By Sam Dykstra/DFP Staff
Offense- C
BU’s second line provided the bulk of the offense as sophomore Alex Chiasson (one goal, one assist), junior Corey Trivino (one assist) and freshman Matt Nieto (one assist) combined for four points. The three were also the only Terrier forwards to register a positive plus-minus rating as they each finished with a plus-1. Sophomore defenseman had his own coming-out party as he registered the first goal, assist and multi-point game of his collegiate career. However, the positives end there. BU put only 20 shots on target against a Providence defense that has twice as many underclassmen (three freshmen, one sophomore) as upperclassmen (one senior, one junior). The Terriers’ two goals tie the team’s record for least in a game this season.
Defense- B-
BU coach Jack Parker said in his postgame press conference that he thought the Terriers played pretty well, until he looked up at the scoreboard and saw that his team had been outshot 40-20 by the Friars. This was just the second time this season that the Terriers had been outshot – Notre Dame outshot BU 34-24 in the Ice Breaker final – but this was the first time they had been outshot by such a vast margin. The redeeming thing about the number of shots is that many of them weren’t of the greatest quality. Twenty-nine of the Friars’ 87 attempted shots came within the vicinity of the blue line, and the Terriers held Providence to just six Grade-A over the first two periods before the Friars broke out for nine Grade-A’s in the third.
Goaltending- A+
Without a doubt, this was the easiest grade to administer. Junior netminder Kieran Millan made 39 saves on the night, just three short of his career high. If not for a single puck that trickled through his legs with just eight seconds to go, Millan would have had his just his second shutout in the past two seasons after posting two in his award-winning freshman campaign. The junior was certainly aided by a defense that didn’t screen him as much as they did in Friday’s 4-3 win over the University of Massachusetts. But he proved strong down low on the posts and on one-on-one situations as well.
Special Teams- B
In one of the biggest stats coming out of Saturday’s win, the Terriers have killed 23 of their last 24 penalties, including all seven of their penalties against Providence. That looks great on the web page, but there is one stat that it doesn’t account for. BU actually allowed 14 shots while on the penalty kill, something Parker expressed his discontent for after the game. Without Millan saving all 14, it would have been very easy for this grade to drop sharply. At the other end of the ice, the BU power play struggled to get anything going in just three opportunities as the Terriers put just three shots on net with the man advantage.
X-Factor-Kieran Millan
Millan was the best player on the ice by far Saturday night, and he very well may have had his best game since donning the scarlet and white in 2008. In a game when the offense, defense and special teams weren’t at their finest, the man between the pipes certainly was, perhaps erasing the doubts from many Terrier fans who felt uneasy about the Edmonton, Alberta native following his sketchy start to last season. Millan’s improved play may be the biggest reason why BU finds itself 4-0-1 and atop the Hockey East standings after its first five contests of the 2010-11 season.
Millan looks like he did as a freshman – cool, calm and in control. When his concentration is on, he makes it look easy.
I’d like to see Coyle on a line with Nieto. They could play very well off of one another, and give BU more offense.
Some really marginal penalty calls against BU led to several of PC’s power plays. The Friars work hard, but they don’t have any snipers. They put a lot of shots on Millan, but not many were dangerous and Millan always seemed in control.
A good three points, but the lines need a little shuffle to get more offense.
i like the lines we have. tonight was the first night the 1st line didn’t have a point in 5 games. The 2nd line played much better thab last night. We will have times when we won’t score a lot of goals and have to sneak a win in. But i agree millan looked sharp if he plays well we have a chance. I think Nieto looks a little tentative out on the ice. I haven’t seen the offense i thought we would see from him yet. He is a great player though. #10 played 1 good period then he was back to his old self. Not skating looking lost.