3 sets of brothers playing for Boston University in NCAA Frozen Four
BOSTON -- Bonds within a locker room are often referred to as a brotherhood. Inside the locker room of the Boston University hockey team, the Terriers aren't just speaking metephorically.
A fifth of the Boston University roster has the name "McCarthy," "Hutson," or "Celebrini" etched on the back of their sweaters, with three sets of brothers on the squad.
"We're pretty close," defenseman Quinn Hutson said of his relationship with his brother, forward Lane Hutson. "As close as you can be without being too close."
Quinn and Lane Hutson are both sophomores from North Barrington, Illinois. They're joined by brothers Macklin and Aiden Celebrini, both freshmen from Vancouver, and blue liners Case (a grad student) and Gavin McCarthy (a freshman) of Clarence Center, New York.
Three sets of brothers who have been pushing each other since they were little kids, and now continue to do so on Comm Ave. In some cases, that pushing wasn't metaphorical, either.
"We used him as a checking dummy into snowbanks," Case said of his younger brother, Gavin.
"Ever since we can remember, whether it was in our basement or on the ice, we always have battles," Aiden said of his brother Macklin, who is likely going to be the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft in a few months.
The Celebrini brothers have known what it means to be pro prospects long before the two freshmen were regarded as such. They got a firsthand look by going to work with their father, who practiced sports medicine for the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS, the Canucks of the NHL, and the Golden State Warriors of the NBA.
"Our dad would be working with some of the best athletes in the world for their sport," Aiden recalled. "Me and Mac would be running around playing basketball or soccer, shooting the puck around. It was a big part of our childhood."
"Just to be in that environment, to be in the facilities and to see what players did every day, that was pretty cool for us," added Macklin.
Growing up in Chicago, Quinn and Lane Hutson have been tight since Day 1. But being teammates was relatively new for the sophomores when they first became Terriers.
"We never played together until this year," explained Quinn. "We finally put a full season together."
"We knew we always had big dreams of playing college hockey and professional hockey," added Lane. "We ended up here."
This season is also the first time that Case and Gavin McCarthy have been able to share the ice as well. Gavin is happy to follow in his brother's footsteps with the Terriers.
"I think it's a good thing that I can come up and follow his path," said Gavin. "I had a lot of insight into what he's gone through, and can use it for myself."
"I'm here for whatever questions he has," said Case, who also wants to see Gavin carve out his own path. "Like at the beginning of the year, 'Where to do laundry in his building?' was a big one."
Case is the captain of the Terriers, returning to the team after his senior season was cut short by injury in the Hockey East semifinals. He's not just Gavin's big brother, but is considered the big brother to everyone on the team, leading this close-knit hockey family back to the Frozen Four.
"We all act like brothers. We're all taking shots at each other, no matter what it is," said Case, who noted that junior goaltender Mathieu Caron was making faces at them from behind the camera to try to get them to laugh.
"I think all of that brings a closeness to this group that I haven't experienced before," he continued. "This dynamic is very special. Special because of the family dynamic, but also because of the personalities we have in this group and the relationships we were able to kind of carve out early this year."
These three sets of brothers will now try to add to their collective family legacy as Boston University looks to bring home another championship. It starts Thursday night when the Terriers will face Denver in the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota. With a win, the Terriers would advance to Saturday's title game with a shot to bring home the school's sixth NCAA title.
"This is a time in our life we can't get back," said Macklin. "This year, even next year depending on how everything goes, we won't be able to do this again. So it's a pretty special opportunity to win a big trophy here. It's something we can do to remember this time."
While many of those brothers will be moving on to the NHL next year, the family ties will continue to grow at Boston University. Quinn and Lane Hutson's younger brother, Cole, has already committed to join the Terriers next season.