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By Phil Sweetland | correspondent
Apr. 12, 2006
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Since he joined the Killingworth Guppies in the fall of 2005, his teammates have included several of the finest players in recent Guppies history: Joe Linskey, Rob Murphy, Marc Crayton, Jason Zito, and John Carroll, to name a few.
So, is it any wonder that Millen, who is currently 3rd on the team in points and 2nd on the team in goals, can be overlooked?
"Even when he finished fourth in scoring during the Fall 2005 (6-9-15) season, he was always under the radar," said Guppies Captain Brian Kelly. "Keith can play, he makes a lot of nice things happen. His play selection is as good as anybody in the game. Keith sees options that not a lot of guys can. That's a real gift."
Most of Millen's teammates agree with Kelly "Keith can find holes, and he's got the knack for scoring. Playing with guys like that is a lot of fun." Dave Armenia Guppies forward.
Despite all of Millen's offensive up swing there is still something in background that haunts Millen every game day. "Back Checking! I just don't see the point of it" explains Millen. I thought that's what we have defenseman for......to play defense!"
"Usually if we're looking to breakout the puck up Keith's side of the ice, we better fire it hard enough to get it to the Red line" Guppies defenseman Mike Halle "It's just something you get use to when playing with Millen.
Many of Millen's teammates have learned to accept Millen's style of play. Guppies forward Tim Poulin "Hey, I'm a huge fan of the no backchecking game plan, sign me up" Poulin continues "It's guys like (Marc) Crayton, who backcheck all the time, that give guys like Millen and myself a bad name".
The fans in Killingworth also seem to be on the Millen bandwagon, the recent creation of the Keith Millen fan club "Millen Time" is the fastest growing player fan club. Look around the Zrink crowd on game day and the "Millen Time" banners are everywhere.
When asked about all the fan fair about "Millen Time" Millen himself just laughs "It's good to see the fans get involved and I thank them for the support".
Killingworth resident and "Millen Time" President Bob Potanovich explains why he is such a fan of Millen "He's just makes the most of his opportunities on the dek and he's a great guy after games. I've seen in the parking lot for hours after the games just hanging out with the fans. He's down to earth, he's one of us."
Millen, in his second season with the Guppies, has gone from Keith who? To "Millen Time" and it seems the madness will only continue to grow.