Per The Intelligencer
Cam Hausinger – Wheeling (ECHL)/Kenny Hausinger– Reading (ECHL)
WHEELING — Hockey has brought the Hausinger family closer together in many ways over the years.
This past week, the sport has brought them together once again.
Wheeling’s Cam Hausinger and his older brother Kenny Hausinger of Reading have shared the ice in their last three games as opponents, a feat they never thought they would witness at the pro level.
“I’m four years older so it’s kind of crazy. I never thought this would happen,” Kenny said. “I’m his biggest fan. I watch every game that I can and it’s really fun to get to play against each other and have some family in the stands, too.”
Cam actually delivered the game-winning goal in Saturday’s battle between the two teams but his favorite part of the game was seeing a familiar face on the other side of the ice.
“We’ve played a lot of hockey but never competitively on two different teams on the same ice,” Cam said. “It’s always been outside hockey or pond hockey. It was a dream come true looking across the ice and seeing another Hausinger jersey. It was just awesome.”
After Wheeling took the first of three games against Reading, the two teams split the final two with Kenny netting his first career hat trick in Wednesday’s 4-1 win, making it an interesting week for the Hausinger family in attendance.
“Our family has been enjoying it but they are not sure who to cheer for,” Cam said. “They’ve been troopers through it all. Mom has probably been biting her nails the entire time but they are having just as much fun as we are. It’s been a great experience for them watching their boys play.”
While the two brothers grew up playing the game together, it has been an adjustment sharing the ice at the professional level as opponents.
“It’s a huge difference,” Cam said. “In pond hockey, you are trying to win but now you’ve got a team you’re playing for. There are no friends on the ice.
“As much as I want to go over there and hug him into the boards, I have to hit him into the boards now. I have to blank out the fact that he is family for 60 minutes. When we are on the ice we are competitors.”
It’s been different for Kenny, as well, but mostly because Cam has improved so much since they were younger.
“Back then I was older and bigger,” Kenny said. “I was able to bully him around but nowadays it’s him getting the better of me. It’s fun to see how he has grown up and to see the kind of guy he’s grown up to be.”
In fact, it’s that toughness that Kenny admires the most about his brother’s game.
“We have two different styles,” Kenny said. “I’m maybe a little more patient where he has that grittiness. I wish I could drop the gloves like he does. He fights guys who are 6-foot-5. He doesn’t back down from anything. I think the Western Hockey League kind of set him up for that. I took the college route where there was no fighting. It was never an option until I became a pro.”
Any chance he gets, Cam studies his brother’s skills and is hoping to add some of it to his own arsenal.
“His patience and skill with the puck is way above my level,” Cam said. “It’s at a pro level. He makes such smart plays out there with the puck. I try to take after him a little bit. He is a competitor just like I am and he wants to win for his team. I think he appreciates my grittiness of my game, though.”
As if Cam and Kenny’s success in hockey wasn’t enough, their brother Christian is also playing in the ECHL currently with the Norfolk Admirals.
Their father was an athlete growing up but Kenny seemed to be the first one to really make hockey the new family sport.
“I feel like I wanted to create a path for all my brothers,” Kenny said. “My dad played basketball, football and baseball. He played every sport but hockey. Being the oldest I kind of set the path for everyone and I tried to teach them everything. I can definitely take things from Cam and I try to pick Christian’s brain, too, about what he sees. We have a good family dynamic when we get together during the summer.”
The Hausinger family knew early on that hockey was going to be a huge part of their lives and everyone bought in, making the trio of brothers’ dreams come true.
“My brother is playing well in Norfolk,” Cam said of Christian. “He is grinding and trying to play the best hockey that he can.
“That’s why we moved away when we were so young. Our family moved to California just to start playing hockey and it’s been hockey ever since.”