Jack Maclellan '12 scored a goal in both of the men's hockey games last weekend — the 4-3 win over Rensselaer and the 2-2 tie with No. 18 Union. He was also on the penalty kill which held Union scoreless the final 1:54 of overtime to preserve the tie.
Though Maclellan scored only one goal in the first eight games of the season, he has been a consistent scorer since. He lit the lamp in eight of the Bears' last 13 games.
The center has 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 20 games this season. He leads the team in shooting percentage and is tied for first in goals and plus/minus. For his goal-scoring and penalty-killing last weekend, Maclellan has been named The Herald's Athlete of the Week.
Herald: You have been playing some of your best hockey lately. What's the secret?
Maclellan: I think it's just a confidence thing. I think that I used to have a lot of confidence, and then I think that I lost a lot of it last year in a bad season where things didn't really go well. And so I think the fresh start this year with the new coaching staff (has given me) a
clean slate.
How did you start playing hockey?
One of my neighbors was signing up. He was my best friend, and his parents were signing him up, and I really wanted to play. But neither of my parents were hockey people. My dad competed in judo at the national spectrum.
Have you ever tried judo?
I think that he took me along, because he taught it in the city in Toronto when I was still young — like 5, 6, 7. ... I think it would be pretty cool, but no, I never got into it.
If you threw down the gloves with your dad right now, who would win the fight?
Oh, I'd win. (Pause.) No, that's a lie. He'd probably win.
A lot of the hockey players have nicknames. Does the team have any nicknames for you?
I've got a few, but the one that the boys call me a lot is kind of ridiculous. But it's "Le" (pronounced "Uhl"). Everybody's got their own variation of it. But it just transformed from like Jack, to Jack-O, to Yack-O, to Yackle, to Cole, to Le — somehow.
Who has the best nickname on the team?
Ah, there are some good ones. Hair-bone (Harry Zolnierczyk '11), Food (Hunter Thunell '10). Everybody's kind of got a nickname spun off of their name.
Why do you guys all give each other nicknames?
I just think we're kind of goofballs. All of the hockey players are really, really tight compared to most sports. I know that a lot of teams are really, really tight. But from what I've seen and heard and everything, I just think that hockey players have somehow — between the 20 to 30 guys on the team, there are just such close friendships. So I think we just give each other a hard time and everybody takes it the right way.
Do you guys ever give the coaches a hard time like you do to each other?
Yeah, in the past it wasn't as easy to. But these coaches are so — they're just unreal guys. I didn't really get to know my old coaches on a really personal level. But, Whittet (Head Coach Brendan Whittet '94), Whitey (Assistant Coach Mark White), Keefer (Assistant Coach Jerry Keefe), it's almost like they're a part of the team in a different way than the old coaches — not in the sense that they're a bunch of kids on the team. I mean, they have their respect from everybody.
But they're also so much more involved with all of us and stuff like that. And Whittet's always joking around with us, so I think some guys are pretty hesitant to joke around with him. But, somebody like Harry, Harry will chirp him — either to his face or behind his back.
How about you?
No, I try to play it pretty cool. I just want to stay on his good side.
