Hockey heritage alive in Fort Frances

Tristen and Jackson Lippert don’t know much about the Allan Cup but there is one thing they do know–their grandfather’s name is on it.
The boys and their parents travelled here from Kitchener, Ont. just to attend the A&A hockey camp (named for Mike and Dave Allison) at Memorial Arena last week.
Inside the dank arena corridors, there is the familiar smell of Canadian hockey. And inside a glass case on one of the walls is a framed picture of the Fort Frances Canadians–winners of the Allan Cup way back in 1952.
There, sitting in the front row, is the legendary (at least in the minds of his grandchildren) assistant captain Vernon O’Donnell.
“He’s the great Vernon!” said 10-year-old Tristen Lippert, pointing at the picture of his grandpa. “That’s really cool because that was a really long time ago and I’m still playing on the [same] ice.
“I’m surprised [the arena] hasn’t fallen down.”
O’Donnell made his way down to the arena several times to catch a glimpse of the two boys practising their drills and playing shinny at the hockey camp.
“They’re pretty young. They’re just starting out but I enjoyed watching them,” he said.
The Allison brothers started their inaugural hockey camp here believing they could draw on their experience in the National Hockey League and pass it on to young players.
Dave Allison has coached for 10 years, including a brief stint behind the bench of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators in 1995-96.
His younger brother, Mike, who broke into the NHL in 1980 with the New York Rangers, also spent some time with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the mid-80s before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Kings in 1990.
After a couple of years as a colour guy on Kings’ broadcasts, he headed back home.
“I sure remember the stories of Allan Cup,” Allison recalled about growing up in town. “My father had moved here in the early ’50s. He talked about Vernie and the kind of slick centreman he was.”
Beth O’Donnell-Lippert, the boys’ mother, also grew up here, living on Scott Street where her father, Vernon, still lives. Her summers usually were spent with her long-time friend, Bridget Dobranski, Rick Stewart, the Allisons’ childhood friend and business manager, and, of course, Mike and Dave.
“Dave was a little older so he wasn’t around much but I think Bridget might have dated him,” she recalled. “Michael and Ricky were around a lot. Ricky told us one year [Mike] was going to be in the NHL and we laughed.
“The next year, he came back and he was with the [New York] Rangers,” she said, adding she would go with her husband to Maple Leaf Gardens to watch him play for the Leafs.
In the heat of those halcyon summer days, apparently Mike Allison had his eyes on more than just a hockey career.
“I used to have a tremendous crush on Beth when I was growing up but my good friend, Rick Stewart, beat me to the punch,” he laughed.
“They are both now happily with somebody else,” he added.
O’Donnell-Lippert has kept in touch with Allison over the years and when she found out the brothers were starting a hockey camp here, the pieces started to fit together and a summer vacation to Northwestern Ontario was in the offing.
“We wanted to give [our sons] the opportunity for a special vacation,” said their father, Dave Lippert.
Lippert said the prospect of having the boys playing hockey in the same building as their grandfather was “chilling”–and something the family couldn’t pass up even if they are not likely to ever play in the NHL.
“Children’s dreams can be wonderful and they shouldn’t be dissuaded from that no matter how realistic a parent’s expectations might be,” Lippert warned.
“We are interested in developing a love of sports that they can carry throughout their life,” he added.
Mike Allison could not agree more, and noted their philosophy in developing the camp followed a similar approach.
“The important thing is that parents feel comfortable leaving their kids with us and saying, ‘They’re not only getting some quality supervision, they are learning some positive values,’” Allison said.
“When I was at that age, the age where I had aspirations of playing professional hockey, I was fortunate to move on and play [in the NHL],” he continued.
“[But] 99 percent of these kids aren’t [going to play in the NHL]. It’s about kids coming and having fun and learning the values of team sports, and that’s what we stress everyday,” he stressed.
While in town for hockey school, the Lippert boys were cross-training for lacrosse. In fact, they skipped a tournament in Nepean to come here. And the family is looking down the road to the potential scholarship opportunities at big U.S. schools.
“We’re rooting for the lacrosse [side of it]. We’re kind of doing the opposite, we’re cross-training in hockey. There are a lot of scholarship opportunities,” O’Donnell-Lippert noted.
“It is less competitive.”
“I don’t even want to play hockey when I grow up,” admitted nine-year-old Jackson Lippert, who once chipped his ribs playing lacrosse.
The Lippert brothers are very different. Tristen likes the Colorado Avalanche and Jackson the Leafs. Tristen wants to be a goalie and his favourite player is Av’s goaltender Patrick Roy.
He is quick to point out Roy’s birthday is the day before his. And he would have played goalie at the camp but there was not enough room for his equipment in the car.
Meanwhile, Jackson likes Mats Sundin and Tie Domi, and said his favourite part of the hockey camp was “body checking.”
The camp, held July 19-23 and July 26-30, consisted of various on-ice drills, scrimmages, and off-ice games like soccer and football. Tristen described the dryland training as “when you work with Brock [Madill] and this other lady do lots of laps and it keeps your heart working fast.”
Mike Allison played with Wayne Gretzky when he was with the Kings and has instituted part of his training formula in the hockey camp. It went over pretty well but did not get same reaction as getting McDonald’s for lunch.
“It’s really fun, McDonald’s everyday,” drooled Tristen
But seriously.
“I liked that they worked us really hard . . . ” Tristen started.
“You liked that?” Jackson interrupted in astonishment.
Both boys agreed the Allisons were professional in their approach although there was one problem.
“Mike and Dave kept confusing me because I couldn’t tell which one was Dave and which one was Mike,” Tristen admitted.