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University of Maine sophomore left wing Brian Flynn’s leap into the glass with arms extended in celebration was seen on ESPNU and is replayed on the Alfond Arena JumboTron before every home game. Flynn’s game-winning goal with 1:34 remaining in the third period against then second-ranked and defending National Champions Boston College in November of 2008 was his welcome to UMaine Hockey.
“That’s one I’ll always remember,” Flynn said. “We played extremely well all game, and to get the result at the end for the guys was a great feeling.”
Now Flynn is hoping for another memorable moment, this time in the form of a championship.
“Right now it’s not about scoring big goals,” Flynn said. “You want to start winning some hardware.”
Flynn’s class has been critical in the resurgence of UMaine Hockey, who are battling for home ice in the Hockey East playoffs. Four of UMaine’s top five scorers are sophomores, and the same four — Flynn, Gustav Nyquist, Spencer Abbott and Will O’Neill — all finished within the top seven in team scoring as freshmen. The team has had lofty goals after a pair of sub-par, 13-win seasons.
“Our goal coming into the year was to finish in the top four in Hockey East and get a home ice berth in the playoffs,” Flynn said. “Most of the time if you finish in the top four in Hockey East, you’re usually going to make the NCAA Tournament.”
After finishing second in team scoring last year behind Nyquist, Flynn has elevated his game and is four points shy of his season high of 25. He added eight pounds of muscle to his six-foot frame during the offseason and feels he was prepared entering his second year.
“I feel like I came into the year a lot stronger,” Flynn said. “I feel like I’ve gotten much better defensively.”
UMaine coach Tim Whitehead agreed that defense was Flynn’s downfall last year and the added muscle will help him at both ends of the ice. Flynn’s speed and endurance has improved, as well as the ability to hold off defenders. He now sees ice time in all situations for the Black Bears.
“He’s really become a complete player,” Whitehead said. “I’m confident playing him in any situation.”
Junior center and captain Tanner House joined the two freshmen on the first line last year and reunited with them after recovering from an early season leg injury this fall. Whitehead felt Flynn and Nyquist’s offensive feats as freshmen were aided by House’s defensive reliability.
“I think Tanner did a great job helping those players adjust to college hockey,” Whitehead said.
“He helped me and Gus out a lot,” Flynn said. “We both weren’t very good defensively, and that’s one of the best parts of his game. He’s really strong defensively.”
House trails Flynn by three points this season but has three more goals. Flynn feels their line has good chemistry and that House is the glue to the trio.
“We seem to click pretty well,” Flynn said. “We all bring something different to the line. I think we jelled well, and we had some success early, so that helped my confidence a lot.”
Whitehead did not anticipate a top-scoring line containing two freshmen, but said Flynn quickly earned his spot by being a “fierce competitor.” Whitehead also praised Flynn’s hockey sense, skating ability and quick release on his shot. Flynn played in all but one game last year.
“We weren’t sure just how much he would contribute the first year, but it was quite quickly in the preseason camp we realized that he had prepared himself to play and that he was a fierce competitor,” Whitehead said. “He wasn’t the biggest guy on the ice, but he was certainly as tough as they come.”
Flynn was part of a National Championship-winning team as his New Hampshire Junior Monarchs brought home the title in 2008, his only season of junior hockey. UMaine teammate Mark Nemec was also a member of the Junior Monarchs that year, and associate head coach Bob Corkum held the same title with the Junior Monarchs before taking the job at UMaine last year.
Flynn said Corkum played a significant role in convincing him to come out of Junior’s a year early and become a Black Bear.
“Coach Corkum obviously had a good strong connection with the organization and coach Whitehead,” Flynn said. “I was thinking about playing another year of Junior. Maine kind of happened at the last minute.”
Flynn said having a former teammate in Nemec join him at the Division I-level helped in the transition. Nemec redshirted his first year.
“It’s nice to start off with that one person that you know when you’re a freshman,” Flynn said.
Flynn said the encouragement he received from Corkum, a former UMaine and NHL player, gave him confidence that he was on the right track.
“Coach Corkum kind of gave me some encouragement right when I got here, said he thought I was doing well and coach [Whitehead] liked what I was doing,” Flynn said. “It just gave me a lot of confidence.”
Flynn grew up in Lynnfield, Mass., and attended the Pomfret School in Connecticut for two years, where he racked up 112 points in two seasons. He also competed in baseball, soccer and golf. He said golf was the sport he had the most potential in besides hockey.
Flynn is a financial economics major at UMaine.
