After spending a year in Tier II Ontario Hockey Association play, Hislop attended the University of New Hampshire under legendary coach Charlie Holt. In Hislop's sophomore year with the Wildcats in 1974, he led the ECAC in assists with 35 en route to the conference title, leading to him being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 8th round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. He followed that performance up with two 66-point seasons, winning conference First All-Star honours in 1975 and 1976 and being named to the NCAA First Team All-American squad in 1976. He finished his collegiate career with 77 goals and 132 assists for 209 points, the leading scorer in Wildcat history to that time, and is currently 4th all-time.