May 14, 2015

Joe Hulbig ’96: Kind of a grind

Joe Hulbig ’96 played four seasons at PC, and later, eight years in the NHL and AHL.

Take it from former Friar standout Joe Hulbig ’96: A team that keeps grinding, on and off the ice, will catch a break at some point. It just happened that the Friars’ biggest — and seemingly, lone, break all season, according to Hulbig — came in the national title game, a fluke goal to tie the game in the third period.

“Seeing this all come together is pretty special,” said Hulbig, an NHL and AHL veteran who is a close adviser to Head Coach Nate Leaman and who works in PC’s Office of Institutional Advancement.

“Nate came in with a blueprint. Nothing came easy. He had to push and pull, and Bob Driscoll (athletic director) and Father Shanley (College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80) supported him all the way.”