Lafferty puts up points in down year for Brown

Junior Sam Lafferty has been a beacon of light in a dark season for Brown University.

Centering the Bears’ top line, Lafferty has 10 goals and 30 points. And he is plus-one on a team that’s given up 42 more goals than it has scored while sinking to last place in the ECAC.

“He’s a constant threat when he’s on the ice,” coach Brendan Whittet said.

Lafferty, 21, who is one of Brown’s assistant captains, praises his teammates for persevering even as the Bears have won only four of 25 games.

“It’s definitely a challenge. I give all our guys credit. We’re sticking with it. We battle every game, for the full game. Some of it this year has been, on a given night, maybe we’re missing just one piece of the puzzle. On a different night, it’s a different piece.

“A big part of that is maturity, just learning how to win. It’s something we are going to have to do. Moving forward, our power play needs to be a lot better,” he said this week as the Bears prepared to host Dartmouth on Friday and third-ranked Harvard on Saturday. Both games will start at 7 p.m.

Individually, Lafferty already has surpassed his combined point total for his freshman (12) and sophomore (10) seasons. He is a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award, which is given to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.

“It’s just having a little more confidence and being put in more situations offensively, and having more chemistry with my linemates [often Charlie Corcoran and Max Willman]. All of those things contribute to being more productive this year,” said Lafferty, who arrived at Brown straight from Deerfield Academy, instead of playing a year or two of junior hockey, as many college players do.

As a two-sport athlete — he is a member of the Brown golf team — he is a rarity in the NCAA Division I ranks.

“Basically, from the time I step on campus until the season ends, it’s all hockey,” Lafferty said. “The golf coach, coach [Mike] Hughes, is supportive of that and allows me to hop on board whenever the season allows for. It’s a lot of fun. I definitely enjoy both.”

His hockey training regimen last summer in Arizona contributed to the improvement in his numbers on the ice.

“He came back bigger, faster, stronger,” Whittet said.

From June to August, Lafferty lived with a friend in Phoenix and worked out at Evo Ultrafit, where NHL superstars such as Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith train in the off-season.

“Seeing [Toews] out there for the first time was pretty surreal. He’s been one of my favorite players for a while now,” said Lafferty, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round in 2014 and chose Brown over Cornell and Penn State.

“He was very generous, taking his time to answer some questions, and had some really good advice for making the jump from college to the pro game — just some of the different nuances, learning how to deal with those. That was pretty cool.

“Probably one of the most powerful things for me was just seeing the example that they set on a day-in, day-out basis; basically, a realization that that is what it takes if you want to sustain [a career] for a long period of time.”

It wasn’t the first time Lafferty had benefited from being around pros. Since being drafted, he has attended development camp each summer with the Penguins, his favorite team while growing up in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, 90 miles east of Pittsburgh.

“Getting drafted by the hometown team was pretty surreal,” he said. “Getting the opportunity each summer to go to development camp has been really helpful for me as a player, seeing what the level is like and getting to work with some of the personnel there. It’s helped me take steps each year I’ve had a chance to go.”

Pittsburgh player development coach Mark Recchi has watched Lafferty play several times this season at Meehan Auditorium. When Brown played Princeton on Feb. 4, both Recchi and Penguins scout Frank Golden were in the stands.

“[Recchi] is the guy I talk with the most from Pittsburgh. He’s been great. He’s always been very supportive with feedback and encouragement. He’s definitely helped me a lot,” said Lafferty, who is majoring in business economics.

While he looks forward to moving on to pro hockey, Lafferty has no intention of leaving school early.

“I’m definitely coming back for my senior year. We have some unfinished business here.”