AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Battle for Top Seed Sunday at Van Andel Arena

Published on March 17, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Welcome Back: Upon concluding a mammoth road trip that has seen them seize the top seed in the AHL's Western Conference, the Griffins will finally return to a friendly environment this week. Central Division champion Grand Rapids is currently tied with Houston in wins (42) and points (94) but possesses the number-one seed in the conference by virtue of its head-to-head record (4-3-1-0) versus the Aeros. The Griffins will put their lofty standing on the line Tuesday at Cleveland and Thursday at home against Manitoba, undercards to Sunday's 4 p.m. tilt against Houston at Van Andel Arena.

Calder Cup, Mickey Redmond Visit GR: The Calder Cup will make a three-day stop in Grand Rapids this week as part of a 19-city, 39-day tour by the AHL's championship trophy. Fans will have several chances to get an up-close view of the coveted grail: Tuesday, from 6:30-9 p.m. at Celebration Cinema; Wednesday, from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Knapp's Corner Meijer and 5:30-9 p.m. at Celebration Cinema; and Thursday, from 6-10 p.m. on the arena concourse during the Griffins-Manitoba game. On Sunday, Red Wings television analyst Mickey Redmond will be on hand to drop the ceremonial first puck, thanks to Kodiak Construction. Fans who wish to meet the Red Wings legend must visit Fox Motor Group dealers (Alpine Pontiac Buick - 5977 Alpine Rd.; Fox Mitsubishi - 2535 28th St. SE; and the Go Group - 4430 28th St. SE) by Saturday to obtain a free pass for admission to a pre-game meet-and-greet. Season ticket holders will also have an exclusive opportunity to meet him during the first intermission.

Keep Lamothe Shut: Marc Lamothe enjoyed a magnificent week in goal for the Griffins, stopping 88-of-90 shots to post a 2-1 record, a 0.79 GAA and a 0.978 save percentage in three games. After sustaining defeat despite allowing just one goal in relief on Wednesday in Utah, he destroyed a regular season franchise record with 52 saves in Thursday's 2-1 win at Houston. The all-star completed the week by earning his fifth shutout of the campaign with 26 stops on Saturday in San Antonio. Lamothe has now won 10 of his last 13 games to total a career-high 29 victories, five more than any other league netminder and the third-largest single-season total in franchise history. His 24 saves during the third period alone on Thursday set an overall team mark, bettering the effort of Ian Gordon, who turned aside 23-of-24 during the third period of a 4-2 win at Manitoba on Nov. 23, 1997.

The Quest Concludes: The Griffins are 3-3-0-0 thus far on their seven-game road trip, which ties for the longest in franchise history. They'll end the run on Tuesday in Cleveland when, for the first time ever, they'll play their fifth road game in a fifth different city in a span of only seven nights. By the time the team returns home on Wednesday morning, it will have traveled 8,078 miles on its seven-game sojourn.

Rare Air: Last Saturday night in San Antonio, Michel Picard became just the fifth Griffin to record 75 points in a season, Mark Mowers became the sixth Griffin to reach the 30-goal plateau, and Marc Lamothe became the third Griffin to earn five shutouts in one year.

Race for Number One: Grand Rapids, Houston and Norfolk currently hold the top three seeds in the Western Conference by virtue of their first-place standings. Here's how the race for the top seed breaks down:

Seed Team Record Points Games Remaining Opponent Winning %
1 Grand Rapids 42-19-8-2 94 9 (4 home/5 road) 0.541
2 Houston 42-19-7-3 94 9 (4 home/5 road) 0.574
3 Norfolk 32-22-10-4 78 12 (4 home/8 road) 0.518

On Track: With nine games remaining, the Griffins have equaled their win output and are just one point shy of matching their total (42-27-11-0, 95 pts.) from the 2001-02 season, their first as a member of the AHL. They are on pace for 47 wins and 105 points, totals that would surpass those from all but two of the team's previous six seasons (53/113 in 2000-01 and 51/111 in 1999-00).

One-Two Punch: Michel Picard (27-48-75) and Mark Mowers (30-43-73) stand first and second in the AHL scoring race. Picard, who has never won a scoring title in his prolific 14-year career, also ranks second on the circuit with 48 assists...Mowers is tied for fifth with a plus-27 rating...Stacy Roest (19-44-63) is tied for 11th in league scoring...Goalie Marc Lamothe leads the AHL with 29 wins and 3,035 minutes, while ranking among the best with a 2.13 GAA (2nd), five shutouts (3rd) and 1,283 saves (T4th)...Dave Van Drunen is second both overall and among defensemen with a plus-31 rating...Travis Richards is third both overall and among defensemen at plus-29, and his four game-winning goals tie for second among blueliners...Rob Collins is tied for second overall and paces all rookies with two game-tying goals...Among rookies, Tomas Kopecky is tied for 18th with 38 points (17-21-38) and is third at plus-20.

