January 24, 2008
He is Marshall
Nebraska-Omaha Senior Among Nation's Leaders Despite Low Profile
by Courtney Lewis/CHN Reporter
Go down the list of the national scoring leaders, some of the most skilled players in college hockey. Kevin Porter, Bryan Marshall, Nathan Gerbe, Ryan La — wait, Bryan Marshall?
Bryan Marshall. Nebraska-Omaha senior captain? Second-leading scorer? National assist leader? Ring any bells?
If you're surprised to see Marshall's name near the top of that list, you're probably not the only one. He's not on the Hobey Baker Award radar. His team isn't near the top of the polls — or anywhere in the polls for that matter. He's a playmaker first, goal scorer second. And he's spent his career playing behind the program's all-time leading scorer. But as the Mavericks' leader this year, Marshall is proving he's an excellent player in his own right.
"The thing that stands out is the last couple years, he has kind of lived in the shadows of Bill Thomas, Scott Parse," Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Kemp said. "It's nice to see him in his final year step out of the shadows and show he wasn't just living off those guys."
Marshall's 38 points put him second in the country, one behind Michigan's Porter. And no one has more than his 27 assists. In 26 games, Marshall has surpassed his point total from last season and matched his goal total (11).
His team's numbers are not quite so sterling. The Mavericks are 11-12-3 and in the middle of the pack in the CCHA, jostling for playoff position as they head into the final month of the regular season.
Nebraska-Omaha has run into trouble in the third period at times, and Marshall said losses to three of the top teams in the conference — Michigan, Miami and Notre Dame — stung in particular, because "those were all games we were in. We were right there, and we just found a way to lose."
The top four CCHA teams at the end of the regular season receive first-round playoff byes, and the next four host first-round series.
"Our biggest goal right now is to prepare as good as we can for the playoffs," Marshall said. "We're not going to win the regular-season championship, and from the way things look, the only way into the NCAA tournament is wining the CCHA Championship.
"How we position ourselves right now is important, but making sure we get better as a team fundamentally every day is our biggest focus right now. I think we're capable of a run at the CCHA Championship if we get down to business."
Marshall has 15 more points than anyone else on his team, and he has accumulated nearly twice as many assists as the next closest player. He's also riding a 13-game point streak dating back to Dec. 7.
He has always been one of the Mavericks' top players — he finished third in scoring his first three seasons. But the star was Parse, a two-time Hobey Baker finalist who's first in the Nebraska-Omaha record books with 197 points. And Thomas piled up 50 points in 2005-06.
Parse wrapped up his career last year along with Alex Nikiforuk, the Mavericks' second-leading scorer in 2006-07. Marshall, a 6-foot, 170-pound native of Livonia, Mich., stepped into the role of captain this season and knew he'd also have to help fill the offensive void.
"From a production standpoint, I know that's my job, my role on the team," Marshall said. "I just try not to think about it and just work as hard as I can."
The 25-year-old lefty often contributes by setting up other people. He credited his best-in-the-country assist total partly to his linemates, fellow senior forwards Mick Lawrence and Brandon Scero, who are first and third on the team, respectively, in goal scoring. But Marshall also acknowledged he's always been an assist guy.
"I like to think I'm kind of a finesse player," he said. "I like to handle the puck. I think that I have pretty good vision, see the ice pretty well. I'm not a fan of dump and chase. I like to control the puck, and I'm comfortable when the puck is on my stick. I like to find the open guy, and Mick and Brandon have been hammering pucks in the net."
Even though Marshall had never even led the Mavericks in scoring before, Kemp said he's not surprised that Marshall is among national leaders this season.
"I watched him very carefully in junior hockey, and he was the same type of performer in junior," Kemp said. "People assumed he got the points he got because of who he was playing with. They didn't look and think, 'Maybe it's him contributing to those other players.' No matter who he plays with, he's a wonderful distributor of the puck."
Marshall can light the lamp himself, too. Kemp called him "a complete player," and his 11 goals are currently second on the team. And he said he's trying to make sure he's not always looking to pass.
"You can't pass every time," Marshall said. "If you're too easy to read, the goalie can get a jump across (the crease). I have to make sure I'm getting shots on net when the time is right."
He tallied two goals Jan. 18 against Alaska, including one after the Nanooks had pulled their goalie. Kemp said he learned that the player who left his junior team, the USHL's Danville Wings, as the career scoring leader and has 145 career points at Nebraska-Omaha had never scored an empty-netter before.
"That tells me he doesn't get gimme points," Kemp said. "He earns his points.
"So much of what players get as far as attention in their senior year is the expectation of the hockey world. Honestly, I don't think the hockey world had any expectations for Bryan Marshall this year, because what was he going to do without Scott Parse? Now he's showing he is a great player and he is able to do tremendous things without Scott.
"I think he's a much better player than he gets credit for."
And Marshall learned a thing or two from all that time playing in Parse's shadow.
"I think the biggest thing I took away from playing with Scott for three years is just let your play do the talking," Marshall said. "He was a man of few words, but when it was time to play, he showed up every night. I think there's something to be said for that. In the locker room he was probably the most quiet guy on the team, but he was still an effective leader, because when we needed a big play, he was the guy to do it.
"That's something I think I have to do at times. Something I picked up from him."
Let his play — and all those points he's racking up — do his talking for him. Even if not many other people outside of Omaha are talking about him.
As good as a hockey player Bryan is he is even greater as a person and a teamate.. This kid has terrific charictor...
Feb 4 2008, 8:01 pm by
