When Brian Maloney is on the ice, people take notice.
And referees and opposing players have started to take extra notice.
That’s because the 6-foot-1, 208-pound junior left wing has earned a reputation as one of the CCHA’s toughest enforcers.
Maloney, 23, is the oldest and most-penalized player on the Spartans - the least-penalized team in the CCHA. Anyone wearing an opposing sweater is viewed as a target and both players and game officials understand that is Maloney’s mindset.
“He’s a marked man in the league - referees seem to want to call him for a penalty every time he hits somebody,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said. “He’s a tough kid and he plays tough. Sometimes it gets in the way of his success, but as a whole, the tougher it gets, the better he plays.”
Spartan fans are used to seeing No. 20 rushing into corners and belting a defenseman or slashing a lagging forward on the way up the ice. Sometimes he does it lawfully - keeping his elbows and stick down - other times he doesn’t.
He said the league referees usually talk to him before the game and warn him what will and will not be tolerated.
But Maloney’s rule-bending style of play still forces him to sit in the penalty box more than any of his teammates (he has accumulated 61 minutes, while freshman center Jim Slater is second with 40). Maloney said he has been trying to cut down on unnecessary retaliatory penalties this season, but he still likes leaving opponents with bumps and bruises.
“I wouldn’t say I ever try to hurt anyone,” Maloney said. “I never go out there before the game and think, ‘I’m going to hurt someone today.’ I’m not that type of player.
“But if someone’s going to try to take my head off, I’ll get my elbows up in their mouths - I’ll get my stick up there and get them in the sweet spot. I’ll let them know they’re not going to be able to run me all game and take advantage of me.
“I have respect for guys on the other side of the ice, but I’ll definitely let someone know I’m there, that’s for sure.”
Maloney doesn’t mind being labeled MSU’s enforcer, but he understands the role of a tough guy is limited in college hockey because mandatory face masks and one-game suspensions for fighting.
“Sometimes I think (college players) shy away from the roughness and toughness,” he said. “Personally, I think that with masks being on (in college hockey), it makes the game more chippy because you don’t really care where your stick goes. If there was just no masks or anything, you would get the respect, sticks would stay down and the tough guys would play tough and the smaller guys would play their finesse role.”
Maloney, a native of Bassano, Alberta, played junior hockey for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League for two seasons. He said being physical in juniors was the best way to attract attention from U.S. colleges and advance his goal of playing professional hockey.
“I haven’t changed much from my junior ways to here and maybe that’s why I stand out a little more,” Maloney said. “Hopefully that’s what’s going to take me to the next level - my physical play.
“I’m not one of these players that’ll take the puck end-to-end, but I’ll get my room.”
At MSU, Maloney amassed 87 penalty minutes as a freshman and 86 as a sophomore, but also scored 12 and 15 goals, respectively.
So don’t think Maloney is all goon and no talent. He’s tied for the team lead with 13 goals after notching his first career hat trick Saturday. The last Spartan to finish a season leading the team in goals and penalty minutes was Bryan Smolinski, who scored 31 times and sat out 91 minutes in 1993.
Maloney is tied for second in points with 24, trailing senior right wing Adam Hall by one.
“If (Maloney) were to play a finesse game, you would not see him get as many points,” said junior defenseman Brad Fast, one of Maloney’s roommates. “He’s getting points off of knocking people down and taking the puck away from them in the corner and driving to the net.
“He feeds off the battles in the corners. He feeds off people coming at him trying to hit him and knock him over. That’s his style and it’s really intimidating to play against.
“Even in practice, he doesn’t really take it too easy on us defensemen.”
