The BU Terriers carry three goalies, but over the past season and a half, there has really only been one goalie in town. Kieran Millan had just about the best year a freshman possibly can, patrolling the pipes for the best defensive team in the nation, and helping his club to a national championship. Loyalty is great, and Kieran Millan will still be a solid goaltender long term. But none of that changes that fact that right now, the kid is struggling.
Kieran Won Everything Last Year, But Not So Much This Time Around
He's only saved .865% of the shots he's faced, and he's giving up 3.48 goals per game. But the most important statistic is his 3-8-0 record, and his 1-7-0 record in Hockey East play.
At some point, the question of whether or not Jack Parker should seriously entertain his other options needs to be raised. It seems that Parker has already considered this possibility, judging by the fact that he gave Sophomore Grant Rollheiser a stretch of two out of three games against UNH and Cornell. The third game of that stretch was a significant game for the program, the Red Hot Hockey match-up in front of 18,200 fans and a larger national audience at Madison Square Garden. Keeping Kieran out of that one was very likely designed to be a message to the goalie to get his act together.
The fact is that in sports, college as well as professional, nothing is simply given out. For better or worse, a great yesterday does not guarantee you a job tomorrow if you cannot perform today. And Kieran Millan has not performed as well as he needs to in order to keep this team in games. This is not to say that any of his goaltending colleagues would fare any better. But they might. Let's consider the options.
Option One: Stick With Kieran, Hell or High Water
The kid did it for you last year, playing like a champion when it mattered most. This is when the rest of the team was sputtering, and they needed a big save. How about the NCAA regional finals against UNH when BU was having trouble finding the back of the net, and JVR and friends were firing bullets from all over the ice? Who did the Terriers rely on then? Kieran Millan, and he stepped up in an amazing way, making some saves that a freshman has no right making. The biggest was an amazing glove save to preserve a 1-1 tie that allowed the Terriers to stick around long enough to defeat a tough Wildcats team.
See the 1:15, 1:45, 3:20, 3:33, 5:00, 6:00, 6:13, and 6:18 (Game Saver) Marks
Pretty much the whole video is a Millan highlight reel
Watch that video and you'll be reminded that the only reason BU had a chance in hell to play for the Championship was because of the incredible performance by Millan in that game. The one goal came because UNH created a 2 on 1, one of many odd man rushes in the game. Millan won that game.
Millan's Got Championship Experience, And Awesome Gear
We already know Kieran has ice water in his veins in big moments. He should be able to bounce back from a tough start and turn his season around. He has a year of huge games on his resume, and more experience in net than either Rollie or Adam Kraus. It can be argued that it's not blind loyalty to stick with a kid who has only had a rough patch of about 10 games. Sophomore slumps do happen, especially to goaltenders who just hit the highest of highs, only to lose the best players in front of them and have to adjust their style of play to compensate.
It's entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that given enough time Millan will make these adjustments and turn his season around.
Option 2: Bench Kieran Millan Temporarily
If it is just a matter of Kieran needing to figure things out, and Parker believes this, the best option could be to get Kieran off the ice and make him prove that has figured out his issues in practice. It seems like that's exactly what Jack did already for the UNH and Red Hot Hockey games, and maybe it needs to be done again.
Millan does not seem like the kind of kid who has a sense of entitlement, or that this job is owed to him. However, no matter how modest a person is, it is only logical that there would be some cockiness coming off of a banner season like the one that he had. Even if it is sub conscious, at least part of Kieran Millan most likely believes that he deserves this job.
This idea needs to get knocked out of his head. Perhaps if he gets knocked down a couple of pegs and gets reminded of the fact that he needs to play well to earn his spot, it will shake him out of this slump.
This would also allow Jack to give his backups some experience. Even if his plan is to keep Millan as the starter, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to get the other guys some time.
Option 3: Bench Kieran Long Term In Favor of Grant Rollheiser
Early last season, before anybody knew BU could win with a freshmen goalie, fans were wondering which new kid would emerge from Parker's goalie by committe system.
