Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten State (Week of Dec. 7, 2015)
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.
DECEMBER 10 – RYAN MILLER
Ryan Miller stopped every shot he faced with more than one other player on the ice last night. The East Lansing native and Michigan State alum turned aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced in his Vancouver Canucks’ 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers, with the lone goal against coming on a penalty shot. Perfect through 40 minutes, Miller was tasked with stopping Dan Boyle on a penalty shot after teammate Christopher Tanev closed his hand on the puck during a scramble around the Vancouver crease halfway through the third period. While Miller failed to stop Boyle, he stopped every other shot the Rangers fired his way, giving Miller his ninth win of the season. He continues to be a workhorse for the Canucks in 2015-16; Miller leads all NHL netminders in minutes played (1,438), and he has posted a .914 save percentage and 2.50 goals-against average in the timeframe.
Highlights:
DECEMBER 9 – ALEC MARTINEZ
Alec Martinez, a Rochester Hills native, was a key part in a 3-2 comeback win in overtime for the Los Angeles Kings. Martinez, who famously had the cup clinching goal in overtime during Game 7 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, picked up another game winner in overtime on Tuesday. He also assisted on the game-tying goal when he threw a shot at the net with just over a minute left and the goalie pulled. Milan Lucic found the rebound and dished to Jeff Carter who found twine to tie the game. With just 27 seconds left in overtime, Dustin Brown curled towards the net and made a nice pass to Nick Shore, who then slid the puck backdoor to Martinez for a beautiful one-timer to give the Kings the win. L.A. has built a substantial lead in the Pacific Division, jumping out to a 9 point lead over second place San Jose and Vancouver.
Martinez’s OT winner:
DECEMBER 8 – AUSTIN CZARNIK
Austin Czarnik has continued to make an impact in the AHL in his first full season. In a big 6-1 victory for his Providence Bruins on Sunday, the Washington, Mich. native potted a shorthanded goal in the second period and added a power-play assist in the third period to give him ten points in 16 games thus far. Czarnik signed on with the Boston Bruins as a free agent after his four-year collegiate career at Miami ended. At the end of last season, his first taste of the AHL, Czarnik recorded a pair of assists in three games.
DECEMBER 7 – CONNOR HELLEBUYCK
Connor Hellebuyck is off to a fantastic start to his NHL career. The Commerce native – a University of Massachusetts-Lowell alum – has allowed only three goals in three games this year, picking up wins in each of those contests. Saturday may have been a coming-out party of sorts for the tall netminder, however. Hellebuyck was tasked with stopping one of the league’s most potent offenses in the Washington Capitals. He was up for the challenge that night, stopping 37 of 38 shots – including six in overtime alone. With Ondrej Pavelec on the shelf for an extended period of time with a knee sprain, Hellebuyck will continue to get regular starts for the Jets. The 22-year-old goaltender dominated the competition at the NCAA level, and he seems to be ready to do the same in the NHL.
Saturday’s highlights:
Michi-gamer features compiled by MiHockey’s @StefanKubus, @MichaelCaples and Tyler Barnes. Click here to see last week’s picks.