Silvertips ice crew members tie the knot at Angel of the Winds Arena

Everett, Wash.- Just over two years after Eloise and Joshua Pawlak first laid eyes on each other as they lined up for a faceoff, the pair found themselves at center ice once again- this time, on their wedding day.

Hockey has been a definitive through-line of their relationship, so much so that the longtime members of the Everett Silvertips ice crew wanted to make Angel of the Winds Arena a part of the big day.

“We skate on that ice all the time,” Joshua said. “Then the added emotion of this beautiful woman is my wife… For the first time, we’re on this ice as husband and wife together. It’s just a special moment in a special place.”

The pair connected after Eloise took part in her first rec hockey tournament and was placed on a team with Joshua’s dad (for the record, Eloise’s team won that tournament).

Joshua started working with her at stick-and-puck sessions afterward, and now, they’re a packaged deal on several hockey teams in the area.

“You can’t find us at a rink without the other- either Josh is playing and I’m always in the stands watching, or we’re playing together,” Eloise said. “We both have a passion for hockey because we both grew up watching it and then he grew up playing it. I only learned as an adult.”

Both were fans of the Silvertips since the team first hit the ice in 2003-04, and Eloise became a fan-favourite member of the ice crew after joining the squad three seasons ago.

At the time, she was the only ice crew member on skates, with her arrival on the ice always punctuated with cheers and cowbells from the Pawlaks and their fellow season ticketholders.

Joshua slowly went from visiting with team staff to helping out with activations, and, eventually, becoming a full-blown member of the ice crew himself.

“It was like, you mean to tell me I can go watch my favorite team and cheer on my girlfriend at the same time? Hell yeah, I’m going to do that,” Joshua said.

They’ve taken part in events with the Booster Club and their dogs, Howie and Bauer, tend to steal the show whenever they visit the rink.

Visiting WHL teams will also recognize them as the couple that shares care packages filled with American candy and league-famous oatmeal scotchie cookies (some Canadian clubs also bring down their own north-of-the-border snacks to trade).

So after Joshua popped the question during a re-creation of their first date, the rink that held so many memories seemed like the perfect place to tie the knot- and on the same day as the season-opening game, no less.

The Silvertips pushed back their morning skate for Eloise and Josh to have their first look at center ice, and a ceremony filled with family, friends and teammates took place at the rink’s Grand Ballroom.

“It helps that the organization is so great. We’re close with all the staff, from Zoran (Rajcic, Silvertips Chief Operating Officer) to his sons that help out on the bench,” Eloise added. “They all knew once we got engaged, and they were so happy for us getting to celebrate the day.

“My daughter and his (Joshua’s) cousin were our flower girls, and they passed out single-stem roses to all the ladies and gentlemen in the aisles. We had a bunch of extras, so we popped into the Silvertips’ office and handed them to the ladies in the office. We passed out coffee cake to the photographers as they were doing the photos for the boys coming in through the parking lot. So we got to celebrate with everyone, and they definitely made us feel the love.”

Several of their coworkers on the ice crew, as well as security and game day operations staff, even donned tuxedo t-shirts to celebrate.

“They’re just very caring and endearing people,” Rajcic said. “I think they bring their own flair and flavour to what they do.

(They’re) always wanting to make sure that they represent the Western Hockey League and the Everett Silvertips in what they do and how they show respect to people.”

Then, it was off to work- with a twist.

Since missing the season opener was out of the question for the newlyweds, they hit the ice in full wedding attire- including Eloise’s veil- after an introduction by Everett’s public address announcer, Greg Piland.

“Very happy my veil did not fly off or catch from one of the players,” Eloise laughed. “I don’t think Vancouver realized that there was someone in a dress until it was time to shovel, because I skipped over my usual routine. I usually always do the home bench and go down, but the goalie had the equipment manager working on his skates or something. So I did the other way first, and you could tell they were kind of confused.”

Eloise and Joshua are looking forward to their first full season as a married couple and making new memories through the game that has played such a big role in their story.