By Derek Stell

Jesse Welsh grew up in California. When he was young, all he wanted to do was hang out with his older brother and the other older kids.

Even with the warm California sun shining on them, the older boys got into playing ice hockey. Jesse had earned a spot at the bottom of the group's totem poll when the older boys needed someone to fire pucks at. The little guy was an obvious choice.

"I was a tag along," Jesse said. "I didn't want to lose my spot in the group, so I jumped in the net."

This family situation is typical across the hockey universe and especially for the skaters that play for Brigham Young.

The BYU hockey team has the rare situation of four sets of brothers sharing time on the ice this season.

"It is a reflection of BYU being a family institution," Jesse, a goaltender who is playing with his older brother Kasey. "It reflects the values of the church that sponsors the school and hockey itself is more of a brotherly game."

Coach Ed Gantt also feels that the family atmosphere is a reflection of BYU's values.

"Mormon kids know family matters," Gantt said. "These kids could have played other places, but they wanted to play together."

In addition to the Welsh brothers, there are Gage and Case Rasmussen from Orem, Brandon and Austin Holmes from Orem and James and Josh Burkart from Michigan.

Each one of these players found their way onto the BYU roster in a different way.

The Holmes brothers both played junior hockey in Minnesota for the same team, but at different times. Brandon came back to Utah and played for Weber State before transferring to BYU half way through the 2006-07 season. Austin was still playing in Minnesota, but Brandon convinced him to play for BYU.

"Brandon said that he liked everyone's work ethic," Austin said. "He said it was a big contrast to other college teams in the area."

The Rasmussen brothers were recently reunited. Case came home from his mission in October and played his first game less than a week later. After his two year hiatrus in St. Louis, Case had to get back into the game.

"I was exhausted," Case said. "I guess I felt good. I just had nothing."

Case has since gotten himself back into fighting shape.

"He has lost like 20 pounds," Brandon said. "He is really hitting his stride. He lost a little bit, but not as much as I thought he would."

The Holmes and Rasmussen brothers actually all played together on the same high school team -- Timpanogos.

The Welsh brothers both got into BYU, Kasey after a mission and Jesse before most people graduate high school.

With Kasey fancying himself as a goal scorer and Jesse being a puck stopper, there is a bit of an ongoing rivalry.

"He says he owns me, but I don't think he does," Jesse said. "You should have seen him when he got off his mission. It was just awful. I totally owned him. Now, we are pretty even. He is getting better all the time."

The Burkart's played on the team together a few years ago, before Josh left for a mission to the Philippines. When Josh left the team is also when James graduated and went to law school at Michigan State. Before Josh came home, James transferred to the BYU Law School. James played that season and still had one more year of eligibility to play with his brother this season.

"I think that Jimmy transferred back to BYU to be able to play with Josh," Gantt said.

All these brothers are making a big difference on the ice this season. James is the team captain and his brother is one of the top four defensemen, after a switch from forward. Brandon and Austin are on the first power-play unit. The Rasmussen brothers are tops on the team in hitting, giving the Cougars a physical punch that they have lacked at times. Kasey is a great defensive forward and his brother is providing depth in the goal crease.

But, having all these brothers is not always an advantage.

"It can be a hindrance at times," Kasey said. "You feel obligated to stick up for them. You feel like you have to be their best friend. There are some fights."

Copyright Brigham Young University 8 Jan 2008