One phrase comes to mind to describe the No. 8 Boston University men’s hockey team’s performance Saturday night – bend but don’t break. Providence College doubled up the Terriers in shots, 40-20, and won 34 of 54 faceoffs, but BU escaped with a 2-1 win to remain undefeated.
Over the final two periods, the Friars (1-4-0, 1-2-0 Hockey East) outshot the Terriers (4-0-1, 2-0-1 HE), 33-12. They tallied an astounding 87 shots attempted &- compared to just 38 for BU &- and registered 14 shots on seven power-play attempts.
“I look up and I see we were outshot, 40-20, in our own building, and I’m trying to figure out how that happened,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “But it’s easy when you get seven penalties and give up 14 shots on those seven power plays. . . If it wasn’t for the faceoff situation and the penalty situation, I like what we’re doing with puck possession and defending the initial rush.”
Fortunately for BU, junior goalie Kieran Millan played arguably his best game as a Terrier. He made 39 saves &- three short of his career high &- before losing the shutout bid with just eight seconds left in the game when forward Aaron Jamnick tipped a shot that squeaked through his five-hole and trickled over the line.
The former National Rookie of the Year is now 3-0-1 on the season with a 2.20 goals-against average and .927 save percentage, a significant improvement over his 3.15 and .891 numbers last season.
“They got a lot of shots, and they got a lot of good opportunities,” Parker said. “They kept coming and coming hard. Kieran Millan was without question the star of the game for us. He had a terrific night.”
Many of the shots Millan faced came from the perimeter, due in large part to the Terriers’ new zone defense that puts an emphasis on preventing grade-A chances. Those long shot attempts allowed BU to get lined up in shooting lanes and make a staggering 28 blocks, including 15 in the third period alone.
“We knew we would have more time in our zone because of the way we changed, but we also knew that we’d have more people defending the grade-A,” Parker said. “And we’d have a chance to block more shots. You’re not blocking shots from the grade-A. You’re blocking shots from 40 feet. Most of the shots we blocked were from the point.”
The only period in which the Terriers weren’t thoroughly outplayed was the first, when they held a narrow 8-7 edge in shots and were able to find the back of the net twice.
Sophomore defenseman Ryan Ruikka gave BU a 1-0 lead 13:59 into the game with his first collegiate goal and point. The third-line defender, who missed all of his freshman season with a shoulder injury and all of last year with a torn ACL and two torn menisci, jumped into a rush led by sophomore forward Alex Chiasson. He took in Chiasson’s pass at the top of the left circle and proceeded to snipe the top right corner with a wrist shot.
Ruikka and Chiasson combined for the Terriers’ second goal four minutes later, too. Moments after freshman forward Matt Nieto failed to convert from the doorstep, Ruikka put a shot on net from the point. Chiasson collected the rebound in the right circle, walked past two defenders through the slot and waited for junior goalie Alex Beaudry (18 saves) to hit the ice before sliding a backhander into the cage for his first goal of the season.
Despite giving up lots of shots, BU’s penalty kill held the Friars’ power play off the board. It killed off 1:44 of a 5-on-3 midway through the first and then denied back-to-back power plays midway through the second.
With the two wins this weekend &- they beat the University of Massachusetts, 4-3, on Friday night in Amherst &- the Terriers are off to their best start since 2001-02, when they started 6-0-1. All four wins have been by one goal.
“Maybe my heart would like to win them easier, but I think winning these games pays off when you have to,” Parker said. “Every single game, we’ve won by one goal or we had the 2-2 tie [against UMass last Saturday]. So, it’s good for a young team to know they can do that.”
Cisse might need surgery
Freshman forward Yasin Cisse, who suffered an ankle injury in BU’s season-opening win against No. 14/15 University of Wisconsin on Oct. 8, will be “gone for a long time” and might need surgery, according to Parker.
Thursday afternoon, Parker told The Daily Free Press that the ankle was still swollen and that the doctors had yet to make an official diagnosis. He said Cisse might have re-severed the same tendon that an opponent’s skate blade tore last December.
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