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Twice the Fun: Laube Twins On the Ice

By Laurie Markowski, Chicago Bruins Girls Hockey Director, 04/19/23, 4:45PM CDT

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Hockey is a family affair and most families with multiple kids get to spread things out among various age levels. So, when it is Senior night or a Championship game, you can make an easier decision to watch the kid who is ending their youth career and hope that your other kids will have those opportunities in the coming seasons. When you have twins, everything is more challenging, let alone when those twins are on two different teams at two different clubs. That was the case for the Laube family. For most of their kids' youth careers, Olivia Laube has been playing for the Chicago Bruins girls’ team and Jake Laube playing for the West Dundee Leafs. Their dad, Don Laube, has spent the past five seasons as a coach for the Chicago Bruins. This season, in the kid’s Senior year, his wife and the kids' mother, Tamara Laube, decided to make hockey all in the family and become the team manager for the West Dundee Leafs 18U CSDHL team.

Like most families with multiple kids playing hockey, the Laube’s had to spend the season dividing and conquering. It was always an occasion to celebrate when Tamara could make a Bruins game or when Don could make it to a Leafs game. This family proved time and time again what it means to be a family dedicated to hockey. Both parents are doing their part to make the sport better and act as volunteers for their kids' respective clubs. Both kids showed up, putting the work in on and off the ice. Their work ethic and dedication helped to name Jake and Olivia as Captains of their teams. A family bonded by a love of hockey, while at the same time often separated on opposite sides of the country because of hockey.

As this season came to a close and the Laube family got to celebrate the joy that both kids, Olivia with the 19U Bruins and Jake with the 18U CSDHL Leafs, were going to Nationals. Tamara and Don realized that down to the very last game of their kids' youth hockey careers, they would have to continue the path that they had been on for years and divide and conquer. So as the family does Don Laube planned his trip to Nationals with Olivia and the Bruins to California while Tamara planned her trip to Nationals with Jake and the Leafs to Minnesota. They then purchased their USAHockeyTV subscription and prepared the schedule of how to watch as many games for the other kid as they could. Things started off great the first game each team had overlapped the others, so there was a game Mom & Dad had to miss. The teams started to do well and both teams advanced to the quarterfinals. Both Tamara and Don were proud and excited for their kids, but you could also tell it was killing them to not be together as a family to celebrate their successes.

Sunday afternoon things started to change when the Chicago Bruins were knocked out of the tournament after a hard-fought game. Don and Olivia and some of the Chicago Bruins circled up to watch Jake and the Leafs battle in their semifinal game. As soon as the Leafs won and were advancing to the Championship game, it was clear Don and Olivia needed to travel to Minnesota. Bruins Coaches and Managers started working hard to help the Laubes come together as a family while Don and Olivia frantically packed up their hotel room. Tamara ended up finding a flight from San Diego to Minnesota. Don and Olivia jumped in the car to be driven the hour and a half down to San Diego by another Bruins Coach to catch their flight to Minnesota. They traveled through the night to make it in time to see the Leafs play for the National Championship on Monday morning.

We are so happy that the Laubes could come together and make it all work in the end. There is nothing that can stop the bonds of family or hockey. Congratulations to the entire Laube family on a successful season for both kids. Most importantly thank you to the Laube family for stepping up and volunteering to help make hockey truly the greatest sport out there. Families like yours make us all proud to be a part of the hockey community.