Sophomore Kieran Millan returns to 2008-09 form to bail out short-handed Terriers

Kieran Millan is back.

After posting a disappointing .857 save percentage ‘-‘- compared to his .921 clip last season ‘-‘- in the Boston University men’s hockey team’s first two regular-season games, the sophomore netminder announced his return to 2008-09 form in a big way in BU’s 3-2 win over the University of Michigan on Saturday night.

Millan tied a career high with 33 saves, including 19 in a third period that was thoroughly dominated by the Wolverines. But it wasn’t just the quantity of saves that brought back memories of the goalie who put the Terriers on his back in several games en route to last year’s national title.

It was the quality, too ‘-‘- saves on deflections, saves on shots through traffic, saves on rebound opportunities, saves on odd-man rushes and even a couple saves while he was already down on the ice.

‘Unbelievable,’ senior forward Zach Cohen said of his backstop’s performance. ‘He made some great saves. He really kept us in the game in the third. They were coming out hard after their first goal, but his calmness in the net just helped everyone else calm down and know that we were still in the game and had a chance.’

It didn’t take long to realize that Millan was in rare form. The Edmonton, Alberta native made six saves in the first period on shots from the area between the crease and the two faceoff circles.

The most notable of those stops were Michigan junior forward Matt Rust’s back-to-back chances midway through the stanza. After freshman defenseman Sean Escobedo turned the puck over behind his own net, Rust walked out front and tried to beat Millan short side from the right doorstep. Millan made the initial save and then followed up by denying Rust’s rebound chance as well.

Millan made another great point-blank save a little more than four minutes into the second. Following a miscommunication by the BU defense, Michigan junior Louie Caporusso and sophomore David Wohlberg were left with a 2-on-1 shorthanded chance. Caporusso centered for Wohlberg, who was all alone in the slot. After struggling to control the pass at first, he gained his composure and tried to pick the top right corner, but Millan snagged it with the glove.

It would’ve been a very good game for Millan had the game ended after two, but his performance in the third made it a great one, despite allowing two goals in the period. The Wolverines outshot the Terriers, 21-4, in the final frame, but ‘Cool Hand Kieran’ remained unflappable.

‘I don’t really notice it when it’s going on,’ Millan said of the third-period onslaught. ‘They definitely wanted to win, so they brought their A-game in the third period. They were throwing everything at the net, hoping that a bounce would go in. No matter how many shots you get, you’re just trying to stop them. It doesn’t really make a difference how many there are.’

There were a number of saves in the final 20 minutes that you could add to Millan’s highlight reel ‘-‘- Chad Langlais’ deflected wrister from the point that almost squeaked through, but was grabbed by Millan at the last second; Carl Hagelin’s second-chance shot from the doorstep that a seemingly down-and-out Millan somehow got a glove on; Wohlberg’s snapper through a screen that Millan gloved; Brandon Burlon’s one-timer that Millan kicked away with the toe of his skate.

Rust, who scored the first goal for Michigan, could do nothing but tip his cap to the opposing ‘tender after the game.

‘I know, my line in particular, we had a couple chances there where he made some unbelievable stops on pucks that I thought were going in the net,’ he said. ‘Especially on the power play and during the third period, we were just rifling shots from everywhere. We had two or three guys in front consistently, and he was just getting his pads on pucks.’

‘That says something to the kind of game he played. He stood on his head when he needed to.’