Michigan Hockey: Mitera named captain

from MGoBlue.com
http://www.mgoblue.com/ice-hockey/article.aspx?id=134646

Mitera Named Team Captain for 2008-09 Season
April 18, 2008

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Head coach Red Berenson of the University of Michigan ice hockey team announced Friday (April 18) that rising senior defenseman Mark Mitera (Livonia, Mich.) will be the captain for the 2008-09 season.

Mitera was an alternate captain for the Wolverines for the second half of the 2007-08 season. As U-M's top defenseman and its only upperclassman on the blue line, he averaged a team-high 24 minutes of ice time per game. The junior had his best statistical season by scoring two goals and contributing 21 assists to lead U-M defensemen with 23 points. He also led the defense corps in plus/minus (+30) and blocked shots (65). Mitera racked up 60 penalty minutes.

The coaches of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association voted Mitera to the All-CCHA second team. Inside College Hockey named him its Defenseman of the Year for 2007-08.

Mitera was a first-round draft pick (19th overall) of the Anaheim Ducks in 2006. The 6-3, 213-pounder skated for the 2006 U.S. World Junior Championship squad. Prior to attending U-M he played for the U.S. National Team Development Program (2003-05).
The Wolverines graduate three players, each a forward, from their 2007-08 roster -- captain Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.), alternate captain Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.) and Chris Fragner (Ann Arbor, Mich.). Twenty-two players from the 2007-08 roster have remaining eligibility for the 2008-09 season.

Berenson will announce the alternate captains for the 2008-09 campaign in the fall.