Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of Nov. 19)

November 23, 2012November 26, 2012 MiHockey Staff

Welcome to another season of MiHockey’s Michi-gamer, now powered by Bauer Hockey.

We take great pride in our homegrown talent. Whether they grew up in the Mitten or we welcomed them here for college or juniors, they are our own. They represent the best place in the world for hockey.

Every night, we’ll keep an eye on those players, and every morning, we will pick one Michi-gamer of the night – one Michigan player who stood out above the rest.

NOVEMBER 23 – REID BOUCHER

While most of us were passed out on our couches from food (or Lions) comas, Reid Boucher was lighting the lamp in Sarnia, Ontario. While the Sting may have lost to the London Knights on Thanksgiving, it wasn’t Boucher’s fault – the Grand Ledge native scored the Sting’s first goal of the night in the first period. Boucher now has 14 goals on the season, which ties him for the team lead with Alex Galchenyuk – yes, the Alex Galchenyuk who was picked third overall in last summer’s NHL Draft. Boucher, a NTDP alum and product of the Lansing Capitals, was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2011.

More MiHockey articles on Boucher:

Michi-gamer: The Pride of the Mitten (Week of Oct. 22)

Eight Michigan connections stay alive at U.S. Junior Evaluation Camp

NOVEMBER 22 – A.J. TREAIS

With the Wolverines struggling to find their offense of late, they needed a spark from their leader. Captain A.J. Treais scored a second-period goal for the University of Michigan Wednesday night that sparked a comeback and a 3-1 win over Bowling Green. Treais fired in a feed from rookie Cristoval “Boo” Nieves for his ninth goal of the season, putting him in a tie for first across all of college hockey for times finding the back of the net. The Wolverines would score two more times that period, and then hold on for a 3-1 win. Treais now has 14 points on the season.

More MiHockey articles on Treais:

Wolverines post 4-2 win in latest edition of budding rivalry

Treais leads Wolverines to 6-3 win over Bentley

Leadership group taking form for the Wolverines

NOVEMBER 21 – CHRIS MUELLER

Former Michigan State Spartan Chris Mueller gets our nod for Michi-gamer. Although his Milwaukee Admirals (AHL affiliate to Nashville) fell 3-1 to the Chicago Wolves (AHL affiliate to Vancouver), Mueller found the scoresheet on all three Admirals tallies, recording two goals and an assist on the night. That gives him 12 points in 15 games on the year. Since breaking into the AHL in ’08, Mueller has enjoyed a steady increase in offensive production, setting career highs across the board in goals (32), assists (28) and points (60) in 73 games with the Admirals last season. Mueller had 42 goals and 105 points in 166 career games with Michigan State, from 2004-2008. He’s a native of West Seneca, N.Y., but after four years in East Lansing, he’s certainly become one of our ‘adopted’ Michi-gamers.

NOVEMBER 20 – JEFF ZATKOFF

With not many games to pick from Monday night, we took a second look at all the scoresheets from the weekend, and Jeff Zatkoff’s play popped off the page for us. The Detroit native and goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barie/Scranton stopped 19 of 20 shots Friday night, helping the Penguins (yes, they share the same name) to a 2-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Zatkoff, a Miami RedHawks alum, allowed a first-period goal, then slammed the door on the Tigers for the final 40 minutes. The Honeybaked alum holds a 6-5-1-0 record this season with the Penguins, along with a 1.82 goals-against average, and a .932 save percentage. Before college, Zatkoff played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL, and he was a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2006. He began his pro career in 2008 after three seasons with the RedHawks. On a side-note, we’re wondering how Zatkoff felt about the Lions/Packers showdown Sunday afternoon; Jeff’s great uncle, Roger Zatkoff, played in the NFL for both organizations.

NOVEMBER 19 – BLAKE PIETILA

Milford native Blake Pietila – a fifth-round draft pick (129th overall) of the New Jersey Devils in 2011 – helped lead the Michigan Tech Huskies to a pair of wins over Bemidji State over the weekend. Friday, the sophomore forward and U.S. NTDP product chipped in with a goal to help the Huskies win a 5-4 contest (Grand Ledge native David Johnstone assisted on the goal and had four helpers in the weekend series). The next night, Pietila – a Compuware alum – would light the lamp with 30 seconds left in overtime to lift his squad to a 2-1 victory. The sweep brings Michigan Tech to 4-6-0 overall record (3-5-0 in WCHA play). Pietila’s pair of goals raise his team-leading goal total to seven and point total to nine, good for second on the team. As a freshman last season, Pietila recorded ten goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 39 games.

More MiHockey articles about Pietila: