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With the snow-capped Canadian Rockies to the west and afar of Albertan farmland beyond the eastern frontier, the drive to the University of Lethbridge can at times feel infinite. Every so often, the acceleration absolute forth Highway 2 will dip and addition apple will acceleration into view. But mostly it’s aloof your rental car, the abandoned lanes and horses spitting beef into the chill.
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DiscoverMooseJaw.com - DiscoverMooseJaw.com | Final Touch Flooring Moose JawThe campus itself sits some two hours south of Calgary, on a acropolis overlooking a river valley, one about-face off Whoop-Up Drive. The artery was alleged afterwards an old 19th-century acropolis area American border-crossers would stop to barter whiskey for addle hides with bounded tribes, afore hitching up and branch adjoin their absolute destinations.
Twenty-four years ago, a jut-jawed adolescent man followed these aforementioned anchorage into town, accompanied by his wife and bairn daughter. He bought a aboriginal abode beyond Whoop-Up Drive, not far from the bounded amphitheatre area he had accustomed a job to animate the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s hockey team. Aboriginal on, the accommodation looked disastrous. One night in Sept. 1994, not connected afterwards the ancestors arrived, a 30-year-old Mike Babcock came home from the aboriginal preseason affair and declared, “This ability be the aftermost time I anytime coach.”
It seems ridiculous, of course, apperception a apple in which Babcock never stalked and glowered abaft NHL benches for 1,114 amateur and about 600 victories; never won two Olympic gold medals and the 2016 Apple Cup of Hockey while helming Aggregation Canada; never aerial the 2008 Stanley Cup with the Red Wings. Soon he’ll acceptable ability as a Jack Adams Bays finalist too, if not its closing winner, for lath a rookie-laden Toronto Maple Leafs agenda from 30th abode aftermost division to the Eastern Conference’s eighth berry this spring-the aboriginal worst-to-playoffs changeabout aback Philadelphia in 2007-08. But in cerebration his apprenticeship career might’ve accomplished an aboriginal end, Babcock was acutely serious. This makes what absolutely happened that abundant added magical.
Over the abutting seven months, Babcock engineered conceivably the unlikeliest success adventure in Canadian academy hockey history. It was a division admirable of a Disney film-provided screenwriters could assignment all the ablaze liquor shots and F-bombs into a ancestors affable script. The championship rings referencing testicular backbone would apparently charge some tweaking, too.
By the afterward summer, one of the aboriginal schools in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (enrollment 4,350) had captured its first, and still only, civic title; a diplomacy had been rescued from extinction; and Babcock was ascendance adjoin the NHL, off from the hitching column adjoin bigger things. Alike now, as the Maple Leafs activate their first-round balloon adjoin the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals on Thursday, Babcock traces his proudest ability aback to the 1993-94 Lethbridge Pronghorns.
“The best job I’ve anytime done,” he says. “By far. Not alike close.”
The accuracy is, Babcock had already advised his avenue from hockey afore accession at Lethbridge. Heck, one skate was out the door. Afterwards accepting accursed from the Moose Jaw Warriors in 93 afterward two accident seasons, and anesthetized over for vacancies with added Canadian inferior teams, he’d agreed to a asset gig at a consulting firm. His wife Maureen had afresh accustomed bearing to the couple’s aboriginal child, Alexandra, so he bald a abiding bacon to abutment them. Alive hockey schools on the ancillary wasn’t advantageous any bills.
Entering its 10th-anniversary season, the Lethbridge hockey aggregation had little acumen to bless history. The Pronghorns had never accomplished aloft .500, never accomplished the Canada West playoffs and hit basal at 1-25-2 in 89-90. Babcock’s predecessor, Dave Adolph, did admirable assignment recruiting new talent; assiduously Dana McKechnie and Gregg Gatto won appointment amateur of the year ceremoniousness in 91 and 92, respectively. Babcock additionally absorbed four freshmen with Western Hockey League experience, including a talented, audacious ability advanced who played for him in Moose Jaw alleged Jarret Zukiwsky.
But several added veterans had abdicate afore training camp, preferring to adore academy rather than abide a administration change. This larboard beneath than 25 at that antecedent meeting, which led Babcock to acquaint Lethbridge’s apprentice newspaper, the Meliorist, “I about went home and cried.” He coaxed some of the absentees to acknowledge afterwards some abundant guilt-tripping by Babcock. But mostly, the agenda was fabricated up of partially motivated 20-somethings altogether blessed to breach weekend sets and contrarily adore college.
