[sureLoss]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/20...q0M/story.html

Hindsight offered Gillies some perspective after he backstopped the Friars to their fourth Frozen Four in school history with 52 combined saves in 119:49 of intense playoff hockey in victories over Miami-Ohio (7-5) and Denver (4-1) in the semifinals and final of the NCAA East Regional at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence.

“I just knew that if we were going to win this game, I thought he had to be our best player,’’ said Providence coach Nate Leaman after the victory in the East final.

It mattered little to Leaman that his goaltender had given up three shaky third-period goals as Miami rallied from a 6-2 deficit after pulling its goaltender and pumping in three goals with an extra skater.

“I think the elite goaltenders know how to win a game 5-4 and how to win a game 2-1,’’ said Leaman, whose team faces Nebraska-Omaha at 5 p.m. Thursday at TD Garden in the first national semifinal. “I think that’s what separates great goalies from average goalies.

“To me, what matters most is, does a goalie have the mental toughness to win a 2-1 game and does he have the mental toughness to win a 5-4 game, because those are very different kinds of games. And Jonny does. He knows how to win games in many different ways.

“I’ve seen in the three years he’s been with us, he doesn’t get rattled when goals go in and he wasn’t rattled at all in that game. He’s got an uncanny ability to reset and refocus and a lot of that is because he’s been in big situations before.’’

Gillies, a third-round draft pick (75th overall) of the Calgary Flames in the 2012 NHL Draft, said his unflappable mind-set is the byproduct of two seasons with the USHL’s Indiana Ice. He posted a 31-11-9 record, a 2.77 GAA, a .915 save percentage, and 3 shutouts in his first season with them, 2011-12, and still holds franchise records for career wins (46), games (78), and shutouts (6), and single-season save percentage (.915).

“I learned at a very young age that winning is the only thing that matters,’’ said Gillies, who went 22-13-2 this season, with a 2.01 GAA, .929 save percentage, and 4 shutouts. “We can win 1-nothing or 9-8 — we’re moving on, and that’s all that matters. I was just as excited after we finished out the game on Saturday night [vs. Miami] as I was on Sunday [vs. Denver].

“That’s the way it’s always been. As a goalie, your job is to give your team a chance to win and to let in less goals than your team scores, so the other day we were able to do that for both games and we’re moving on.’’