It's Truly A Family Affair On The Hastings Boys Hockey Team
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- If sports teams are like families, then the Hastings boys hockey team has quite the household.
Four sets of brothers make up the Raiders' varsity team, which accounts for about a third of the roster.
The true sense of family around the team has led to camaraderie and success, and the occasional spat between brothers.
"I've seen two sets, maybe three but never four sets," said Hastings coach Russ Welch.
In his more than 30 years of coaching hockey, Welch has never seen what he's seeing this year. Four sets of brothers are playing on his hockey team. There are the Neumann's, the Flynn's, the Shoen's and the Mellick's.
It gets crazy at times, but they like the family ties.
"I think it's a positive. It brings us closer. It's a great thing," said senior Nate Flynn.
Nate is a senior captain on the team and its leading scorer. His brother Matt is a sophomore, and this year he has the luxury of learning from his big brother on the ice.
"It's nice to get advice from him. He's one of our better players so it is really nice to get advice from him," said Matt Flynn.
Kind of like a relationship between brothers, the team is hot and cold. They've beaten teams at the top of the Suburban East Conference and lost to teams at the bottom. No matter what the results, there's always plenty of feedback.
"If we lose, both of us are going back and forth at each other. But if we win, it's a good night at the house," said Nate Flynn.
For one pair, the sibling rivalry is a little more out in the open. That's between Tyler and Zach Mellick.
Tyler is a senior, his brother Zach is a junior. Occasionally, certain things lead to a brotherly spat.
"Everything. Sticks, skates, tape, everything," Zach said.
"Sometimes he'll come over and tell me something I did wrong, but I don't think the same and we butt heads. But if it gets us better, I'm fine with it," they said.
That's the thing about this entire band of brothers. As the season wears on, they are getting stronger. And for that they blame each other, but in a good way.
"The camaraderie on the ice and on the bench has been very good and I think it is attributed to the eight boys," Welch said.
Keep in mind that the Mellick's and the Shoen's are just a year apart, so they've played together since they were kids. But for the Flynn's and Neumann's, this is a rare opportunity since they are two years apart.
The team has gone 6-2-2 over a 10 games stretch, so they are starting to peak.
