Michael Bitzer reflects on four-year run with Beavers that led him to overseas pro career
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 23—BEMIDJI — Michael Bitzer has been tethered to Bemidji for a long time, even when he didn't know it.
It started in Moorhead's youth hockey program. He took the crease in games at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse.
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When the Sanford Center opened in 2010, the Spuds took a trip to Bemidji to watch a game against Colorado College. Two years later, Bitzer backstopped Moorhead to a Section 8AA championship in the same building.
While playing in the United States Hockey League, Bitzer committed to play for Bemidji State. His four-year career from 2014-18 included a Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship in 2017, along with a top 10 Hobey Baker Award finalist nod.
Now, Bitzer has built a life in Germany. He's preparing to enter his eighth professional season overseas. Still, the invisible string occasionally reels him back to the First City on the Mississippi.
"I think it's just coming back and seeing the guys," Bitzer said at the Galen Nagle Memorial Tournament on July 17. "The last couple of years I've had to go back to Europe and had to miss the golf tournament. I don't have to report so early this year, so I'm happy to be back with the guys, going to a couple of places we used to go when we were all in school here. It brings back a lot of good memories."
The Nagle brings current and former BSU players and coaches and program supporters to the Bemidji Town and Country Club to raise funds for Beaver hockey, honoring another former goalie. Galen Nagle died in 1996 after a battle with cancer. Nagle was a member of the 1983-84 BSU team that won the national title and finished 31-0-0.
"All of the sayings and phrases hit different now that I'm older," Bitzer said. "The one that sticks is 'Tradition never graduates.' When you're here and you're playing, you're like, 'Oh, yeah. Sure.' Then you're away from it. This past year, Adam Brady, Tommy Muck and I were all in the same league playing against each other. I know I'll always get a call from Gerry Fitzgerald.
"We're all part of the family here. It's always going to be a special spot for us."
Bitzer is still revered as one of Bemidji State's all-time great goaltenders. What began as a chance to win the net as a freshman turned into a lengthy pro career in Germany, dual citizenship and a life in hockey beyond the confines of North America.
It didn't take long for BSU head coach Tom Serratore to give Bitzer a shot during his rookie season.
On Oct. 10, 2014, Bitzer made 25 saves in a 5-1 road win against No. 2 North Dakota in the season opener. Two weeks later, he made his second collegiate start at 3M Arena at Mariucci, stopping 27 shots in a 5-2 loss against top-ranked Minnesota. By Christmas, Bitzer was starting both games in a given series.
"Being where I am and having the career I've had, going back and looking at it now, you realize how fortunate you are to get that confidence from the coaching staff to run with it," Bitzer said. "We were fortunate to go on a heater in the second half. It was an absolute blast. We had a group of freshmen who came in and played a lot that year. We didn't know any better. I didn't think about it much at the time; we were just excited to be playing."
By the time his Bemidji State career concluded, Bitzer had played in 138 games. He posted a career save percentage of .921 and a goals-against average of 1.98, going 65-54-19 in those games with 21 shutouts. He still holds the D-I program records in save percentage, goals-against average, wins, saves (3,165), shutouts and minutes played (8,227).
His best season came in 2016-17 as a junior, with a record of 22-14-3 and a .932 save percentage. He allowed just 1.71 goals per game on average and was named a top 10 Hobey Baker Award finalist. He was also a First Team All-American (West).
"As I get older, when it gets to the end of the college hockey season and you can see the players nominated for awards, it's pretty wild to look back on it," Bitzer said. "It just reminds me of how special it was when I played here."
Still, Bitzer was never viewed as a top-end professional goalie prospect. At 5-foot-11, he's undersized compared to nearly every NHL goaltender. When his collegiate eligibility ran out, he went to the ECHL for 22 games between the Idaho Steelheads, Rapid City Rush and Atlanta Gladiators.
Bitzer was presented with the opportunity to play in Europe during the 2019 offseason. He signed with Eispiraten Crimmitschau in the DEL2, the second-tier league in Germany.
"The ECHL is a good league, but it's a grind," Bitzer said. "I thought it was a good time for me to go to Germany. I got my German citizenship so I wouldn't count as an import player. I saw that as a good long-term situation for me."
It's been seven years since Bitzer and his wife, Brittni (Mowat), a former BSU women's hockey goaltender, ventured across the pond for half of each year. Bitzer played two seasons for Eispiraten Crimmitschau and three for Selber Wölfe in the DEL2. He spent the last two seasons in the DEL, German's top-teir league, playing for Schwenninger Wild Wings.
Bitzer recently signed another contract to play in Germany, back in the DEL2 with ECDC Memmingen Indians.
"It's crazy to think this will be my eighth year in Germany," Bitzer said. "Two of my three kids were born in Germany. I never thought this is where hockey would take me. It's just funny how this game brings you so many unique opportunities. I feel like if you try to give as much as you can to the game, it finds ways to give things back to you."
Bitzer calls Germany a second home, one he's proud to return to each fall.
"There's a lot of North American culture there," he continued. "You don't have to speak German, but I've been there long enough. For me, it was an obligation to try to keep up. I'm not fluent, but I can pick things up now. When I'm with the guys, if there's something I can't say, then I'll say it in English and the guys will pick it up for me. I've learned to appreciate the culture that much more."
Bitzer is taking his hockey career year-by-year. He'll be 33 years old in October.
"I've always enjoyed the game. I love the process of it," Bitzer said. "I'm always trying to get better. That's what's always driven me. My wife, sometimes she thinks I'm crazy because I'm still so excited to go to the rink every day. But for me, it's exciting. It's always playing games, but the everyday process and grind of it is what I enjoy the most.
"Once I'm not enjoying going to the rink every day, once the situation doesn't make sense for my family, then I'll know."