{{Short description|American ice hockey player (born 1993)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox ice hockey player | name = Michael Bitzer | halloffame = | image = 2025-11-14 Dresdner Eislöwen gegen Schwenninger Wild Wings (Deutsche Eishockey-Liga 2025-26) by Sandro Halank–050.jpg | image_size = 230px | alt = Michael Bitzer in 2025 | caption = Bitzer with the Schwenninger Wild Wings in 2025 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|10|23}} | birth_place = Moorhead, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 11 | weight_lb = 192 | position = Goaltender | catches = Left | league = DEL | team = Schwenninger Wild Wings | former_teams = Idaho Steelheads<br>Rapid City Rush<br>Atlanta Gladiators<br>Bietigheim Steelers | ntl_team = | career_start = 2018 | career_end = | draft = Undrafted | draft_year = | draft_team = }}
'''Michael Bitzer''' (born October 23, 1993) is a German-American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was an All-American for Bemidji State.<ref name=AHCA />
==Playing career== After graduating from Moorhead High School, Bitzer played two seasons of junior hockey for the Lincoln Stars. He put up respectable if unspectacular numbers but was able to earn a scholarship to Bemidji State University. As soon as he debuted for the Beavers, Bitzer began to rewrite their record book. He finished 4th in the nation for goals against average as a freshman and was named as the WCHA Rookie of the Year, the only Beaver so honored.<ref name="winners">{{cite web|title=WCHA Major Award Winners – 1951–2014|url=http://www.wcha.com/men/wcha/awards.php|publisher=Western Collegiate Hockey Association|access-date=March 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402235211/http://www.wcha.com/men/wcha/awards.php|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Both he and Bemidji State regressed slightly during his sophomore year but Bitzer rebounded in spectacular fashion as a junior. He posted some of the best goaltending numbers for the season and was named as a first team All-American. He led Bemidji State to a first-place finish in the WCHA and was named the league Player of the Year. Unfortunately, BSU lost in the conference semifinals and was left out of the NCAA Tournament.<ref>{{cite news|title=Frozen Four: Men's NCAA championship division I ice hockey bracket revealed|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/icehockey-men/article/2017-03-19/frozen-four-mens-division-i-championship-hockey-bracket|publisher=NCAA.com|date=March 19, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2017}}</ref>
After wrapping up his college career with a solid senior season, Bitzer signed with the Idaho Steelheads for the remainder of the 2018 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=MICHAEL BITZER SIGNED TO TEND GOAL |url=https://www.rapidcityrush.com/en/news/2018/8/michael-bitzer-signed-to-tend-goal-1043 |work=Rapid City Rush |date=August 22, 2018 |accessdate=January 1, 2022}}</ref> That offseason, he signed with the Rapid City Rush but his tenure there proved to be short-lived. Bitzer did not perform well in his first full season as a pro and found himself relegated to being the team's third goaltender. On New Years Day, he was traded to the Atlanta Gladiators as a fulfilment of a previous trade.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gladiators acquire goalie Bitzer, defenseman Galipeau |url=https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/gladiators-acquire-goalie-bitzer-defenseman-galipeau/article_82916680-0e11-11e9-929a-4beaefed6361.html |work=Gwinnett Daily Post |date=January 1, 2019 |accessdate=January 1, 2022}}</ref> He improved a bit with his new surroundings but he was limited to just 9 games over the final three months of the season.
After the disappointing year, Bitzer travelled to Germany and spent two years with ETC Crimmitschau in the second German league. In October 2021, Bitzer signed a contract with the Wichita Thunder and was expecting to return to the ECHL.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gladiators acquire goalie Bitzer, defenseman Galipeau |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2HqYvT0nyY |work=YouTube |date=October 1, 2021 |accessdate=January 1, 2022}}</ref> The arrangement ended up falling through, however, and Bitzer remained in Germany. He ended up signing with Selber Wölfe, who had just received a promotion to DEL2 from the Oberliga.
