A lot of brothers fight. A lot of hockey players fight. Brothers who play hockey fight a little different.

The Uglem brothers were bored after high school one day so they decided to hone their hockey skills in the garage. Tony and Nick are fraternal twins, and they are both forwards. Jake is a year older and he’s a defenseman.

“We were in the garage stick handling for some reason and we had this little plastic puck. Then we just got a trash can out and laid it on the floor [as a net],” Nick said. “We started playing 1-on-1-on-1 and that got very aggressive very fast.

“Somehow, Tony elbowed me in the jaw and then I kind of hit him back and Jake got into it. … It always usually starts with sports, then one of us gets pissed. It is usually me and Tony ganging up on Jake because he’s way bigger than us. Don’t tell Tony I said that.”

The three brothers started playing hockey in Coon Rapids, Minn., at 3 or 4 years old. They moved to Moorehead in 2001, where they continued their careers.

Tony and Nick always played together, and all three brothers were on the same team every other year. In Moorhead, they move players up a level every two years.

Jake and Tony both play for Cyclone Hockey, while Nick sits in the stands and cheers on his brothers every home game.

The American Collegiate Hockey Association tabbed Tony, a freshman, as the top recruit in the nation. Tony has lived up to the billing so far, leading the No. 5 Cyclones in goals scored with nine. Jake, a sophomore, is right on his tail with five goals, good for second on the team.

“I get way more excited when [Jake] scores than Tony,” Nick said. “Just because Tony scores goals. It’s just what he’s done for a really long time. When Jake puts one in the net, it’s way more awesome.”

This year has been a special season for Jake because he didn’t score a lot of goals growing up. As a defenseman, Jake self-proclaims that he’s “not a skill guy.” While the brothers may fight off the ice, they protect each other on it.

“I did see when Tony took a cheap shot to the head in the neutral zone,” said Cyclone Hockey coach Jason Fairman. “I was talking to someone else and all of the sudden I looked up and I saw the end of a big hit and it was Jake hitting the guy that hit his brother.

“Older brother protecting younger brother.”

Jake didn’t net a goal in high school until his senior year, which is the last time all the brothers played together. Around that time, Nick started getting concussions.

Nick believes he has sustained at least six concussions total. He thinks two of those concussions came in high school and that he suffered at least four more in junior hockey.

“They all kind of mashed together there. I’m not 100 percent sure,” Nick said.

Nick thinks he is the best hockey player, while Tony and Jake both think they’re the best. Combine egos with Nick being sidelined from the sport, and this becomes an argument that the brothers say will never be settled.

They’ve taken the sibling rivalry to other sports and one thing they can all agree on is that hockey players are not great on the hardwood.

The Uglem’s were at their cousins’ home playing a best-of-three basketball series — each game going to 100 points. They, of course, lowered the hoop so they could dunk. Predictably, tempers began to flare in the second game of the series.

“We were all super tired and Jake, being the crazy person that he is, tried to dunk, and Tony just got in the way,” Nick said. “I’m pretty sure Jake traveled too; it didn’t seem legal at all. [Jake] just jumped and Tony caught the bad part of that elbow. [Tony] was down for the count.”

Tony said he had a black eye for a solid week.

“All fun though,” Jake added.

That was the worst injury any brother has gotten to this point in one of their scuffles. They’ve received a lot of bumps and bruises, but no broken bones, at least not yet.

Despite the fights, the brothers are as close as can be. They are basically inseparable. And Nick would definitely be playing hockey at Iowa State if it weren’t for the concussions.

“It’d be impossible not to,” he said.

It was hard for Nick to give up the game that his brotherly bonds center around. He grew up with the sport. They grew up together with it.

“It was tough right away,” Nick said. “When I got injured in juniors it kind of sucked watching Tony play [while] I had to sit in the stands. You get used to it. I became a pretty good fan. I just had to do it.”

Nick’s absence from the ice is just as hard on his brothers.

“It’s different. It sucks,” Tony said. “We’ve been playing with him forever and we always enjoyed that. It sucks.”

Even driving to the rink, it feels like something is missing.

“It’s a little different driving to the rink with only one guy in the car other than myself,” Jake said.

Nick still goes to every home game he’s able to and he gives his brothers “unrealistic goals” to accomplish. These goals consist of Tony scoring four times, or Jack scoring three times, or one of them netting every point in the game.

While Tony and Jake realize these goals are unobtainable, they still give them that extra fight to play well. Nick’s strategy of setting the bar too high for his brothers seems to be working, too, as Jake and Tony are the leading goal scorers for the Cyclones.

“[Scoring is] fun. I’ve never really been this kind of player before, so I’m going to ride it as long as it lasts,” Jake said.

The trio fights like most brothers, but they fight like very few hockey players. Nick fights from the stands by cheering, while Jake and Tony fight for Nick on the ice by doing their best to make their brother proud, and in the meantime, help Cyclone Hockey get a win.

“We know he’s there every time, so [we give a little extra],” Tony said.