Northeastern University defenseman Tim Judy had corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone and was leading a three-on-two rush into the University of Maine zone with eight seconds left in overtime.

Judy skated diagonally to the right faceoff circle and tried to center it to one of two teammates who were driving to the front of the Bear net.

Just as Judy released the pass, Maine senior defenseman Prestin Ryan dove and deflected the puck into the corner to preserve the 0-0 Hockey East tie.

Ryan has been making plays like that all season long.

He has certainly caused Maine men’s hockey fans some frustration during his three seasons in Orono with his penchant for losing his temper and taking bad penalties. He has also created some tense moments with his stickhandling through his own crease.

But he has also developed into a premier defenseman.

“He’s one of the best defensemen in the league,” said Providence College coach Paul Pooley.

“He’s terrific. He’s a one-man breakout. You can’t forecheck him,” said UMass Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald. “He’s also a one-man penalty-killing unit. He clears pucks, he pursues them, he pressures them, and he gets them out. There is a tremendous flow and rhythm to his game.”

MacDonald also considers him the “best forechecking defenseman in the league.”

“He’ll dump it into the zone, hang back, and then say ‘I’ll go get this one myself,'” said MacDonald.

Ryan isn’t that big for a defenseman, standing 6 feet tall and weighing in at 195 pounds.

But he jars opponents with body checks and well-executed hip checks.

“He’s tough to play against,” said University of New Hampshire junior left wing Sean Collins.

“He’s someone you want on your team, not someone you want to play against,” said Boston College sophomore left wing Patrick Eaves. “He’s really skilled. He can be a factor in a game.”

Ryan has been one of the major reasons the Black Bears have been able to overcome the loss of 60.7 percent of last year’s goal production and their top three defensemen to stay among the nation’s top five teams in the national polls virtually all season long.

“With us losing our top three defensemen from last year [Francis Nault, Cliff Loya, and Tommy Reimann], we really needed some guys to elevate their games, and Prestin has certainly emerged as not only our top defenseman, but one of the top defensemen in the East,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead.

“He has always been a tremendous physical presence and now he’s really an elite player on both sides of the puck,” added Whitehead. “I’m really happy for Prestin. He has worked extremely hard to keep improving. He has really emerged as our leader on defense.”

Ryan has been pleased with his season so far.

“I’m very happy. I feel I have a lot of confidence. And the big thing is I feel I’m improving every week and that’s something I’ve never done before,” said Ryan, the possessor of a booming slap shot and a penchant for making crisp passes to the tape of teammates’ sticks.

Ryan came to Maine in 2000, but had to redshirt a season because he had spent a short period of time with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western (Major Junior) Hockey League.

He made an immediate impact in 2001-2002, notching six goals, nine assists, and 91 penalty minutes in 39 games. He had an assist in Maine’s 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota in the NCAA championship game.

It was a trying year for the whole team after the death of coach Shawn Walsh due to complications from kidney cancer on Sept. 24.

But the Bears were able to use that as motivation and came less than a minute away from winning the national title.

“With anything in life or in hockey, you’ve got to avoid distractions and get down to business,” said Ryan.

Last season, he had a goal and eight assists in 37 games and set a school record with 120 penalty minutes. He was tied for fifth in plus-minus at plus-10.

This season, he has three goals and 17 assists, and he leads the team at plus-30. He has reset the school penalty record again with 126 minutes.

He plays the game with the genuine passion of somebody who has been involved in the sport his whole life.

That’s because he has.

“I started skating when I was two. My dad [Barrie] had me out at the rink. The rink was always available. You’d ask the caretaker for the key and you could skate before school or at night. It didn’t matter. That’s how you got better,” said Ryan, who is the third of four children raised by Barrie and Cindy Ryan in Arcola, Saskatchewan.

He and childhood friend Chris Hollingshead were rink rats.

“Some kids would go skidooing or do other things, but we just went and skated all the time. We pushed each other to get better,” said Ryan, who is an outstanding skater and very strong on his skates.

He had an outstanding junior hockey career for the Estevan Bruins and was named the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Best Defenseman in 2000.

He received a call from Maine assistant Grant Standbrook and when he mentioned it to his cousin, Barry Armstrong, who was living in Boston, Armstrong suggested to Ryan that he drive up to Orono and check out the campus.

“I loved it,” said the 23-year-old Ryan, an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fishing and hunting.

“The one thing I don’t like about home is it’s so flat. It’s all prairies,” said Ryan.

He also feels he has been more composed on the ice despite the penalty minutes.

“I know I still have a ton of penalty minutes, but when you break it down, I got 40 at BC and there was a little scrum at the end of the BU game and I got 40 there,” said Ryan.

He actually picked up 52 of his penalty minutes in those two games.

As for his occasional forays across his crease, he says, “It has a lot to do with confidence. If I see a little room, I’ll go with the puck. I haven’t turned it over for a goal yet, so I’ll keep doing it. If I do make a mistake, I’ll learn from it.”

He has always been a physical player and always will be.

“That’s my nature. I like to go out there and get at it, bump around and stick my nose in,” said Ryan.

“He makes things happen. He’s a fierce competitor,” said UNH coach Dick Umile.

Ryan said the biggest improvement in his game this season has been his consistency.

“I was so off and on all the time throughout my career,” said Ryan. “But I feel like every game I’m just as consistent as I was in the one before.”

Defense partner Troy Barnes agreed.

“He’s one of our best players every night,” said Barnes. “He goes 100 percent every game. He never takes a night off. That’s what everybody loves about him.”

“He has meant everything to the goalies. He’s a leader out there. When he’s out there, he makes my life a lot easier,” said sophomore goalie Jimmy Howard. “He does so much to help me out. He’s almost like a man among boys out there the way he tosses people aside and fights through checks and everything.”

“He has become a real dominant player in this league,” said junior center Ben Murphy. “He’s a great leader and a great character player. He brings his heart and soul to the game every day and everybody follows after him.”

Ryan would love to continue his hockey career after this season.

But there is some unfinished business left: a national championship.

“We have as good a shot as anybody. It’s just a matter of putting it together and coming to play every night. If we do that, I don’t see what’s going to stop us,” said Ryan.

HOCKEY EAST

MEN’S TOURNAMENT

March 11

Quarterfinals (best of 3)

Series start at Boston College, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 7 p.m.

March 12-14

Quarterfinals (best of 3)

TBA at Maine, 7 p.m.

March 19

At FleetCenter, Boston

Semifinals, 5 p.m., 8 p.m.

March 20

At FleetCenter, Boston

Final, 7 p.m.