'A Chemistry Between Brothers': Brotherhood In Cretin-Derham Hall Boy's Hockey

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Cretin-Derham Hall boy's hockey team is ranked second in the state and the team is getting hot at the right time.

They're a brotherhood in a very literal sense.

The Raiders have two Jakes, two Sondreals and two Fishers. And that's just four people.

"There's definitely a chemistry between brothers, and teammates," Zach Sondreal said. "We all go way back."

Drew and Jake Fisher are brothers. Drew's a senior and Jake's a junior. Zach and Jake Sondreal are twins and they're seniors.

"He's always behind me," Jake Sondreal said. "He's always got my back if I miss the puck or it goes past me and same for him. If he misses a step, I'll be that F3 covering for him."

"It's like on breakouts, I know what his move is gonna be. Even more than what I know for my other players," Zach said.

The team DNA puts them a step ahead.

"One of our biggest philosophies as a team is family and building that family culture. And when you have sets of brothers already, it's kind of easy to build that organically," Matt Funk said, CDH boy's hockey head coach.

"I think that's how we play so well together now is we've been playing together forever, even since we were two, whether it's an organization or just out on the pond," Jake Fisher said, the lone 11th grader in the foursome.

The Fishers have been playing on the same line for the last three years, ever since Jake was called up to varsity as a freshman. A special experience that's paying off this season.

"I know it sounds cliché, but I actually do always know where he is on the ice," Drew Fisher said. "A lot of times, I don't even have to look, I know his tendencies. Especially playing with him since my sophomore year."

Having brothers in two different grades started the team bonding process years ago. Now Cretin-Derham Hall is one of the best teams in the state.

"We kind of started hanging out with each other's friends more and more as we all started playing varsity hockey and I think that's how we all became so tight and so close together," Drew said.

"It's always been a dream to be a top team in the state and make hopefully a state run," Jake Fisher said. "So it's just really cool to be able to do it with your best friend that's built in."

"I just want to make sure I cherish and enjoy this last season with him because it's been really fun playing with him my whole life," Drew said.