Hockey: Faulkner knows all about saves

• Video: John Faulkner vs. Dan Charleston

Matt Smith had to do a double take.

Last year, when the UNO defenseman first met roommate John Faulkner, Smith couldn't believe this man standing before him — this supposed fellow rookie — was in fact a 20-year-old kid.

“The first time I saw him, I thought he was somebody's dad,” said Smith, now a sophomore at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. “He looked like he was at least 30 years old. Even his mug shot in the media guide — people must wonder whether he's a coach or a player.”

Three weeks into the season, people are getting a pretty good idea that Faulkner indeed is a player.

The redshirt freshman goalie has been one of the biggest stories during coach Dean Blais' first year leading the Mavericks. Behind Faulkner, UNO is off to an impressive 3-0-1 start. He recorded two of his victories in relief of senior Jeremie Dupont at the Mutual of Omaha Icebreaker, and Faulkner got his first two collegiate starts last weekend as the Mavs worked out a tie and a win at Colgate.

UNO, ranked Nos. 12 and 13 in college hockey's major polls, is off this weekend as it prepares to open its conference schedule. The Mavs host Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday to kick off their final season in the CCHA.

Prior to Saturday's games, Faulkner's 0.94 goals-against average ranked first in the NCAA among goalies with more than one appearance. He boasts a .958 save percentage in 191 minutes played, and he's given up only three goals. Two of those scores came while the Mavs were short-handed, and none of them has happened in Faulkner's four third periods.

After stopping 51 of 53 shots at Colgate, Faulkner on Monday was named CCHA goalie of the week.

“It's been a lot of fun, and it's been a long time since I was in a real game,” said Faulkner, who practiced with the Mavs in 2008-09 but didn't play during his first year in college. “But it's only been four games. It's great that we're off to a good start, but there's still a long ways to go.”

It's probably fitting if Faulkner, of Sarnia, Ontario, seems mature beyond his years to his teammates.

Growing up mostly in a single-parent family, Faulkner by no means lived the life of a spoiled star athlete as a kid. His mother, Bonnie, had to work tirelessly —- juggling multiple jobs at times — to support Faulkner and his brother and sister. From the time he turned 10, Faulkner said he didn't have much of a relationship with his father.

“You probably don't realize it as much as a kid, but looking back I really respect the sacrifices and choices my mom made,” Faulkner said. “You kind of see that no matter what you want to do, you'd better be willing to work hard.”

But by the time Faulkner's mother moved with her children to Sarnia in the late 1990s, it was clear that the boy had a knack for keeping pucks out of a net. The family was fortunate to meet plenty of people in their new home city who were willing to help Faulkner foster his talents.

“They saw his potential in Sarnia, and they wanted to move him up to travel hockey,” Faulkner's mother said. “But they knew my situation, and that I just couldn't afford travel hockey. The Sarnia Hockey Association was phenomenal, and they helped pay his way right through. He wouldn't have had a chance otherwise. I know he's so appreciative of everybody who's helped him along the way, and there are a lot of people here who are really proud of him.”

As a teenager, Faulkner worked jobs at a golf course and a sporting goods store to help make ends meet, and he would have hardly any time to rest playing goalie for the Sarnia Blast of the Western Ontario Junior Hockey League. He regularly faced a barrage of shots in junior hockey, and during his last year with the Blast he went 19-19 with a 3.03 GAA. Still, he led the WOJHL with a .921 save percentage and dazzled often enough to earn league MVP honors.

Former Mavs coach Mike Kemp recruited Faulkner to UNO, and Kemp said he always believed the 6-foot, 200-pound goaltender would make a major impact at the NCAA level. But because the Mavericks last season returned both Dupont and senior Jerad Kaufmann, Faulkner would have to bide his time on the sidelines.

In retrospect, Kemp said, it's tempting to think what might've been had Faulkner played as a true freshman. And Kemp said he was so impressed by the way Faulkner performed during practice last season that he did flirt with the idea of pulling the goalie out of his redshirt.

At the same time, there really can be no second-guessing the decision to hold Faulkner back. Statistically, Kaufmann and Dupont were two of the top goalies in the country as UNO got off to a school-record 12-4-3 start. And as the Mavs fizzled to a program-worst 3-13-5 second-half finish, it was UNO's lack of scoring — not the play of Kaufmann or Dupont — that cost UNO victories.

“There were positive and negatives, but it really wasn't that hard for me to be patient, because I knew that both Kaufer and Dupes had been here a long time and that they deserved to be playing,” Faulkner said. “But it was a big point of pride for me to work as hard as I possibly could during practice. You know that your teammates are out there trying to get better, and if I'm a goalie just going through the motions, that's a waste of everybody's time. Whenever you're out there on the ice, it's a chance to prove what you can do.”

UNO's coaches are thrilled with Faulkner's early season progress, but they still say Faulkner has a whole lot more to prove. And by no means, Mike Hastings said, has the Mavs' goaltender battle been settled.

“We're still trying to figure out exactly what we are going to do with our goalies, because obviously Dupont is a guy who has shown he can play well in this league,” said Hastings, UNO's associate head coach. “But it's just like any other position — once a guy's been given an opportunity, it's all about what he does with it.

“I think Faulkner has done a really good job, but we feel confident that we have two very capable goaltenders.”

Faulkner said he's not about to let off the gas pedal just because of his fast start.

“There's three of us here (including freshman goalie Fredrik Bergman) competing for one job,” Faulkner said. “Those two want to be in that net just as bad as I do, so you just have to go out there every day, fight hard and make sure your coaches are going to have a tough decision.”

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

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