JULIA TIERNAN/YH The brothers Chyz (John and James) and Sproule (David and Mark) continue the tradition of Yale hockey-playing siblings.

Is New Haven the new city of Brotherly Love?

Some 550 miles of highway separate New Canaan, Conn. from Bradford, Ontario. So distant from each other, separated by an international border, they would seem to have little in common. But within the confines of Ingalls Rink, these two worlds converge each and every day at practice for the men's hockey team. Indeed, there the two communities seem remarkably similar.

Both New Canaan and Bradford are home to a pair of Eli hockey brothers. The quiet Connecticut suburb of New Canaan produced the squad's Sproule brothers, senior forward Mark, SY '00, and sophomore defenseman David, SM '02. The cold Canadian city of Bradford supplied the team with the Chyz brothers, senior forward John, BR '00, and senior defenseman James, BR '00. While the tradition of hockey siblings is nothing new to Yale—Ray, BK '98, and Rich Giroux, BK '95, come to mind— this moment in Yale hockey history stands apart from all the rest: it's the first ever to see two sets of brothers lace up their skates at Ingalls Rink for the Elis at the same time.

For Mark and David, the children of Toronto natives, hockey was a way of life, a sport that found each at a very young age. The pair developed a strong passion for the game as they grew up in Madison, Conn., a passion that continued as they moved to Des Moines, Iowa and finally to New Canaan. "My dad always loved hockey, and my older brother played," Mark said. "We said, `If he's going to do it, we're gonna do it.' Hockey sort of evolved around that." And it evolved until it became the major force within the family. While their oldest brother went on to skate for Harvard, Mark and David chose a different path, choosing Eli blue over Harvard crimson.

While Mark joined the team four years ago, David is in his second year with the team, starting to work his way into the lineup. For both, the experience has been a positive one. Mark said of his brother, "I'm probably one of his harshest critics. I'm not going to let him slouch off. We do not want to give an inch to each other." The team has also allowed the two to spend more time together. "It was a weird situation to be away from him," Mark said. "But to be with him is a pretty nice experience."

John and James Chyz might agree. For the Bradford natives, hockey also played an important role in their lives when both were very young. "My father played hockey when he was young," John said. "Hockey has always been there, always been enjoyable. It kept me out of trouble, and it became a part of my lifestyle. To a certain extent, it was similar for [James] as well."

Neither brother has any complaints about sharing the ice. "It's great playing with my brother," John said. "I've been playing with my brother since we were kids. I'm a mechanical engineering major and he's an anthropology major, and we rarely take classes together. This gives me extra time to spend with him."

Having spent the last school year abroad in Nigeria, John has found it comforting to have James on the ice. "James is my best critic," John said. "He knows my strengths, weaknesses, and gives me advice." Not that the talented tandem needs much advice. "In James and John," coach Tim Taylor said, "you have two extremely strong individuals. [James] is clearly our strongest physical presence there. He is our stay-at-home defensive defenseman. We want [John] to be a good two-way forward."

For the Sproule brothers, the tasks are very similar, both on offense and on defense. "[Mark] is a very reliable defensive forward," Taylor said. "He is never going to be an offensive threat. David is a young defenseman, learning more and more how he has to play within himself. He has arguably the hardest shot of all our defensemen, but he has to work on skating and speed."

From the press box

Captain Cory Shea, BR '00, returned to the lineup this past weekend from a leg injury. He was held scoreless in a 2-2 tie with Union on Fri., Jan. 28 and a 3-0 loss to RPI on Sat., Jan. 29. On Fri., Feb. 4, Yale, currently fourth in the ECAC, hits the road to face No. 10 Clarkson. The following night, the Elis will complete the second leg of their trip with a critical contest against St. Lawrence, currently first in the ECAC.

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