Sue Bogle had the good fortune to go on a mom’s trip with her son Dylan Cozens and the Buffalo Sabres in November.

The Star reached Bogle in the Abbotsford-Aldergrove area in B.C., where she is staying with her youngest son Luke Cozens, who is attending Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford. Bogle said the trip was amazing.

“Almost every mom or mom’s substitute came. So it was a huge group of people. It was all the players, as well as the staff. It was just great.”

The mom’s trip lasted four days and started in Buffalo against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“They had a nice suite for us and we got to meet everybody and then we were on the road, which was so great because we’ve been to a few home games now but just to see what life on the road is like was really, really neat and interesting.”

The Sabres then had back to back games in Carolina and Tampa Bay, giving the moms a real taste of what life was like on the road for their sons.

“We got to go on the plane and just see behind the scenes like, get into the arena the back way where the players go and see them warming up playing soccer down in the basement of the arena,” said Bogle. “And see those things that we wouldn’t normally get to see. So it was really, really fun.”

The moms spent the day in Carolina and then flew right to Tampa Bay after the game. The next day, the moms went on a boat tour that the team organized for them.

“It was a beautiful day in Tampa,” recalled Bogle. “We went for a little cruise around Tampa Bay and the arena is so beautiful. It’s right on the water. So that was nice and and it was just so great to meet all the moms.”

Bogle met other moms from Canada, the US, Sweden, Finland and Germany.

“Lots of different life experiences but really quite similar in a lot of ways to just being the hockey moms and it didn’t seem that much different in some ways to just going on minor hockey trips in the sense that you’re all in this together.

But just the conversations are so similar and just really great people, so it was lots of fun.

“We laughed about different experiences of forgetting gear and running around. Their kids have made it to the highest level in the NHL but it’s just so similar to any group of moms at any hockey tournament, so that was great.”

Bogle said the European moms had an amazing command of English.

“Some of them obviously, it’s their second language, but they did really well.”

Sabres goalie Craig Anderson’s mom, Holly, was on the trip. Anderson is 41. Bogle said it was “so neat to hear about her experiences over the years, but I think this was the first mom’s trip she’d been on … she was really excited to be on a mom’s trip.

“She was great. She’s had quite a few experiences being a mom of an NHL goalie over the years, so it’s really interesting to talk to her and hear her stories.”

Bogle said Holly Anderson spent some time with the mother of a young Sabres goalie, Eric Comrie.

“It was neat to see the experienced goalie mom in the NHL and then the newer goalie mom getting advice and just talking about shared experiences.”

Bogle said the travel was pretty hectic, especially the back-to-back games.

“You’re at the game; game finishes. They get dressed and then you’re on a bus to the airport and straight on the plane to the next place and they get fed on the plane. That’s where they eat after the game.”

Then it was on to Carolina. The Sabres played that game and then went straight to the airport and then to Tampa Bay.

“We got into the hotel quite late, (had) breakfast in the morning and it was really nice because we got to have the meals with the players. So (a) great way to meet the players too and just spend time with them”

Then the players were off to their morning skates. The team took the moms to the rink in Carolina for the morning practice there. The moms were even interviewed by the media and a lot of those interviews ended up on social media.

“It was fun because they interviewed us about different things … they asked about how we dealt with smelly hockey gear over the years and they posted that, so that was fun.”

Bogle found out it’s a little different traveling with an NHL team.

“Everything’s done ahead of time. So you don’t have to line up and do all those things that you do at the airport that makes travel obviously, a real big hassle a lot of times … they’re chartered planes.

“Because there was so many of us, we were on a different plane than the players usually take. It was a regular Air Canada plane that they had chartered for us but you get on a different spot in the airports.”

Going through security isn’t a hassle for NHL teams.

“You give your passports ahead of time … everything’s done ahead of time and you just walk on the plane. So that’s really nice,” related Bogle.

“The players have to travel so much but everything’s organized for them, so they get off the plane onto a bus to the hotel (and) to the arena.”

Bogle said you walk onto the tarmac, up the stairs and into the plane.

“It was kind of funny because when we got back to Buffalo after Tampa, it was like a massive storm and we all had to get off and we were just running for protection. You’re certainly not going right into the airport. You’re just getting onto the tarmac. So when it’s stormy, you’re running for it.”

This was the first time Bogle went on a mom’s trip.

“They alternate, so I think next year, it’s going to be a dad’s trip. They decided to start with a mom’s trip this year. And then it’ll be (Sue’s husband) Mike’s turn next year.

“It’s a bit of a whirlwind for sure. But it was definitely a lot of fun.”

Bogle added one of the highlights of the trip was when the moms gathered with the players, coaches and GM in the Sabres locker room.

“They made these great speeches to us about the importance of family and how all these young men are really great and the family support is so important … I felt very grateful to be a part of that and how they made us feel. The coach and the general manager’s mom was there too, so it was kind of neat.”

Bogle said the Sabres talked about “how we were an important piece in all of their success in the NHL and this was their thank you for that. I felt that was really, really nice and felt very lucky to be a part of that.”