February 26, 2010
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Flynn Makes Maine History
5-Goal Performance Even Tops Kariya
by Eben Novy-Williams/CHN Reporter
Brian Flynn broke a Maine record with five goals in a game last Friday.
Few arenas in college hockey have been more exciting this season than Maine’s Alfond Arena. The Black Bears (15-12-3, 12-9-2) score more goals per game than any other team in the highly-competitive Hockey East, but those on hand for No. 16 Maine’s 8-4 victory over Mass.-Lowell (16-14-2, 10-11-2) last Friday were gifted a rare treat: a five-goal, seven-point performance from sophomore forward Brian Flynn.
Flynn tallied two goals and an assist in the first period and notched the hat trick just three minutes and 35 seconds into the second. The Black Bears held a slim 4-3 lead heading into the final frame, when Flynn put the game away with two more goals and another assist. Each of Flynn’s five goals came from in front of the River Hawks’ net – redirecting shots or hammering home rebounds.
“I did a good job of getting to the net,” said Flynn, who admits that he’d never scored more than three goals in any organized hockey game before last Friday. “[My linemates] were doing a good job throwing pucks at the net all night and I was able to find some holes. The puck was finding my stick pretty well and I was able to bang home some pretty easy ones.”
It was the most prolific offensive display in Maine history. The Black Bears have not had a five-goal game since before Flynn was born – Jay Mazur accomplished the feat Feb. 7, 1987 – and Flynn is the first Maine player to ever record a seven-point game. Don't forget, Maine history includes a guy named Paul Kariya who once scored 100 points in a season.
Flynn joins Merrimack freshman forward Stephane Da Costa as the only Division I player to score five goals, and the first to record seven points, in a game this season.
“It was a tremendous night, for Brian and for our team,” said Maine head coach Tim Whitehead, who could not remember coaching a better single-game performance. “No doubt he was productive on offense, but he also had a great game defensively. I showed our team a couple of clips the next morning of his great backchecking and defensive awareness. So it was a very complete game.”
Flynn arrived in Orono two years ago as a relatively unknown recruit, but made his presence felt almost immediately. He was second on the team in scoring last season with 12 goals, 13 assists, and has remained a critical part of the vaunted Black Bear offense. Flynn is currently tied for the team lead in goals with 15, and second in assists with 21.
“Brian has earned everything he has gotten here,” Whitehead said. “He has earned the ice time with his hard work and his talent. He is a great guy off the ice and great teammate. … There is no question in my mind that he will continue to improve because of his talent and his work ethic and his focus.”
The Black Bears are a young team. Maine’s roster has just four seniors, only one of which is among the team’s top ten in scoring. Games like Flynn’s seven-point outburst are a perfect example of why the team has exceeded expectations this season – its freshmen and sophomores have stepped up to shoulder a much larger role on the ice.
Coming off of two disappointing seasons – a traditional hockey powerhouse, Maine failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009 – and sportinga roster dominated by first- and second-year players, the Black Bears were picked to finish 8th in the Hockey East preseason poll back in September. Whitehead and his team insist that, though this ranking was deserved at the time, they expected more of themselves.
“We expected to be at the bottom [of the preseason polls],” Flynn said. “It was where we deserved to be after finishing eighth last season … but we’ve worked our way up this year.”
“We don’t really put much stock in the polls, one way or the other,” Whitehead said. “I certainly understood why we were ranked there. I thought it was quite justified and I knew it was up to us to prove that we should be high.”
The team started the year 1-5, but that lone win, a 5-3 victory over No. 12 Michigan State, had a significant effect on the Black Bears’ confidence.
“That second game against Michigan State, that’s when we realized that if we all played together we could be a dangerous team,” Flynn said. “After that we went back on a little skid but that game proved to us that we could beat elite teams.”
Since that 1-5 start the Black Bears have been one of the best teams in college hockey. Whitehead made a few critical offseason decisions – including a couple cuts and an intensive offseason program – and the team responded. Averaging 3.77 goals per game, Maine’s offense is the most potent in Hockey East, and its 29.5 percent power play is also toast of the conference. Through its first 30 games, the Black Bears’ special teams net differential was an impressive plus-17.
“The offensive players are definitely working well together,” Whitehead said. “They feed off each other, they are reading situations well, and they’re supporting the puck well. We’re shooting the puck better than we have in the past and we’re getting to the net better. A lot of those things have helped us 5-on-5 and on the power play.”
Maine added a few big talents with this year’s freshman class – forward Adam Shemansky has nine goals and 10 assists – and has received help in the attacking zone from blueliners such as junior Jeff Dimmen, who has scored four goals in his last three games. Add to the mix forward Gustav Nyquist, the nation’s leading scorer, and the Black Bears’ offense is a potent recipe for success.
“Gustav is a tremendously coachable player,” said Whitehead of the Swedish-born sophomore, who has 15 goals and 34 assists this year. “He is extremely talented and a great guy all-around… It’s not an accident that he continues to improve – his determination and his focus are exceptional.”
Like many teams who excel offensively, however, the Black Bears have struggled in the defensive third. Two weeks ago the team surrendered 12 goals in two games to Boston University. Uncharacteristic of a Tim Whitehead-coached team, Maine is currently giving up 3.37 goals per game, dead last in Hockey East.
“We haven’t been fully committed to defense for 60 minutes in a game in while,” Flynn said. “We’ve had good stretches but we’ve also had those couple lapses in a game where we leave [sophomore goaltender Scott Darling] out to dry. He does a great job making the first saves, but we’re giving teams too many second and third whacks of the puck.”
“We need to tighten up defensively if we are going to have a chance in the postseason,” Whitehead said. “We have to protect our goalies better and stay out of the penalty box.”
Defensive improvement is undoubtedly a critical part of Maine’s postseason hopes, but if they are going to advance deep into March – and possibly April – the Black Bears are going to need to rely on the experience of their four seniors.
“Our seniors have been huge,” Flynn said. “Guys like [forward David] deKastrozza, who have played in the Frozen Four; they realize what it takes because they’ve been there. They know the commitment you have to make, the sacrifices you have to make together to get there.”
The Black Bears currently sit in third in Hockey East, on pace to secure a home-ice series in the conference’s postseason tournament. With four games remaining in the regular season, Maine is ranked 15th the PairWise – tied with Union – and there is reason to expect more of the Black Bears as the season progresses.
Whitehead’s teams are well known for playing their best hockey at the end of the season. The Maine coach has a .623 winning percentage in NCAA tournament play, second-best among active DI coaches.
“Our objective is to make the NCAA tournament,” Whitehead said. “It’s been two years since we’ve been in the Frozen Four but it feels like 200 years to us. We’d love to be back this season. ... It doesn’t come easy, but we feel we’ve got as good a shot as any at this point.”
