Let me start off this post by saying that I have no disrespect whatsoever toward Kieran Millan. The bottom line is that without him in net last season, there probably isn't a Red 2009 Banner hanging from the rafters at Agganis Arena. He was a monster for the Terriers, especially in big games. There were times when he picked up the entire team when they weren't playing well.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's look at this season. Kieran Millan has plummeted back to earth, and even with a better second half under his belt, his numbers reflect the fact that he has played very poorly in net this season.
Among Hockey East goaltenders playing 1/3 of their team's minutes, Millan is dead last in both goals against average and save percentage. And these numbers are by a wide, wide margin. Millan's 3.28 goals against is a full 0.18 GAA worse than the 12th place goaltender Joe Cannata of Merrimack. Similarly, his .883 save percentage is .12 percentage points worth than 12 ranked (and suspended) Scott Darling of Maine.
Earlier this week we joked about Brett Bennett (yeah, I said it, that's how serious I am) is putting up better numbers at Wisconsin this season than Millan is here at BU. Let's consider Bennett's stats in 2007-08, the season that prompted his outright release from the BU Hockey program. Bennett had a 2.63 GAA with a .888 save percentage. While the eyeball test told us that Bennett was worse than his numbers, can't the same be said for Kieran Millan?
Millan Has Been Statistically Worse Than Any Other HE Goalie This Year
All season long, Millan has looked uncomfortable in net. He has been slower going from pipe to pipe, and his glove hand, which was once his strength, has become an incredible weakness for Kieran. In last week's regular season finale against Northeastern, the Huskies beat Millan to his glove side 3 times before he salvaged the game with a big glove save late.
Whether it was a hangover from being anointed the king of BU and college hockey in general, or the fact that his two best defenders moved on to the NHL, Kieran Millan has not been the same goalie this year that he was last year.
Coach Parker, while understanding that Millan has struggled, seems ready to ride Millan to the end of the road this year, wherever that may be. Parker told The Daily Free Press that, “I think [Millan] was playing great, and then he took a step back, then a step forward, then a step back. Even during the course of a game –– I thought he would have liked to have had a goal back against Northeastern over his glove, and then he made a couple of unbelievable saves for us in the third period. He was sharp in practice this week. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.”
I'm not so sure.
Just three times all season long has Millan held an opponent to one goal in a game. Those games were in a win against Providence on February 20, at home against Northeastern on February 1st and on the road in a loss at Northeastern on November 6. In case you were curious, Northeastern and Providence are by far the two worst offensive teams in the Conference.
Add this to the fact that Kieran's one effort against the high-powered Mack offense, specifically their power play, was an unmitigated disaster. Early in the year or not, Millan's lone start against the Warriors was a 5 goal -- 17 save outing that got Millan yanked 3 minutes into the third period. It was unquestionably his worst outing of the season.
And it's not like there isn't another option for Jackie. He has a highly scouted, highly touted backup named Grant Rollheiser waiting in the wings. Rollie's numbers haven't exactly been otherworldly, but at least when he has played, the team has found a way to win. In 6 starts, Rollie is 2-1-3, admittedly with worse stats than Millan.
That being said, his best two outing of the season came against, guess who, the Merrimack Warriors. Rollie stepped into his first start of the season on the heels of Millan's worst, and promptly snapped a 4 game losing streak by standing his ground in a back and forth offensive battle.
Does Rollie Deserve a Shot?
His only other win of the year came in an absolutely mammoth effort against Merrimack in January. After BU took one on the chin to Providence in another forgettable Millan outing, Rollie stepped into the starting role, and sat face to face with a shooting gallery. The Warriors fired 43 shots on goal, and Rollheiser turned away all but 4 of them, including a late, desperate, extra attacker goal from the Warriors. More or less, he handled a very tough Mack onslaught.
There is no question that Kieran Millan should get the start on Friday night in game one. If he plays well and the Terriers win, this will most likely all be for naught. But if Millan lays an egg, as he has so many times this season, it will be decision time for Jack. Staring down the barrel of elimination, how can Parker ride his underperforming goaltender straight into the off-season, while his back-up, who has played well against this team, sits on the bench and watches?
Let's hope that this doesn't ever become an issue. In an ideal world, Millan will shut down Da Costa, Barton and the rest of the Warriors. In the real world, we just may have a but of a controversy on our hands come Saturday night.
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