The Early Years

If you're here, welcome! I wanted a place to preserve and showcare the memories of Joe, Aidan and Matthew and their love of hockey. The early mornings, the first seasons, and everything that somehow went by so fast! This felt like the easiest way to hold onto it all and look back on where it started.

Hockey didn't start with us, it started with my Uncle Mike, who introduced it to our family and got my brother Patrick into playing. From there, it just kind of became part of our lives.

Murph was really the one who brought it into our boys' world. They spent so much time with him growing up. Playing mini hockey in the house, watching games together, going to watch him play. He was only 13 when I had Aidan, so he grew up right alongside them. Not just an uncle, but more like a big brother. They looked up to him in every way and just wanted to do whatever he was doing.

They both stepped on the ice when they were 3. Aidan was a little ahead at first, but they eventually got to start together in the Little Howlers learn-to-play program, which made it even more special because Murph was one of the instructors. After that, they started their first season of Mites at the Chandler Development Program and were on the same team, with Joe coaching them. He's been behind the bench every year since.

One of the first things I remember is being surprised at how good they were right away. They skipped over Mini Mites and went straight into half-ice games, and they just looked like they belonged out there. I was so proud of them.

Practices were early sometimes, but they improved every single week. And through all of it, they just kept looking up to Murph. Watching them take the same path he did, at the same rink he grew up in, made me really nostalgic. It's one of those things that makes you realize how fast time goes.

The Coyotes were a huge part of that time in our lives. We started out just going to games and being fans, but it grew into something more, especially once Murph started working with their learn-to-play programs. That team meant a lot to him, and because of that, it meant a lot to us too. Those last couple seasons at Mullet Arena were really special. He took the boys to so many games, and they made some really great memories together.

Around that same time, Joe started to get back into hockey too. Coaching the boys reminded him how much he loved the game, and after not playing since he was 9, he decided to join a men's league. We were all really excited for him. It felt like he found something again that he didn't even realize he had been missing.

Aidan and Matthew have always been very different players. Aidan has always been the one to carry the puck up the ice, weaving through people and trying to score. Matthew plays more cautiously, sticks to his position, and waits for the right opportunities. They've both grown so much, but even from the beginning you could see their personalities come through in how they played.

Our weekends during the season quickly became all about hockey. We were always at the rink, and now that games are on Saturdays, we joke that making it to Sunday morning Mass feels like a win.

I think I knew it was more than just a sport the first time I saw Aidan walking around in skates at my parents' house. It felt like something we had been waiting for, and we did the same thing with Matthew when he was little. Hockey was one of the first things Joe and I ever bonded over when we met, so seeing our boys grow up in it together has always felt really full circle.

Nothing was ever perfect, but it was always fun, and that's all we ever really wanted for them.