For Super Sophomores, Second is Best

When there is talk of a sophomore slump, a strong freshman season usually predates.

For the Boston University hockey team, despite having the usual highly-touted recruiting class coming in prior to the 2000-01 season, those freshman, along with pretty much every other class, suffered a below-expectations season, as the Icedogs went 14-20-3 just a year after reaching the NCAA East Regional final.

Now those six sophomores form the backbone of a 25-9-3 team that is seeded second in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament East Regional, a team that is just one win away from the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

“They’ve improved so much since their first year,” said senior co-captain Mike Pandolfo. “Coming into their sophomore year, they knew themselves a lot better. They knew we were going to have a strong team this year, and they stepped it up real well.”

Starting in the beginning of the season, forwards Gregg Johnson, Frantisek Skladany, Kenny Magowan, Mark Mullen and Steve Greeley, and goaltender Sean Fields have become irreplaceable cogs in the Terrier machine that has proven just because a team doesn’t have a 70-point scorer doesn’t mean it can’t win games.

The most prominent of the super sophs has been Fields, who, after being recruited late in the summer before his freshman year as a replacement for the departed Rick DiPietro, has proven himself to be one of Hockey East’s most solid goaltenders.

Fields sported impressive numbers as a rookie, with a 2.53 goals-against-average, .904 save percentage and 6-8-1 record. This year, despite a small jump in goals-against-average to 2.69 and a small dip in save percentage to .901, Fields has improved the most important number of the group. He sports a 22-6-3 record and has been the rock behind an impressive defense that wasn’t so impressive in his first season.

“Our overall team defense wasn’t very good last year, and we left him out to dry a lot,” said senior co-captain Chris Dyment. “I think this year he’s played a lot of games, so he’s got a lot of confidence back.”

And while this season has been remarkable for Fields, it all started at the end of last year, when Fields almost single-handedly kept BU in its playoff series against Providence College, including a 48-save performance in the season ending loss to the Friars that left little doubt as to who would be the starter in net for this year’s team.

“Last year he came in and he played real well, especially in the playoffs against Providence, he played phenomenal,” Magowan said. “He was the main reason why we even got to the third game. He gave us that chance to win. Coming into this year, he knew he was going to start a lot of games and he took that opportunity and he gained a lot of confidence in the first few games and he hasn’t dropped off at all since the beginning of the season.”

Fields isn’t the only sophomore to get off to a quick start. Johnson, Magowan and Skladany showed they meant business from day one this season, and they have ridden each other to fantastic follow-up seasons.

“Skladany, Johnson and I have been playing together all year, and it was nice that coach put us together because we were all in the same boat last year where we didn’t do much to help this team, and we didn’t put up a lot of numbers,” Magowan said. “Coming into this year, we talked about it last spring. We said, ‘Next year’s going to be our year, that’s the time we’re going to be able to break out to help this team.'”

After scoring 10 (five goals, five assists), six (five goals, one assist) and nine (four goals, five assists) points, respectively, in their freshman term, Johnson, Magowan and Skladany have broken out in a big way, with 23 (five goals, 18 assists), 20 (six goals, 14 assists) and 26 (13 goals, 13 assists), respectively. Their teammates are well aware just how well the “Green Line,” as they are known collectively, has played.

“They have good chemistry,” Pandolfo said. “Johnson’s a fast guy, shifty and creative, as is Faro. Magowan’s the bigger body on the line, he’s the banger. They all can score and they all can make passes and make plays. They complement each other real well out there.”

Not to be forgotten are two local boys, Mullen from Dorchester and Greeley from Scituate. They are players who grew up dreaming of pulling on the scarlet and white, Magowan said, and last year was far from the type of season they had seen when they were watching the BU teams of Tony Amonte, Keith Tkachuk, Jay Pandolfo and Chris Drury.

Mullen has been a versatile star for BU, playing on the fourth line for much of the season before eventually landing the right wing spot next to junior Brian Collins and Pandolfo on the first line.

“He’s just a solid player,” Pandolfo said. “He plays both ends of the ice real well and he doesn’t make too many mistakes out there. He had a great year last year, but he’s improved his numbers a lot this year.”

“I’m kind of a role player; I can fill a good amount of positions,” Mullen said. “I feel comfortable playing anywhere from fourth line to first line.”

And he has done just that, along with being next to Pandolfo on the first penalty-killing unit all season long.

Greeley has drawn some attention with his scrappy play of late. The 5’7″ Thayer Academy product has seen a little less playing time than his classmates, but he has become invaluable of late, complementing freshmen David Klema and Justin Maiser on a very good fourth line.

“Steve, he wasn’t playing as much as he’d like to at the beginning of the year,” Pandolfo said. “He’s an energy player who works real hard out there. He got those two big goals in the Providence series a couple of weeks ago, and I’m sure those gave him a lot of confidence, and it’s important to have four strong lines with all these great teams in the league.”

So what was the problem last year for such obviously talented players?

“Last year was a case where the whole team wasn’t having a good year,” suggested Dyment. “To be a freshman to step in is kind of tough. If everyone else isn’t playing very well, it’s hard for a freshman to do well.”

“We were all disappointed with last year and with our individual performances,” Magowan said. “I think we had a lot to prove as a class.

“We knew we were a bigger part of this team than it showed.”

And that’s just what the second-year men have demonstrated, leading a team that was predicted in the preseason to finish fifth in Hockey East to 25 wins. It is nothing less than what their teammates thought they would accomplish.

“We all expected them to turn it up a little for us this year,” Dyment said. “We knew they were good players. Obviously the coaches knew that bringing them in here, so we knew what they could do, and now this year they’ve had a chance to have confidence and do it.”

While their individual numbers have improved, it is in the W column where the impact of the sophomores has been most notable.

“It’s always easier to be successful individually if your team is successful,” Mullen said.