Sept. 27, 2007

FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
by Danny Martin
Published September 27, 2007

There's an old saying that blood is thicker than water.

It's thick as molasses this season for the Alaska Nanooks, because the Central Collegiate Hockey Association program features three sets of brothers.

There's sophomores Dion and Brandon Knelsen, a center and right wing, from Three Hills, Alberta. The Lees, senior Aaron and sophomore Jeff, are left wings from Calgary, Alberta, and sophomore defenseman Dustin Molle from Anchorage is joined on the blue line by his freshman brother Bryant.

"Every year is a treat, you can't take it for granted," Brandon Knelsen, 20, said of playing with his 18-year-old brother.

The Nanooks carry the most sets of brothers in the CCHA, and perhaps in NCAA Division I hockey.

"We talked about this (team) being a tight family because there's a lot of brotherly love here," Aaron Lee said at a recent practice at the Patty Center. "It's exciting having three sets of brothers on our team. It's awesome; it shows how close we are."

Doc DelCastillo, before he became Alaska's head coach in June, had spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach at CCHA rival Nebraska-Omaha and worked in the same position at his alma mater, St. Cloud State in Minnesota, from 1998-2002.

He had been more accustomed to the scenario of one brother coming to a program and a few years later, his younger brother heading there, too.

DelCastillo, for example, recruited forward Rich Purslow for St. Cloud, where the forward from Greenlawn, N.Y., played from 1999-2001. Before he came to Alaska, he recruited Purslow's brother, Chris, for Nebraska-Omaha, where he is a freshman forward this season.

Three sets of siblings on the same team in the same season is new to DelCastillo.

"You see a lot of brothers go through the same program, but not necessarily at the same time," DelCastillo said. "It's kind of unique that we have these brothers where they're close enough in age."

That uniqueness continues next season when the Benns, left wing Jamie and defenseman Jordie, are set to come to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Jordie and Jamie, a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in June's National Hockey League Entry Draft, are with the Victoria in the British Columbia Hockey League this season.

Brothers can be a boost to a program's recruiting because it has established a relationship with the siblings' family. The three sets of Nanooks brothers this season and the Benns were recruited by former head coach Tavis MacMillan, former assistant coach Wade Klippenstein and Dallas Ferguson, who's entering his fourth season as an Alaska assistant coach.

"The Purslows knew me already; they knew what type of person I was, they knew they could trust me," DelCastillo said. "So it's easy to them when you say this is Doc calling from Omaha.

"It's the same with the six (Nanooks) brothers. I'm sure Tavis, Wade and Dallas all had relationships with the families. They knew them, and it was an easy recruit because the trust had already been established."

Last season with the Nanooks marked the first time the Lees were teammates at any level.

"It was a lot of fun," Jeff said. "It was like playing with anyone else, except you're closer to him and you know a little more stuff (about him)."

This season, which begins with the Blue-Gold Game at 7:05 Saturday night at the Patty Center, will be the last time -- unless they play together professionally -- that the Lees wear the same team's jerseys and share the same airplanes and buses on road trips.

"I couldn't be happier having him there as I walk across the stage (at commencement) and finish out my last season here," Aaron said.

The older Lee describes the 2006-07 season as much of a learning experience for him as it was for his now 19-year-old brother.

"I had never played with him before," said Aaron, 22, "but I had to learn to let him go do his own thing."

Aaron didn't leave Jeff to hang out to dry, but he didn't hold his hand either.

"If he had a problem, he came to me and I tried to help him out as best as I can," Aaron said. "But he's been through the grind stone once now; so he knows what he's got to do in order to be prepared and to be ready to play."

The Knelsens are a perfect example of the family that plays together, trains together.

They were teammates with the Drumheller Dragons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League before coming to UAF last year, and this summer, they shot countless pucks together in the backyard of their home in Three Hills.

"We worked hard this summer to try to prepare ourselves for the season," Dion said. "We definitely feel like we'll come into the season more prepared than last year and be better hockey players as well."

Dustin Molle's first season of playing with his brother is also his first full season as a Nanook. The 21-year-old transferred from the University of Alaska Anchorage following the 2005-06 season but had to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules.

"We were always a year or two apart," Dustin said. "I left early to play juniors (for Waterloo, Iowa, in the United States Hockey League), so we never got to play high school hockey together."

Bryant was skating last season with Penticton in the BCHL when he chose his college.

It was an easy decision.

"I've always wanted to play with my brother since I was a little kid," Bryant said.