway…score!

But then Sherman took control. He snuck up the middle on breakaways and waited for pucks to ping-pong right to him—just before he would tuck them past or slap them over my goalie..

With less than five minutes in the game, the Bruins were looking like the Red Wings. They led 8–2, but Sherman’s squad showed no mercy.

Brent Delehey had the puck in his own zone, scanning the ice for break-out options. His left-winger was along the boards, fewer than five feet in front of me and about a foot to my right. I was poised to intercept a pass if he angled toward center, so instead he charged straight ahead.

Because Aaron Sherman was scoring points like he was Kevin Garnett, I figured I’d draw the charging foul. I was conflicted about playing the body in a no-check league, but I couldn’t help myself.

I planted myself in his path. Wham!

Sherm flattened me. The ref blew his whistle and then ordered both of us to serve two minutes.

Aaron argued. Loudly. Make that four minutes for the Sherminator.

Forty-five minutes later, in the donut room, I placed my right arm on his back and my hand on his shoulder. “I love you, man.” (Translation: Do you forgive me?)

“Jimmy,” he says is a soft tone, “You drive me insane.” (Translation: It’s hockey, so you’re forgiven.)

George Morton isn’t so magnanimous when I tell him what’s on my iPod.

Gloria Estefan. A little country and a little rock ‘n’ roll but no Donnie and Marie. Anne Murray.

I grab my hockey gear from the back of his Subaru and sing, “Could I have this dance for the rest of my life…”

He laughs, not knowing that ten minutes later, as I walk to work Annie’s, “Snowbird” (duet with Sarah Brightman) is streaming into my ear buds.

“Spread your tiny wings and fly away…”

Perfect. I play it again so it might be stuck in my head all day.