Minuteman Flames in the News

MetroWest Daily News - Sports Section, March 17, 2004

Comeback kid

How much does Greg Mauldin mean to UMass? Despite missing eight games, he's the second leading scorer (13-14-27). The Holliston resident, a 5-11, 190-pound junior, has rebounded from one of those frightening on-ice scenes that occurred earlier in the season against UMass-Lowell. Mauldin was chasing a loose puck with an opponent trailing.

"I went in the corner with my back to him," says Mauldin. "He hit me from behind. My head hit the boards. I was unconscious for about 30 seconds."

He was taken to a hospital where it was determined he'd suffered a grade 3 concussion. He missed almost a month. When he came back he missed a couple more games due to a thigh injury.

And he's still second in scoring? "I do all right," says Mauldin, "when I'm playing."

His mother, Joanne, attends most of her son's games but missed the one in which he was injured. "I'm glad I wasn't there," she says. "It can be a rugged game. I just pray that nothing happens to him. You have to realize it's a game and not life and death."

Something Mauldin unfortunately knows something about. His father died 3 ½ years ago.

When UMass and UMass-Lowell wound up playing in the quarterfinals last week (the Minutemen won in two straight), Joanne Mauldin was pleased to see the player who had sent her son to the hospital come up to Greg after the game.

"He shook hands with Greg and apologized," she says.

Cahoon calls Mauldin "not only one of the premier forwards in this league but in all of college hockey. He has a great shooting touch, and he's passionate about the sport. It didn't take long to see that he was made of the right stuff."