A new chapter in the Riley family hockey story

What do you want to want to be when you grow up?

This question was one that we all heard throughout our younger years. For most, the answer was something generic. A firefighter, a police officer or maybe a pilot.

For Jack and Brendan Riley, the answer was more specific: Division I hockey player.

The Riley family is well known throughout the college hockey world. Jack and Brendan's grandfather John (Jack) Riley, played hockey at Dartmouth and coached at Army West Point for 36 years. Of his five children, one son played at Harvard, two at Boston College, one at Brown and his daughter played at St. Lawrence.

After he stopped coaching at Army, his son, Rob, took over, and was eventually joined by his brother — Jack and Brendan's father, Brian — who assisted. In 2004, Brian took over as head coach, and now enters his 13th season and the 67th consecutive year with a Riley as the Black Knights bench boss.

Jack and Brendan are two of Brian's three children, with daughter Dani being the middle child. As a Division I hockey head coach, it is easy to understand how his children all grew up to be athletes. Jack plays hockey at Mercyhurst University, where he is a redshirt junior. Dani played four years of lacrosse at Merrimack, while Brendan is joining his brother as a freshman for the Lakers this season.

'On skates at an early age'

Raising children while being a Division I hockey coach could make it difficult to balance time between home and work. However, it also allows for an opportunity to expose one's children to the game at a young age. Brian Riley shared his memories of how his sons got into hockey with Pucks and Recreation.

"It's kind of funny, Jack was on skates when he was one, just kind of walking around the rink on his skates," he said. "They were both on skates at an early age, but with me being a coach and being up here at the rink and them coming up to see me at the office and watch games.

"It's just a sport that they really fell in love with, and being around the rink as much as they were really drew them to the sport."

Jack and Brendan both have numerous memories of being around their dad at work growing up. This lifestyle naturally influenced their interest in hockey, though whether they would each sustain that passion all the way to the NCAA level was not always certain at the start.

"Growing up, and I'm sure my dad would tell you the same thing, everyone didn't know if I was actually going to be a hockey player," Brendan admitted to P&R. "He would always tell me 'You know, Brendan, you don't have to play hockey if you don't want.' But being around the program and being around such a good hockey mind helped me learn the game."

Perhaps those initial doubts came as a result of one of Brendan's early hockey experiences.

"It's a pretty funny story," he said, "I was playing mini-mites or something. I was playing a game, and I got my first penalty. I think I two-handed a guy who took the puck from me and I was crying in the box, so that's pretty much the first thing I remember: Sobbing."

That notwithstanding, the two brothers would develop dreams of growing up to play Division I college hockey, but achieving that is much easier said than done. They both had to work hard, go to prep school and play in juniors to eventually live the dream.

"It was at an early age that I saw that he (Jack) really did have good hockey sense," Brian said, "and that's something that you can't teach as you get older. That gave him a solid foundation and he worked on the other parts of his game, just getting bigger and stronger.

"He also has an unbelievable trait: He loves to play but he wants to win, and you can see that when he's out on the ice.

"Brendan, on the other hand, is a different player than Jack. Good size, skates well, and really was kind of a late bloomer. He went away Kimball Union in New Hampshire prep school for two years and had success there. I think watching him over those two years, his skating ability and knowing that he's getting bigger that there's a good chance that he would have an opportunity to play Division I college hockey."

Off to Mercyhurst

Their play in prep school and juniors got the brothers onto the recruiting radar. When it came time for Jack to decide where to go, familiarity played a big role. He shared the factors in his college decision with P&R.

"I grew up watching the (Atlantic Hockey) league play, so I had seen Mercyhurst multiple times," Jack said. "They've always been one of the good teams in the league; they are at the top of the league every year. When it came time to choose colleges, the assistant coach (at the time) Bobby Ferraris called me and he said they were interested, so I came here to visit and I just fell in love with the campus.

"I grew up knowing Coach (Rick) Gotkin, too, and he's always been a good guy and a good coach in the league, so when it came to choose I felt like Mercyhurst would be a good spot."

Jack is now entering his fourth year at Mercyhurst. However, unlike the previous three, a new chapter begins, as he will no longer be the only Riley on campus. Besides his new teammate in Brendan, his sister Dani is joining the Laker community as a graduate assistant lacrosse coach.

It may seem somewhat improbable for three children from the east side of New York State to end up at a small school in Erie, Pa. However, the development did not really surprise Brian.

"They are a close-knit bunch, and they like the feel of a small school," he said. "Jack has really enjoyed his experience, so that kind of drew Brendan there. When Dani was looking at grad school, she had the idea of 'Wow, maybe I can go to Mercyhurst and be there with Jack and Brendan.' It's really kind of neat how it worked out."

Not only will the three be attending the same school, but this season will be the first time Jack and Brendan are on the same team in competitive hockey. With both being forwards, it is also possible that they could see time on the same line.

"We've played in summer leagues together, like men's leagues and stuff like that," said Jack. "I always joke and tell people that it's going to be hard not to yell at him on the ice because normally I yell at him to do this and do that because he's my brother, so it's easy.

