He’s had a huge hand in two Beanpot titles, been the tournament’s MVP and two weeks ago scored a hat trick to advance his Boston University Terriers to the Hockey East finals.
‘Some guys just have a knack for playing in big games and he’s one of them,’ said senior assistant captain Brian Collins.
And yet, as he readies himself to again step into college hockey’s Sweet 16, sophomore Justin Maiser thinks he has much to prove when he hops over the boards and into the NCAA Tournament this afternoon against Harvard University.
‘I definitely have something to prove,’ said Maiser, who was ejected for spearing just 10 minutes into last year’s Eastern semifinal. ‘I owe it to my teammates, I owe it to the university and everyone.’
Given the load Maiser tends to carry as the games increase in importance, there’s no telling how he’ll play when he perceives there to be a chip on his shoulder. The spotlights of his sport’s biggest stages seem to seek the Minnesota native, and he consistently delivers with a dramatic performance.
‘I just think he wants to rise to the occasion and play well when it really matters,’ said Brian McConnell, Maiser’s roommate. ‘That’s like everybody, but there’s something he’s got. He’s either lucky or I don’t know what’s going on.
‘I don’t think it’s luck. A little bit may be luck, but I think it’s the way you mentally prepare yourself and the way you’re ready for the games.’
In terms of his preparation, it might as well be the middle of November as far as Maiser is concerned. His plan was to wake up in Worcester this morning the same way he has for any other of the 38 games he’s played this season.
‘I’ll get up, have breakfast, do a short practice skate,’ he said. ‘I don’t really take a nap before the games. I read, listen to music, watch some TV. Relax, kick back throughout the day and just don’t think about the game.’
About two and a half hours prior to game-time, Maiser will arrive at the rink, check his sticks and get ready for battle. That’s when the mental preparation kicks in, and the mindset moves from lax to locked in.
‘We played so many games out in Ann Arbor, sooner or later some would seem meaningless,’ McConnell remembered of his and Maiser’s pre-BU days in the U.S. National Team Development Program. ‘But the big ones, Justin was always there and always stepped up.’
Terrier Nation got its first taste of Maiser’s late-game heroics in the 2002 Beanpot, when he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring a pair of goals, the latter of which broke a three-all tie with 72 seconds to play in the championship game against Northeastern University.
‘It was probably his first huge goal, but I remember all the international games we played out there he always played better and stepped up his intensity,’ McConnell said, referring to Maiser’s four-goal, three-assist, seven-point effort in the 2000-01 Under-18 World Championships than included a goal in a 2-1 win over Slovakia. ‘He’s a really focused and intense kid, so you know why he steps it up he’s always ready to play in those big games.’
Because of the tournament’s local lore and tradition, Maiser’s legacy, were he to leave BU today, would most likely be left with that Beanpot tally, although he would argue the double-overtime winner he scored against BC in the Hockey East playoffs was the biggest score of his career.
‘As of now [the BC goal was the biggest],’ Maiser clarified. ‘Hopefully I’d like to get a couple of more big ones.’
The scene has been set. Don’t be surprised if once again No. 21 should skate on stage to steal the spotlight.
