AUBURN — It’s not uncommon for St. Dominic Academy senior Noah Toussaint’s eyes to get big when he’s bearing down on a freshman goalie.

When that goalie is your little brother, though, it’s a different kind of eye-opening experience.

Noah Toussaint and his younger brother, Gavin, had never played against each other in hockey before. The three-year age gap had much to do with that. They didn’t really expect that to change, either, with Noah entering his senior year for St. Dom’s.

But when Gavin Toussaint decided to go to Edward Little High School instead of St. Dom’s, the possibility blossomed.

The only thing stopping the brothers from facing each other was EL junior goalie Ben Feldman, who started the season as the No. 1 netminder on the depth chart. Feldman went down early in the second period of last Wednesday’s EL-St. Dom’s rivalry game, and Toussaint was called on in relief.

“I was thinking more about the game than him scoring on me, at that moment,” Gavin Toussaint said.

The first save Toussaint made might have been his best one, when he sprawled out on top of the puck to stop it from getting over the goal line.

“His first save was tremendous,” St. Dom’s coach Bob Parker said. “It set the tone that he was there to be a good goalie, and our guys were going to have to really work hard at putting the puck past him, because he probably had a little bit more of an incentive to do a good job.”

“That was pretty good because I think the first shot I got that game was from him,” Gavin said, “so that made me comfortable, being in the net.”

“It was a mixture of excitement and just scared,” Noah said of facing his brother. “I was actually scared, and pressured to score on him.”

Toussaint allowed just one goal the rest of the second period, and that came during a five-minute penalty kill for the Red Eddies. Noah Toussaint had the primary assist on Jacob Lewis’ power-play goal.

“I think he played great out there,” Noah said of Gavin’s 18 saves on 22 shots. “He had a five-minute penalty kill out there and he played just great.”

The second intermission was the first time the brothers had a chance to think about the sibling matchup — and they both did.

“Once I got a break, I was really thinking about what was really going on, playing my brother and St. Dom’s for the first time,” Gavin said.

“That was my whole thought process in the second intermission,” Noah said. “I didn’t talk one bit, I was thinking just on my brother, and seeing what I could do to help the team for the win.”

The game quickly became one-sided, with the Saints going up 5-0 just two minutes into the third. But the Toussaint tussle only heated up.

“Right when he came on the ice, it just turned into a different game for me, and it was a battle of the brothers right there,” Noah said. “I thought I needed to score. I had to get some shots on net. I had to get a shot on net and see if I could score on him.”

“A couple times I could notice when he was shooting on me,” Gavin said. “I felt like his shots — he has a good shot — and I just felt like I had good positioning with his shots. I think he could have score against me if had a couple more shots.”

“(Gavin) had two, three good saves against his brother, which must be tough,” EL coach Brett Barrett said.

Gavin said he’s seen his brother play enough that he knows Noah’s shot — a little inside scouting report, if you will. Noah admitted that he hasn’t seen his younger brother play much, so he didn’t really know his brother’s weaknesses before the game.

“I am a little bit (mad I didn’t score), but he played well, and he stopped it, and it was his luck of the night,” Noah said. “Next game, it will be my turn.”

Gavin said he “wasn’t trying to chirp at all” after the game for shutting out his brother, because his EL team was shut out 7-0 by one of its biggest rivals.

“After the game I was very nice,” Noah said. “I told him he played great. He played a great game and he shouldn’t be down on himself, because he’s a freshman.”

Noah said he got “a little bit” of ribbing from family for not being able to score on his brother. Noah did have a goal earlier in the game, and he told his family that he would get one past his brother if Gavin gets put in net for the rematch on January 7.

The brothers may never get a chance to play on the ice together again, depending on how the rematch plays out, or a potential playoff matchup.

But they’ll always have the first one, when they each earned bragging rights. The elder Toussaint got to celebrate as the Saints’ captain, earning a win over a rival. But he also got to celebrate a proud moment as an older brother, who had a hand in getting Gavin started in hockey.

“I try to be (a role model) every day for him,” Noah said. “I always support him, even though he left St. Dom’s. But I support him as a brother, and as another hockey player, and I was very proud of him that day.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com