By Katie Worrick - Photos by Ned Costantino/Sportshots

The Hanson brothers of Slap Shot fame, they're not. When I sat down to interview Joe, Evan and Alex Pappas, a 10-year-old trio of hockey playing triplets from Marlboro, Massachusetts, they proved to be much more sweet and charming than the hairy, though very entertaining, movie stars could ever be. The boys, who are polite and very well-spoken, discussed with me what it's like to have their dad as an assistant coach, shared stories about their family's new Golden Retriever, Pete, and convinced me that true success in hockey has nothing to do with paychecks and agents.

You could say that the Pappas boys were destined to play hockey from the very beginning. Their dad, Bill, a Marlboro firefighter, has always loved the game and well, the fact that the family of five lives across the street from a pond which happens to freeze every winter made it almost inevitable that the kids would one day strap on skates and wield hockey sticks. The boys did just that at the age of five and, judging from my conversations with each of them, it was probably the intense love and enthusiasm of their parents, rather than luck, that made them all fall in love with the game.

One might assume that five years of preparing three boys for 6 a.m. hockey practices in the middle of winter would have the Pappases pulling their hair out. Actually, they say, it doesn't bother them at all. "It's normal to us," said their mom, Maria, a graphic designer. "It's all we know. We have hockey socks hanging to dry all over our house and when we pack the kids' hockey bags for practice, it looks like we're going on a weeklong vacation."

This year, the boys practice for games as part of the Triboro Youth Hockey League's Squirt team and are in the fourth grade at Marlboro Middle School, though they're all in separate classes and don't get mistaken for each other as frequently as might be expected. "It's funny when people get our names mixed up," Alex said, "but it doesn't happen that often."

Having their dad as an assistant coach has helped in that battle. Bill has been coaching his boys officially for the last four years, this year alongside Mike Goguen, the head coach of the Squirt team. Goguen says that having Bill as part of the coaching staff makes his job easier.

"He's great to have behind the bench. It's good having him there because, whereas some parents would drop their kids off and leave, Bill always makes sure his kids are ready to play even though he's got three times as much work as the other parents."

Bill admits that it's tough getting the kids ready for those early morning practices. "I have to get to the rink half an hour to 40 minutes ahead of everyone just to have enough time to tie all three kids' skates and make sure everyone's ready," he says.

Goguen added that Bill shows no favoritism as assistant coach, though the Pappas boys do reap some benefits as a result. "When we're on the bench," Joe said, "the other kids on the team have to call him 'coach' but we get to call him 'dad.' That's pretty cool." All three boys said that their classmates at Marlboro Middle School enjoy the fact that they play hockey and even added that two are members of their same Squirt team.

Oftentimes the kids will round up neighbors and have street hockey games in their driveway. "We have two hockey nets," Joe said, "so we set those up and play. Our dog, Pete, likes when we do that. He stands behind the fence and barks."

Joe added that Pete has even been to an official hockey practice. "In Westboro they let you take dogs to the rink, so one time we took him. Our mom was holding him up to the boards and he was barking, trying to get our attention while we were playing. It was funny."

Even with school and hockey tying up several hours of their time each day, the Pappas boys still find time to do other things. Joe and Evan like to be outdoors, riding their bikes and skiing, while Alex just took up saxophone lessons.

"When we get home from school," Alex said, "we do our homework, then we get to lay around and have some fun." All three boys listed playing Nintendo as one of their favorite after-school activities. Sometimes, however, games at 6 or 7 p.m. make it difficult to get much relaxing done in the afternoon. "We always eat dinner together, though, even if it's late," he added.

Goguen confirmed what I concluded from my interview with Joe, Evan and Alex. They're good, hardworking kids who are an asset to his team. "They're great," Goguen said. "They're well-behaved, they work hard and they're always excited about playing."

He also said that the boys' parents are doing a commendable job. While Bill is behind the bench coaching the kids, Maria is in the stands watching and even provides all of the members of the team with snacks when they're through with practice. "I'd say I have really good parents," Alex commented, when asked to describe Bill and Maria.

Joe, Alex and Evan all said that they would like to play hockey professionally one day, and I'm sure they think of nothing but their love for the game when they imagine being a member of an NHL team. Until that day comes, the Pappas boys will continue to wake up before dawn, trudge to the rink and play their hearts out before school every morning because it's what they love to do.

Evan couldn't have captured that feeling any better with his answer to my final question. "What's the best part of hockey?" he repeated. "Playing it." 

Katie Worrick is a freelance writer in Boston