{"id":35212,"date":"2024-10-17T16:51:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T20:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=35212"},"modified":"2024-10-17T16:51:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T20:51:47","slug":"aurora-tiger-rookie-and-leading-goal-scorer-andreas-mikrogiannakis-commits-to-the-rochester-institute-of-technology-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/aurora-tiger-rookie-and-leading-goal-scorer-andreas-mikrogiannakis-commits-to-the-rochester-institute-of-technology-tigers\/","title":{"rendered":"Aurora Tiger rookie and leading goal scorer Andreas Mikrogiannakis commits to the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Andreas Mikrogiannakis\u2019s commitment to the RIT Tigers last week was steeped in a high degree of familiarity with the NCAA Division 1 school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His brother, Dimitri, is the captain of this year\u2019s RIT squad and entering his final year of NCAA eligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After eleven games of OJHL eligibility, the younger Mikrogiannakis is the Aurora Tigers\u2019 leading goal scorer and offered myriad reasons for his post-secondary choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the school. Last year, I saw my brother\u2019s games. They won the championship and it was great to see the size of the crowds at the games. I\u2019ve always wanted to be a D1 hockey player and I know what I\u2019m getting into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikrogiannakis\u2019s connection to western New York is evident. The 5\u20198, 152-pound forward disclosed what he is looking forward to the most about living in Rochester as early as the 2025-26 school year: \u201cGoing to university in the US and playing hockey at the next level, but going to Buffalo to watch the Bills and the Sabres is going to be fun, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Honor Roll student\u2014who accrued an 81% average in Grade 11 \u2013 is in his senior year at Cardinal Carter CHS and \u201cwould like to earn a four-year degree majoring in Business or Marketing while playing D1 hockey at RIT.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikrogiannakis outlined his goals as a student-athlete: \u201cAs a student, I want to maintain high grades and earn a GPA of at least 3.0 and average over 80% in all my subjects. As an athlete, it\u2019s been all about getting to the next level and playing to the best of my ability.  I\u2019d like to play professional hockey after college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of four Aurora-raised players on the OJHL Tigers\u2019 roster this season, Mikrogiannakis has been a bright light for his hometown\u2019s Junior A squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMikro\u201d\u2014as he is referred to by team officials and players\u2014leads the Tigers with seven goals in eleven games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The graduate of the U18 Markham Waxers\u2019 program described his best hockey memories prior to playing Junior A hockey for his hometown: \u201cWinning the OMHA last year with Markham with all my teammates felt so good. The team was very close. We all got along so well. Eight or nine of us had played on the same team with U16 YSE so it was special to win with the Waxers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described the difference between the U18 hockey he played with the Waxers and the Junior A hockey he is playing with the Tigers: \u201cThe age difference in U18 is only two years, but in the OJHL, it\u2019s four years. The pace is faster, players are bigger, and there\u2019s less space to operate. This affects the intensity on the ice, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikrogiannakis liked his team\u2019s intensity last Saturday in Aurora\u2019s long-awaited home opener\u2014a decisive 5-2 win over the Caledon Admirals \u2013 during which the Tigers fired five power play goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was our best team effort and win so far this year. Winning our home opener was so important to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this team highlight, \u201cMikro\u201d acknowledged a personal OJHL highlight from earlier in the season: \u201cScoring my first goal in junior hockey in my first OJHL game versus Stouffville.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slick puck-handler and quick skater attributes his early success in Junior A to Markham Waxer Head Coach and former NHL centre Dan Daoust who played eight seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoach Dan helped me a lot as a player.  The Waxers\u2019 coaching staff allowed me to be free to play my best game. There was always a great vibe in the room and during our drills on the ice. My skills matched the team\u2019s systems and Coach Dan filled me with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikrogiannakis also expressed his gratitude towards the current Aurora Tigers coaching staff which is guiding the youngest roster in the OJHL. He noted the advantages of playing on the rookie-laden squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlaying for such a young team has allowed me to play regularly\u2014taking a regular shift is so important.  The coaching has been very good and they\u2019re definitely making me a better player. Coach Tom [Milne] has helped me understand the junior league and how to be successful on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The club\u2019s owner, Jim Thomson, explained how important the connection between coach and player was in terms of Mikrogiannakis becoming an Aurora Tiger: \u201cTommy knew Andreas. He knew Mikro\u2019s ability. Every time Andreas steps on the ice, something happens. With every shift, he has the opportunity to make something happen for our team. The other night, he got creative when he shot from behind the end line and tried to bank the puck off the back of the goalie\u2019s head. Mikro is learning that in order to gain space in junior hockey, he has to stay wide and out of the middle.  He reminds me of Paul Kariya from my playing days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having your game described similarly to that of superstar Paul Kariya is high praise from the former NHLer. Thomson, who played with Kariya in Anaheim, also suited up with the LA Kings, Ottawa Senators, Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals over his nine-year career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During our interview, the Tigers\u2019 boss was sorting through jerseys that he\u2019ll wear this weekend for a Capitals Alumni game. He complimented his leading goal scorer before exiting for DC:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMikro uses his skills that have been developed for him– especially all the excellent coaching he got from Dan Daoust with the Waxers.  He plays the game the right way and has a nice 200-foot game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Mikrogiannakis, other Aurora residents on the current Tigers\u2019 roster include Tristen Aben, Luc Warner, and Assistant Captain Jack Rispin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andreas Mikrogiannakis\u2019s commitment to the RIT Tigers last week was steeped in a high degree of familiarity with the NCAA Division 1 school. His brother, Dimitri, is the captain of this year\u2019s RIT squad and entering his final year of NCAA eligibility. After eleven games of OJHL eligibility, the younger Mikrogiannakis is the Aurora Tigers\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-sports","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-99W","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-12 00:57:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}