Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of April 15)

April 16, 2013May 17, 2013 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.

APRIL 19 – CONNOR HELLEBUYCK

Today’s Michi-gamer nod goes to Connor Hellebuyck, and it has nothing to do with a single-game performance. Yesterday, the Commerce native was named USCHO Rookie of the Year for his outstanding season between the pipes for the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks. Hellebuyck, a Walled Lake Northern and NAHL product, posted a 20-3 record with a 1.37 goals-against average, a .952 save percentage and six shutouts in his freshman collegiate season, as he helped lead the River Hawks to a Frozen Four appearance. Along the way, Hellebuyck was named NCAA Tournament Northeast Region MVP, Hockey East Tournament MVP and Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team netminder. Nobody should be surprised by the season he had – the fifth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets was the NAHL’s Co-Rookie of the Year and Co-Goaltender of the Year in 2011-12.

APRIL 18 – RYAN MILLER

Their playoff hopes look bleak at this point, but that didn’t stop Ryan Miller from backstopping the Buffalo Sabres to a win last night in Boston. The Bruins fired 43 shots at the Lansing native throughout 65 minutes of play, and Miller stopped 41 of them. The former Hobey Baker winner during his days at Michigan State then stopped Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in a shootout to lead Buffalo to a 3-2 win. The Sabres are two points out of playoff spot, but they’ve played as many as two more games than the teams they are battling for the remaining playoff spots. Miller is now 15-17-5 on the season, with a .915 save percentage and a 2.81 goals-against average.

More MiHockey articles on Miller:

Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of March 25)

CCHA announces All-Time Team

APRIL 17 – CHRIS BROWN

Chris Brown had himself quite a Tuesday night. The former Wolverines standout had two goals and an assist for the Portland Pirates yesterday in their 5-4 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The timing of the goals couldn’t be much better, either. Brown, a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, opened the scoring in the contest, registering a power-play goal at the 9:23 mark of the first period. Then, with the game tied after 60 minutes of hockey, Brown scored the overtime game-winner 26 seconds into the extra frame. They were Brown’s 26^th and 27^th goals of the season, and they meant that Brown was the first star of the night – and our Michi-gamer pick for Wednesday morning.

MiHockey Previews: Michigan Wolverines just keep reloading

Michi-gamer: The pride of the Mitten (2011-12 archive)

APRIL 16 – RYAN KESLER

Whenever he’s healthy, he’s always one of the favorites for a Michi-gamer selection. Last night, Ryan Kesler scored twice to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 road win in Nashville. The Livonia native opened the scoring in the contest, burying a wrister on a set-up from the Sedin twins. Then, in the third, Kesler provided the final nail in the coffin, scoring at the 15:53 mark of the final period to increase the Canucks’ lead to three. Kesler, a former Honeybaked standout, now has four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 11 NHL games this season. As he continues to regain his form, Kesler will play a crucial role in the Canucks maintaining their top spot in the Northwest Division.

More MiHockey articles on Kesler:

Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of April 8)

Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of Feb. 18)

APRIL 15 – ANDREW MILLER, CLINTON BOURBONAIS AND RYAN OBUCHOWSKI

We’re starting this week’s Michi-gamer selections off with a group of three players, instead of just one. Bloomfield Hills native Andrew Miller, Dexter native Clinton Bourbonais and West Bloomfield native Ryan Obuchowski became national champions together Saturday evening, which means they all get our Monday honor. The trio of former high school hockey standouts helped the Yale Bulldogs capture their first-ever NCAA national title Saturday evening in Pittsburgh. Miller had a goal and an assist, Bourbonais had the game-winner, and Obuchowski helped the Yale defensive corps shut out Quinnipiac by a score of 4-0. Miller, the Yale captain, was named Mr. Hockey in 2007 after winning back-to-back high school championships with Cranbrook. Meanwhile, Bourbonais impressed at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, while Obuchowski starred for Catholic Central before moving up in the hockey ranks. The MiHockey staff congratulates the trio of Michigan natives who proved that high school hockey can turn you into national champions. We can’t wait to see what these three do next.

To see last week’s Michi-gamer nominations, click here.

This week’s Michi-gamer list assembled by MiHockey’s Michael Caples.