A finals only a mother could love

The woman in the black jacket and short gray hair, sitting a dozen or so rows above the ice, had spent most of the evening stuck to her chair, trying to look calm, occasionally wringing her hands.

This time was supposed to be easier for Carol Niedermayer.

Not like four years ago when her sons reached the Stanley Cup finals with different teams, Rob on the Ducks against Scott on the New Jersey Devils.

This time, both Niedermayers were playing for the Ducks and when their mother arrived at the Honda Center for Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators on Monday, she didn’t have to choose one over the other.

Carol Niedermayer even got to stand up and cheer when Scott kept the puck in the offensive zone and Rob dug it out from behind the net, feeding Travis Moen for the goal that won the game, 3-2, in the final minutes.

But one game does not a series make and, as she had pointed out earlier in the evening, “I do get nervous.”

Not too many mothers in the history of the NHL have shared her circumstance, watching two sons in the league.

It seems light years away from the winter days when she took “Scotty and Robby,” as she still calls them, to skate with neighborhood boys in the small town of Cranbrook, Canada.

She watched them split up as teenagers, each going his own way to play junior hockey. When they made it to the NHL, it was always in different cities.

And when their teams met for the 2003 Stanley Cup, Mom caused a stir by openly rooting for the Ducks, if only because Scott had already won two titles with the Devils.

“It was tough,” she recalled. “You want both boys to do the very best ... to fulfill their dreams.”

New Jersey won in seven games but there was still a chance for a happy ending as Scott became a free agent. Playing alongside his brother was high on the list of priorities.

Mom didn’t voice her opinion on the matter. She didn’t have to.

“They knew that, in my heart, I wanted this to happen,” she said.

So many things improved after Scott signed with the Ducks two years ago.

Niedermayer watched her sons grow closer than ever, driving to the arena together, Rob spending time with Scott’s three boys. Holidays were much simpler, everyone in the same place.

As for this season’s Stanley Cup finals, she escaped the dreaded choice.

“Much better,” she said. “It’s just so special.”

Except that nerves started to creep up on her hours before Monday’s game.

She took Rob’s dog, Hank, for a walk and went down by the ocean, listening to the sound of waves on the sand, reminding herself there is more to life than hockey.

And when the game started with Scott going to the penalty box for high-sticking and Ottawa scoring a power-play goal, she didn’t let it bother her too much.

“Both of them have been in the penalty box a lot lately, so I’d better not,” she quipped.

Scott doesn’t put too much stock in his mother fretting -- “She’s seen enough games in her time,” he said -- and, besides, everything ended well with the winning assists.

After a night of staying in her seat, Mom got to cheer and take a long drink from a water bottle as both her boys went home happy.

So far, much better than four years ago.

david.wharton@latimes.com