Hurricanes first-ever moms trip a time for bonding, pizza, Broadway

NEWARK, N.J.-- Denise Williams had seen Craig Williams off on nearly a dozen dads trips during their son Justin's 17-season NHL career. Thanks to the Carolina Hurricanes' first moms trip, it was finally her turn to get in on the fun.

"I think my husband has been on 11 of them, and this is the first one for me," Denise said. "Obviously, we were excited to find out when [Justin] told me."
The Hurricanes became the latest NHL team to schedule a moms trip. Mothers of players attended practice in Raleigh, then headed to the New York City metro area for a Valentine's Day dinner with their sons on Wednesday.
Thursday was a trip to Broadway for a matinee showing of "Phantom of the Opera" and that night was Carolina's game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Carolina has had dads trips every season since 2005-06, and Williams' father was actually a part of the first one, which was organized by then-Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette.

But, for the Hurricanes, this year's moms trip was inspired by Justin Faulk, whose dad died of a heart attack when the Hurricanes captain was just 7 years old.
Faulk's brother, David, has been present for the previous Dads Trips in his career, but Faulk's mom, Gail King, came this time with 16 other mothers and Derek Ryan's sister Sarah Herrmann.
"I'm glad my older son has been able to go in place, because Justin's dad is not around to go," King said. "But it has been really great for me to be here, and everyone is excited for me at home [in St. Paul, Minnesota] that I'm here."
Bill Peters, in his fourth season as Hurricanes coach and seventh coaching in the NHL, noticed a discernable difference between the many dads trips he's seen and this moms trip.
"Fewer cigars and scotch," he said. "Not saying there's been zero cigars and scotch, just fewer."
Denise Williams became an online star before the team even departed for New Jersey. Thanks to a tweeted photo of her with her son, fans got a glimpse of her voluminous hair, which explained where Justin's famous flowing locks came from.

The moms boarded the team charter plane for New Jersey after practice, where they got to know each other through card games and conversation before their big day out in New York City.
Instagram from @nhlcanes: Hurricanes Moms Take Manhattan
"It was the first time (seeing 'Phantom'), and we had great seats," said Allison van Riemsdyk, mother of Hurricanes defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and a resident of Middletown, New Jersey, said of attending the show. "We only had 40 minutes [before the show], and [the moms] were asking 'Where should we go,' and I said 'Well, we have to have pizza in New York.'"
The moms were treated to a suite at Prudential Center, where each wore her son's jersey for the game.
Although Cindy Darling, the mother of Hurricanes starting goalie Scott Darling, said she is not typically superstitious, she sat by herself in the front row for the game. Tina Hanifin, mother of Hurricanes defenseman Noah, was the boisterous one, employing a formiddable two-finger whistle for big plays.
After Trevor van Riemsdyk stopped a scoring chance by Miles Wood during the first period, Denise turned back to Allison and said "You taught him that, right?"
When defenseman Brett Pesce, who grew up playing youth hockey in New Jersey, scored to tie the game at 2 in the second period it drew a huge cheer from his mother Alyssa. It was his ninth goal in 201 NHL games.
"What was really special about it was my 88-year-old mother-in-law is here, and it's the first time she's come to a game," Alyssa said. "That was a real thrill."
Pesce and the other mothers credited the Hurricanes organization for putting the trip together.
"It's really, really nice," Pesce said. "The mothers were wonderful with this, and the [Hurricanes] were such a class act. They've done such a great job with this."
"It's been amazing meeting all the mothers from all over the world," Denise said. "And we all came together for the same purpose, for our sons."