Another MacKenzie joins Niagara Falls wall
Much has changed in women’s hockey since Laura MacKenzie started her career suiting up on a boys hockey team in the Niagara Falls Minor Hockey Association.
“I was only allowed to play ringette and I remember asking my mom (Karen) if I could play,” said the 2019 inductee into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame.
“Girls weren’t allowed to play and she fought with minor hockey and kept asking for years and when I was about eight, I was allowed to play with the boys.”
Playing with the boys meant dressing in the furnace room at Stamford Arena or in the first aid room at Jack Bell Arena, but it was all worth it.
Her mother’s persistence helped jumpstart a career that included: becoming captain of the Mississauga Chiefs AA/AAA team; suiting up for the Mississauga Ice Bears in the National Women’s Hockey League; being a four-time MVP of A.N. Myer’s hockey team and the school’s female athlete of the year in 1996; winning a bronze medal with Ontario Blue at the 1993 under-18 national championships; capturing two national university titles with Concordia; serving as captain at Wayne State University in Michigan in 2000, where she named defenceman of the year; winning silver with Adelaide at the nationals in Australia; and capturing a national title with Rødovre in Denmark.
Career highlights for the 41-year-old Niagara Falls native were the back-to-back Canadian university championships with Concordia, the national championship in Denmark and the silver medal at the national championships in Australia.
Concordia is at the top of her list.
“It was the first-ever national championship and I got to play with some really great players,” she said.
The low point of her career came when she didn’t make Team Ontario for the Canada Winter Games in 1995. While a disappointment, it helped motivate her for many of the accomplishments that came later in her career.
MacKenzie described her style of play as more substance than flash.
“I was an all-around player,” she said. “Some of my coaches called me a jack-of-all-trades. I was hard-working and nothing fancy.”
When her playing days ended, she became an assistant coach of Team Australia in 2003 and helped that team mine a gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation Division 3 World Championships. She then became the assistant coach and head coach for Denmark, guiding the team to silver medals at the IIHF World Championships in 2003 and 2008, and a gold medal in 2004.
MacKenzie doesn’t play or coach hockey any more, but is hoping to help organize a women’s team this year.
“You always miss it a little bit,” she said.
Mackenzie, who lives near Copenhagen with her boyfriend, Claus Nielson, and two children, Victor, 9, and Ella, 4, is thrilled to be joining the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame.
“It’s a honour and you remember all the coaches and all the players that have influenced you over the years,” she said. “It brought back a lot of great memories.
“Hockey brought me to where I am and to be recognized is an honour.”
Adding to the moment is the fact that she is being inducted in the same year as her brother Chris.
“He has been an influence for me since Day 1 so it’s special to be inducted at the same time as him,” said the teacher at an international school in Denmark.
Among the local coaches that stand out in her mind are ringette coaches Ralph Biamonte and Steve Davis.
“They made ringette fun and ringette was my start with hockey.”
MacKenzie will fly back to Denmark the next weekend. It has been her home for the past 17 years and she loves it there.
“I met my boyfriend there, but the country is also amazing,” she said. “It’s one of the happiest countries in the world, the work week is 37 hours, there’s five weeks paid vacation and I have a really balanced life.”
