Whose Goalie Job Is It, Anyway?
By Joe Micik
This is not a goaltending controversy: it’s a goaltending dilemma.
Boston College hockey coach Jerry York has gone to three goalies this year, and it would not appear that any have been satisfactory. All three of BC’s goalies have been benched at least once during the season, and inconsistent results have been the reason.
Indeed, as the Eagles are mired in a stretch where they’ve won two games out of their last eight and look sure to drop in the weekly rankings, they could definitely use stable production in net (as well as outside, but that’s for later). Who is the man who can best provide it?
The performances of the three goalies themselves should help tell the tale:
Note: Billett and Venti are unranked in Hockey East statistics because they have not played in enough games
Based on both what we have seen in this chart and from the other two goalies recently, for BC’s next game on Friday night against New Hampshire, the Eagle in net should be Parker Milner. He’s been maligned at times for some subpar performances, but when one takes the whole body of work, he has played the most games and been the best at his job.
Brian Billett’s time to lead this team as its primary goalie may yet come, but it is probably not this year. After a few early games where he played very well, his stats have begun to dive and he is now sub-.500 on the season. As for Chris Venti, he just does not seem to be the guy for the job; one would think he is the third-string goalie for a reason.
Who knows if we will see Milner in goal, but if the Eagles are going to try to turn things around again, he is the guy best suited to help his team. Consistency is needed as well: if York goes back to Milner, let’s stick with him and let the chips fall where they may.
Goalie is not the only problem for this team right now, and future articles will assess the rest.