ALBUQUERQUE – Hello Ice Wolves fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Ice Wolves Den. This past weekend, the NAHL Ice Wolves wore special jerseys and raised money for an amazing charity, Tunnel to Towers and hosted a pancake breakfast where the Ice Wolves Band made their public debut.
Tunnel to Towers will always have a special place in Head Coach Kevin Hartzell’s heart. “As some people may have heard, I had a brother who was homeless. His story was better than most because he was in his own community. He came back from the Military, he had a base to start at because everybody knew him. It was a story right out of the Bible, the man who appeared to have nothing, but at the end of the day, had everything.” Hartzell continued, “His story made me aware of the homeless problem, even right here in Albuquerque. I got tuned into Tunnel to Towers because their mission was to get homeless veterans off of the street. They build villages for them, they help first responders, the work they do is spectacular.”
Although none of the players were born when the attacks on 9/11 occurred, they still understand the importance of the charity. Ice Wolves Captain Johnny Johansson is also proud to wear his Nation’s colors for multiple reasons, his Uncle was one of the founders of the US National Team Development Program, “Every time I see USA and hockey put together, I think of my Uncle. I’d like to be humble about it, but it’s hard to be humble about somebody as important as my Uncle Jimmy.” Johansson continued, “I have the utmost respect for our military and veterans. The story of Kevin Hartzell’s brother you’d think is sad, but it’s really a happy one. He’s a guy who had been on the streets for 40 years, who’s life had been dedicated to serving others. Being able to honor that is pretty special.”
The Hubbard family has been close with Coach Hartzell for years, making it extra special for Ice Wolves forward Stanely Hubbard, “It was super special, made even better because it’s going to raise so much money for such a good cause. It’s always nice to help out people you know directly.”
Sean Gibbons will be moving on to West Point to attend the United States Military Academy, he understands what this represents. “It means so much, knowing what people that came before me sacrificed in that line of service. On my visit there, the people I met were so down to earth. I’ll do anything to honor those great people that came before me.” Gibbons continued, “Coach Hartzell is a great guy, we’d do anything for him. If it means a lot to him, it means a lot to us. This was such a a great weekend for a great cause.”
The Ice Wolves band also made their debut, Tim Hewko credits Coach Hartzell with putting it together, “This was one of his wishes coming into this season putting something together for Tunnel to Towers. Once he found out we had a few guys that could play instruments and sing, he used that as an excuse to put a band together. We were sort of dragging on when we first heard about it, but once we started getting into it, we had a blast.” Hewko continued, “It was an amazing honor to be wearing these colors. Having the connections we have to veterans just within our staff on the Ice Wolves. To be able to put on a show for our fans and raise so much money for such an amazing charity is awesome.”
Another member of the band is Francois De Villiers, who is also going to a military academy, Air Force in Colorado Springs. “I have a huge patriotic bone in my body, it means everything to give back to those that served our country and gave everything for our freedom. I was so excited to do this and to do something good for the World and give back.” De Villiers said, “This weekend was very near and dear to Coach Hartzell and that gave us extra motivation to compete. There was even more to play for. We also did the band, we did it in honor of Coach and the entire organization.”
Coach Hartzell couldn’t be more proud, “We had the players cooking and serving pancakes and our band play Saturday morning, normally I wouldn’t want their focus taken in so many directions, it’s not conducive to winning hockey games, but this mission is bigger than that. Our boys have really embraced that and we’re doing something good.” Hartzell said, “One of my missions coming here was if I’m going to come out of retirement and do this, then I wanted it to be something bigger than me or the hockey team. Jennifer and Stan Hubbard have been awesome in promoting this and making it a big deal.
As of publication, the Ice Wolves have raised over $30,000 for this amazing charity.
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