Mike Reilly’s Sisters Helped Inspire His Hockey Dream

Mike Reilly was raised in a hockey-centric family, playing pond hockey with his two sisters and twin brothers in a frozen-over sport court in Minnesota. All five Reilly siblings made hockey a key component part of their lives, as they all pursued the sport at the collegiate, professional or international level.

Reilly’s older sister Shannon was the first one on skates in the family and first to start playing hockey from a young age. Reilly, his two older brothers and younger sister followed in Shannon’s footsteps. 

“We definitely looked up to our older sister because she was the first one to really get going with hockey,” Reilly said. “I’m sure my brothers saw that and maybe got into it because their older sister was the first one to start skating. And I followed suit, but it was really led by Shannon.”

Shannon is four years older than Mike and when they were kids, he was excited to watch his older sister on the ice any chance he could get. 

“When I was growing up, I remember watching her in high school and she went on to play at Ohio State,” Reilly said. “I would always try to go out there and see her play.”

Shannon played defense in her NCAA career and made an impact on the scoresheet with 77 points (21G, 56A) through 141 games at Ohio State. Ahead of the 2009-10 season, she was named as WCHA All-Star and served as alternative captain through her junior year.

Caitlin Reilly, the youngest in the family, followed in the footsteps of her sister and three brothers. After her freshman year at Penn State – where she was named CHA Rookie of the Week three times – she transferred to the University of Minnesota, becoming the fifth member of the family to play there, following her father Mike and three brothers, Mike, Ryan and Connor. The school was a hub for hockey and the university’s men’s and women’s teams would often train together and support each other. 

“They had strong programs at the University of Minnesota, they had a great women’s team and [Caitlin] won national championship one year,” Reilly said. “We’d always try to go to the girls’ games whenever we could. We’d also train together in the summer and during the year. It’s amazing to see how good they really are.” 

Caitlin was teammates with Amanda Kessel in 2016 when Minnesota State took down Boston College 3-1 in the NCAA Women's Frozen Four championship in 2016. She capped off her senior season with 26 points (9G, 17A) through 37 games. 
 
After their NCAA careers, Caitlin and Shannon went to Europe to play internationally. Shannon spent two seasons with the Ladies Team Lugano in Switzerland, while Caitlin spent two seasons in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) in Austria. The two are retired from hockey, but the sport is still an important part of who they are. 

“It was cool to grow up in a hockey family, we all love the game,” Reilly said. “It wasn’t forced on us, it was something we loved to do. We’re really proud of that.”

Naturally, the inception of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which debuted on Jan. 1, has been a topic of conversation in the Reilly family. High-end women’s hockey has been the norm in the Reilly household, so the Islanders defenseman was happy to see the emergence of a new pro league and increased opportunities for the next generation of hockey players like his sisters. 

“It was definitely really cool to grow up with two sisters who play hockey,” Reilly said. “Talking to my sisters now about [the PWHL], it’s really cool to see women in hockey getting the respect they deserve. With the new league, it’ll grow the game.”

The PWHL’s original six is comprised of teams of New York, Minnesota, Boston, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, with the New York team playing games at UBS Arena and Total Mortage Arena, the homes of the New York and Bridgeport Islanders, respectively. Reilly is thrilled about the establishment of the first unified professional women’s hockey league. 

 “The league is going to show young girls that they can play hockey at the high school, college or even professional level one day,” Reilly said. “There’s a lot of importance in women’s hockey. Younger girls have a lot to look up to.”