O'Brien Getting Rush With Sacred Heart Hockey

Focus, Determination Translate Into Success

By MARK PUKALO, Courant Staff Writer

MILFORD -- Bear Trapp scored the goal and Alexandre Parent sprinted to the net to grab the puck.

Sacred Heart senior center Pierre-Luc O'Brien wondered what was going on with his two linemates.

Soon after, Parent handed O'Brien the puck.

"He said, `What's this for?'" Parent remembered.

O'Brien's assist with that puck against AIC Jan. 9 was the 143rd point of his career, passing Martin Paquet as the Pioneers' all-time scoring leader.

It might have been a surprise to O'Brien, but it wasn't to everyone who has watched him play the last four seasons.

"He'll score a big goal, make a defensive play, make a play to get the puck out of the zone," Sacred Heart coach Shaun Hannah said. "He's got a real keen knowledge of the game.

"Pierre is committed and focused in the classroom and athletically. He's got it all together."

It was not always easy. O'Brien went from French-speaking Nicolet, Quebec, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to play junior hockey and learn English. Then he chose to attend Sacred Heart, a relatively young Division I program.

O'Brien, 5 feet 10, 180 pounds, has improved each year and this season is a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, the Heisman Trophy of hockey, with 15 goals and 39 points for the Pioneers (17-9-4).

"The guy just keeps putting up numbers and he's got the knack of scoring at the right times to change a game," UConn coach Bruce Marshall said. "He can beat you in so many ways."

O'Brien, 24, whose father, Allain, has Irish heritage and mother, Lucie Morin, is French, was bigger than a lot of the kids early on, but as time went on many outgrew him.

"My parents never put pressure on me about hockey," O'Brien said. "My dad was always pushing me on school. He said it was real important because I was probably not going to play in the NHL. He said have fun while it lasts."

O'Brien played in a school showcase for Quebec kids run by Jacques Gauvin, who helps place junior players from Quebec. The Cowichan Valley Capitals on Vancouver Island were interested.

"There was no bad side to the move," O'Brien said. "You learn English, you meet people and you play hockey.

"I had great family housing and I just started growing as a hockey player and an individual. It was really hard, but I really wanted to learn English."

Hannah, who is friends with Gauvin, heard about O'Brien and made the trip to see him. He saw all he wanted to see in one sequence, where O'Brien made a strong defensive play, then sped off to score a short-handed goal.

After arriving at Sacred Heart, O'Brien scored twice in his first game against Merrimack.

"There was no adjustment time," Hannah said. "... The time in Western Canada was a great experience for him. He went there with great offensive instincts and learned the game defensively.

"He's one of those guys that when the game is on the line, he's going be there. Because he's that way, he demands it from his peers and they follow."

O'Brien struggled writing English a bit when he first came to Sacred Heart with almost a school-year's worth of credits. Three years later, he is working on his master's in business.

Parent, his linemate for three seasons, didn't know English well when he arrived and O'Brien helped him through his first season in 2004-05.

Trapp, a pure scorer, joined the line as a freshman last season on right wing.

"[O'Brien] is good with the puck and, he sees the ice so well," said Trapp/, also a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award. "He makes your job easier and he'll always listen to my input."

O'Brien was not drafted, but he will probably get interest from NHL organizations when the season ends. He is open to that, but it is out of his mind.

Winning the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament and making the program's first NCAA tournament is what he is concerned about now.

"I think it's a good thing I didn't know about the scoring record," O'Brien said. "That way I didn't push things. It just happened."