==Career statistics== ===Regular season and playoffs=== {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:75%; text-align:center;" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="8" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! W !! L !! T !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV% ! GP !! W !! L !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV% |- | 2007–08 | Moorhead High School | MN-HS | 8 || 4 || 2 || 1 || – || – || 2 || 2.27 || .902 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2008–09 | Moorhead High School | MN-HS | 8 || 7 || 0 || 0 || – || – || 2 || 1.98 || .910 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2009–10 | Moorhead High School | MN-HS | 10 || 5 || 2 || 0 || – || – || 3 || 1.87 || .920 | 2 || 1 || 1 || — || 2 || 1 || 1.00 || .955 |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2010–11 | Moorhead High School | MN-HS | 24 || 15 || 7 || 2 || – || – || 3 || 2.06 || .930 | 5 || 3 || 2 || — || — || 1 || 1.41 || .931 |- | 2011–12 | Moorhead High School | MN-HS | 24 || 18 || 6 || 0 || – || – || 5 || 2.02 || .927 | 6 || 4 || 2 || — || 5 || 2 || 0.88 || .963 |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2011–12 | Alexandria Blizzard | NAHL | 4 || 3 || 0 || 1 || 241 || 8 || 1 || 2.00 || .915 | 2 || 1 || 1 || — || 3 || 1 || 1.50 || .958 |- | 2012–13 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | 38 || 22 || 11 || 1 || 2023 || 91 || 1 || 2.70 || .905 | 4 || 2 || 2 || — || 4 || 1 || 1.01 || .972 |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2013–14 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | 51 || 19 || 19 || 6 || 2801 || 148 || 0 || 3.17 || .903 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2014–15 | Bemidji State | WCHA | 28 || 14 || 11 || 3 || 1730 || 52 || 4 || 1.80 || .929 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2015–16 | Bemidji State | WCHA | 34 || 13 || 16 || 5 || 1946 || 70 || 6 || 2.16 || .915 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2016–17 | Bemidji State | WCHA | 39 || 22 || 14 || 3 || 2355 || 67 || 6 || 1.71 || .932 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2017–18 | Bemidji State | WCHA | 37 || 16 || 13 || 8 || 2196 || 82 || 5 || 2.24 || .909 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2017–18 | Idaho Steelheads | ECHL | 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 183 || 7 || 0 || 2.30 || .887 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2018–19 | Rapid City Rush | ECHL | 12 || 3 || 6 || 1 || 594 || 36 || 0 || 3.64 || .882 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2018–19 | Atlanta Gladiators | ECHL | 9 || 3 || 3 || 1 || 440 || 24 || 1 || 3.27 || .887 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2019–20 | ETC Crimmitschau | DEL2 | 43 || 19 || 24 || 0 || 2587 || 147 || 0 || 3.41 || .889 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2020–21 | ETC Crimmitschau | DEL2 | 29 || 16 || 11 || 0 || 1684 || 88 || 1 || 3.14 || .897 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2021–22 | Selber Wölfe | DEL2 | 22 || 3 || 18 || 0 || 1259 || 65 || 1 || 3.10 || .914 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2021–22 | Bietigheim Steelers | DEL | 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 59 || 4 || 0 || 4.08 || .878 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2022–23 | Selber Wölfe | DEL2 | 36 || 16 || 19 || 0 || 2029 || 105 || 2 || 3.10 || .916 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- | 2023–24 | Selber Wölfe | DEL2 | 37 || 13 || 20 || 0 || 2142 || 105 || 2 || 2.94 || .921 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 2024–25 | Schwenninger Wild Wings | DEL | 14 || 5 || 7 || 0 || 774 || 42 || 1 || 3.26 || .880 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | ECHL totals ! 24 !! 8 !! 10 !! 2 !! 1,217 !! 67 !! 1 !! 3.30 !! .884 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |- bgcolor="e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | DEL totals ! 15 !! 5 !! 8 !! 0 !! 833 !! 46 !! 1 !! 3.31 !! .880 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |}
==Awards and honors== {| class="wikitable" ! Award ! Year ! |- | WCHA All-Rookie Team | 2014–15 | <ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.eliteprospects.com/awards?name=NCAA+(WCHA)+All-Rookie+Team | title = Awards – NCAA (WCHA) Rookie All-Star Team | publisher = Elite Prospects | date = | access-date = 2018-11-15}}</ref> |- | All-WCHA First Team | 2016–17 | <ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/sports/WCHA-All-Star-teams-announced-415803083.html | title = WCHA All-Star Teams announced | publisher = uppermichigansource.com | date = 2017-03-09 | accessdate = 2017-05-05}}</ref> |- | AHCA West First Team All-American | 2016–17 | <ref name = AHCA>{{cite news|title=Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_icehockey_rb/2013/MIH%20awards%20for%202013.pdf|publisher=NCAA.org|access-date=June 11, 2013}}</ref> |- | All-WCHA Second Team | 2017–18 | <ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.eliteprospects.com/awards?name=NCAA+(WCHA)+Second+All-Star+Team | title = Awards - NCAA (WCHA) Second All-Star Team | publisher = Elite Prospects | date = | accessdate = 2018-11-15}}</ref> |- |}
==References== {{reflist|50em}}
==External links== *{{Ice hockey stats}}
{{s-start}} {{s-ach}} {{succession box | before = Alex Globke | title = WCHA Rookie of the Year | years = 2014–15 | after = Corey Mackin}} {{succession box | before = Cole Huggins | title=WCHA Goaltending Champion | years = 2016–17| after=Award Discontinued}} {{succession box | before = Alex Petan | title=WCHA Player of the Year | years = 2016–17| after=C. J. Suess}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitzer, Michael}} Category:1993 births Category:Living people Category:AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Category:American men's ice hockey goaltenders Category:Atlanta Gladiators players Category:SC Bietigheim-Bissingen players Category:Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey players Category:ETC Crimmitschau players Category:German ice hockey goaltenders Category:Ice hockey players from Minnesota Category:People from Moorhead, Minnesota Category:Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Category:Rapid City Rush players Category:Schwenninger Wild Wings players Category:21st-century American sportsmen