The University of Maine men’s hockey team has a 6-foot-7 goalie in Ben Bishop and five of its six regular defensemen stand at least 6-2.

Then there is Bret Tyler.

At 5-8, he is one of the smallest defensemen in college hockey. Yet he is Maine’s third-leading scorer and top-scoring defenseman with a goal and six assists for the 6-0 Black Bears entering this weekend’s road games at Merrimack and Boston University.

His 1.17 points-per-game average is ninth best among the nation’s blue-liners.

Tyler finds the size differential between himself and his defense mates amusing.

“When you think about it, it’s pretty funny,” said Tyler. “They’re all pretty big guys except me. But that’s all right. I hold my own.”

Merrimack College coach Mark Dennehy knows Tyler plays much bigger than his size.

“He’s a junkyard dog,” said Dennehy. “Early in his career, I’m sure some big players took runs at him. But they found out he’s a tough little bugger.”

Maine coach Tim Whitehead called Tyler “one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached.”

In addition to his grit, Tyler has put up impressive numbers.

He was Maine’s top-scoring defenseman a year ago despite missing nine games with a badly sprained ankle that hampered him the second half of the season. He had seven goals and 16 assists in 33 games. Two years ago, he also led Maine’s defensemen in scoring with 6 & 14 in 36 games en route to Hockey East All-Rookie team honors.

“He has great hockey instincts and that overcomes any disadvantages he may have had,” said Dennehy.

Whitehead said Tyler will “block a shot at one end of the ice and then lead the rush. He wears a lot of hats for us.”

The 196-pound Tyler picked an opportune time to snap an eight-game goal-less drought last Saturday when be scored with 4:36 remaining to break a 1-1 tie in a 4-1 win over UMass.

“I had a lot of assists but I was a little nervous because I hadn’t scored in eight games. I was happy about [scoring],” said Tyler.

Tyler is expanding his role to include penalty-killing this season, requiring him to place more emphasis on the defensive aspect of his game.

“Being a junior this year, I realized they would expect me to kill penalties. That has given me an opportunity to play more,” said Tyler. “I rely more on my hockey sense rather than trying to outmuscle guys. I try to anticipate the play.

“My offense comes more naturally than my defense but I’ve been working with the coaching staff on getting better in one-on-one battles and my defensive zone coverages,” Tyler added.

Volunteer assistant Grant Standbrook has been instrumental in Tyler’s improvement.

“The stuff he teaches you is amazing,” said Tyler. “He knows the little tricks of the trade. He has helped me with the poke-check and shown me how to take guys into the boards and get the puck. He has been fantastic for all of us.”