Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of Oct. 27, 2014)

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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.


kunitzOCTOBER 31 – CHRIS KUNITZ

Former Ferris State Bulldog Chris Kunitz collected three points (two goals, one assist) on Thursday night, as the Pittsburgh Penguins knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings 3-0. Midway through the first period, Pittsburgh took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play as Evgeni Malkin fired a slap-pass from the point to Kunitz who easily redirected it past a screened Martin Jones to put the Penguins ahead 1-0. With netminder Marc-Andre Fleury turning aside all 36 Kings’ shots, Kunitz’s first goal would have been enough for the Penguins, but Pittsburgh added two more. After his first goal, Kunitz assisted on Kris Letang’s power-play goal nearly six minutes later. The 35-year-old forward then tallied an insurance goal in the third period to round out the scoring. Kunitz now has 10 points (five goals, five assists) through nine games.

Here are the highlights:


abdelkader head shotOCTOBER 30 – JUSTIN ABDELKADER

With his team trailing 2-1 heading into the final period, former Michigan State Spartan and Muskegon native Justin Abdelkader potted two consecutive goals to give the Detroit Red Wings the boost they needed to take down the Washington Capitals 4-2 Wednesday night. Abdelkader’s game-tying tally started with Pavel Datsyuk’s pickpocket of Brooks Orpik just inside the trapezoid. Datsyuk couldn’t bury the takeaway, but after the puck was scooped up by Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky in the slot, Abdelkader swooped in to poke it away and fired it into the back of the net to knot things up at 2-2. He scored his second goal just over six minutes later to give the Red Wings the lead for good when he fired a one-timer past Braden Holtby. Abdelkader, who played high school hockey before making the jump to the USHL, also registered an assist early in the contest to finish with three points on the night in the nation’s capital. The former MSU standout now has five goals in nine games; he’s halfway to his career mark of 10 and the Wings are just a month into the season.

Here are the highlights:


Ryan Miller headshotOCTOBER 29 – RYAN MILLER

Former Michigan State Spartan and East Lansing native Ryan Miller turned aside 29 shots en route to his 300th career NHL victory as the Vancouver Canucks rolled past the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 Tuesday night. Miller, 34, becomes the 30th goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300-win plateau. The two-time U.S. Olympian is in his 12th season, his first with the Canucks after an 11-year stint with the Buffalo Sabres and a two-month stay in St. Louis at the end of last year. Through seven starts in 2014-15, Miller sports a 6-1-0 record, along with a 2.33 goals-against average and .916 save percentage for his new club.

Here are the highlights:


Matt Hunwick

OCTOBER 28 – MATT HUNWICK

Warren native and former Michigan Wolverine Matt Hunwick collected two assists to help the New York Rangers overcome a three-goal third period deficit to top the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Monday night. With the Rangers trailing 3-0 heading into the final 20 minutes, a comeback seemed unlikely, but five third period goals later, the Rangers came out victorious. Hunwick, who played two seasons with NTDP and four at the University of Michigan, fired a wrist shot from the point that was knocked down, but backhanded in by Rick Nash to cut the deficit to 3-2. The 29-year-old also helped begin the rush that would ultimately lead to the game-tying goal with just 3:48 left in the game. Hunwick’s two assists were his first points on the young 2014-15 season.

Here are the highlights:


paciorettyOCTOBER 27 – MAX PACIORETTY

Max Pacioretty tallied a goal and an assist to help lead the Montreal Canadiens to their fourth consecutive win as they knocked off the New York Rangers 3-1 on Saturday night, which means he’s kicking things off for another week of Michi-gamer selections. With the game still scoreless midway through the first period, Pacioretty and fellow penalty-killer Tomas Plekanec found themselves on a rare two-on-none shorthanded break. After a series of passes, Pacioretty found Plekanec, who put it past Henrik Lundqvist for the game’s first goal. Pacioretty, who starred at the University of Michigan, added an insurance goal 6:35 into the third period to give his club a 3-1 lead. The 25-year-old winger buried a feed from Dale Weise for his third goal of the season. Pacioretty now has seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight games.

Here are the highlights:


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