Grading Kieran Millan by Jashvina Shah/Staff Beat Reporter Kieran Millan grabbed Hockey Easts Defensive Player of the

Week honors after halting 42 pucks against Merrimack on Jan. 6. The senior did let two pucks into the net, but his 42 stops, 20 of which came in the games last frame was enough for the Boston Universitys mens ice hockey team to come away victorious. Its not the first time Millan has stonewalled 40-plus shots this season, or the first time Hockey East handed him a weekly honor, as the Alberta native earned Player of the Week honors in December. The former National Rookie of the Year has started 16 out of 18 games this season, recorded two shutouts and won nine games, including two games against rival Boston College and one at the Worlds Most Famous Arena. Yet the 22 year-old goalkeeper has a goals-against average of 2.79 and has given up five goals in a game five times this season. That includes the a six goal allowance to the UMass-Lowell River Hawks, which resulted in Millans departure from the game for just one of two times during the season. The other time BU head coach Jack Parker spelled Millan for the oft-sidelined Grant Rollheiser occurred en route to BUs 6-1 loss to BC in December. Millan has been inconsistent, sometimes playing spectacularly while failing to provide any puck detection at other points of this season. His goals-against average and his .916 save percentage point toward more than just inconsistency -- it points to a subpar season. But statistics can never display the complete picture, as they are often distorted by deflected shots, strange bounces and human errors -- something numbers cant and dont reflect. Statistics dont take into account how two goals this season happened when a puck bounced off BU defensemen Max Nicastro and past Millan. They dont factor in the amount of turnovers the Terriers committed in their own zone or how many breakaway chances the Avalanche draftee needed to fend off. The 22-year-old also proved his worth more than just a few times this season, and not just during the third period of BUs most recent victory over Merrimack. Against the Wildcats in November, Millan, aided by an invisible force field, kept 22 UNH shots out of the net to preserve a victory for the Terriers. There have been a few instances where Millan hasnt brought his best to the ice, most notably when the Terriers dropped a 7-1 decision in Lowell. His reflexes were

slow and at times it looked as if he didnt know where the puck was. It was far from brilliant and not even stable. Examples aside, Millans play overall so far this season supports the 9-6-1 record the Alberta native sports. His net-protecting ability also speaks to a better goals-against average than the one he currently has. There are moments when Millan has looked more than awful with no puck awareness, but hes been slightly more than bad this season and his play has picked up of late. The Alberta native also deserves some sympathy for trying to stop pucks with a poor defense prone to turnovers playing in front of him for most of the season. Grade: B+