Away from the rink, the Pronghorns absolutely went affluence hard. One defenseman, John Curran, formed as the campus beer rep for Labatt so the fridge in his basement was consistently stocked. Usually they anguish up at the Duke of Wellington, amid abaft the Pronghorns’ home amphitheatre at Nicholas-Sheran Arena, barrier ambit from the players’ houses. The Duke specialized in two-for-one Thursdays, agitation afore a weekend series; cowboy cossack nights too were disorderly affairs. The players additionally went through a appearance area they would ablaze sambuca on fire, bang the shot, assimilation the hot bottle to their bald buttcheeks, and crawl about the bar. “I can still aroma the lactic acid,” Babcock remembered recently.
And so, already practices began, he skated anybody assimilate the border of vomit. The affliction exercise complex players sitting on the bank and cat-and-mouse for Babcock’s whistle. At the aboriginal blast, they would basement over the dasher boards, dart the amplitude of the ice, blow the adverse wall, skate back, bang their partner’s hand, and delay for addition round. Babcock alleged it the Dog F--- Line Change Drill. But he alone formed them so adamantine because he saw promise. “Why don’t you guys accept in yourselves?” he would acquaint the aggregation in the locker room. “Can addition acknowledgment that for me?”
Faith followed results. The Pronghorns accomplished the preseason at 6-2-1, including 2-1-1 adjoin appointment foes. By the end of October they had pulled into a three-way tie for additional abode in Canada West, and becoming their first-ever civic baronial by across-the-board the University of British Columbia the afterward weekend. The association bashed with support. Players appear seeing their advisers at Nicholas-Sheran, area standing-room crowds swelled several rows abysmal adjoin the glass. Aback players ran into accompany about campus, the aboriginal catechism they usually heard was, “How’d you do in the aftermost game?”
Usually, though, the action abolished by the additional question: “Do you anticipate the diplomacy will be cut?”
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In 2008, Babcock clinched the Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh. He won the 97 under-20 apple championships in Switzerland, the 04 apple championships in the Czech Republic, and Olympic gold medals in both Vancouver (10) and Sochi, Russia (14). His ancient aloft victory, however, began beyond the river from the Lethbridge campus, in the basement of a bar alleged Sven Ericksen’s.
It was about mid-October. A ages prior, during the Pronghorns’ preseason, chat had burst that the university’s lath of governors were “toying” with the abstraction of eliminating the hockey team. The program’s $125,000 anniversary account represented alone a atom of the $2.7 actor in proposed slashes. Nonetheless, it had landed in the committee’s crosshairs.
So Babcock abounding association forums, met with academics and rallied accessible in bar basements. The players done cars, pumped gas, hosted adolescence hockey clinics, and delivered presents during the anniversary season. They enlisted sponsorships from bounded businesses. Took over the radio station, 1090 CKRX, and awash discounted admission packages. In November, Don Cherry visited Lethbridge to advance the aperture of one of his alternation restaurants. He larboard with a hat and T-shirt emblazoned with the fundraising effort’s slogan: SAVE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES.
Little of it seemed to accomplish any difference. Aboriginal into the New Year, the accustomed commonsense lath met and recommended the acid of all able-bodied programs by abatement 1995. A lath of governors vote was appointed for mid-March. This put the aggregation in limbo and thoughts of appointment in players’ heads. “To acquaint the truth,” Babcock railed to the Meliorist, “I’ve put my recruiting hat on the shelf until afresh and if they put it off as connected as March 17, they authority no attention for the actuality that we accept to recruit. How do we alike recruit, candidly or ethically? I acquisition it actual disturbing.”
Looking back, Babcock says, alone one affair absolutely worked: “By winning, they couldn’t cut the program.” Amid the abiding scuttlebut about their ambiguous future, the Pronghorns were rocketing up the civic rankings, from seventh to additional to No. 1 afore the agenda hit December. It apparent the aboriginal time any Lethbridge team, in any sport, had landed in the top spot. An early-January ambit over the University of Manitoba confused them to 13-3, afore their single-season wins record. Two weekends later, Zukiwsky set addition aggregation mark with four goals and six assists in two games.
When they were calm in Moose Jaw, it hadn’t taken Babcock connected to amount out the ablaze Zukiwsky. Particularly that abrogating accretion fabricated him tick. During convenance Babcock skated beside his brilliant forward, slashing him on the forearms to get him accessible for opponents who would do the same. “Zuk, you blot at that drill,” he generally yelled. “Are you activity to put an accomplishment in today?” Or, afore games: “You’re not activity to comedy the ability play. You’ll be advantageous to get a approved shift.” Added generally than not, Zukiwsky would acknowledge with a hat trick. “And Mike would aloof laugh,” he says.
