Banged-up BC hockey team adds goaltender Ian Milosz

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Mired in a three-game losing streak and banged up at key positions, the Boston College men's hockey team officially added 6-foot-7-inch goalie Ian Milosz to the roster Wednesday.

Milosz, who arrives on campus as a 20-year-old first-semester freshman, is expected in net Friday night when the Eagles, 0-3-0 in their last three games, take on the high-flying Providence Friars at Conte Forum. The two clubs play again Saturday night in Providence.

Milosz, who has been playing for the Boston Junior Bruins, grew up in North Grafton and committed to join BC for the start of the 2016-17 season. But a recent injury to No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko accelerated the timeline.

Demko, a junior and a 2014 Vancouver Canucks draft pick, is sidelined with what the club has termed only an "upper-body injury." He was hurt in a Dec. 28 game vs. Ohio State, though he returned to play the full game the following evening, a 2-1 loss to the Friars.

The Eagles aren't certain how quickly Demko will make it back, but the hurried signing of Milosz could indicate that coach Jerry York and crew expect that his recovery could linger.

Because of other roster circumstances, including injury, the Eagles (13-4-1) last week added another freshman to their roster, bringing in Toronto-born Michael Kim to fill out the defensive corps. He played in the Dec. 29 loss to the Friars and is expected to make his Heights debut Friday along with the towering Milosz. He is the only Canadian-born player on the Division 1 powerhouse club.

With Demko injured and freshman goaltender Chris Birdsall already sidelined for weeks, also with an upper-body injury, the Eagles were down to only Alex Joyce as their backup. Joyce, who joined the squad last year off the school's club team, has seen action only in practice, with York preferring to rotate three goalies during workouts.

Kim's addition was due, in part, to the defection of forward Jeremy Bracco earlier this season. A Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, Bracco came to campus as a freshman in September, then abruptly left the club in late October, choosing to play junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League.

The stringy 210-pound Milosz, a graduate of Grafton High School, was 13-2-0 for the Junior Bruins this season, with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.