Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of Oct. 9, 2014)
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.
OCTOBER 10 – RYAN KESLER
Despite a lackluster defensive performance by the Anaheim Ducks in their 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Kesler shined in his team debut. With Anaheim trailing 3-0 in the first period and in danger of getting run out of Pittsburgh, Kesler fired a one-timer for a power play goal which jump-started a three-goal Ducks’ rally. He later assisted on Corey Perry’s game-tying goal midway through the second frame. Kesler then added another helper late in the contest, again finding Perry who completed his sixth-career hat trick. Kesler, a native of Livonia, finished with one goal and two assists on the night. The Ducks surely have to be pleased with Kesler’s performance in his first game with the team since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason.
Here are the highlights:
OCTOBER 9 – RYAN MILLER
The NHL season officially began yesterday, and it meant the start of a new era for Ryan Miller. The East Lansing native made his debut with the Vancouver Canucks, stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced to lead his new team to a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Miller, a Michigan State alum and former Hobey Baker winner, spent 11 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before being traded to the St. Louis Blues last February. So far, so good for the man selected to take over between the pipes for a team that dealt with highly-publicized goaltending problems between Roberto Luongo and Cory Schnieder the last few seasons.
Here are the highlights (complete with the new GoPro footage from referees):