ANN ARBOR– Poor coaching Saturday left Ashley’s Ruination in an 0-1 hole in the championship series with top-seeded Black Bears as the team gave up five in the third period to lose 4-7. “That one’s on me,” said coach and former Lions CEO Matt Millen.
Millen loves roasted turkey legs, ruining second tier professional football franchises, and helping Ashley’s Ruination to a playoff loss.
Millen, who was named the coach at the start of the Black Bears game Saturday, had never had any previous experience with hockey at any level beyond watching “a couple two three games at the Joe (Louis Arena)” while making such draft picks as Charles Rogers and Joey Harrington for the Lions. “These guys pretty much jump on and off the ice on their own, so I figured coaching would be pretty much just standing there,” said Millen.
At the start, Millen used this “light touch” approach, ending the first period down a goal. Stepping out for a “brat and a beer,” Ruination quickly pressed the Bears to a 4-2 lead with goals from Paul Sholtis, Jordan Swift, Chris Sutton, and Sean McGrath.
However, upon seeing the commanding lead, Millen, in a stunning move, ordered the entire team to leave the ice. “We got this,” he said with confidence.
The Bears scored five goals in the third to secure the win.
“That might not have been a good decision on my part,” said Millen, who also decided to make defenseman Jason Spence as a healthy scratch for the game.
Following the loss, a small but bellicose gathering of Ashley’s fans, formed an “Angry Millen Man March” just outside the Ann Arbor Ice Cube arena. Millen later responded that he would step down as the coach and instead take up a lucrative offer as the commentator for C-league hockey, broadcast live on ESPN 8 The Ocho. Ashley’s faces the Black Bears Monday night.