Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of Jan. 5, 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.
JANUARY 9 – JUSTIN WILLIAMS
Plymouth Whalers alum Justin Williams did all he could for the Los Angeles Kings last night. The 33-year-old forward scored twice for the defending Stanley Cup champions, but they still ended up falling to the New York Rangers 4-3. First, Williams scored with a rocket of a slapshot from the right circle to give his Kings a 2-0 lead in the first period. Then, with them trailing 4-2 in the third period, Williams knocked in a rebound out of midair to pull L.A. within one goal of a tie. The Rangers still prevailed, however, in the rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final. For Williams, they were his 10th and 11th goals of the season, putting him on pace for another 20-goal season.
Highlights:
JANUARY 8 – CONNOR HELLEBUYCK
Fresh off the announcement that he was named to the AHL All-Star Classic roster, Connor Hellebuyck turned in another win for his St. John’s IceCaps. The Commerce native stopped 35 shots to lead his AHL club to a 3-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs. Hellebuyck, in his first season of professional hockey, holds a 15-9-2 record, along with a .927 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average. The former UMass-Lowell standout won the first-ever Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA hockey and signed with the Winnipeg Jets after his sophomore season. And in keeping with our Michigan storyline, former NTDP and WMU star Chase Balisy scored the game-winner in last night’s contest to help Hellebuyck pick up the win.
Highlights:
JANUARY 7 – JUSTIN ABDELKADER
The Detroit Red Wings forward scored a big goal last night, making him our Michi-gamer selection for Wednesday morning. Abdelkader, a Muskegon native, tipped a blast from Niklas Kronwall through the legs of Edmonton goaltender Viktor Fasth to give his Red Wings a 2-1 lead in their game out west. The goal was Abdelkader’s 10th of the season, matching his career-best total in the category in just 33 games. The former Michigan State Spartans standout was named first star of the game after he picked up assists on two other Detroit goals, playing a big part in his club’s 4-2 win over Edmonton last night.
Highlights:
JANUARY 6 – NO NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
JANUARY 5 – RYAN MILLER
Ryan Miller had some fun with the team he grew up watching Saturday night. The East Lansing native and Vancouver Canucks netminder shut down the Detroit Red Wings, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced in a 4-1 win. Twenty-three of the 30 came in the final 40 minutes of play, and Miller stopped all but Tomas Tatar’s lone goal at the 16:30 mark of the third. Miller picked up his 20th win of the season in the victory, which is good for fifth in the entire NHL. The former Michigan State Spartans netminder now holds a .913 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average on the year.
Highlights:
Michi-gamer features compiled by MiHockey’s Josh Paulisin and Michael Caples. Click here to see last week’s Michi-gamer picks.