Blackhawks' Nick Foligno reacts to heavyweight fight between brother Marcus Foligno and Jarred Tinordi

Blackhawks' Nick Foligno reacts to heavyweight fight between brother Marcus Foligno and Jarred Tinordi originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

The 17,230 fans at the United Center that showed up to Wednesday's game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild didn't have much to cheer for in the first period, and it wasn't because of the 8:52 p.m. puck drop. It was because the home team recorded only one shot on goal through 20 minutes.

The energy immediately changed in the second period when Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi and Wild forward Marcus Foligno dropped the gloves at the 9:08 mark. It was one of the best scraps of the season, between two heavyweight fighters.

"That's two big boys there," Tyler Johnson said. "Definitely don't want to be in the middle of that one. That was a great fight by Tinner. Obviously we know how tough he is; we know how tough Fliggy is. That was pretty impressive. Definitely glad I'm not a fighter."

Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson appreciated the fight as well, as an old-school guy.

"That’s two big guys, for sure," Richardson said. "Two big guys in a fair fight. I thought the rink really enjoyed it and made the game lively."

All Nick Foligno could do during it was hold his breath as he watched his younger brother Marcus square up against his 6-foot-6, 239-pound teammate Tinordi, even though Marcus is one of the toughest players in the NHL.

"I mean, it's just two big boys fighting," Nick said. "Tinner's a tough SOB man. So is Marcus obviously. Those are two heavyweights in our league now. It's entertaining for the fans. I've seen Marcus do it a ton and we've seen Tinner do it a ton for our group. It definitely juiced up the guys obviously on both sides of the ice.

"That's the way Marcus plays and that's what Tinner brings to our team. I think both teams were trying to find emotion in this game tonight and they did a hell of a job. And Tinner, man he threw some bombs tonight."

Sure, Marcus is Nick's brother, but Nick's allegiance lies with whatever jersey he's wearing first and foremost.

"It's never easy or fun to watch, but at the end of the day, it's my teammate over there so I'm cheering him on," Nick said before cracking a joke: "We'll discuss that in the summer."

Nick, 36, has many memories of fighting with Marcus, 32, growing up.

"I was the one getting all the punches in though," Nick said. "Then there got to a point where he was a lot bigger and the punches hurt a little bit more so we stopped."

Wednesday marked the first time that Nick and Marcus each scored a goal in the same NHL game. However, Marcus, who was in the penalty box three times, scored the game-winner and holds the bragging rights, much to the annoyance of Nick.

"It sucks," Nick said. "I heard he's got the record right now against me too, so we'll have to fix that. It's kind of cool I guess for our family. Our family's probably happy. I'm sure they're happy. I'm pissed off."

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