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.
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.”