Their sticks were small but the stakes were high, as a game of “shinny hockey” commenced in the Vander Ploeg living room 10 years ago. Graham dodged his older brother, Asher, in a last-minute attempt at a goal, claiming his first victory. While Graham celebrated the momentous win, his older brother took his stick and flung it into the television, leaving a mini, hockey stick-sized dent in the screen.

That was right wing sophomore Graham Vander Ploeg’s first memory playing hockey with his brother, co-captain senior Asher Vander Ploeg. Now, the two brothers share the ice every day on the varsity hockey team, and they have a new television, Graham said.

Until now, Graham and Asher have never been on the same team due to their two-year age difference. After playing a few games together this season, Asher experienced firsthand the passion and dedication his younger brother has for the game. From skating on ponds when they were younger to skating in competitive games against other schools, Asher has seen Graham develop a leadership role on the team, Asher said.

“Graham works his butt off all of the time to try and prove himself,” Asher said. “He has become so responsible.”

Asher and Graham are each other’s biggest motivators, even before they played on the same team, Graham said. In eighth grade, Graham broke his ankle during a hockey game, and the rehabilitation required the support of his brother. Asher constantly told him, “You cannot climb a mountain by using the elevator,” meaning it takes effort to come back stronger from setbacks.

“Asher told me you have got to fight and work as hard as you can to get back,” Graham said. “That has been sticking with me since.”

Unlike Asher and Graham, right wing senior Charlie Preston played with his brother, goalie sophomore Thomas Preston, on the Glenview Stars Squirt-level team, for 10-year-old players and under. After six years of separation from playing together, the brothers reunited during the 2024 season when they made the South varsity team, Charlie said. Charlie is grateful that he has gotten to watch Thomas’s growth as a future leader.

“Playing my last season with Thomas is something that not every player gets to do, but being able to play my last ever season of hockey with my younger brother is something I can never take for granted,” Charlie said.

Thomas made the varsity team his freshman year and had a lot to learn from his older brother, he said. After making a bad play or experiencing a difficult loss during a game, Charlie is always there to show Thomas that the community he is a part of is much bigger than the numbers on the scoreboard, Thomas said.

“Playing on the same team has strengthened our relationship,” Thomas said. “After every loss I usually get down, but Charlie is always there to bring me back up.”

Defenseman junior Luke Fagin has been playing hockey with his twin brother, defenseman junior Will Fagin, for as long as he could remember. Luke and Will were encouraged to play by their dad who played hockey in high school; as soon as the twins could walk, they were in skates, Luke said. Luke’s fondest memory on the ice with his brother was when they were just seven years old: Will scored the game-winning goal in overtime at their Glenview Stars tournament in Miami University’s Steve Cady Arena.

“I felt very proud to be his brother in that moment,” Luke said.

Over the course of 15 years, Luke and Will have strengthened their hockey bond, especially by playing on the varsity team together. As defensemen who often play on the same line, Will and Luke have an advantage that most of their competitors do not have: “Twin telepathy”, Luke said. During the South versus North game on Nov. 26, the twins were defensive partners on the ice in front of the biggest crowd hockey has seen this season, Will said. Though South lost the game, Luke and Will kept the team hopeful about their remaining season, Will said.

“Luke and I are able to pick up our team and show them there is a path forward,” Will said.

In living rooms, on park ponds, during Squirt-level games, and now under the bright lights of the varsity hockey rink, these brothers have grown up with the game. For the Vander Ploegs, Prestons, and Fagins, hockey is not just a sport, but a bond they have built shift by shift, brother by brother.

“Not only am I on a team with my brother, I am on a team with 25 of my other brothers,” Graham said. “My team is my family.”