Brothers Connor, Patrick and Brendon McCormick have helped contribute to the PHS hockey team’s winning record this season. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
The ability to jell is a key component to any team sport — it’s also something that can be hard to establish within a squad.
When you’ve been playing hockey together for as long as Princeton High School team members Patrick, Connor and Brendon McCormick have, though, it basically becomes second nature.
The brothers grew up learning and practicing together, and Princeton head coach Terence Miller said that is apparent when they hit the ice.
“There’s a little bit of extra chemistry between the brothers,” he said. “They can anticipate each other a little bit better, having seen each other play all of their lives. In terms of the leadership qualities, it’s a little easier to talk to your brother or try to communicate things on and off the ice just because you have that connection.”
This is the first time Patrick, a senior, Connor, a junior, and Brendon, a freshman, have all played on the same team.
Years of two-on-two in the street with their younger brother Ryan helped the McCormicks hone their skills and understand how each brother plays.
All of that practice clearly paid off. Patrick, Connor and Brendon lead the team in point with 37, 27 and 21, respectively. Each lends a different asset to the 11-4-2 Little Tigers, and Miller said Patrick, a defenseman, is the most unique of the three.
“He’s different from the other two,” Miller said. “He’s a really good skater. He’s also a good offensive defenseman. He’ll skate the puck up. He scores lots of goals for us. He has lots of assists for us. He’s the quarterback of our power play. He sort of runs the show from up top.”
Connor is a forward who can play center, wing, defense — pretty much anywhere Miller and his staff ask him to play.
“He’s a big, strong forward who goes north and south a lot,” Miller said. “Definitely one of our better two-way players. He’s a defensive forward which is always nice to have.”
Miller said Brendon inherited some of his brothers’ best traits.
“I think part of that is when you’re the youngest of your brothers, you see your older brothers coming up, so you have a chance to get quicker and faster playing with them,” he said. “That’s the case with Brendon just because he’s the youngest and he looks up to his brothers. He’s one of the better freshman players that we’ve had.”
Brendon spent his middle school years watching his brothers and gearing up for his time with the high school team. The experience has lived up to his expectations.
“I was looking forward to it,” he said. “I used to go to a lot of high school games last year and the year before that. It looked like a lot of fun out there. I just wanted to play.”
Patrick and Connor both expected him to make a quick impact.
“Knowing our team doesn’t have that much depth, we knew he could be another player on our squad that could really help out,” Connor said. “It’s helpful. We were kind of anticipating him being a big part of this team.”
Patrick said he’s been especially useful on the power play.
“He’s raking in the points, too,” he said. “I still got him on the points. He’s coming up close. Whenever I’m looking to get a goal or make a pass, he’s always up there with me to bang in the rebound or something. I was excited for him to come up. I knew he was a solid player because I’ve been beating up on him for so many years.”
That kind of friendly trash talk has become characteristic of the McCormicks, though they never take it too seriously.
“That’s always a competition, but we’re not always like, ‘Oh, I have more points than you,’” Patrick said. “Sometimes it’s funny to see Brendon make a pass to Connor and Connor misses. These two are arguing whose fault it was, and I come in and try to tell him whose fault it was. It’s just a competition for perfection. Who’s going to play the best and who’s going to carry the team to victory.”
They know when to get serious, though, Brendon said.
“There’s a lot of chirping going on around the house,” Connor said. “It’s just all fun. When we get out there, we all give points to each other. Usually one of us scores and another of us gets the assist. It’s not really much of a competition. It’s more like we’re pumping each other up.”
Miller said the boys’ bond rubs off on and is beneficial to the rest of the team.
“I think it helps draw in the other guys,” he said. “I think overall they’re a good influence, especially Patrick, a senior captain. Their work ethic and their overall talent is helpful to the rest of the team because they leave a good example. It’s been a real treat. They’re really good kids. They work hard. They play hard. They’re a real hockey family. They really seem to play well together. The most impressive thing is their work ethic. They’re good, hard-working kids and hard-working hockey players. They’re humble.”
