Matt Duffy had a productive freshman year last season.

He had a goal and two assists in three NCAA Tournament games and finished with three goals and five assists in 28 games.

The Windham native and only Mainer on the Black Bear roster has taken his game to a new level this season.

Not only has he become a regular after being in and out of the lineup last season, he plays on the power play and penalty-killing units. He has two goals and three assists in 10 games.

Duffy and his mates will try to rebound from last Sunday’s 8-2 home loss to New Hampshire against Boston College on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Alfond Arena.

“You kind of forget he’s a sophomore because he plays like an upperclassman,” said Maine senior defenseman Mike Lundin. “He has proven to be one of our top defensemen. He’s somebody you want out there in the last minute of a game and on penalty kills and all that.”

Junior Bret Tyler is Duffy’s defense partner and has noticed the improvement first-hand.

“He’s playing fantastic,” said Tyler. “I love playing with him. He has great vision. He’s unbelievably strong. He’s good in front of the net. He’s got a great shot.

“Freshman year, it’s tough, especially if you’re in and out of the lineup. You get a little nervous because you don’t want to make mistakes. This year, he knows we’re counting on him to play in key situations so I think he feels a little more relaxed back there like I did my sophomore year,” said Tyler. “He’s playing real well for us.”

Duffy said, “I knew we lost a couple of key defensemen [Steve Mullin, Travis Wight] so I wanted to play good, solid defense and get up into the play as much as possible.”

His penalty killing represents his most noticeable area of improvement, he said.

“I didn’t get much time on the penalty kill last year but this year I feel pretty confident out there,” said Duffy. “We work on it every week in practice and I feel I’m getting better and better at it.”

“He’s great on the penalty kill with his clears,” said senior center Mike Hamilton. “He’s got a lot more confidence and he’s just going to keep getting better and better.”

Junior left wing Billy Ryan considers Duffy “one of our best defenseman. He’s unbelievable at clearing the puck out and he’s strong along the boards. That’s what we need.”

Duffy is considered a smooth skater by his mates and he worked on it over the summer.

“I skated twice a week over the summer in Gorham. I really worked on my edges and my backward skating. That’s what I needed to improve on. It helped me out a lot,” said Duffy.

He has benefited from the sharp increase in ice time.

“The more I play, the more I get [mentally] into the game and into a groove,” said the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Duffy, a fourth-round draft choice of the Florida Panthers.

He has a blistering slap shot but has spent a lot of time working on his wrist shot with volunteer assistant Grant Standbrook.

Shooters can get wrist shots to the net quicker than slap shots.

“Grant said I have a strong enough wrist shot to use it more than the slap shot. I just want to get it through and get it on net,” said Duffy.