Continued: Grand Forks twins hit the ice at U

The garage door at the Lamoureux's home in Grand Forks, N.D., has taken a lot of hard shots over the years. There are nicks and dents all over created by tennis balls and rubber balls.

But the damage incurred has proven to be a solid investment. Five of Jean-Pierre and Linda Lamoureux's six children will be playing college hockey this season, including twins Jocelyne and Monique for the Gophers.

The 5-6 freshman forwards will play in their first college women's game when the Gophers face visiting Robert Morris at 7:07 tonight at Ridder Arena.

Jocelyne will center the second line; Monique will be her right wing.

"We will rely on them pretty heavily in all situations in the game," Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "They've come in and they have lived up to what people have said about them. Everything you want in a hockey player, they have."

In high school, the Lamoureux sisters led Shattuck-St. Mary's to three under-19 women's national titles. Both had more than 100 points each of the four seasons they played for the private school in Faribault, Minn.

The Lamoureux name in North Dakota is closely associated with Fighting Sioux hockey. Their father was a goalie on two NCAA championship teams at North Dakota in the early 1980s. Their oldest brother, Jean-Philippe, was in the nets last season as a senior when the Fighting Sioux advanced to the Final Four.

Mario, their youngest brother, played for the USHL's Tri-City Storm last season and now is a freshman forward for North Dakota.

The twins considered UND, too, but they wanted to play for a more established women's hockey program. Their choices came down to Minnesota and Wisconsin. They made their decision during warmups at a game between those two WCHA powers at Ridder. The arena was packed, the atmosphere was electric.

"We both kind of looked at each other and it was like, 'We want to go here,'" Monique said.

Words were not needed. Call it a twin thing, which carries over to the ice.

"We know where each other are, where to look, where to pass," Monique said.

The twins have impressed Tom Osiecki, coach of the U.S. women's national team.

"They are just so gritty and tough," Osiecki said Sunday after his team played the Gophers in an exhibition. "They go down and they blocks shots and they are in your face all the time. They take you away from your game."

The Lamoureux's four brothers, ages 24 to 20, taught the twins a few lessons during hockey games in the family driveway and on the frozen pond across the street.

"When we were young, we wanted to be with our brothers, to fit in and hang out with them," Monique said. "That's the one main thing we have in common, is our love for hockey."

Their brothers pushed them, showed them how to work hard and sometimes hurt them.

Jocelyne ran crying to her mother one time after being whacked on the leg: "My mom said, 'If you are going to be playing with the boys, that is what is going to happen.'"

Boys have a different mentality in hockey, she learned.

"If you knock someone over, for guys it doesn't matter," Jocelyne said. "With girls, you get an apology."

The twins also tried other sports. Gymnastics, swimming, cross-country running, soccer. Dance, too.

"They were dynamite soccer players, but I am almost glad they stopped," said Linda Lamoureux, worried about the lack of protective gear in that sport. "They have no fear."

Their parents let the kids pick their colleges.

"With all our kids, we wanted them to find a place they feel comfortable," their mother said. "As parents, we are excited all found schools and will get an education."

His daughters tease Jean-Pierre about becoming Gophers. He laughs, but a rule prohibiting Gophers apparel inside the family's home still stands.

Monique said her father will never wear U of M clothes when her team plays at North Dakota, but when he comes to see a game at Ridder she is hopeful.

"I might be able to get him into a [Gophers] sweatshirt or something here," Monique said.

He owes them, after all. Last summer the twins repainted the family's garage door.