CALGARY – Hours after taking to centre ice for an emotional embrace from Flames fans to open the season, Cohen Snow stood in the Flames' locker room, sharing fist bumps and smiles with the man who carried the evening from there, Jacob Markstrom.
The mutual respect for one another was evident.
The strength which Cohen, sister Willa and their mother Kelsie exhibited throughout Chris Snow’s heroic battle with ALS was recognized by the team as the teary-eyed trio made the season-opening puck drop at centre ice Wednesday night.
The crowd stood and gave a lengthy ovation, recognizing the inspirational fight from the Flames assistant GM who passed on Sept. 30 at age 42.
The family then watched as the Flames did what Chris loved most as a team exec: they won.
The analytics Chris thrived on were ugly, as was the team’s defensive play, but unlike last year when the Flames lost plenty of games they should have won, the script flipped.
The better team lost, and Markstrom was the biggest reason why, stopping 35 shots in a 5-3 win over Winnipeg.
“I want to thank the Snow family for coming out and dropping the puck,” said Markstrom in a dressing room in which players tempered their excitement with the emotion that opened the evening.
“It’s a lot of emotions.
“It’s tough to lose a husband and father and they were so strong out there. I think it hit home for a lot of people out there.”
It has for weeks, as his inspirational journey has been celebrated.
The Flames opened the game on their heels, outshot 10-2 in an opening six minutes in which Markstrom responded to every test before Mangiapane scored his first of two on the night.
Two minutes later, it happened.
A Kyle Connor shot from 40 feet out somehow snuck through Markstrom’s pads for the type of softie Flames fans became all too familiar with last year.
However, it was how the big Swede responded that gives hope this season will be different.
Despite a steady string of giveaways and defensive lapses that saw the Winnipeg Jets hold a 15-5 advantage in high-danger chances, Markstrom was rock solid before Mangiapane set Elias Lindholm up for the game-winner with 92 seconds left.
For a crowd so used to seeing the Flames implode late in close games last year, it was the perfect tonic for a club hoping to get its swagger back.
Mangiapane’s empty netter sealed the deal on a night he believes his team won for the man they called Snowy.
“It was tough and sad, what they’re going through,” said Mangiapane of the pre-game scene in which mom wiped away tears and hugged her two kids as the fans showered them with love.
“Chris meant so much to them and he meant so much to this organization.
“I think all the guys were feeling it on the blue line.
“I think it honestly maybe fueled us a little bit, and tried to get the win for him.”
Snow’s funeral is set for Thursday afternoon at St. Michael Catholic Community where former GM Brad Treliving will give the eulogy and a large crowd is expected to pay their respects to a man who taught us all so much about not taking a single day for granted.
The entire team will be there for the funeral, but that didn’t stop a handful of the team’s leaders from making a point of coming out after the game to see Cohen and his two pals in the dressing room.
“It’s super emotional to watch and see the family out there... it’s so hard to talk about,” said Lindholm.
“I haven’t seen the family in quite a while, and to see them walk out there was emotional for sure.”
As trivial as hockey wins are at times like these, the Flames sure needed something to feel good about, after a summer of change and uncertainty were followed by Snow's passing.
“Obviously we didn’t play the way we wanted tonight, but Marky was unbelievable and we found a way to win,” said Lindholm, whose explosive celebration with Mangiapane after the game-winner said plenty.
“It wasn’t pretty out there, but we got the two points and that’s all that matters.
“They were the better team pretty much the whole game and we found a way to get one there late.
“Hopefully we can build off that.”
They’ll have to do so on the road, where they’ll spend the next five games, touring through the east.
Expect to see plenty of Markstrom there.
“I believe in him as much or more than anybody on our team,” said Ryan Huska, whose club got a powerplay goal from Mangiapane, a shorthanded goal from Rasmus Andersson and an even-strength goal from MacKenzie Weegar.
“He’s an elite goaltender.
"With the first ten minutes, it could have been significantly different than what it was if not for him being ready to play.
“He did a great job for us, as expected.”
So did Snow, who overcame increasing health issues to give tirelessly to the club.
“That’s a big piece of our organization, and with anybody, when you see the family it hits home a little bit," Huska said.
“There’s a lot of people in here that have kids and it’s tough when they lose their dad at a young age. But the crowd did an amazing job of saluting him with a nice ovation for a lengthy period of time, as well as Kelsie and the kids.
“It’s a tough one but we’re there with them, for sure.”
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