Back in hockey and doing quite well, thank you

By Mike Lowe, Portland Press Herald

Matt Curran had his college athletic career all planned. After graduating from North Yarmouth Academy, the Scarborough native was going to play baseball at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.

Then he got cut.

Obviously disappointed, Curran spoke to his father, John, who suggested he give hockey a try.

Curran was a first-team all-state selection for the Panthers, so he agreed to give it a try.

"When I got on the ice I was pretty out of shape," said Curran. "I hadn't been on the ice for about two months. Luckily I fought my way on to the roster."

Luckily for whom?

Three years later, Curran is not only the top goal scorer for the Skyhawks, but the top goal scorer in the Northeast 10 conference.

Through 21 games, Curran had 23 goals and 10 assists for the 11-10-1 Skyhawks. His 11 power-play goals were second in the conference.

"It helps when you're playing on a real good line," said Curran, who has 42 goals and 29 assists in 66 career games at Stonehill. "I have two other good players on my line, and that makes it easy."

Sophomore Brendan O'Brien is Stonehill's leading scorer with 36 points, and freshman Peter Roundy is the fourth-leading scorer with 20. Curran is second on the team.

Curran plays right wing, though he takes most of the faceoffs when his line is on the ice. He is rapidly developing into a leader, though he tries to deflect the limelight to his teammates.

"I just go out night by night and try to play my game," he said. "Whatever happens, happens. I don't feel the guys rely on me solely. I look to them as much as they look to me."

Curran, listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, had a decent freshman season, scoring three goals and four assists. It was a huge adjustment from his high school days in Maine.

"Oh yeah," he said. 'The pace of play is a couple steps up from high school. When I first got on the ice it seemed like everyone was flying around, shooting harder, skating faster. And the goalies are all better."

So he concentrated on the weights after that season and put on 15 pounds. He's also about a half-step faster, he figures.

"That freshman year I was getting tossed around all over the ice," he said.

The players were not only bigger, but more mature. Many college players take a year of prep or junior hockey after high school. Curran was a true freshman and, he said, "lacked the hockey sense that one extra year (after high school) gives you."

Early in his sophomore season things started to click for Curran. "I just started to relax and play for fun," he said. "I wasn't afraid to make mistakes. And it worked out for the best."

Curran finished his sophomore season with 16 goals and 15 assists, second on the team with 31 points. Coming off that type of season, he was determined to get even better.

He said most of his goals are scored inside the hashmarks, that half of them would be called trash goals.

"I'm just picking up the rebounds," he said. "But a goal is a goal."