March 5, 2007
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Teddy Ballgame
Maine's Purcell Shines In Freshman Season
by Matthew Conyers/CHN Reporter
ORONO, Maine — At Alfond Arena, it's do-or-die time.
The score is knotted at one and 55 seconds remain in overtime. After trailing Northeastern for much of the contest — on the scoreboard and in play — Maine has finally awoken from its midseason slumber. Still, the sudden transformation may have arrived too late.
With precious time remaining, Northeastern has dropped three men back. At this point, they're clearly playing for the tie. Can you blame them? In just 55 seconds, the Huskies will have taken three of four from the Black Bears, a feat almost unfathomable two and a half months ago when Maine held the No. 1 spot in the land.
But wait, something has happened; the puck is free. With no one in sight, Maine's hairball of a defenseman Bret Tyler makes a beeline to the puck; it's his. Now, he is moving. No, scratch that, he's flying. Cruising along the near the boards, Tyler quickly cuts inside and within nanoseconds he is just a few steps from the slot. The Black Bear fans rise; they know what is happening. Tyler extends back and there it is — the point where the puck shoots off his stick and towards Northeastern netminder Brad Thiessen.
However, there's a catch. The puck isn't rushing towards Thiessen but rather away from net. Tyler didn't shoot the puck. No, he made the easier choice. He made a pass to freshman Teddy Purcell. Quietly waiting to the left of Thiessen, Purcell, with the grace of a ballet dancer, receives the puck and slams it home. Before the Maine faithful can blink, Purcell has swiftly and abruptly jammed the knife home on the win. The date is Jan. 27, and the win — well it's only the most important of the season for the Black Bears.
"I looked up and I saw Teddy Ballgame," said Tyler after the decision. "If you want the puck on anyone's stick at the end of the game it's going to be him. I saw him and my eyes lit up."
For the Black Bears, the game, which snapped a three-game home losing streak, marked not only the changing of tides but confirmed what so made had already known — Purcell is the real deal.
"I just went to the net and I know [Tyler] has great vision from the point," said Purcell. "He made a great play to drag everyone in and he just slides it over to me. You have to give all the credit to him. Anyone could've scored that goal but it's definitely a nice feeling in front of my family and friends in a game we needed."
Although Purcell claims anyone could tally that point, what he doesn't realize is that he has become that someone for Maine. Purcell is officially one of the Black Bears go-to-guys and in his freshman season no less. Already, this season the Newfoundland native has registered five game-winning goals amongst his team-leading 38 points. In a season filled with loads of promising and talent-rich newcomers, Purcell might just be the best. Already having recorded 15 goals and 23 assists, Purcell has established himself as one of the more dangerous forwards in Hockey East. According to Purcell, it's all in a days work. But more importantly part of his job for the Black Bears.
"My job is to help offensively and put up points," said Purcell. "I take pride in that."
While putting up those points, Purcell has help to guide the Black Bears to another 20-plus win season and put them in solid position for the postseason despite what has been an extremely up-and down year. In fact, as far as Maine is concerned, Purcell's play could be highlighted as one of the fulcrums of the season. When Purcell is on his game, so is the team. When it isn't, well they lose 6-1 to Northeastern at home.
For Purcell, the chance to shine on a team of Maine's stature is something he has envisioned his whole life.
"Growing up was hockey, hockey, hockey," said Purcell. "I played some other sports obviously but every day in the winter we would be on the pond. We would get two to three months on the pond. My dad use to build a rink in the backyard and then the summer would come around and I would play street hockey. My Mom would call me in for summer and then I would go back out until the street lights went."
Purcell's undeniable love for the game goes all the way back to the moment when he was first able to put on skates and destroy his parent's home.
"I broke lots of windows and beat up the whole house," said Purcell. "It was always my goal to play in the NHL. Everything I did in my life always revolved around hockey. I was the prototypical Canadian kid who was dreaming about winning the Stanley cup every day."
