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Matt Mullin's like the neighborhood bartender at closing time; he's heard all the lines. So let's set the record straight. Chuck E Cheese is not the Toledo Storm goaltender's favorite restaurant, and no, he doesn't do his shopping at The Disney Store. And it's absolutely not true that he's auditioned for the remake of Fantasy Island, although it wouldn't be difficult to picture him turning the puck over to a linesman after a sensational glove save and saying, "The puck, boss. The puck." Hockey sticks and stones may break your bones, but when you're 5-6 1/2 and a goaltender in the East Coast Hockey League, it's only the long bus rides that really hurt. "The fans on the road all say the same things," Mullin said. "It's ridiculous." Question: What's the difference between the Storm's starting goalie and a pee-wee league netminder? Answer: Mullin ties his own skates. "They call you a midget sometimes and tell you to get off your knees," Mullin said. "The more they say it, the more you just laugh at them. They're pretty repetitive. They think that no one has ever said those things before." It's the herd mentality and Mullin's heard it all since he began playing hockey at the age of 5 in the Stanley Stick bracket in his hometown of Guelph, Ontario. Nineteen years later, all he does is stand up and count the championships. There was the one that was earned two seasons ago. Mullin backstopped the Guelph University Gryphons to the Canadian national title and won just about every big individual award. In his first season of pro hockey last year, Mullin led the United Hockey League in goals-against average as his Quad City team made short work of the rest of the league en route to a trip to the postseason jewelry store. Mullin is hoping to get sized up for the third time in as many years. His Storm club continues its quest for Kelly Cup championship rings tonight at the Sports Arena. Toledo hosts Richmond in game three of its best-of-five Northern Conference semifinal series. The third ring might be a little harder to earn. Richmond can make short work of Toledo with a win - the Renegades took the first two games this week in Virginia. The diminutive backstopper will need a large performance tonight if his team is to stay alive. "The only ones that size is an issue with are the scouts at the next level," Mullin said. "The players, they don't care that I'm 5-6. They know I can stop the puck." If National Hockey League scouts wrote a book about Mullin's career, it would be a short story. These bounty hunters are interested in bagging long-legged prey. In many cases, all the scouts can do is pray - hoping the big goalie they signed for big money isn't a big dud. "That's what it's been all the way since day one," said Mullin, 3-3 in the postseason with a goals-against average of 3.68. `He's an excellent goaltender; he's just not big enough.' If I were 6-2 and couldn't stop the puck, would they give me a chance? NHL teams invest a lot of money in these guys and it's a gamble, because they can't stop the puck." What's the big deal about being big? It's simple geometry. When a large goaltender comes out to face a shooter, the puck carrier sees less of the net, which, in theory, makes it more difficult to score. It likely wasn't Mullin's goal to be the smallest player to ever dress for the Storm. Erin Whitten and Ron Newhook got the netminder off the hook there. Whitten, a 5-5 female goalie, played in Toledo during the 1993-94 season. (Erin Whitten was the USA Goaltender that lead the American's Women's Hockey Team to Gold in Nagano.) Newhook, also 5-5, played center the past two seasons. After a game in Columbus, the Storm bus was pulling out of the Fairgrounds Coliseum when the driver accidently straddled a curb. "Oh, my gosh," said defenseman Brian Blad. "We ran over Newey." People don't run over Mullin. Confident in his abilities and with his lot in life, Mullin is enjoying his stint in pro hockey. Even if he knows there's little chance he'll see the big time. "I kind of wish maybe I was a little bit taller, but I wouldn't trade in an extra few inches for the success I've had in hockey. As you get older, you can't really worry about it. I'm in control of my life. It's not an issue anymore." That's the long and short of it.
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