Goldie brothers set to renew sibling rivalry in ECHL playoffs

The Goldie brothers, Wes and Ash, constantly competed against each other while growing up in London, Ontario.

"We played mini-hockey all day long down in the crawl space. We were going at it pretty good," said Wes, the older brother who will turn 33 on May 5. "He always tried to get the better of his big brother, but that rarely happened."

Wes let out a good-natured laugh after that comment, but the competition only served to inspire the 31-year-old Ash, who at 5 feet 9 inches and 170 pounds gives up 4 inches and 30 pounds to his older brother.

"He was always bigger and stronger than me, so I always had to work to keep up with him," Ash said. "I saw what he accomplished in hockey, and that pushed me to be that good as well.

"We always pushed each other, and I think good comes out of that."

The high-scoring forwards - Wes is the ECHL's all-time leading scorer and the reigning Most Valuable Player for the defending Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces; Ash is a key contributor for the Wranglers - will resume their sibling rivalry in the best-of-7 ECHL Western Conference finals, which begin at 7:05 p.m. today at Orleans Arena.

"We've always had a lot of fun with it, but this time it's got a little bit of a different feel to it," Wes said. "It's almost bittersweet, because I always want him to do well and win, but now he's in the way, so the competitive edge kind of takes over. I'm going through some different feelings I haven't felt before."

Because of injuries to Ash, the brothers faced each other only once this season, a 4-2 Las Vegas victory on March 27. Before that, they last met on the ice in 2007.

Ash said they always bring out the best in each other.

"You obviously don't want him to outshine you," he said. "It adds a little extra incentive, but hopefully we can come out on top."

The brothers spent one season together, with now-defunct Victoria in 2007-08. It was the second of five straight 40-goal seasons for Wes and a career year for Ash, who tallied 40 goals and 43 assists.

"They're both guys that score goals. I don't know if that's a gene, but I'd like to get hold of that DNA," Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said jokingly. "They're very different players. Wes is a little bit more in your face, and Ash is a little more perimeter and refined skill. Wes is more of a shooter."

Ash scored 10 goals and totaled 16 points in 17 regular-season games for the Wranglers. He has five points in the playoffs. Wes notched 35 goals (61 points) in 70 games for the Aces.

Said Ash of his brother: "He's kind of a pure sniper. He gets one chance and it's in. I need a couple chances to put it in."

While the siblings enjoyed their season together in Victoria, Wes said it came with a caveat.

"It was a lot of fun, but it's a little tough with the big-brother-looking-out-for-younger-brother kind of thing," he said. "Having to watch him get hit or something was tough. You want to jump in all the time, but you can't."

Shani Goldie will face a similar predicament today and Friday at Orleans Arena, where she'll be in the stands watching her two sons.

"It will be fun. I know she's excited," Ash said. "The way she looks at it is at least one of us will be playing for the Cup."

Although Alaska is the top seed, Las Vegas will host Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Game 7 because of arena availability issues. The Aces will host Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and Tuesday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, which features an Olympic-sized ice sheet. If necessary, Alaska will host Games 5 and 6 on Wednesday and May 4.

"Having that Game 7 at home and starting at home is kind of an advantage," Mougenel said. "We're also looking forward to going up there and playing on the big ice. That's an advantage for a team like us that skates really well."

As far as the Goldie brothers are concerned, the series could take place in a crawl space.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.