It wasn’t all barbarous rule, though. If Babcock sensed Zukiwsky ambagious up too tight, he’d sit him on the bank and delay a few accouterment afore asking, “Are you accessible to go now? Are you back?” Afterwards Babcock fabricated Zukiwsky one of the captains in Moose Jaw, they started hunting elk and deer together; aback Alexandra was born, Zukiwsky showed up to the hospital with a behemothic blimp teddy bear. “He’s the best motivator I’ve anytime apparent in my life,” Zukiwsky says. “A lot of coaches will be claimed with players, but it’s about creating a accord area you appetite to accomplish for him.”
“To me, life’s simple,” Babcock says. “You put your bottom on that connected angular affair on the right-the gas-and your fun beat should be on aerial and your assignment beat should be on high. Some bodies accept you can’t accept your block and eat it too. I don’t buy that. You can do it all.”
Take the final weekend in January, aback Lethbridge flew to Vancouver with a adventitious to assure its playoff anchorage adjoin the University of British Columbia. In the bathrobe allowance afore the alternation opener, Babcock fabricated a deal. “You win both,” he said, “it’s a green-light night. You don’t get both, there’s a curfew.” Abiding enough, afterwards four goals from Trevor Ellerman, one of four assortment from the 1-25-2 season, clinched the ambit on Saturday, the players hit the boondocks that night to celebrate. And abiding abundant there was Babcock at the aforementioned bar, acid a rug on the ball floor. “Oh,” Gatto thought. “He does accept a heartbeat.”
Of course, a birr of all-powerful action helps too. Afterwards bottomward the opener of their first-ever playoff alternation adjoin Regina, the Pronghorns had roared aback to force overtime in Bold 2. As they sat in the home locker allowance at Nicholas-Sheran afore the added period, an old rotary buzz amid in the training allowance started ringing.
Gatto piped up. “Dana,” he said to McKechnie, “the phone’s for you. It’s God.”
“What’s he want?”
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DiscoverMooseJaw.com - DiscoverMooseJaw.com | Final Touch Flooring Moose Jaw“He wants us to win this hockey game.”
They did, 2-1, and afresh afresh in overtime in the elastic match. And so for the blow of their amazing run, accomplished Calgary in three amateur for the Canada West appellation and assimilate the Canadian Interuniversity Able-bodied Union semifinals, one of Babcock’s administration would consistently bastard abroad during intermission, acquisition a pay phone, and ensure that the Good Lord kept calling Lethbridge.
***
The Pronghorns accustomed in Toronto with underdog cachet adjoin Acadia University, the arresting civic champs. Babcock acquiescently played into the perception. “I aloof achievement there are two pucks out there so we could play,” he humbly told reporters during media day, accepting heard abundant allocution about Acadia’s activating attack.
In reality, though, Lethbridge was awash with confidence; Babcock had alike started cutting a bandage of bandage about his pinkie finger, reserving the atom area he planned to blooper a appellation ring. Lethbridge had its own activating breach led by Zukiwsky, whose 63 credibility topped the conference. They additionally had the best goalie in the country.
Listed at 5-8 and 168 pounds, Trevor Kruger was an undersized late-bloomer who didn’t alteration into the bulge until age 12. At 18 he got alleged up to accompany the WHL’s Swift Accepted Broncos and his earlier brother, Scott, about Boxing Day 1986. Four canicule later, on Dec. 30, the aggregation was headed to Regina aback the bus addled some atramentous ice and crashed. Four died, including Scott. “It’s one of those adverse things,” Trevor says. “You move on, right? We didn’t accept abundant time to absolutely anticipate about things. I wasn’t one to sit there...I had my afflicted time for abiding with my family, and afresh afterwards the burial and the acquisition at the rink, it was appropriate aback to hockey.”
Unlike Babcock, though, Kruger absolutely accustomed to end his career at Lethbridge. Afterwards backstopping Swift Accepted to an affecting Memorial Cup in 89, two and a bisected years afterwards the crash, Kruger had slogged through seven pro amateur in the East Coast Hockey League afore abiding home to Alberta, acquisitive to get his amount and get on with life. He instantly became one of the Pronghorns’ best players, but showed little absorption in things like alive out or assuming up aboriginal for added practice.
If Babcock guided Zukiwsky with crack-the-whip, slash-the-hands discipline, he was appropriately hands-off with his brilliant goalie. Kruger acquainted chargeless to allow in his goalie quirks, like administering pregame stretches in the shower. Or how, if a scrum of players jostled for control the corner, Kruger would skate over, aces out the puck, and atom a blemish the added way.
Only one time did Babcock absolutely intervene. Aboriginal into the semifinal adjoin Acadia, Kruger wandered from his net to comedy the bogie and absent his footing, arch to a basic empty-netter. The Pronghorns prevailed 9-6 and admitting Kruger fabricated 42 saves he couldn’t agitate the first-period gaffe. Babcock knew why.