In nearly a month and a half that dream may quickly become a reality. There is no doubt that Purcell will receive some attention from professional or minor league teams once the season ends. This desire to play at the next level was one of the biggest factors in why the 21-year old freshman enrolled at Maine.
"Growing up I didn't know much about college, but I knew about Maine and the tradition," said Purcell. "I knew about all the great players they had go through here. My father and I came up on a visit and they were playing UNH and the place was just rocking and I was like 'I've got to play here.' It's a big-time school, its high profile, they have a great history. Seeing those guys come here from Canada and have those opportunities really makes you think that you could come here and have those same opportunities. They've put a lot of guys in pro hockey and that is one of their goals here."
Having talked mainly with just Colorado College and Maine, Purcell said he appreciated the effort made by the Maine coaching staff to get him to come to Orono. While playing in the USHL and at Notre Dame in the far reaches of Canada, Purcell felt Maine was always interested in him no matter what. Within three days of his first visit, Purcell had committed to Maine.
"It's very similar to Newfoundland here," said Purcell. "Everyone is warm at heart. I actually feel a lot closer to home. That's a big reason why I committed here. It's easier for my family to get down here."
Right from the start, it was clear that the young gun felt at home. In the first six games, Purcell managed to find the scoreboard each game, a feat not seen since Colin Shields wore the blue sweater four years ago. The achievement helped to quickly propel him into the spotlight.
"I was nervous coming into college; I didn't know what to expect playing in those first games," said Purcell. "I think I did a fairly good job. I'm certainly getting more confident in my abilities and getting some more interest. It was a dream to play in the pro's but its starting to come true a little bit because of what of the work I'm doing here. You got to work and keep a good attitude. I've just got to keep focused and hopefully it will come true."
Still Purcell is quick to note that he has had the good fortunate of getting a spot next to one of the best playmakers in the nation in senior Michel Leveille on the first line.
"It helps too playing on Leveille's line and with seniors whether it is [Josh] Soares or [Brent] Shepheard," said Purcell. "It is good that coach is giving me that opportunity. I just have to keep working hard because nothing is set in stone yet, I'm still a first year and anyone can take my job on that line."
Is this kid for real?
Already having improved upon two of his own areas of worry entering the league — his shot and his over-reliance on perimeter play— Purcell is a cornerstone on the Black Bears first unit.
Throughout the year, head coach Tim Whitehead has fooled around with the line trying to figure out the best trio but never once has he moved Leveille or Purcell. For fans of the team and the coaching staff it's quite obvious the pair have some sparkling chemistry.
"He's just taken me under his wing and made me feel real comfortable," said Purcell. "He's treated me like one of his best friends and made me feel like I belong. On the ice we are similar players in our ability to see the ice well. We talk a lot and work a lot in practice, but we just seem to know where each other are on the ice."
Leveille hasn't been the only surrogate father for Purcell. The prodigal son has also received plenty of interesting tutelage from currently sidelined netminder Ben Bishop on curbing his pass first philosophy. While at Maine, Purcell has been steadily working to improve his shot.
"I work with Bishop all the time and working with such a good goalie is really going to help you in games," said Purcell. "When I was growing up I always wanted to make that pass and set people up. I always had way more assists then goals. I didn't realize I could really shoot the puck until these last couple of years where I started to get stronger and snapping it a little better. I was never confident in my shot. Now I'm trying to focus on breaking a habit that I've been doing my whole life. He's telling me all these little things like when to shoot and how to be getting more shots off and catch goalies off guard; when someone that smart and that good is helping you it's only going to make you better."
At the moment, Purcell's next task at hand won't be handling pressure or taking shooting tips from Bishop but rather aiding Maine to their record ninth straight NCAA tournament. As far as Purcell is concerned, he couldn't be more pleased with the opportunity.
"I'm living every second of this experience right now and loving life," said Purcell. "I'm just a kid from Canada getting a free education and playing on one of the best teams in the country. It's such a great experience and I realize that there aren't a lot of people that can say that. I'm just going to take this and love life."