First in a series featuring tales of the most passionate Wolves fans.
By Danny Karmin
On June 19, 2022, the Wolves took the ice for Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals against the Springfield Thunderbirds at Allstate Arena.
It marked the first time in American Hockey League history that a Calder Cup Playoffs game was contested on Father’s Day as the league had never played that late into June.
As exhilarating as it was fo
r Wolves fans to see their team on the big stage, one family in attendance had heavy hearts.
A day before the Father’s Day game, John Page — husband to Brigette and father to Brandon — passed away.
John grew up a hockey enthusiast and shared his passion with his son. When they originally bought tickets during the 2022 postseason run, John and Brandon attended as many games as possible, enjoying the sport with which they had heavily bonded.
“My husband was a lover of hockey,” Brigette said. “It didn’t matter what team or who was playing, there was always a hockey game playing in our house.”
Leading up to the Wolves clinching a spot in the Calder Cup Finals, Brigette and Brandon wanted to gift John with tickets to see them play on Father’s Day.
Following John’s passing, Brigette made the decision to keep the tickets and take Brandon in an effort to make their first Father’s Day without him as normal as possible.
“Even though we were mourning the loss of John, we knew we needed to continue on for the sake of Brandon, who was just seven at the time,” Brigette said. “We celebrated John the entire day, and even though he was not with us physically, he was there in spirit.”
For John, Brandon’s love of hockey was all he desired. The sport he introduced to his son created a fan for life and a lasting legacy that will stay with the family forever.
His impact on Brandon’s love for the game cannot be overstated.
“My son is a hockey buff,” Brigette said. “He can tell you about all the AHL players and their affiliates. He is obsessed with hockey. So much so that the year before my husband passed away, we had to start hockey lessons for Brandon.”
Brigette recalls Brandon’s first Wolves game and the start of his hockey obsession.
The family had to arrive at the rink no later than 6:15 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game in order to get as close to the boards as possible to watch warmups.
Brandon’s euphoria didn’t stop there.
“He would stand the entire game just bouncing around,” Brigette said. “My husband had to kind of shut him down because there were people standing or sitting behind us. We had to literally almost sit on him to get him to sit down.”
Brandon’s enthusiasm for the game was evident as he begged to visit Allstate Arena whenever possible.
Before John passed, he and Brigette discussed buying season tickets for the family and decided to use any future vacation money on securing tickets. Attending Wolves games took precedent over any vacations, further demonstrating the franchise’s impact on the new season ticket holders.
The Page family bought their first season ticket package for the 2022-2023 season and went to the arena for each Saturday game. Brigette and Brandon sat in Section 203 before eventually switching to Section 102 to be closer to the players and, of course, Wolves mascot Skates.
The family’s first full season without John started in October of 2022. At the opening night Saturday game, Brigette purchased a scratch-and-win ticket for Brandon and he was among the first fans to win a “Shirt off Your Back” jersey from one of the players at the season’s end.
At the time, Pyotr Kochetkov was one of Brandon’s favorite players and he was hoping to pick the goaltender’s name when selecting the player’s jersey to receive.
With a bit of luck — and perhaps John looking down at his son — the first name picked by Brandon was none other than Kochetkov’s.
The signed jersey is a reminder of the passion John instilled within Brandon and the endless joy the game has brought the Page family.
“The jersey is still hanging on the wall in the living room,” Brigette said. “Brandon wears the jersey every so often to the games because he just loves it.”
Brandon, who will turn 10 in October, has been on skates and playing hockey since he was six years old. His goal is to one day play for the Wolves.
Whether he is one day skating for the Wolves or not, his dedication and love for the team will never waver and the bond shared with his dad will forever be close to his heart.
“He’s connected to his daddy in that way and it keeps his legacy going,” Brigette said. “That’s why we go.”
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