The NCAA rulebook states that you are only allowed to have 21 players dress for each game, something Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey player Tom Hilbrich has only done three times during his career with the Bobcats.
However, the senior defensemen has been one of the strongest parts of this team’s magical year.
Hilbrich will be there Saturday night as his team looks to capture their first national title in program history when they face off against North Dakota at 8 p.m.
The Port Credit, Ontario native stands at a towering 6-foot-6, but is one of the friendliest and kindest human beings at the Amalie Arena Friday afternoon.
Hilbrich kicks off his flip-flops and sits at his stall inside the Tampa Bay Lightning’s locker room rewarded to the No. 1 seed Quinnipiac.
“I just remember always wanting to play Division I hockey,” Hilbrich said. “I had a lot of attractions from Division III schools, but I just remember always wanting to play Division I hockey.”
Hilbrich got his start in stints with the North American Hockey League’s (NAHL) Alpena Icediggers (now the Corpus Christi IceRays) and the Fresno Monsters before settling with the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL).
Hilbrich skated in 58 games for the Lumber Kings, scoring a goal and notching nine assists, including four assists in the playoffs.
Following a game 7 playoff loss with Pembroke, Hilbrich remembers receiving a call from a family friend and advisor, who was helping him with the college search.
“I was at one of my teammates’ house and I get a phone call from my advisor, saying, ‘Quinnipiac is going to call you and offer you a spot.’” Hilbrich said, scratching his playoff beard. “I remember wondering so many things. First thing being ‘what is Quinnipiac?’”
Following a trip to Connecticut to visit the campus, Hilbrich fell in love with the school and quickly committed to Quinnipiac. The thought process was that he would get a shot to make an impact for the team his sophomore year after five defensemen graduated the year before.
As his sophomore year went on, Hilbrich saw his role change.
But even without the ice time he may have hoped for, Hilbrich remained poised and motivated.
“The weight room became my spot,” Hilbrich said. “I thrived in there. It was kind of my sanctuary.”
Hilbrich, while working the strength and conditioning coach Brijesh Patel, became a pivotal figure in the weight room and on the ice in practice.
“Sometimes it can really get mentally tough on you when you are not playing every night and you are missing games,” Hilbrich said. “When guys are away on road trips and you are sitting at the house watching the game on your laptop, it can really get to you. I would always use that to motivate me in the gym.”
Hilbrich is part of a true hard-working hockey family. His brother Christian was the captain of Cornell’s hockey team while his parents, John and Sue, try and make it to both of their sons’ games, always wearing the same, truly unique hockey sweater. Half Quinnipiac and half Cornell to show continued support to both boys.
“I remember we sat out by our hot tub in the backyard, and we chatted about what we wanted to do.” Hilbrich said about he and his brother’s decision on where they wanted to play hockey. “There was a brief moment where we thought of playing together, but we knew we had special opportunities at QU and Cornell.”
Coming into his senior year, Hilbrich became a natural leader.
“I was always one of the top guys in the weight room. You get respect that way when you are putting in the extra work. Even though you aren’t playing and you still do those extra lifts, everyone sees you doing that,” said. “If you keep putting in the effort and working hard, you gain the respect of the team.”
Hilbrich, who’s never seen without a smile on his face, is in charge of the locker room music and is the team’s go-to guy if anyone doesn’t have the right energy.
“He is a senior and one of our leaders. It’s an unusual situation but he is an A-plus character person,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Phenomenal in the weight room and phenomenal off the ice, I can’t say enough good things about him. It is unusual to have one of the kids who doesn’t play often to be one of your leaders. He is just an awesome person and he does a lot for us as a leader.”
Hilbrich’s attitude hasn’t changed since the team arrived in Tampa this week to steel drums and a red carpet. He continues to work hard during the team practices and continues to be the voice of positivity during a title run that may see players stressed out.
“Tom Hilbrich is viewed as a leader on this team, no doubt,” Quinnipiac senior captain Soren Jonzzon said. “When he says things, guys listen and he has everyone’s respect.”
Jonzzon will be one of the 21 guys pulling on the jersey for Quinnipiac Saturday night as they look to hoist a trophy that has never been hoisted in the program’s history.
However, like every good thing that has ever been built, it starts with a strong and stable foundation.
For Quinnipiac, that foundation starts with Hilbrich. He is the walking image of what Rand Pecknold has preached to his team about for the past 22 years: the idea of worrying about the whole unit, not just yourself.
Regardless of the outcome Saturday night, Hilbrich plans on traveling and continuing his hockey career in Europe next season to “continue to live the dream.”
Down the road, the graduate student looks to continue his work with a new app that he has been marketing called Tether and looks to continue his work in the marketing field at a large sporting company.
When asked what he will miss most, Hilbrich is taken back, emotions overcome the 6-foot-6 frame.
“Just these boys…just this class,” Hilbrich said. “There are so many memories, but the lasting memory I will always have will be the boys. The celebrations, the fun, all of us together celebrating.”
