ORONO – The University of Maine men’s hockey team shot. And shot. And shot some more.

But Boston University goalie Kieran Millan was nearly impenetrable.

Except for Will O’Neill’s goal 21 seconds into the game, Millan stopped 41 shots Saturday night in a 1-1 tie that denied the Black Bears an extra point in the Hockey East standings.

“He was exceptional,” O’Neill said of Millan. “It seemed like anything we threw at him, he was right there. He made the saves and he really played out of his mind tonight.”

If anything, Millan was BU’s final — and best — line of defense. The Black Bears outshot the Terriers by more than a two-to-one margin, but Millan covered just about every shot he saw and the Terriers’ defense limited Maine’s second-chance opportunities.

“That was a fabulous performance by Millan,” Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said. “What was interesting was he made every conceivable save you could make. He made the breakaway save. He makes the two-on-one. The screen save. The rebound save. The deflection.”

BU Coach Jack Parker put it bluntly after Maine outshot BU 42-20.

“He gave us a chance to stay in the game,” Parker said.

Maine killed off a five-minute major in the second period, including almost two minutes of a five-on-three advantage, but was unable to convert seven power-play chances, including five in the third period, and did not register a shot in the five-minute overtime.

Maine put 10 shots on goal in the first nine minutes, including O’Neill’s goal, but Joe Pereira tied the game at 7:00. The Terriers (12-7-7, 9-5-5 Hockey East) broke up a pass inside the blue line on Maine’s second power play, and Pereira converted a feed from Chris Connolly on the right side of goalie Martin Ouellette (19 saves).

The goal stood after video review, as officials determined the shot crossed the line before the net came off its moorings.

The Black Bears (11-7-6, 8-5-4) outshot BU 20-2 in the first period. Seven minutes into the second, officials waved off an apparent go-ahead goal by Maine’s Mark Anthoine, ruling play was whistled dead after Millan stopped the shot and before the puck crossed the goal line.

Four minutes after that play, Mark Nemec received a five-minute major for high-sticking and a game misconduct after leveling BU’s Ben Rosen in front of the Terriers’ bench. Maine killed off the first 3:02 of the penalty before Tanner House was called for hooking, giving the Terriers 1:58 of five-on-three time, but the Black Bears killed off the power play.

“You’ve got to make some really gutsy plays,” O’Neill said of the penalty kill. “We made gutsy plays, first of all, and our goalie made some gutsy, gutsy saves.

Maine was unable to score in nearly 10 minutes of power-play time in the third despite putting 13 shots on goal, including Joey Diamond’s long shot that rimmed around the goal cage and back onto the ice.

“For a game to start 1-1 in the first seven minutes and end 1-1? That’s pretty crazy,” Whitehead said, “especially given the quality chances.”

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be contacted at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@ pressherald.com

 

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