AHL American Hockey League

AHL weekly report

October 17, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... As they begin a season-long celebration of the franchise's 10th anniversary, the Grand Rapids Griffins are flying high to start 2005-06, taking wing to the top of the American Hockey League's North Division standings.

In 2004-05, Grand Rapids became the first team in AHL history to win at least 40 games and fail to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs. But the Griffins, who have won two division titles in their first four AHL seasons, are back in a familiar spot with their 3-1-0-0 record, sharing the lead in the North with Rochester and Manitoba.

Jiri Hudler, today named the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week, leads the entire AHL in scoring with six goals and 10 points in four games, recording at least one goal and two points in each contest. Hudler, still just 21 years old as he begins his third season in Grand Rapids, was a second-round draft pick by Detroit in 2002 and an AHL All-Star in 2004. Kent McDonell, a 1999 Red Wings draft choice who spent four seasons (2000-04) in the Columbus organization before signing with Detroit this summer, leads the AHL with seven assists. McDonell, who appeared in 29 NHL games with the Blue Jackets in 2003-04, had 123 points in 227 games with Syracuse.

Former AHL All-Star Eric Manlow has seven points already (2g, 5a) as well after leading the Griffins with 21 goals in 2004-05, and his plus-5 rating through four games matches Hudler's league-leading mark. Derek Meech tallied a goal and three assists in Grand Rapids' 5-2 win at Cleveland on Wednesday, the Griffins' seventh straight victory in a road opener. Meech's performance equaled a team record for points in a game by a defenseman.

Drew MacIntyre has carried the load in the Grand Rapids cage after backing up All-Star goaltender Joey MacDonald last season. The 22-year-old MacIntyre, a fourth-round pick by Detroit in 2001, has stopped 105 of 114 shots in four games (2.27, .921) so far, while MacDonald continues his recovery from off-season back surgery.

Led by head coach Greg Ireland, who is beginning his first full season after taking over behind the Griffins bench on Feb. 10, 2005, Grand Rapids returns to action on Wednesday night to begin a quick two-game Texas road trip with a visit to San Antonio.

SHINING ARMOR

There have been three shutouts in the AHL through the first 49 games of the 2005-06 regular season, and two have been posted by the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.

Brent Krahn, who went 20-11-2 with six shutouts for Lowell last season, made 36 saves in the Knights' 1-0 win at Iowa on Oct. 8, the first win in club history. Rookie Curtis McElhinney, who starred for the past four seasons at Colorado College, then followed suit this past Saturday by stopping 20 shots in Omaha's 2-0 win over San Antonio.

Since falling behind Chicago, 5-0, in their opener on Oct. 7, the Knights have allowed two goals in nearly 10 full periods of play, for a 0.60 goals-against average.

BACK IN BLACK (AND GOLD)

Defenseman Jonathan Girard skated for Providence in the Bruins' season-opening 4-3 loss to Portland on Friday night, his first regular-season action since a serious car accident on July 24, 2003. Girard has spent the last two years rehabilitating from injuries sustained in the career-threatening crash.

Now 25 years old, Girard split two seasons between Providence and Boston before spending the entire 2002-03 season in the NHL. In 2001-02, Girard recorded six goals and 31 assists for 37 points in just 59 appearances with the P-Bruins. He was one of the final cuts from Boston's training camp this fall.

MILESTONES FOR CLASS OF '03

Several high-round picks from the NHL's 2003 draft class have begun making the first impressions of their pro careers in the AHL this season. Cleveland's Steve Bernier (16th overall), Hershey's Eric Fehr (18th), Hamilton's Marc-Antoine Pouliot (22nd), Iowa's Loui Eriksson (33rd), Manchester's Konstantin Pushkarev (44th) and Houston's Patrick O'Sullivan (56th) all netted their first pro goals last week.

Other first-round picks from two years ago currently in the AHL include Hartford's Hugh Jessiman (12th overall), Providence's Mark Stuart (21st), Rochester's Anthony Stewart (25th), Manchester's Jeff Tambellini (27th), Binghamton's Patrick Eaves (29th) and Iowa's Shawn Belle (30th). All but four of the top 30 picks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft now own AHL experience.

ETC.

Brett Hull, winner of the Dudley "Red" Garrett Award as the American Hockey League's top rookie in 1986-87, retired on Saturday as the NHL's all-time leader in goals (741) and ranking second in points (1,391) among AHL alumni... Houston's Josh Harding stopped 85 of 88 shots in victories at Peoria and Grand Rapids last week... Wade Flaherty, MVP of the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs with Milwaukee, made 39 saves as Manitoba shut out the Admirals at the Bradley Center on Friday, 1-0... Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 4-0-0-0 on the year with a 3-2 win in Norfolk on Friday night... Randy Cunneyworth became the third Rochester head coach with 200 career victories when the Amerks beat Hamilton on Saturday... Justin Papineau scored three times in Bridgeport's 5-4 win at Binghamton on Saturday, the Senators' first loss in four all-time home openers... Hartford, which utilized just two goaltenders over the entire 2004-05 season, has already played three different netminders in three games this year: rookies Al Montoya, Chris Holt and Bernd Bruckler... Peter Sarno recorded two goals and an assist as Syracuse rallied from three goals down to beat Toronto on Saturday, 4-3... Zenon Konopka (1g, 6a) and rookie Ryan Shannon (3g, 3a) have each recorded a point in each of Portland's first four games... The Springfield Falcons opened a season with back-to-back wins for the first time in the franchise's 12-year history.

Check out the American Hockey League Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from October 17, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central