Mark Taylor took a look at Nick Broadwater and knew he had a good goalie. It wasn’t just the way Broadwater moved. It wasn’t just the way he skated.
“He’s got a great poise factor,” said Taylor, the men’s hockey coach at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. “I like the way he is mentally. The technique and the ability are a plus but for me, it’s the mental wiring that I look at.”
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And Broadwater, a 21-year-old sophomore from Portland, apparently is wired properly.
Four times this season he has been named the goalie of the week in the ECAC West. He has a 10-4-1 record with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
“He’s doing a great job for us,” said Taylor.
Broadwater played his freshman year at Deering High, then switched to the Junior Pirates while still attending Deering. He later played for the Junior Bruins before entering college.
“I just wanted a higher level of play,” said Broadwater of his decision to leave Deering’s hockey program. “I talked to a couple of coaches and they said if I wanted to go on to the next level I would have to go to prep school or the juniors. I wanted to stay at home, the Junior Pirates were right there, so I joined them. It was a good fit.”
So is Hobart, and not just on the ice.
“The biggest thing for any athlete to get better is to take steps and take charge of his career on and off the ice. And Nick has certainly done that,” said Taylor. “I really like what I’m seeing out of him since the beginning of the ’09-10 season to now. He’s taken more control of his life, in all aspects of it.
“He’s doing a lot better in school and in a lot of places. He’s really bought into the fact that he’s got some good things going for him and he’s not going to waste them, both on the ice and the academic side.”
One thing Broadwater has learned most is how to handle pressure. He has natural athletic ability and worked hard with Rob Day, the goalie coach for the Manchester (N.H.) Junior Monarchs, on his skills and how to read the play in front of him.
But college hockey is still different and being the last line of defense has its own pressure.
“The shots are the same, the players are a little bigger,” said Broadwater. “The biggest thing is the traffic in front of the net. It’s more congested; you’ve got bigger bodies in front of the net. It’s a matter of finding the puck and making the play.”
Broadwater was also replacing a two-time all-American goalie at Hobart in Keith Longo.
“It was tough coming in to prove myself,” Broadwater said.
But he succeeded. He was selected ECAC West rookie of the year.
“At some point, he became his own guy,” said Taylor.
But that led to more pressure this year. Broadwater felt he had to get even better. In the first game this season, he gave up two goals in the first 10 minutes.
“I wasn’t myself,” he said. “I was shaky, I was real nervous. I was trying to keep up with what I had done.”
Then, he said, he figured he needed to just play. “I learned how to relax myself.”
And now he’s playing like he hoped. And the Statesmen are having a very strong season.
“We’re doing good things,” said Taylor. “Our guys love playing in front of Nick because he’s a good goalie, but they’ll play hard for him because he’s also a good guy.”
INDOOR TRACK
Brandeis senior Marie Lemay of Saco (Thornton Academy) finished ninth in the 800-meter run in a time of 2 minutes, 22.75 seconds in the Dartmouth Relays.
She is one of three local athletes on the team, along with junior Lily Parenteau of Scarborough, who competes in the jumps, and freshman Amelia Lundkvist of South Portland (Cheverus), who competes in the distance races.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Derek Mayo of Casco (Lake Region), a 6-foot-4 freshman forward, is averaging 6.1 points per game for Wentworth College.
He is also averaging 3.9 rebounds and has 37 assists and 18 steals.
• Senior forward Tyler Emmons of Portland has played in 12 games for Caldwell College, averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Junior forward Samantha Goda of Eliot (Marshwood) is the leading scorer (14.1) and rebounder (7.5) for Maine Maritime Academy.
She also has 18 steals and eight blocks.
Goda is joined by junior guard Maggie Smith of Bath (Morse), who is averaging 9.8 points, and senior forward Jessica Stahl of Bowdoin (Mt. Ararat), who is averaging 6.9 points and 4.2 points.
• Freshman forward Claire Ramonas of Portland (Deering) is second at Regis College in scoring (9.7) and rebounding (7.1). Recently named The Commonwealth Coast Conference rookie of the week, Ramonas also has 10 blocks, 27 steals and 18 assists.
• Freshman forward Megan Grondin of Cumberland (Greely) is the second-leading scorer at Clark University. She is averaging 9.9 points and 3.1 rebounds and has nine blocked shots. Grondin leads the Cougars in field-goal percentage (.442), foul shots attempted (64) and foul shots made (48).
Freshman guard Lily Colley of Wells has appeared in 10 games for the Cougars, averaging 2.5 points. She is 9 for 11 from the foul line.
ACADEMIC HONORS
Husson senior Caitlyn Butterfield of Gorham received second-team All-East academic honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
She had a 3.61 grade-point average while majoring in physical therapy.
In addition, Husson junior Alexandra Laniewski of Scarborough received honorable mention with a 3.97 GPA in physical therapy.
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com
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