Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of March 23, 2015)

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Welcome to another season of MiHockey’s Michi-gamer!

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 morning, we pick one Michi-gamer from the previous night’s slate of games across all professional levels of hockey – one Michigan player who stood out above the rest.


 

david mossMARCH 27 – DAVID MOSS

We’re assuming David Moss will be the first guy to tell you that he hasn’t had his best season. Coming into the start of this week, Moss only had one goal in 51 games on the year. Now, he’s got four. After a two-goal outing against the Red Wings on Tuesday night in Detroit, Moss chalked up another one in the ‘goal’ column yesterday in the Coyotes’ 4-3 OT win over the Buffalo Sabres. Moss, a Livonia native and Detroit Catholic Central alum, scored on a filthy tip in the second period, sending a puck that may have been going high and wide down through the legs of Buffalo goaltender Matt Hackett. His four goals put him four off of last year’s total; Moss now has 10 points on the year. Here’s to hoping he continues to finish the season strong.

The goal:


MARCH 26 – ANDREW MILLERandrew miller

Bloomfield Hills native Andrew Miller has done nothing but produce ever since his days at Cranbrook-Kingswood, where he was named Mr. Hockey in 2007 (the first Mr. Hockey winner to make his NHL debut since Justin Abdelkader). And Wednesday night, Miller delivered his first two NHL points in just his fourth career NHL game. First, he set up defenseman Martin Marincin for his first NHL goal, and five minutes later drew an assist on Taylor Hall’s 12th of the season. The 26-year-old was having a stellar sophomore AHL season in Oklahoma City, where he had amassed 25 goals and 56 points in 58 games prior to being called up by the parent Oilers. Miller was also a four-year player at Yale, where he won a national championship in 2013.

But with Marincin’s goal being his first and the assist being Miller’s first, what would they do with the puck? The Oilers got a little creative.

Watch Miller record his first NHL assist here:


MARCH 24 – GARY STEFFESsteffes

In ECHL action Sunday evening, the Allen Americans walloped the Tulsa Oilers by a score of 8-2, and Grand Blanc native Gary Steffes had a huge hand in that. The 27-year-old led the Americans with two goals – including the game-winner – and two assists on the night to go along with a plus-four rating and seven shots on net. Through 63 games this season, Steffes leads the ECHL in goals with 44 and his 73 points are only second to teammate Chad Costello. He has doubled his output from his ECHL rookie season last year, where he posted 18 goals and 35 points in 60 games. Steffes played for the Miami RedHawks from 2006-10 after two years in the USHL with Cedar Rapids.

 


MARCH 23 – BRYAN LERGblerg

Livonia native Bryan Lerg was busy producing in the AHL this past weekend. The Worcester Sharks captain potted a pair of first-period goals Friday against St. John’s in a 3-1 victory, including the game-winner. Lerg finished the game a plus-two and recorded six shots on goal in the contest. The next night, the former Michigan State Spartans standout added another game-winner, scoring the game’s second goal at 10:57 of the opening period to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead at the time. Worcester went on to defeat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 6-1. The tallies upped Lerg’s total to 13 on the season to complement his 25 assists for 38 points in 61 contests.


Michi-gamer features compiled by MiHockey’s Stefan Kubus and Michael Caples. Click here to see last week’s Michi-gamer picks.