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

April 12, 2013April 15, 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 12 – ANDREW MILLER

Andrew Miller scored his 17th goal of the season last night. We are confident in saying that it’s a goal he will never, ever forget, either, considering it was the game-winner in overtime to send his Yale Bulldogs to the NCAA title game. Miller, a Bloomfield Hills native, scored at the 6:59 mark of the extra period in what head coach Keith Allain called “probably the biggest goal in the history of Yale hockey.” The Yale captain chipped the puck past a UMass-Lowell defenseman to race in on goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and beat him with a deke to the backhand. It’s just the latest on the long list of accomplishments for Miller, a Cranbrook Kingswood graduate that was named Mr. Hockey in 2007. While in high school, Miller helped his team to two state championships, in 2006 and 2007). He then went on to be the 2008-09 USA Jr. Player of the Year after leading the USHL in scoring with the Chicago Steel.

APRIL 11 – A.J. JENKS

A.J. Jenks has been spending time in both the AHL and the ECHL this season, but the Florida Everblades sure are glad that he was with them Wednesday night. The Wolverine Lake native and former Plymouth Whalers star set up the lone regulation goal for the ECHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes – the team that currently holds Jenks’ rights. Then, just 11 seconds into overtime, Jenks found the back of the net, for his second goal and fourth point of the ECHL playoffs. The overtime strike gave his Everblades a 2-1 win over the Elmira Jackals, and a 2-1 lead in the series. Jenks is no stranger to scoring goals; he posted 23 (and 63 points) in his final season with the Whalers in 2009-10. Jenks spent four seasons in Plymouth before moving onto the professional ranks, and he has spent time in the Florida and Carolina organizations since.

APRIL 10 – VINCE TROCHECK

In their 6-3, Game 3 road win over Owen Sound last night, the Plymouth Whalers received a huge help in that, courtesy of the red-hot OHL regular season scoring champ. Vincent Trocheck recorded a hat trick, along with an assist, to lead the Whalers to a Game 3 win, and a 2-1 second-round lead over the Attack. Since being dealt to the Whalers, Trocheck put up 59 points in 28 regular season games. In seven postseason contests, he now has a remarkable playoff-leading 17 points. That’s two ahead of Barrie’s Mark Schiefele, and Belleville’s duo of Brendan Gaunce and Tyler Graovac, who each have 15 points in one and two more games played, respectively. Although Trocheck was born in Pennsylvania, he moved with his family to Michigan at age 13, where he played in the Little Caesars AAA program and won back-t0-back youth national championships before heading to major junior.

More MiHockey articles on Trocheck:

Whalers take on Owen Sound in Western Conference semifinals

Trocheck adds more firepower to Whalers’ offense

Trocheck tweets that he is off to Plymouth; Bratina to Spirit

APRIL 9 – RYAN KESLER

It’s been a rough season for Ryan Kesler, but last night he reminded everyone why he is considered one of the top players in the game today. The Livonia native returned to the Canucks’ line-up last night after missing 19 games due to a broken foot, and scored the game-winning goal. Kesler scored 7:26 into regulation, making his mark on the game early. With some help from goaltender Cory Schneider, that turned about to be the winner in a 2-0 Canucks victory. Kesler had four shots on goal on the night, along with three hits and one penalty in 15:51 worth of ice time. Not bad for a guy who has only been able to play in eight games this season; Kesler missed the start of the season due to shoulder and wrist surgeries. He has two goals and four assists in that those eight games.

More MiHockey articles on Kesler:

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

MiHockey’s annual ’50 Most Influential People in Michigan Hockey’

Happy Father’s Day: Ryan Kesler’s hockey journey, as told by his dad

APRIL 8 – CHAD KOLARIK

On both Saturday and Sunday in AHL action, former University of Michigan standout Chad Kolarik scored the game-winning goal for his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Saturday, Kolarik opened up the scoring with a power-play marker, a mere 48 seconds into the game. That proved to stand as the game-winner, as the Penguins went on to defeat Albany, 4-0. Kolarik added an assist in the win. The next day, in a 4-3 win over Hershey, Kolarik potted two goals, including the Penguins’ fourth tally. In early January, Kolarik was dealt to WBS from the Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers’ affiliate), where he recorded 35 points in 41 games. Since the deal, he’s kept up the pace, tallying 28 points in 31 games. With 63 points in 72 games, he’s one point behind Rockford’s Brandon Pirri and Hershey’s Jeff Taffe for the league lead in points. His 28 goals are good for second in the league, as well, four behind Syracuse’s Tyler Johnson, who has been spending time with the pros in Tampa Bay as of late. During his four-year stint with Michigan, Kolarik tallied 174 points in 163 collegiate games. The 27-year-old didn’t have to travel far to get to Michigan, spending two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor before moving on to the college level.

More MiHockey articles on Kolarik:

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

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