Feature Story
Trio of Tri-City defensemen find home at CC
While it’s probably an overstatement to
call the Tri-City Storm a breeding ground for
All three – senior Jack Hillen, sophomore Brian Connelly and freshman Brett Wysopal –are left-handed shooters with better-than-average
puck-handling skills. None of them are very big by today’s standards, generally
relying more on brains and finesse rather than brawn and brute force in their
efforts to keep opposing forwards in check.
“All three have stepped in immediately
and contributed to our overall success,” says CC head coach Scott Owens, whose
team currently sits at the top of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
standings and is ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the national polls. “It’s obvious
that their preparation at Tri-City and in the USHL have made the transition
seamless. They are excellent players, and even better kids.”
Veterans Hillen
and Connelly are fixtures for the Tigers, having played every game this season.
Wysopal, all of 5-8 and 165 pounds, has alternated
games with fellow freshman Ryan Lowery as Connelly’s partner.
With 10 points (2g, 8a) in the team’s
first 14 outings, Hillen is off to the best start of
his collegiate career. He finished with 11 points (2g, 9a) as a freshman in
2004-05, 13 (4g, 9a) as a sophomore in 2005-06 and 15 (7g, 8a) as a junior in
2006-07. He and Connelly, who led the entire Tiger defensive corps with 17
points (2g, 15a) as a freshman last season, both see extensive ice time on
special teams in addition to their regular shifts.
Hillen has assisted on a pair of game-winning goals so far this
campaign, in home-ice victories over
Still looking for his first point, Wysopal owns a very respectable +3 plus-minus rating in the
nine games in which he’s appeared. On several occasions, he’s escaped with the
puck from behind his own net, starting a rush up ice after seemingly being
dwarfed and trapped by two or three forechecking
opponents.
“All three are really good kids –
trustworthy, good team guys,” Tri-City head coach Bliss Littler
says of his former players. “But they’re all a little different, too.
Connelly’s probably the most offensive-minded of the three. Jack (Hillen) probably is the best skater. The toughest of the
three, in the end, might actually be Wysopal. He’s
not very big, but is a real fire plug back there, very gritty for his size.”
In the 2003-04 season, Littler’s first and Hillen’s last
with the Storm, Tri-City claimed its first-ever
Anderson Cup as the USHL regular-season champion, compiling a 43-12-5 record
and eventually advancing to the Clark Cup finals. As a freshman at CC in
2004-05, Hillen played in 30 games as the Tigers tied
for the WCHA title, reached the NCAA Frozen Four and finished with a record of
Two seasons ago, with Connelly on the roster,
Tri-City claimed the fourth playoff spot in the USHL’s
West Division, then forced Anderson Cup champion
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