The Frozen Gift

“BRING THE SKATES INSIDE”

The exterior thermostat visible from the kitchen window indicated -15 celsius. The morning sun was rising above the tree line to the south-east, and I hoped that the clear sky would continue into the afternoon and provide some warmth on the lake. There is no question that our family would be on the open air hockey rink after a hardy lunch, battling for the Demers Cup!   

When you play hockey in Canada on an outside rink in the coldest months of the year, the most important thing is to keep warm. Hockey skates that don’t freeze your feet become the priority to having a good game. The other stuff is simply secondary: like the quality of the hockey stick; if you use a real puck or a tennis ball (some even use a block of ice); the quality of your hockey gloves (many play with mittens); if you use hockey or figure skates: and lastly, the actual hockey skills of the players. 
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So, it was no surprise that all the skates were brought inside overnight to avoid having to insert your feet inside frozen inflexible plastic and leather blocks. Unfortunately, the same rule did not apply to the hockey sticks and hockey pucks. Our family therefore applied some rules for these freezing games - no contact with the sticks and more importantly, no lifting the puck off the ice! It is simply in place for survival… If you have ever been hit by a frozen puck you will understand. 

The most important, memorable and enjoyable games of hockey in my adult life took place during the Christmas holidays on a frozen lake near the town of Gracefield, Quebec. Deep in the wilderness about 100 km north of Ottawa was where the frozen gift was located. My brother Steve and his wife Josée decided to buy a beautifully forested piece of lakefront property years ago, and built a cabin for their family of five. The seclusion was perfect, especially in the winter when most seasonal cottagers were not present. I’ve been there in all seasons, but the winter is the most unique. Over time, the little cabin was expanded to accommodate extended family and friends, and naturally became a gathering place during the holidays.   

The hockey team which brought me such pleasure was all family, composed of my daughters, nieces, nephew, parents, and even grandparents. The games captured the spirit of the holidays, and everyone joined the fun. The Demers clan of players sometimes expanded for a game here and there when friends visited. But it was mainly a family affair. When I was  researching for this blog I found a picture of my mom, Martine, and wife, Linda, acting as goalies (well, in truth, they stood with a stick to make it harder to slide the puck in the net), and my dad, Claude, standing in a defensive position (he was mostly contributing by cheering on the kids). Even the dogs got into it, with Josée holding down the responsibility of protecting the little puppies so that they did not get injured. 

No matter the temperature, we were out there!

After an afternoon hockey game

​My brother Steve was the main caretaker of our precious rink. Every year, on the day after he would arrive at his cabin with his family to celebrate Christmas and escape the city, he began the ritual. First, he would walk down the numerous snow filled steps to the lake and assess the quality of the ice, and more importantly measure how much snow had gathered on top of the ice. The most critical of the two was the amount of snow, because (you guessed it) all that snow would have to be removed to expose the ice for a proper rink. Of all the years we played on that rink, the size was never the same and completely determined by snowfall - if there was lots of snow it was smaller, and vice versa. He was so passionate and resolute on having a proper rink each year that he and his son Phil would spend countless hours on the first few days shovelling crazy amounts of snow and flooding the open ice at night to make it perfect. All by hand, no snowblower, no electric auger, just an old water pump (which had to be carried up and down the hill each day so it did not seize…. a frozen pump is useless!). The work was hard, but one of his rewards was being able to eat large amounts of tourtière and sweet holiday treats after the daily effort!   
  
By the time my family arrived from Oakville for a few days of holiday cheer in the winter wonderland, the rink was a work of art. It had two full size proper hockey nets with the red steel posts. A border was present around the rink made from either hard snow and ice, or pieces of wood when the snow was minimal. He even added two sets of powerful flood lights for evening games - which rarely included the entire family but mostly the hard core players. We would end our evening game by completing a fresh flood for the next day, improving the ‘boards’ with the water before freezing, and lastly turn off the lights. This last part was the most beautiful on clear nights with mirror reflections coming off the freezing ice surface.

It was probably rude of me, but each year when we arrived at the cabin (even before saying hello and asking how everyone was doing) the first words out of my mouth were:

 “How is the ice this year?”

It was the only time of the year when I got to play the game of my youth on a frozen surface, outside, open to the winter elements. It was also good for me to exert my banker physique and get the lungs going!  Like my daughter Julia used to say… “must shed some of that little holiday weight”. 

