Dynasties don’t necessarily need to involve Michael Jordan, Joe Montana or Wayne Gretzky. They don’t need to involve exorbitant salaries and multimillion dollar stadiums packed with thousands of screaming fans. All some dynasties need is a family.
UCSD’s ice hockey team is in possession of one such dynasty. Senior Chris Davis, junior Keith Davis and freshman Kevin Davis are three brothers who got their start in hockey with golf clubs and a roll of Bubble Tape. Now, roughly eight years after the sibling trio got their start in the hockey world, they have become an intimidating force in the collegiate hockey community as the Triton’s first offensive line.
The Davis brothers have taken their natural talent for ice hockey and added the bond shared by siblings to create a tightly meshed brand of hockey that is difficult to replicate in any other lineup. Rather than letting the stereotypical familial in-fighting get in the way of things, the brothers use their shared experiences to improve their game.
“”We learned all together. We taught each other how to play,”” Keith said. “”So, when you play with somebody for eight years, you know exactly what they’re going to do.””
That sort of mutual learning is the real key to the Davis brothers’ explosive offense. Whereas most lines consist of players who have gathered their collective hockey knowledge from numerous coaches and teams, the Davis brothers have always been on the same page in relation to their playing styles.
“”There might be some good hockey players out there, but if we’re not buying into the same system, it’s going to be a lot harder for us to play together,”” Kevin said.
Using their hockey philosophy, Kevin, Chris and Keith have led UCSD hockey to a dominant position in both the American and Pacific Collegiate Hockey Associations, soundly defeating opponents from all over the nation. This season, the squad has netted a total of 121 goals in their 13-2 season. Of those 121 goals, 77 were scored by the Davis line: a whopping 63 percent of UCSD’s entire offense.
Thankfully, UCSD hockey shares its philosophy with the Davis brothers.
“”Just dump it in and keep it low, because if we keep it behind the net the whole time, in their zone deep – how can they score?”” Keith said.
Beyond that shared sense of hockey stratagem, the brothers also share in a strong sense of family when out on the ice.
“”My favorite thing would be: You come into the zone full speed and I’ll pass it to Keith and Keith will pass it to Kevin right away and Kevin will hit a beautiful shot right into the net,”” Chris said. “”When you just click like that, I think it’s so much better being brothers.””
The Davis parents, Susan and David, also get in on the act, taking time out of busy schedules to travel with the team and see their sons play.
“”I’m so much happier out there with my brothers than just with some random person,”” Kevin said.