If it weren’t for a trip to Toys ‘R’ Us early in their childhood, Wisconsin women’s hockey senior forward Brooke Ammerman and sophomore forward Brittany Ammerman might never have stepped onto a hockey rink.
The sisters’ brother-in-law, Kevin was babysitting the then-three-and five-year-old sisters as he often did over the summers. However, Kevin’s decision to buy Brooke and Brittany hockey sticks was at least a little bit random.
After all, the Ammerman family had had no lineage of hockey unless you count Brooke and Brittany’s father, who is a New Jersey Devils season ticket holder. But even that could be explained, as Mr. Ammerman coached high school football.
“He just loves sports,” Brittany said of her father. “He follows everything.”
Regardless, Brooke and Brittany began using the basement as an arena for their new toys. The basement horseplay turned into roller hockey and the roller hockey turned into competitive hockey at the North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vt., where the sisters attended high school.
In retrospect, perhaps Mr. Ammerman’s career as a football coach influenced more than just his own players.
“We were destined to play a violent sport,” Brooke joked.
Today, the Ammerman sisters play key roles on the defending national champion and No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team (23-3-2 WCHA, 31-3-2 overall) that’s the favorite to win the WCHA Final Face-Off in Duluth, Minn. this weekend.
Coming to Wisconsin
During her time at the North American Hockey Academy, it soon became evident Brooke had the talent to play collegiate hockey at a top-tier program.
Having grown up in River Vale, N.J., she was certainly familiar with schools like Boston College and Boston University. In fact, Boston College—which was just a three-hour drive away from the Ammermans’ home in New Jersey—was one of Brooke’s final three choices.
As convenient of a trip it would have been for the Ammerman family to watched her play for the Eagles, Brooke never felt pressured to attend Boston College—or any school, for that matter. The puck was in her rink.
“They never put pressure on either one of us,” Brooke said. “As long as we really liked where we were going to go, that was the important part.”
Brooke’s commitment to Wisconsin certainly didn’t determine where Brittany would play. On the contrary, Brittany’s first choice was Boston College.
“I always wanted to go to Boston College because I had heard such great things about it,” Brittany said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to follow right behind Brooke in her footsteps.”
Brittany visited Boston College one week before she visited Wisconsin. However, she was certain she wanted to be a Badger shortly after arriving in Madison.
“After getting on campus I realized this is where I wanted to be,” Brittany said. “When I got to the game on the Friday night that I was here and saw the fans and how much they love Badger sports, that’s what really got me.”
The appeal of playing with Brooke also played a role in Brittany’s decision. But, with a maximum of three weeks left this season, the sisters’ time playing together at Wisconsin will soon come to a close.
Sisterly play
Brooke and Brittany are used to answering questions about playing with each other. However, it sometimes appears reporters forget Brittany’s name.
“Throughout our entire career, every time [reporters] do an article on us it’s always, ‘Brooke Ammerman and her younger sister,’” Brittany said with a laugh. “Sometimes they’ll put my name in [the article].
“When you’re not scoring that many goals, then you’re destined to have [the younger sister title],” she joked.
Brooke and Brittany have also answered a fair number of questions about who is the better hockey player. To answer that question would be like comparing apples and oranges, as far as the Ammermans are concerned. After all, they are different players: Brooke is more of a goal-scorer, while Brittany is more of a speedster who scores most of her goals “if [she’s] in the right spot,” as Brittany put it.
The sisters wouldn’t buy into the comparisons even if they did play the same style of hockey. Brooke and Brittany made a rule once they became pretty good players that they would never compare statistics or get in arguments about who was better.
“If people want to compare us that’s fine, but it’s not something that we really get worried about,” Brooke said. “We’re thankful that we have this ability to play a sport that we love and get to play at such a high level. I think it’s fun that we get to share the same moments.”
There was no better moment for the Ammerman sisters than the 2011 Division I women’s ice hockey national championship game, where Wisconsin topped Boston University 4-1 to claim the school’s fourth national championship.
“It was a blast. To win together, that’s really special,” Brooke said. “I don’t know how many siblings get an opportunity to win something so huge together.”
As if winning a national championship wasn’t enough, the entire Ammerman family made the eight-hour car ride to Erie, Pa., to watch Brooke and Brittany play.
“It’s something we’re going to remember for the rest of our lives,” Brooke said.
Closing things out right
While Brooke and Brittany have enjoyed playing together at Wisconsin, they agree it will be nice for Brittany to have two seasons on her own.
“I had those two years already,” Brooke said. “I’m looking forward to [Brittany] having that space, not having to worry about being in my shadow, per se.”
Brittany has certainly used Brooke’s presence to her advantage, often asking Brooke for advice during practice. Brittany will miss that support next season, but she’s excited about stepping into the upperclassman role.
“I’m a little nervous about not having [Brooke’s advice], but being an upperclassman I hopefully won’t have to [ask for advice] as much,” Brittany said. “Hopefully I can kind of pass what Brooke taught to me down to the freshmen and sophomores next year.”
However, all of that is far down the road for Brooke and Brittany. The sisters are entirely focused on the task at hand: Winning back-to-back national titles.
“Hopefully we’ll end on a good note like last year,” Brittany said. “We’ll definitely just take it all in.”
That’s the plan for Brittany and her older sister.
