Niwot High junior Jack O'Rourke leads Thunderbirds hockey to national runner-up

Playing in his first season with the Colorado Thunderbirds hockey club, Niwot High junior Jack O’Rourke didn’t shy away from the bright lights. O’Rourke scored four total goals in three consecutive elimination games to propel the Thunderbirds’ AAA Tier One Elite 16U team to the USA Hockey National Championship Game.

Although the Thunderbirds fell to the North Jersey Avalanche in the title game on May 3, the experience was an unforgettable one for O’Rourke.

“Those were the biggest games we've ever played and we capitalized on it,” said O’Rourke, a forward.

The Thunderbirds’ dominant postseason play began when they won the club Colorado State Championship in February. From there, O’Rourke’s Thunderbirds traveled to Arizona in early March and won the Rocky Mountain Division title. Their quest for a national championship began on April 28 in Missouri.

In the national quarterfinals against the New Jersey Rockets, the Thunderbirds fell behind 3-1 in the third period, facing elimination. After David Klee scored for the Thunderbirds, O’Rourke tied the game at three with time dwindling in the game. Noah Grolnic then capped off the run with an overtime game winner.

“My line was just gelling well together,” O’Rourke said. “The puck was bouncing my way but also at certain points of the game, I just feel that I was working harder than most guys. I got rewarded for it.”

O’Rourke’s success continued in the semifinals as he scored in the second period and set up another goal in the third period as the Thunderbirds took down the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, 3-2.

The win set up a rematch with the New Jersey Avalanche, which had defeated the Thunderbirds 5-2 in pool play just a few days prior. With a national championship up for grabs, O’Rourke scored the Thunderbirds’ lone goal as they fell to the Avalanche, 5-1.

Because the Thunderbirds are based in Denver, O’Rourke had been making the almost daily hour-long trek from Niwot to practice with his team. He said the Thunderbirds have two players who live in Boulder but nobody lived as far north as Niwot. Completing homework in the car became a necessity for O’Rourke during the season.

O’Rourke’s older brother, Ben, graduated from Niwot in 2018 and played club hockey as well. Their competitive relationship helped O’Rourke improve as a young hockey player.

“I feel like I got a lot better because he's four years older, but he didn't take it easy on me,” O’Rourke said of his older brother. “We'd always battle.”

Their middle sister, Esme, played three seasons of varsity softball at Niwot and graduated in 2020. She currently plays softball at Augustana College.

For the youngest O’Rourke, he hopes his hockey career will advance to the collegiate level.