Identical Twins, A Powerful Duo For Eden Prairie Hockey
ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to the State Hockey Tournament and family support doesn't hurt either. Especially when you're getting that support on the ice.
Mark and David Rath are seniors on Eden Prairie's hockey team -- and they're also identical twins.
They've been playing hockey together since they were 5 years old and it's the only sport where they aren't competitive with each other.
Building chemistry with your teammates is sometimes a work in progress. But when you are on the ice with your identical twin brother, and your best friend, chemistry isn't a problem. Just ask the Raths.
"It's kind of weird, you just know where they are sometimes on the ice. It's kind of scary and it's fun," David said.
"We've just been playing together for so long we play the same style so we just have that chemistry," Mark added.
The twins began playing hockey together when they were just kids. Now seniors, they can often anticipate what the other is going to do on the ice.
That twin brother bond between Mark who wears No. 5 and David who wears No. 25, helped Eden Prairie win the state tournament two years ago.
"It's unbelievable. We were here two years ago and it was the best time of our lives, so it's unbelievable to get back here," Mark said.
Mark and David will try and help the Eagles win another state title this weekend. When the hockey season is over -- that's when the brothers get competitive with each other, especially in tennis and golf.
"One will win in a tiebreaker one day and the other will win in a tie breaker the other day," said their dad, Steve Rath. "In golf, one guy will win by a stroke one day, the other guy by a stroke the other day."
For now though, it's all about state hockey.
"To share this memory, and it's going to be in our memories forever, and to share it with my brother for two times now, it's going to be a lot of fun," Mark said.
"It was a hard road to get here, but now that we are here, we are just going to live it up. It's going to be a lot of fun," added David.
