 "Photo: Jen Stiles/ Cardinal Points")
A.B.
Those are the initials that are emblazoned on the back of co-captain Laurie Bowler’s hockey helmet, honoring her late mother, Anne Bowler, who passed away last summer from lung cancer.
Bowler found out about her mother’s illness after the Lady Cardinals were defeated by Amherst in the NCAA quarterfinals last season.
“I thought something was wrong, but obviously I didn’t think that it was going to be the worst possible situation,” Laurie said.
Laurie knew after she got the news she was going to be dedicating her summer to spending as much time with her family as possible.
“I couldn’t have done it without her,” Rick Bowler, Laurie’s father, said. “She was really the corner stone in helping and comforting Anne in her final days.”
While her trip home was to celebrate the life of a woman who made her the person she is today, the trip also brought her back to her roots — to the place where she learned to play the one sport she loves.
“I always used to put a backyard rink in, and she started skating in it when she was 4 years old,” Rick said. “Then, all we had to do was put a stick in her hand.”
But Laurie wasn’t the only one gliding across that backyard rink.
Her older brothers, Adam and Todd, were also lacing up their skates.
Her brothers were bigger, faster and more skilled, but that didn’t stop Laurie from competing against them.
“A lot of the times, she skated to the back door crying,” Rick said. “She sort of took a beating on the backyard rink.”
But Laurie never gave up. She wasn’t intimidated by her older brother Todd, who would later play in the Ontario Hockey League. Her brother’s ruthless tactics never deterred her from playing the sport.
It never stopped her from wanting to skate.
“The kids used to eat supper with their skates on and then go right back out,” Rick said. “At night when I turned the lights off, if there was a full moon they would just keep on skating.”
Laurie played boy’s hockey until the age of 12. After this, she was a member of the Brantford Wildcats, where she was the team MVP on numerous occasions, Rick said.
Laurie went on to play junior hockey for the Stony Creek Sabers and then for the Burlington Barracudas.
It was in Burlington where Laurie caught the eye of PSUC Head Coach Kevin Houle.
Once Laurie started competing against people of her own gender and age, her abilities became evident.
“She fended for herself — she’s always had the size,” Rick said. “She was always a little bigger than the other girls, so she always had a slight advantage.”
Her abilities became even more apparent once she started playing for the Lady Cards.
As a freshman, Laurie played in all 29 games and was second on the team in scoring with 38 points.
Laurie credited Houle with helping her get acclimated with the college game.
“When I first came in here I was a centerman, but then I moved over to right wing,” Laurie said. “He’s really helped coach me because I really didn’t know that much about being a winger. He’s definitely brought me up and helped get to where I am today.”
The change in positions is not the only thing that was different about the college game.
The ability to continue playing with the same players was something that Laurie said she never experienced before.
“I’ve made lifelong friends, which is always a bonus,” Laurie said. “With other teams at home, I’d play for one team and then another, but here, playing with the same girls over and over again is really nice.”
Laurie also brought to PSUC that positive attitude that allowed her to continue skating around that backyard rink.
PSUC defenseman Kristen Bond said Laurie is one of those people who everyone can always look up to — a player who is always giving teammates compliments and getting them pumped up.
“When it’s a tough time, she gives everyone a positive outlook,” Bond said. “When we are having a bad practice, she’s the one that pumps us all up and tells us that we’ll have a new day tomorrow.”
Her work ethic, which she developed through constant battles with her older brothers, is always something she brings to the Lady Cards, co-captain Stephanie Moberg said.
“She works hard on every shift. She’s always giving 100 percent,” Moberg said. “I think being a captain and working that hard makes the younger girls see what it takes to become a great hockey player.”
While this upcoming season will be a new challenge for Laurie, beating the odds is something she has become accustomed to over the years.
Whether it be going up against an older brother or dealing with a loss, Laurie has the strength to make it through.
“When you get your heart broken and have so much sadness in you, it’s hard to push on and achieve, but she did,” Rick said. “I’m so proud of Laurie.”
And though she might not be there in person, Anne will always be rooting her on.
“I know Anne would want her to push,” Rick said. “We know she’s watching over us.”
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