Mother and Daughter Use Hockey to Strengthen Their Own Relationship
By Melissa Zielinski
The Scarlet Caps first “Hockey ‘N Heels” event of the season brought more than 200 women together at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday night to learn what it takes to be a hockey player on and off the ice. They also showed the players (Karl Alzner, Nicklas Backstrom, Troy Brouwer and Mathieu Perreault) and members of the coaching staff (Bruce Boudreau, Bob Woods) that hockey should not be considered a sport dominated by men.
“I give Ted Leonsis a lot of credit for recognizing that women are fans,” Linda Crumpecker said.
Her daughter, Lauren Crumpecker, shared the same feelings.
“It’s really cool that they come here outside of practice on their own time to recognize that women are fans too and that we are the ones that are cheering them on just as much as men are,” Lauren Crumpecker said.
Lauren made sure to let us know that they go to a lot of games, sitting as close as “four rows from the ice.”
The event started by getting members of Club Scarlet out on the ice where they took part in various hockey drills. During their time on the ice the women interacted directly with Caps players, alumni and assistant coach Bob Woods.
They also got a chance to take a quick photo with Backstrom before heading to the off-ice portion of the event. This included strength and conditioning, “Chalk Talk,” and a film session with head coach Boudreau.
“Most of us, at least women in my age bracket, haven’t had a chance to play hockey, so it’s a lot of fun to come and learn from the experts,” Linda said. “Hearing Bruce I learned a lot. Just hearing Boudreau talking about what he sees in the film, that’s really interesting.”
Again it wasn’t just mom who learned from the pros, Lauren – a first-time Hockey ‘N Heels participant – enjoyed the opportunity to be introduced to the game from a first-hand perspective.
“I think it’s really cool that they have a club like this where we are able to learn more about hockey and actually get to play hockey as well,” she said.
And while Linda thought her developing interest in the sport would help her connect with her son, that’s not exactly how things went.
“I got interested in the Caps thinking that my son would share an interest with me, but instead it’s my daughter,” Linda said.
That interest has continued to help keep the bond in their relationship.
“It’s something fun we can do together mother, daughter,” Lauren said.