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Just ask the three Poehling brothers—Jack, Nick and Ryan. Their mom, Kris, brought them out to the middle of the family's backyard rink when they were youngsters. The only way off … was to skate. And learned to skate they did. Despite the fruitless efforts to cry for the easy way out, the trio became quite fond of the ice and went on to entertain the family throughout their youth in the Lakeville Hockey Association. After that, they dazzled the entire state of Minnesota with stellar play at Lakeville North High School. And now, they are on the national stage playing Division-I college hockey for Bob Motzko at St. Cloud State. Tourney Legends Ryan is two years younger than his twin brothers, Jack and Nick. But that didn't stop him from playing two seasons of high school hockey together. Ryan recalled one of his fondest memories from the 2014 state tournament quarterfinal against Roseau, when the brothers connected for the game-tying goal. "It was my freshman year. Jack, Nick and I were playing on the same line the entire year," said Ryan. "I remember Nick had the puck, he was getting hacked quite a bit so he gave it to me on the far left side, and then I faked the shot to pass it over to Jack and he put it in." The Panthers went on to beat Roseau 2-1 in overtime before besting Eden Prairie in double- overtime to reach the finals. In the title game, however, Edina delivered a punishing 8-2 defeat for the crown. It was a tough loss, but it served as a cata- lyst. The following year, Lakeville North won the state championship, capping an undefeated 28-0 season—a lifelong dream come true. Moments like this personify the spoken tra- dition of hockey in Minnesota. A tradition that envelops likeminded lovers of the sport just as each of the 10,000 lakes brings the opportunity to welcome it. "Growing up, we would always go to the state tournament, and so I would always dream about playing in it, let alone winning it," said Jack. "When it finally happened I realized my parents instilled in me the appreciation there was in winning it." The Poehling Paths Jack and Nick Poehling both played one year for the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL after graduating high school. Ryan, a very rare case of talent, accelerated his studies at Lakeville North and graduated a year early. With the loss of so many players to gradu- ation, St. Cloud was in need of a center. By accelerating his studies Ryan was able to join his brothers at St. Cloud. He was the 14th overall North American Skater in the NHL Central Scouting Service's midterm rankings. M I N N E S OTA H O C K E YJ O U R N A L . CO M // MARCH.2017 PHOTOS: JIM ROSVOLVD, MADDIE MacFARLANE Lakeville caps an undefeated season with the 2015 state title. 14 Growing up, we would always go to the state tournament, and so I would always dream about playing in it, let alone winning it." —JACK POEHLING innesotans tend to be a little old school when it comes to hockey. M