Ryan Miller Headed to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

Longtime NHL goaltender Ryan Miller (Michigan State) is headed to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as a member, as was announced last week.

The East Lansing, Mich. native, who retired as an active player at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, also guided the United States to a silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, before winning the Vezina Trophy later that year as the NHL's best goaltender. He posted a 391-289-88 career record with a 2.64 goals-against average and 44 shutouts in 796 NHL regular-season appearances with Buffalo, St. Louis, Vancouver and Anaheim from 2002 to 2021. 

Miller, 42, also went 28-27 with a 2.52 GAA and three shutouts in 57 career Stanley Cup playoff outings.

The induction ceremony for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame's 50th class will be held Nov. 30, 2022, at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minn. Joining Miller will be U.S. Paralympic goaltender and gold medalist Steve Cash, late USA Hockey executive Jim Johannson (Wisconsin), and Olympic gold medalists Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (North Dakota) and Monique Lamoureux-Morando (North Dakota).

Drafted 138th overall by Buffalo in 1999 after starring in juniors for the Soo Indians (NAHL), with whom he won 52 games over two seasons, the 6-foot-2 Miller went on to play three seasons at Michigan State University (1999-2002). A two-time First Team All-America selection, he went 73-19-12 with a 1.54 GAA in 106 career appearances with the Spartans, and set a then-NCAA record with 26 career shutouts. He also won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player in 2001, when he helped MSU to the NCAA Frozen Four that season.

Tony Esposito 1943-2021

Former NCAA/NHL netminder and hall of famer Tony Esposito (Michigan Tech) passed away Tuesday at age 78 from pancreatic cancer.

Esposito, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., starred at MTU from 1964 to 1967. According to school records, he went 38-10-3 in 51 career appearances with the Huskies, while also posting a 2.55 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. A three-time All-America selection, he also led the Huskies to the 1965 NCAA national title in Providence, posting victories over both Brown and Boston College for MTU's second-ever national crown. He earned NCAA all-tournament honors that season, and was also a three-time All-WCHA first-team selection and a member of the conference's All-Decade Team of the 1960s.

A member of Montreal's 1969 Stanley Cup championship team, Esposito is best known for backstopping the Chicago Blackhawks from 1969 to 1984. In 15 NHL seasons, he went 423-306-151 with 76 shutouts in 886 NHL regular-season contests, and he also played in 99 Stanley Cup playoff contests with 45 victories and six shutouts. He also won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in his first full professional campaign before leading Chicago to within one win of the 1971 Stanley Cup title the following year. A six-time NHL all-star and a three-time choice for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender, he represented Canada at the 1972 Summit Series and the 1977 World Championship, and the U.S. at the 1981 Canada Cup.

Esposito's iconic No. 35 was retired by the Blackhawks in 1988, the same year he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was named of the 100 greatest NHL players of all time.

Miller Tops All American NHL Goaltenders in Wins

Ryan Miller (Michigan State) became the all-time winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history earlier this week. The East Lansing, Mich. native recorded his 375th career win on Feb. 17 in making 23 saves as the Anaheim Ducks downed defending Stanley Cup champion Washington, 5-2, in California.

Miller, 38, who turned pro in 2002, was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. In 749 career NHL regular-season appearances through Feb. 20, he has fashioned a 376-270-81 record along with a 2.60 goals-against average and 44 shutouts with Buffalo, St. Louis, Vancouver and Anaheim. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2009-10 as the league's top goaltender, and has played in 57 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He has also represented the U.S. at two World Championships and two Olympic Winter Games, and backstopped the Americans to the Olympic silver medal in 2010.

In three seasons with his hometown MSU, Miller notched a 73-19-12 record over 106 games, with a 1.54 GAA and an NCAA record 26 shutouts. As a sophomore in 2000-01, he went 31-5-4, led the Spartans to the NCAA Frozen Four, and won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player.   

Jets Advance to NHL's Second Round

A second straight shutout by Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) has boosted the the Winnipeg Jets to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Jets, who relocated to Manitoba from Atlanta in 2011, earned their first Stanley Cup Playoff series victory with a 5-0 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Friday night. Winnipeg won the best-of-seven series in five games.

Hellebuyck, a finalist this season for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender, made 30 stops in the Game 5 victory. Jacob Trouba (Michigan) scored the winning goal just 31 seconds into the game, while Paul Stastny (Denver) had two assists on the night.

Winnipeg will now face the winner of Colorado and Nashville in the Western Conference semifinals.