"I think it would be fun playing with him. Just from the aspect that he's my brother and that I've never been able to play with him. I know what type of player he is, we actually kind of fit together. He's got the speed and the body type I wish I had. I definitely think it would be a cool experience, and if it were ever to happen against my dad's team that would be even more crazy."

Brendan had similar thoughts in terms of the idea of playing with Jack. Not only would it be an opportunity to play with his brother, but as a freshman playing with an established upperclassman, it would be a valuable learning experience as he looks to establish himself. He also envisioned being on the receiving end of some passes from his brother.

"I'm sure he'd set me up for a few backdoor tap-ins," he expressed.

'Army's basically been my favorite team'

Playing against the team they grew up rooting for (Army) is certainly a unique aspect of playing at an Atlantic Hockey rival. To go along with that, playing against Army of course means playing against a team coached by their father.

Jack has experienced this already in his career. He certainly rose to the occasion during one of the meetings with his father's team. On Dec. 6, 2014 Jack scored two goals and added two assists en route to a 6-3 victory over the Black Knights in West Point.

But for Brendan, that first encounter will come on Jan. 13, in the rink he practically grew up in.

"I always tell everyone that it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done," he said. "It's super difficult. I've grown up and Army's basically been my favorite team in any sport. We grew up basically going to all of my dad's games, even the away games.

"So when I made the decision to go to Mercyhurst, I kind of thought in the back of my mind, 'I could still root for Army,' just not when we play against them."

Despite the admitted difficulty of playing against Army, Jack has clearly shown the ability to succeed. When asked if his brother had any advice to offer about playing against Army, Brendan joked, "I know they normally try to take a couple runs at him, so probably keep my head up."

Their dad certainly knows what it is like to return home to play against one's father. All of the brothers in Brian's generation paid the same visits to West Point when the elder Jack — who passed away in February at the age of 95 — was coaching the opposition; a homecoming of sorts.

"I always knew how excited we were to come back to play against my dad," Brian reflected. "More just because of being able to play at West Point, our home. We wanted to make our dad proud of hopefully playing well. I'm sure the boys are going through the same thing. The opportunity to come back and play here at West Point in front of family and friends, play in the rink where they grew up, is probably really exciting for them." 

It is definitely a special moment when Mercyhurst and Army face off for all members of the Riley family. As the coach of the opposing team, however, Brian has to balance the role of being a coach and a parent. While he has to do his job during the course of the game, he allows himself to appreciate the moments in brief spurts before and after.

"At the start of the game when you see him introduced and he comes out to the blue line, you're just really proud as a parent," he said. "As a coach, the game is going on and it's pretty fast and I'm not saying that I don't notice when he's out there, I do, but it's really after the game where I can watch video and see how he played. It is really exciting, and I just can't imagine what it will be like to have both of them out there.

"It's always been a special moment for me after the game to be able to go through the line and give Jack a big hug afterwards, and now to be able to give them both a hug afterwards will be really, really special and something that I'll always cherish."

Jack can appreciate that balance as well. He realizes that his dad is doing his job and doing what he can to help his team win. At the same time, he knows how much his father hopes for the best for him.

"The first time I remember just looking up and I was almost in awe seeing him on the other bench because I knew deep down he was rooting for me but at the same time he can't root for the team," Jack said. "He always jokes and says 'I hope my son scores a hat trick, but we win the game 4-3.'”

More coaches to come?

Playing hockey has been a big part of the Riley's lives. For many members of the family, after their playing careers ended, they were able to continue to their heavy hockey involvement through coaching.

Brian was able to grow up learning from Jack, who besides his lengthy NCAA tenure coached Team USA to its first Olympic gold medal in 1960.

"I think what I learned from my dad is that the most important thing is to care for your players more as people than hockey players," Brian said. "When you do that you create this relationship and develop this bond with your players that it's really about kind of being part of a family. When you have that bond as a coach with your players, they will do anything for you."

This desire and passion for coaching is something that appears to have been passed on to his children. His daughter has already taken her first opportunity as a coach. Along with her, both of his sons have expressed interest in coaching someday.

Given the knowledge base they have developed and growing up in a family full of hockey, Brian thinks the job would bode well for Jack and Brendan.

"I'm sure if that's what they do they'll both be very good coaches, much better than me," he said.

Jack has already succeeded in achieving the goal of becoming a Division I college hockey player, which he remembers setting in grade school. In the future, he can see himself putting all of his knowledge of the game to the test.

"Besides being a Division I college hockey player, being a coach has been my other goal," he said. The only thing I really know is hockey.

"I know the ins and outs of coaching from my uncles, my dad and my grandfather. I just want to be a coach somewhere, so wherever the opportunity is hopefully I can achieve that goal."

Being just a freshman, Brendan likely has a number of years until he needs to decide on the next phase of his hockey career. However, much like his older siblings, he acknowledged that coaching may be a possibility in his future.

"Like people say it's not only what you know, it's who you know," he said. "So we're pretty fortunate in that respect that we've got a few connections."

- Andrew Wisneski