What people forget about that time is that Grant Rollheiser played outstanding in goal. The only problem for him was that Millan played out of this world, un-real, unstoppable, brick wall in goal. Rollie the Goalie got in 12 games in 2008-2009, most of those coming early in the year. He posted an .897 save percentage and a slim 2.13 GAA en route to a 6-4-1 record. He even posted a shutout. All of this as a freshman!
The dual goalie system was essentially put to bed in late November. Rollheiser started a game on November 25, which he won, before giving way to Kieran as the full time starter. That win got him to 3-3 on the year, and when he came in to give Kieran a break in later games, he did an even better job.
Perhaps his best moment came when Kieran had his worst. Rollie relieved Millan of his duties 24 minutes into a game against UMass Amherst after a shaky start by Millan left the Terriers staring at a 3- defecit. Rollie came in and stopped the bleeding, allowing the Terriers to come back and score 6 unanswered tallies to win the game.
In short, in the time Rollheiser had, he played great hockey. But Parker had to go with the hot hand. And he had to start the kid who only lost two games all of last year. But now, that kid is struggling, and another option is waiting for his chance.
In his four starts this year, Rollheiser is undefeated. Granted, that includes three ties. But ties are better than losses, and in his limited duty since coming back from a injury he has put up slightly better numbers than Millan. He has a 3.07 goals against average, and the bottom line is that for whatever reason, the team has found a way to fight while he was in net. Is there something to that, or is it a coincidence? Shall we find out, Mr. Parker?
Option 4: Ohhhhhhh Yeah, There's Another Guy!
When Adam Kraus heard that Satan had been released from his scholarship, he must have assumed the job was his to lose. Well, that didn't really work out. For whatever reason, he never even got a chance to win the job, despite the fact that he went into the year as the only goalie on the roster who had a minute of collegiate experience.
We may have questioned it then, but clearly Parker knew something we did not. Krauss did not play a minute of regular season hockey for the Terriers last season. In his freshman year, as the third stringer, he got into just two games, and he looked as nervous as a whore in church in net. Especially in the Beanpot consolation game.
His numbers were bad, with a 4.04 GAA and an .857 save percentage. He played in relief once this year, at Merrimack, after Millan gave up his fifth goal of the day. In about 17 minutes, Krauss saved 11 of 12 shots in complete garbage time.
But are two plus games a big enough sample size to know what he can really bring to the table? Why is he on the roster if Jack Parker trusts him so little? And if Parker believes in him even in the slightest, why have we seen him for a grand total of 17 minutes since the 2008 Beanpot?
I would at least like to know who he offended to be in Jack's dog house.
So, What Do We Do?
I'm not the coach. Jack Parker is. And he is the greatest coach in all of college hockey, most likely in all of college sports. He knows what the hell he is doing. That's why he coached a team with a freshman goalie to a Championship. I bow down to him, and I drink the kool aid. That's my disclaimer. In no way do I pretend to know more than Parker.
That being said, if I were in charge, I would look to send a jolt to Millan. That means it's time to give Rollie an extended look. He hasn't lost a game yet, but he did look uncomfortable in net against Cornell. Still, he buckled down and got the Terriers a tie. Why not let him play until he gets a blemish on his record? If he keeps winning, keep him in there. If he wins a few and then blows up, at least you've shown Millan he's not untouchable.
I do believe that there's a legitimate chance that given an opportunity, Rollheiser could be an outstanding goaltender. Why isn't now the time to give him that shot?
One thing I'll say is that Parker is not afraid to make tough decisions. He suspended his captain and two star players in 2007-08 because they clowned around off the ice. He released his starting goaltender with two freshmen as a safety net. He urged Matt Gilroy to go pro after his junior year, knowing it would be a huge blow to his team if that happened. If he believes the team is better off with Rollie, we'll see Rollie full time very soon.
I think we may see Rollie the Goalie a lot more, very soon.
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