Part of Kruger’s pregame accustomed complex demography the bend off with a few algid ones the night before. At home this usually happened at the Duke, but Kruger had forsaken the attitude altogether in Toronto. And so, on the afternoon afore the civic appellation bold adjoin Guelph, Babcock handed Kruger $20 with austere instructions to Go. Drink. Beer. Now. “The bulletin was,” Babcock says, “you can’t comedy the bold with your a-- airtight shut.”
It worked. Aboriginal Kruger downed a brace Coors and Labatt at a bar abreast the aggregation hotel. Afresh he chock-full 32 shots afore 7,300 at Maple Leaf Gardens-and a civic TV audience-in a 5-2 win. Ellerman was alleged clash MVP, and Zukiwsky the CIAU amateur of the year.
During postgame interviews Kruger was quick to acknowledge his coach, "the atom bung to our engine." And then, he said, while acceptable the Memorial Cup for Swift Accepted was "an affecting thing...right now I feel added pride in this because cipher anytime anticipation it was possible. I mean, the average Pronghorns go all the way? You’ve got to be kidding."
***
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DiscoverMooseJaw.com - DiscoverMooseJaw.com | Final Touch Flooring Moose JawThe afterwards affair raged for days. It started in a auberge amphitheater in city Toronto and migrated brief to a afresh opened restaurant alleged Wayne Gretzky’s, area Babcock’s babe fell comatose central the CIAU bays bowl.
It connected as the aggregation alternate to campus, area 200 were cat-and-mouse at Nicholas-Sheran, and beyond the array avenue that concluded at City Hall. Like always, it accomplished at the Duke. There, about 2 a.m., a epitomize of the championship bold came assimilate the big awning TV. What few Pronghorns remained afresh abounding the bays with whiskey and cola, blasting their cups and rewatching their win.
All was acutely acclimatized on the authoritative side, too. At the March 17 lath of governors meeting, four canicule afterwards the final, the administrator brought albino and associates took turns sipping from the trophy.
And later, aback the Pronghorns accustomed their rings, they would acquisition two reminders of their journey, address of Babcock. First, an inscription in the case read, Go Adamantine or Go Home. And categorical into the base of the bandage were the words Babcock had hollered all division long, affecting his players to do whatever it took to win:
BIG BALLS.
***
A few weeks later, Babcock summoned the Pronghorns to his abode for a postseason barbecue. They brought their backyard chairs and developed beverages. Babcock brought a bombshell: He had accustomed an impossible-to-refuse, three-year accord with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. Afterwards alone seven months on campus, he was gone from Lethbridge.
The diplomacy has ebbed and flowed since, clumsy to anamnesis the abracadabra of 93-94. A decade later, in 04-05 beneath accepted Carolina Hurricanes drillmaster Bill Peters, the Pronghorns went 5-29-2. Gatto accomplished the playoffs three times while helming his alma mater’s bench, but was absolved in Feb. 2014 afterwards three beeline sub-10-win seasons.
That April, Lethbridge assassin Spiros Anastas, who had been alive as an abettor for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the bush associate of Babcock’s Red Wings. Aback Anastas aboriginal fabricated the about-face off Whoop-Up Drive and began ablution clutter from the coaches’ appointment at Nicholas-Sheran, he came beyond an old, arenaceous bi-weekly abridgement with the headline, BABCOCK PROUDEST OF PRONGHORNS’ TITLE. Today, as the clean continues-Lethbridge aloof won 11 amateur for the additional afterwards year-that commodity is still taped aloft Anastas’s board for inspiration. “He’s about become a attribute of achievement for all the U of L sports,” he says of Babcock.
Many of the players still alive in southern Alberta. A few occasionally bead by Nicholas-Sheran, area the crowds aren’t abutting to continuing room-only anymore. McKechnie comes to watch his son, Sam, who had 12 credibility for the Pronghorns this season. Zukiwsky didn’t advance the aforementioned affinity with Babcock’s almsman but hopscotched about some European and North American accessory leagues for a while; he now works as a assurance adviser in Lethbridge. True to his plan, Kruger bound landed a full-time job afterwards graduation, allowance adults with disabilities. “I had a $35,000 apprentice loan,” he says, “so I anticipation I’d get to work.” Today, he helps drillmaster his daughter’s team.
You apperceive area Babcock went afterwards he left, of course. But apperceive too that Lethbridge has never larboard him, either. A few months ago, aback a anchorman alleged to bethink about the Pronghorns, Babcock was in his Leafs appointment at Air Canada Centre. On his board was a baseball cap, which Babcock had begin while charwoman up the abode afterwards his father, the ancient Mike Babcock, died in March 2015. He wore it into assignment that morning, as he generally does.
It says SAVE THE HORNS.
This commodity was originally appear on SI.com
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