It was the sports trip of a lifetime for a hockey fan from Mitchell. Luke Friesen travelled with his father Morley to Florida to watch game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final Monday night.

Friesen says the seed for this trip was first planted about four years ago. It was then that his father told him that the two of them should take in a big sporting event sometime in the future. 

An avid sports fan, Friesen says he cheers for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Jets and as a loyal Canadian fan will root for the Blue Jays and Raptors if they make the playoffs. 

In 2022, the father and son had their first real opportunity to try something big. Friesen says the two of them had their sights set on attending game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between Tampa Bay and Colorado. In fact, they already had their tickets bought and their flights purchased for a potential showdown in Colorado. However, Colorado ended up winning the Cup in game 6 in Tampa Bay, and the trip never happened. 

Two years later, the same discussion happened, with Friesen and his father deciding that they would fly to Florida for game 7 if it got that far. He notes after three games, it looked doubtful as the Panthers held a 3-0 lead over the Edmonton Oilers. However, with Edmonton winning game 4 and leading in game 5, Friesen got a phone call from his father and the two started planning their potential trip. Edmonton ended up winning game 5 and game 6 and now their dream had become a reality.

Friesen says on Sunday morning they flew out of Winnipeg to Fort Lauderdale. He says it was really cool to see Oilers fans everywhere, with our country embracing the Edmonton Oilers as Canada's team.

"We got to the airport first thing Sunday morning in Winnipeg and there were Oilers jerseys everywhere," he says. "I knew when we would get to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday there would be Oilers fans and Oilers jerseys everywhere. But just to see Canada come together."

Friesen says on Monday they had most of the day to kill and so he and his father decided to head to the rink after breakfast just to see what they could find. He notes their timing was perfect, as the Oilers had just finished their morning skate and were filing out of the arena. 

"Stuart Skinner, Darnell Nurse, and then there's Connor McDavid," he recalls. "It was pretty cool to see the whole team, all in their suits walking out from morning skate. We're 100 feet from them. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, there's isn't a better moment in time in the sport."

Friesen says he and his father ended up arriving at the arena well before opening faceoff and decided to walk around before taking their seats. It was then that they bumped into commentator Ron MacLean, who shared memories from his time in Steinbach in 2019 for Rogers Hometown Hockey. 

Luke and Morley Friesen at Game 7 (submitted)

Friesen says two of his biggest takeaways from Monday night were just how shiny the Stanley Cup is in person and the singing of the national anthems. He says it was an emotional experience to hear the Edmonton Oilers fans drown out the singing of the Canadian anthem, followed immediately by the Florida Panthers fans doing the same for the American anthem. 

"Both anthems were incredible, they were so loud you couldn't even hear the singer," he recalls. "She may as well not even have been there."

Friesen says in that moment it no longer felt like Edmonton vs Florida, but rather Canada vs USA. 

Friesen says ultimately, he was hoping that Edmonton would win the game so that the Stanley Cup would return to Canada. However, Friesen says he was happy for former Winnipeg Jets Coach Paul Maurice to now win the Cup with Florida. 

Friesen and his father stuck around the arena until the last of the players had exited the ice, bringing the cup with them. He says it was very special to see the players celebrate the victory with their families. 

So, what is next for the father and son? 

"We don't know," he says. "Super Bowl is a big one, but we haven't really talked about that one. That would be quite hectic."

Friesen says he would also be perfectly content to see his brother Isaac take in an experience like this with his father, noting his brother's work schedule did not allow for him to make this trip to Florida.