AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

AHL powers to test Griffins' home dominance

Published on February 16, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Battles Loom Large: After completing a three-game set against the defending Calder Cup champion Houston Aeros with games at the Toyota Center tonight and Wednesday, the Griffins will return to Van Andel Arena this weekend to start a challenging five-game home stand. First up are games against the Hamilton Bulldogs (Fri.) and Milwaukee Admirals (Sat.), the Griffins' closest pursuers in the Western Conference race. Hamilton leads the North Division and owns the fourth-highest winning percentage (0.627) in the league, and Milwaukee trails Grand Rapids by seven points in the West despite possessing the circuit's third-best record (0.637). The Bulldogs are 9-2-2-0 in their last 13 outings, while the Admirals boast an astonishing 10-1-2-1 mark over their last 14 games.

Promotional Schedule: Friday's game versus Hamilton is another Family Four-Pack Night, offering fans four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks, and a choice of either parking or a $10 gift certificate to The Zone for just $44. On Saturday, fans holding tickets to the Griffins' clash against Milwaukee can also gain admission to watch the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Team play against a Grand Rapids amateur squad at 3:30 p.m. Former NHL all-stars Dennis Hextall and Phil Russell will be among those representing the Red Wings alumni, who will sign autographs prior to the Griffins game.

View From the Top: The Griffins find themselves in the stratosphere of the league standings with less than two months remaining in the regular season. With a 32-14-8-0 record, Grand Rapids owns the most wins and points (72) and the highest winning percentage (0.667) among the AHL's 28 teams. The Griffins have won five of their last six games and sport a 12-2-4-0 mark since Jan. 9.

Home Sweet Home: Grand Rapids owns a six-game home winning streak and has not lost in its last 12 games overall at Van Andel Arena, posting a 9-0-3-0 mark in 2004 that has surpassed the previous franchise record for longest unbeaten streak at home (10-0-0 from Dec. 22, 2000 to Jan. 26, 2001). No AHL team has lost fewer times before the home folks this season than the Griffins, who sport a 17-5-6-0 record in friendly confines, including a 14-2-3-0 mark since Nov. 28. Both losses since that date were by a single goal.

Big Mac: Sher-Wood AHL Player of the Week Joey MacDonald made 35 saves in Saturday's 3-0 win over Houston, becoming the first goalie in Griffins history to record three consecutive shutouts at home (83 saves overall). He also stopped 22 shots in Friday's 4-0 blanking of Manitoba, and turned aside 26 in a 5-0 win over San Antonio on Jan. 23. MacDonald's current shutout streak of 194:41 at Van Andel Arena is the longest in the Griffins' eight seasons, and he has climbed to first in the AHL in winning percentage (0.806), fourth in save percentage (0.939) and fifth in GAA (1.87). Unbeaten in his last seven starts (6-0-1), he owns a stellar 13-2-3 record overall, including an amazing road ledger of 8-1-2 with a 2.17 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage. In two seasons with the Griffins, MacDonald's overall road numbers stand at 19-3-2 with a 2.09 GAA and a 0.928 save percentage.

Defense Never Rests: Over the last 12 games, the Griffins' defense has surrendered just 14 goals (1.15 GAA), helping Grand Rapids climb to third in the AHL rankings for goals allowed per game (1.93). The Griffins have shut-out four of their last six opponents at Van Andel Arena, and have allowed just four goals in their last 403:09 on home ice (0.60 GAA), dating back to the first period of a 2-2 tie with Rochester on Jan. 21.

Speed to 70: Last Friday, the Griffins reached the 70-point plateau in just their 53rd game. Only the 2000-01 squad reached the mark faster, needing just 44 games, while the 1999-2000 IHL Turner Cup runners-up and last season's AHL Western Conference finalists both hit the milestone in 54 games. Grand Rapids earned its 72nd point with Saturday's 3-0 win over Houston.

The Rough Stuff: A physical game between the Griffins and Aeros on Saturday got out of hand after Kevin Miller scored into an empty net with 1:56 remaining. During the final 57 seconds, the teams combined for 104 penalty minutes, including six fighting majors, four game misconducts, two 10-minute misconducts and several other infractions. The Griffins finished the night with 11 penalties for 58 minutes, while Houston was whistled 15 times for 66 minutes.

Goalie-Go-Round: The Detroit Red Wings last Thursday recalled goaltender Marc Lamothe, a move necessitated when Curtis Joseph sustained a sprained ankle in the Red Wings' 4-2 win over San Jose on Wednesday. One year after being named the AHL's top goaltender, the 29-year-old Lamothe again ranks among the circuit's leaders with 18 wins (T3rd), a 1.88 goals against average (6th) and four shutouts (T5th), while showing an 18-12-5 record and a 0.928 save percentage in 36 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, Lamothe has surrendered two or fewer goals in 24 of his last 29 appearances. In just over a season and a half between the Griffins' pipes, Lamothe has already attained franchise career records for games played (96), minutes played (5572:55), shutouts (10) and saves (2,328), and places second all-time in wins (51), goals against average (2.03) and save percentage (0.925). As a result of Lamothe's summons, the Griffins signed goaltender Bujar Amidovski to a professional tryout. Amidovski, who served as Grand Rapids' backup for three games in December while Joey MacDonald was with the Red Wings, has played 28 games for the ECHL's Dayton Bombers, going 10-14-3 with a 3.26 GAA and a 0.897 save percentage. He also appeared in one game for the AHL's Cleveland Barons, losing a 6-4 decision at Syracuse on Jan. 4.

