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Brothers in Blue

Friday, December, 21 By David Willis
Staff writer

Chuck Tomes admits that, in his family, hockey isn't always left at the rink.

"If one of our brothers makes a mistake in practice we definitely give him trouble about it," he said. "We joke around a lot, and sometimes we get a little carried away. When it's three guys, it'll get a little rough."

When Salem High takes to the ice to defend it's title at the Salem Blue Devil Holiday Classic on Wednesday against Oyster River, the Blue Devils will have a distinctly Tomes-family feel.

After all, senior tri-captain Derek Tomes will be joined on the bench by his two brothers, assistant coaches Chuck, 25, and Scott, 23.

"Ever since I was a little kid, they have been going to my games and talking to me about hockey," said Derek. "The only difference is now they are on the bench during games."

Hockey is life for the Tomes family. The walls of their Windham home are lined with pictures of the brothers on the ice, from Derek's Peewee days to Chuck and Scott playing college.

"There's a deep-blooded family bond with hockey," said Scott. "We have all played hockey, and our dad (Charles) played hockey at Lawrence High. Our mom and dad have been very supportive. They have traveled from Minnesota to Canada for our hockey tournaments."

Now in his second season as a starter, Derek has developed into one of the Blue Devils' top scoring threats. The forward has tallied two goals and two assists through the first three games of the regular season.

Games are the easy part.

"We are the worst on him because he is our brother," said Scott. "You feel like you have to hold him to a higher standard because you can't let anyone look at it the wrong way. But he understands."

And when the elder Tomes brothers speak, they have the experience to back it up.

After standing out at Brooks | earning Eagle-Tribune All-Star honors in 1999 | and Tabor Academy, Chuck played four seasons as a defenseman at Northeastern (2002-06). In 116 games he tallied four goals and 12 assists, and was captain his senior season.

Scott, a goalie, played two seasons at Salem before heading to Milton Academy and then to Juniors with the Valley Junior Warriors. He then went on to the University of Connecticut (2003-07), playing in 77 games with a 3.71 goals-against average.

Chuck joined the Blue Devils a year ago while Scott is in his first year working with the Salem goalies. And they have found differences in coaching styles.

"We played for different coaches," said Chuck, who now lives in Boston as a manufacturing rep. "Scotty's a little more vocal than me. I kind of sit there and take kids aside. Scotty is much more emotional. We have been known to argue."

After spending much of his childhood watching his two brothers, Derek has developed into a combination of the two. "He got dragged around to a lot of games when he was a kid," said Scott, who also does work as a private goalie coach. "He was a rink rat growing up and he got to see a lot of hockey. He wants to get to the level we played at, and he has seen what it takes."

After scoring one point as a sophomore, Derek had scored a team-best 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) through Salem's first 10 games last season before breaking his ankle in practice.

"I talked with Derek to make sure he was OK with being coached by his brothers," said Salem head coach Mark McGinn. "He doesn't mind and I think the kids really appreciate when you can demonstrate a drill like they can."

In fact, Derek has always valued his brothers' input | no matter how rough it can be.

"I feel like they are pushing me really hard," he said. "But I know they want the best for me. They always have 1-on-1 time and they want me to follow in their footsteps. Chuck tells me to shoot more and Scott tells me all the weak spots with the other goalies because he can see them."

Derek has yet to make a decision on where he will play next season. He is exploring prep school options, or possibly playing juniors. But he eventually hopes to follow in the footsteps of his two idols.

"As you get older you don't get to see your family nearly as much," said Scott. "It is great that the three of us get to be together on the bench and our parents are at every game in the stands. It's a great feeling."