An Educational, Fun and Winning Trip into
Hockey History for the Novi Wildcats
1/12/2005  Additional information  More photos
 

Imagine riding 10 hours in a bus with 22 sixteen and seventeen-year-olds, jumping off the bus, catching a practice and study hall, playing a couple hockey games, and then riding 10 hours back to Novi.  Sounds like fun, hey?  Well, that's just what the Novi Varsity Hockey Team did this past weekend, and boy did they enjoy it.  So did their coaches. 

When the Wildcats boarded a bus last Thursday morning at the Novi Ice Arena, most of the school was still asleep.  It was a snow day,  but not for these guys.  They piled into the bus, MP3 and DVD players, playing cards, and snack food in hand, and sat back for the quick 10 hour ride to the birthplace of professional hockey - Houghton, Michigan.

Along the way, the coach lead the boys on a team building exercise in the bus.  Team building and comradery are a big part of the trip, and Head Coach Dan Phelps makes sure that lesson is learned throughout the trip.  Assistant Coaches Dennis Gagnon, John Smith and Dave Zarem also rode the bus with the team, offering wisdom that only a veteran hockey road warrior can - and these four coaches are definitely all veterans of hockey road trips.  The lessons, and some relaxation, continued until the bus reached Houghton.

They've been playing hockey in Houghton since 1896.  Since 1902, they've played hockey at the same site in Houghton.  It's currently called the Dee Stadium and has been the Dee since around World War II.  When you play or watch hockey at the Dee, you can imagine what it was actually like 100 years ago.  The building looks about that old.  There's even a museum in the building to show off the area's rich hockey history.

The team arrived in Houghton Thursday evening in time for dinner, a quick swim in the hotel pool, and then some sleep.  Friday morning, it was time for some hockey practice at Michigan Tech, then a tour of the campus.  After a meal and a study session (yep, hockey guys helping each other with subjects like calculus and business law), the team headed up the road 20 miles to the Calumet Armory to take on the Copper Kings.  Novi won 2-1.  Pizza time!

Saturday, it was an afternoon game against the Houghton Gremlins at the Dee.  The boys won that game 5-3 with their conference rivals, the Brighton Bulldogs, loudly cheering in unison for them the entire game. Then, afterwards, young Houghton fans gathered in the rink's museum for some Novi autographs - something that most of these guys hadn't experienced before.

After more food, the team got back onto the bus and headed back to the Calumet Armory for an evening game: Brighton vs. Calumet.  At that game, Novi returned the favor of loudly cheering for Brighton.  Brighton won that game too.  Two KVC teams verses two of the oldest high school hockey teams in the country, and the KVC won all four games.  Afterward, you guessed it, more food for the guys.  They eat a lot!

Sunday morning, it was back aboard the bus for the long ride back to Novi, and back to reality.  They made it to Novi right on schedule.  In fact, they were early as the bus driver jokingly offered to drive around the block to ensure they were exactly on time.

Now you're probably wondering, who paid for all of this? The kids did, or rather, their parents did.  The trip was entirely financed through fund raising and payments from the kid's families.  When you think about it, this actually saved the school money -- they could have played local games and used school buses at the school's expense, but instead they opted to pay to play in the U.P.

At the end of the four day trip, Coach Phelps noted something that many probably don't realize.  There are a lot of different teams these guys could play on.  They chose to play on the Novi High School team.  They chose to be Wildcats.  Why?  Because they enjoy playing hockey in front of their classmates.  They enjoy each other's company.   They learn a lot from four dedicated and very experienced coaches.  It's great comradery.

From the looks of the kids as they reached Novi and talked to mom and dad again, this trip was something they'll remember for a very, very long time -- probably as long as the Dee has been around.
 

Story by Scott Olson; photos courtesy of Olson and Michael Ruccolo.