Everyone who celebrates the holidays has a childhood memory, no matter the location or the tradition, there is something in the memory bank that stays there for a lifetime. For me, it was going to see my grandparents and extended family in Victoriaville, Québec.  As the oldest grandkids on both sides of the family, we had the pleasure of being treated to special visits with aunts and uncles. I played outside a little bit, but it was mostly inside the homes that my fun took place. Playing cards, bumper pool, tok, and making a racket with my grandfather’s jukebox turned up very loud. We bounced from one home to another for what seemed like days of dizzying social activity. Mom and dad enjoyed the company of their siblings and parents, while Steve and I played with our younger cousins. We never stopped (probably due to the massive intake of sugar from all the treats) and only slowed down when mom would finally tell us to go to bed….PLEASE GO TO BED! 😂   
 
Now that we were parents, my brother and I hoped these games of hockey would become part of the fond holiday memories of our kids. What better than to have strong family memories that exemplify the real spirit of Christmas. We might have shed some of the traditional religious routines like attending midnight mass over the last decades, But I’d like to believe that our actions and shared values continue to respect the significance of December 25th. Based on the stories that our kids still share today about those special hockey games, I think it worked!

Nephew Phil practicing his hockey skills.
Snow and cold never stopped him from enjoying the rink on the lake.

Looking back, I remember a few epic games. Not because of the score or which team won the game, but because of the circumstances around a certain game. 

Some of my favourites are:

THE HUMBLING GAME

It was late December 2018 and we already had been playing a few days of what we thought was pretty good hockey. The weather had been good and sunny, so the time on the ice for our gang was longer than other years. On this particular day, the Sabourin family from a nearby lake had called in the morning to tell us they would be coming to join the game in the afternoon. “Awesome” my brother replied “The more the better”. These are our great friends, and their crew included young teenage boys who played organized hockey. I never gave it a second thought, how good could they be?

Well... I never touched the puck!  

Ok, maybe I touched it a little bit, but not for long! And if I did it was because one of the boys (or dads) decided it would be nice to include me in the play. My daughters and nieces laughed and laughed. My nephew excelled un the game now that he had better players on the ice. And my resolute brother skated like never before to try to keep up. Suffice to say it was humbling… but I worked so hard that I had myself a few extra ‘Hello Dolly’ treats after dinner.
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The gang on a very cold afternoon. 
Some decided to play in boots to avoid the freezing skates.

THE DEEP FREEZE

When the little outside thermostat needle went lower than -25 celsius, we knew the hockey crew would be reduced for that day. On the last days of 2017, the roster was reduced for the entire time we stayed at the cabin. On the first afternoon after arrival I was so excited that I went down to the lake with my brother and nephew, put on my skates, and started passing the puck. Steve had told me that the wind from the north was frigid, but I brushed it off from the comfort of the warm cabin. But once on the ice it took mere minutes before my face was frozen and my hands stiff. After an attempt at skating a few times around the ice I felt my lungs getting tight. “Sorry boys. This is crazy. I’m out!”. I can usually handle the cold but it must have been - 45 with the wind effect.

Next day, same temperature. But this time we decide to forget the skates and make it a game on boots. Surely we will be much warmer with our feet tucked into our felt-lined winter boots. Yes, the feet were warm but nothing changed for the upper body, face, and hands. We just kept moving which made things bearable. This time our daughters also joined the three of us, but one by one the brave hockey players exited. My daughter Emilie actually stayed the longest with Steve and me. She just loved playing on that ice year after year, and had limitless energy. Her hockey abilities improved each year and she became quite skilled. 

Sadly the deep freeze did not really let up during our visit that year. But we still got the family cup game done (just a much shorter one!).
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​HOCKEY NIGHT IN GRACEFIELD

One night in 2019 after a full meal and a few cocktails, we convinced the kids to get dressed, put on skates, and play a little night hockey. Let me state that it is no simple achievement to convince teenagers to come outside and play in the cold after dinner, in the dark!  Even our most committed player, Phil, required a little nudge.

Steve and I were excited about this. We had rarely been able to convince our full hockey team to venture out after dark onto the ice, so we took care of everything. The lights were set-up, we brought water, some sweet treats, extra gloves and mittens, and maybe even a few drinks. My wife Linda also joined us to take some special photographs. We were ready!

Steve and I went down first and waited on the ice as the team made its way down to the lake, with laughter filling the quiet evening. We were elated, and happy. I don’t know if it was the extra energy from the great meal or the special sweet treats, but the fun we had that night was magical. Far from a formal game, we would stumble to the ice, pass the puck with our hands, tackle each other into the snow, not count the score, and get lost in the celestial sky. We stayed out for a few hours, with my brother and I lingering as long as we could after the others had left to enjoy the magic of the peaceful winter environment.

The best gift.

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