Time to Make Hay: The Griffins will have ample opportunity to pad their leads in the divisional and league races over the next month, as their next two contests and nine of their next 14 games will be played against teams with losing records: Houston (0.438, four times), San Antonio (0.469, twice), Cincinnati (0.481), Toronto (0.473) and Utah (0.387). In their five other games, the Griffins will host league powers Philadelphia (0.623), Hamilton (0.627), Milwaukee (0.637, twice) and Chicago (0.574).

League Leaders: Four Griffins currently rank among the AHL's best in various categories: Marc Lamothe - 1.88 GAA (6th), 18 wins (T3rd) and four shutouts (T5th); Joey MacDonald - 1.87 GAA (5th) and a 0.939 save percentage (4th); Kevin Miller - Six game-winning goals (T2nd); and Nathan Robinson - 41 points (T17th), 10 power play goals (T3rd), and six game-winning goals (T2nd).

Top Guns: Michel Picard has a six-game point streak (3-3-6), Jeff Nelson has points in five of the last six games (3-3-6), Kevin Miller has points in four of the last six outings (3-2-5), and Jiri Hudler has registered points in three of the last four contests (1-5-6).

Home-Work: February's nine games at Van Andel Arena, along with January's eight home contests, comprise the busiest two-month stretch at home in franchise history. Grand Rapids will be at home for every Friday in February, only the second time that has occurred during a month (Nov. 2000).

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 44-for-254, 17.3% (4th)
* Penalty Killing: 235-for-267, 88.0% (5th)
* Penalty Minutes: 16.54 avg. (25th)
* Goals For: 2.59 avg. (12th)
* Goals Against: 1.93 avg. (3rd)
* Shots For: 26.67 avg. (24th)
* Shots Against: 27.94 avg. (9th)
* Attendance: 6,478 avg. (9th)

Griffins Earn Their Wings: Eleven members of the Griffins have contributed to the success of the Detroit Red Wings this season. Five of those players, including AHL All-Star defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who broke his leg during pre-game warm-ups in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, remain with Detroit.

Player GP G A PTS +/- PIM Avg. Ice Time
Mark Mowers 34 2 7 9 6 2 10:44
Niklas Kronwall 20 1 4 5 5 16 13:51
Jamie Rivers 26 2 2 4 10 10 9:37

Goalie GP W L T SO GAA Save %
Curtis Joseph *26 *13 9 2 *2 2.44 0.905
Marc Lamothe 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.000
* Leads team

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the second season of a five-year affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings stand in first place in the NHL's Central Division (32-16-8-2), following their 5-2 loss to Colorado on Saturday. They'll host Edmonton tonight at 7:30 (FSN).

This Week's Scouting Report

Mon., Feb. 16 at Houston Aeros (18-25-10-3) - Toyota Center - 8 p.m.

Wed., Feb. 18 at Houston Aeros - Toyota Center - Noon

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM / WHTC 1450 AM at 7:59 p.m. (Mon.), WTKG 1230 AM at 11:40 a.m. (Wed.). Season Series: 3-2-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Sixth of 10 meetings overall, first of five in Houston. All-Time Series: AHL: 12-9-6-0 Overall, 3-4-4-0 Road. Total: 20-13-10-0 Overall, 7-6-7-0 Road. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (3rd season). Aero Dynamics: The Griffins tonight play their first game ever in the 17,800-seat Toyota Center...Houston is winless in its last five overall (0-4-1-0) but owns a respectable 11-8-5-2 record in its new home...The Aeros convert only 12.2% of their power play chances...They fire 33.25 shots per game (2nd) but average only 2.29 goals (21st)...2003 playoff MVP Johan Holmqvist has 21 losses, most in the league.

Fri., Feb. 20 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (30-16-7-2) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 2-0-1-0 Overall, 0-0-1-0 Home. Fourth and final meeting overall, second of two in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 6-2-1-0 Overall, 2-1-1-0 Home. Hamilton Affiliation: Montreal Canadiens. Head Coach: Doug Jarvis (1st season). Dog Day Afternoon: Last season's Calder Cup runners-up lead the North Division and own the fourth-best record in the league...The Bulldogs are 9-2-2-0 in their last 13 games and went 4-1-2-0 during a recent seven-game road trip...They average 3.00 goals per game, fourth in the league...AHL All-Star Jozef Balej ranks among the league's leaders with 24 goals (3rd) and 54 points (T4th)...Defenseman Philippe Plante contributed to each of the Griffins' four consecutive division championships (2000-2003).

Sat., Feb. 21 vs. Milwaukee Admirals (28-14-6-3) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 3-1-1-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Sixth of eight meetings overall, second of four in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 11-5-7-0 Overall, 6-2-2-0 Home. Total: 29-15-11-0 Overall, 17-5-2-0 Home. Milwaukee Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Claude Noel (1st season). Ships Ahoy: The Admirals, winners of seven in a row, have lost just once in their last 14 games (10-1-2-1)...Milwaukee has the fewest regulation road losses of any AHL team, sporting a 13-6-3-3 mark away from the Bradley Center...The Admirals average the most goals (3.25) and shots (33.84) in the league...Timofei Shishkanov ranks second among rookies with 19 goals and 36 points...AHL All-Star defensemen Curtis Murphy and Andrew Hutchinson each have nine goals...Veteran Wade Flaherty ranks seventh with a 1.94 GAA.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2004


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