Game one of the ANAVET Cup has yet to be played, but a Steinbach couple already knows the outcome, well sort of.

Tony and Lorie Lenchyshyn already know that at the end of the series, their son will be hoisting the Cup, they are just not sure which son. That is because their son Jack will be playing for the hometown Pistons, while their other son Thomas will suit up for the Nipawin Hawks.

The ANAVET Cup is a best of seven series featuring the champions from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The first two games of that series will be played in Steinbach, beginning Friday night.

The Lenchyshyn brothers are at opposite ends of the junior hockey careers. 18-year-old Jack is a rookie with the Pistons, while 21-year-old Thomas is playing his final year of junior hockey.

Lorie Lenchyshyn says this sort of direct competition has never happened before for her two sons. But she refers to them as intense rivals and says as soon as Jack committed to playing for the Pistons, the smack talk started between her boys.

"They keep telling me that they are going to drop the gloves at centre ice and go at it," says Lenchyshyn. "And I assured them that I would march on the ice and pull them both off by their ears."

For Tony and Lorie, it has been a winter of hockey road trips and plenty of time streaming their sons' games online. The Steinbach couple has driven to Saskatchewan on more than one occasion during the Hawks playoff run. They were there in Nipawin for the first game back following the Humboldt tragedy, showing their support. Lorie says they also watch a lot of their sons' games online if the arena they are playing in has a strong enough signal.

"I'm a little tired," she admits. "I think it's a residual tiredness."

And with the end of the hockey season now in sight, Lenchyshyn knows one thing she's looking forward to.

"The very first thing that will happen is they will both shave and get haircuts," she says. "Hockey hair and hockey beard it's not pretty any way you look at it."

Being the concerned parent, Lorie has already told Jack that he will be getting retakes on his grad pictures. A grade 12 student at Steinbach Regional Secondary School, his grad pictures were taken during their playoff run, meaning his look was a little more straggly than she would prefer.

Lenchyshyn says her and Tony have joked about cutting a Pistons jersey and a Hawks jersey and then sewing them together to demonstrate their allegiance to both teams. But whatever happens, she just hopes both sons do well.

"To be very honest with you, if both kids are on the ice, playing each other, I am wholeheartedly cheering equally for both of them," she admits.

The winner of the ANAVET Cup will advance to the RBC Cup in Chilliwack, B.C. next month. Tony and Lorie have not decided yet whether they can squeeze some time off work and head west to cheer on either Thomas or Jack.

Thomas Lenchyshyn photo credit: Richard Petersen