Phillips (19) has received an academic scholarship to Niagra University in New York and will play for the student ice hockey team the Purple Eagles.
He is studying for a commerce degree and will major in economics.
"In my final year of college I would like to be playing NCA division 1 hockey, which is the top college league in the country," Phillips said.
After graduating, Phillips hopes to play professional ice hockey in Europe.
He grew up in Wellington and played inline hockey from the age of 9, but switched to ice hockey two years ago.
He was educated at the Hutt International Boys' High School in Wellington and last year did a post-graduate year at Worcester, near Boston, in the United States.
"I did it for my hockey and to get me into the American schooling system to make it easier to get into a college over there," Phillips said.
He followed his brother Nick into inline hockey.
"It was a sport I wanted to play," he said. "I gave it a try and haven't looked back since."
Inline hockey is played on roller skates on a wooden or concrete floor and ice hockey is played on the ice and is a faster and more physical game.
"The basic skills like shooting and the puck handling are the same and easy to transfer," Phillips said.
"But the skating makes it a lot harder to switch from inline to ice. I found it pretty hard at first, but the more you work at it the easier it gets.
"I just love being out there on the ice to skate, work on techniques, and get better."
It was a learning experience for Phillips when he was in the US last year.
"I was playing high school hockey and it was a pretty high standard," he said. "Kids in my league are getting drafted this year."
The standard of hockey is similar to what Phillips has experienced in the national league for Dunedin Thunder this year.
"But there was a lot more structure in the way teams play over there," he said.
New Zealand has adopted the North American physical style of ice hockey which is different from the finesse and speed on the ice that is a feature of the sport in Europe.
"I like the physical style but I am also developing my skills," Phillips said. "I like bits of both."
Phillips missed the first few games of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League, but since arriving in Dunedin he has found Dunedin Thunder an easy team to fit into.
Dunedin Thunder sits at the top of the national league and has the potential to win the national title.
"Everyone gets on and there is a great team atmosphere," he said. "It is a great mixture of the Kiwi players and the imports working together and playing as a team."
Dunedin Thunder has the bye this weekend and its next games will be a doubleheader against Southern Stampede, at the Dunedin Ice Stadium on July 28-29.
