Michi-gamer: Pride of the Mitten (Week of Nov. 3, 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.


Ryan Miller headshotNOVEMBER 7 – RYAN MILLER

If you thought Ryan Miller was appearing on this list a lot to start the season, you thought right. The East Lansing native and former Michigan State Spartans standout is off to a great start with his new Vancouver Canucks club, and that continued last night. Miller turned aside 34 of the 36 shots he faced to lead his new team to a 3-2 win over the Sharks in San Jose. With the win, Miller improves to 10-1-0 on the season. He’s also sporting a save percentage of .920 and a goals-against average of 2.19. Not a bad start in a new locale for the former Hobey Baker winner.

Here are the highlights:


miele griffinsNOVEMBER 6 – ANDY MIELE

He wasn’t able to start the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but Andy Miele is making up for lost time. The Grosse Pointe Woods native scored the Griffins’ lone goal on Wednesday – his fourth of the season. In the five AHL contests he has played in, Miele – who won a Hobey Baker during his time at Miami and signed with the Red Wings over the summer – has four goals and two assists for six points on the young season. Last year, he finished with 72, so the Griffins are expecting that the Michigan native continues to fill up the scoresheet for the Wings’ AHL affiliate.

Here are the highlights:

 


ross headshotNOVEMBER 5 – GARRET ROSS

Former Saginaw Spirit star Garret Ross registered three assists as he helped guide the Rockford IceHogs to a comeback victory over the Lake Erie Monsters 5-4 on Tuesday night. Ross, a native of Dearborn Heights, also finished with four shots on goal and was a +2 on the night as the IceHogs overcame a three-goal deficit to record the win. The 22-year-old forward played four seasons with the Spirit (2009-13). The Victory Honda and Belle Tire product captained the Spirit for the latter part of the 2013 season and was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fifth round (139th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. Through 11 games in the 2014-15 campaign, Ross has three goals and five assists.

Here are the highlights:


NOVEMBER 4 – NO NOTABLE PERFORMANCES


fowler headshotNOVEMBER 3 – CAM FOWLER

Cam Fowler picked quite the time to score his first goal of the season. Last night, the Farmington native broke a 2-2 tie for his Anaheim Ducks when he collected the puck along the boards (on a pass from Michigan alum Andrew Cogliano), skated towards the goal, avoided traffic, deked and beat Semyon Varlamov with a backhander. It turned out to be the game-winner for the Ducks, who were playing with an emergency call-up goaltender between the pipes in Jason LaBarbera. Fowler, a Honeybaked and NTDP alum, now has eight points on the season, along with a +5 rating, through 13 games. Last year, he recorded 30 points in 70 games.

Here is the goal:


 

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