Stingy Defense: Grand Rapids, which ranks first in the AHL by allowing only 2.23 goals per game, is bidding to become the first team since the Rochester Americans (1990-91 and 1991-92) to post the AHL's lowest goals against average in consecutive seasons. The Griffins allowed a league-low 2.23 goals per game last year.

Attendance Boost: Grand Rapids is averaging 7,034 fans per game, a 1.5% increase over its 36-game average from last season. The Griffins, who have never in their history witnessed an attendance increase, need to average 7,158 over their final four home games to surpass last season's total of 281,867.

Deadline Deals: The Griffins made several transactions last Thursday before submitting their Clear Day List of 22 players eligible for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. They acquired defenseman Jeremiah McCarthy from the Lowell Lock Monsters in exchange for forwards Dustin Whitecotton and Rustyn Dolyny, and recalled forward Nathan Robinson from the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League. McCarthy, a 27-year-old, fifth-year pro who made his Griffins debut on Saturday, has accumulated 81 points (18-63-81) and 140 penalty minutes in 221 AHL contests since 1998. In 44 games with Lowell this season, he tied for second among the Lock Monsters' blueliners with 17 points (1-16-17) and stood second with 16 assists.

Comeback Kids: When the Griffins rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the third period to take a 2-1 win at Houston last Thursday, it marked the sixth time they've won this season when trailing after two periods (6-10-3-0), tying the Aeros for the AHL lead.

Westward Ho!: Five of the Griffins' final nine games will be staged against West Division opponents (Houston, Utah and Chicago), while they'll face current Central Division foes (Cincinnati and Cleveland) just two times. In 39 games to date against the West Division, Grand Rapids has posted an aggregate 19-14-5-1 record (0.564).

Road Killers: The Griffins, who will play five of their final nine games away from Van Andel Arena, are 23-7-3-2 (0.729) this season in foreign buildings. The Griffins are on pace to record 26 wins on the road, a total that would surpass the franchise record of 25 set in 1999-2000.

Three Musketeers: Only once in their history have the Griffins had more than one player finish in the top 10 of their league's scoring race, that being the 2000-01 IHL season when Derek King tied for the scoring crown with 83 points and Slava Butsayev placed tenth with 68 points. However, Grand Rapids currently has three players who could finish in the AHL's top 10, including Michel Picard (1st), Mark Mowers (2nd) and Stacy Roest (T11th).

Reach for the Top: Michel Picard, Jason Williams and Marc Lamothe are on pace to break or challenge various franchise records. Picard's 48 assists put him on a pace for 54, one shy of the record he co-authored with Jeff Nelson in 1996-97. With nine power play goals in 37 games, Williams is scheduled to finish with 11, two short of Nelson's mark established six years ago. Lamothe should challenge or break the club records in five categories (current-pace-record): goaltender games played (53-59-61), minutes played (3,035-3,419-3,244), wins (29-32-34), shutouts (5-5-6) and saves (1,283-1,445-1,436).

Give it a Shot: In Thursday's 2-1 win at Houston, the Griffins allowed 53 shots while taking only 14 of their own, setting team records in each category. The 14 shots were their fewest ever in a game (regular season or playoffs), beating a pair of 15-shot performances, while the 53 shots allowed set a regular season mark, obliterating the previous mark of 47 set at Michigan on Jan. 24, 1999. The Griffins have twice allowed 58 shots in a playoff game, each time to Orlando in multiple-overtime affairs. Hot Hands: Jason Williams had a five-game point streak (3-5-8) snapped on Sunday, but he still has scored 18 goals in the last 23 games, and now places third on the Griffins with 21 for the season despite having played in just over half of Grand Rapids' contests (37). The 2002 Stanley Cup champ has recorded points in 21 of the last 28 games (19-19-38), with six multi-goal and 13 multi-point outings...Michel Picard saw his four-game point streak (3-3-6) end on Sunday, as did Mark Mowers (2-3-5), who has points in 10 of the last 12 games (6-9-15) and 14 of the last 18 contests (8-14-22)...Stacy Roest's four-game point streak (1-5-6) came to a halt last Wednesday, but he still has five multi-point efforts and points in eight of 12 games (3-12-15) since returning from the Red Wings on Feb. 23.

Milestones: Marc Lamothe earned his 150th professional win on Thursday in Houston...Jason Williams notched his 99th and 100th pro assists on Saturday in San Antonio...Stacy Roest played in his 300th AHL contest on Sunday in Chicago...Dave Van Drunen has appeared in 399 pro games...Michel Picard has played 498 career AHL games, notching 575 points (261-314-575)...Ed Campbell has 497 games of pro experience.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 63-for-406, 15.5% (21st)
* Penalty Killing: 276-for-332, 83.1% (17th)
* Penalty Minutes: 16.5 avg. (26th)
* Goals For: 3.07 (9th)
* Goals Against: 2.23 avg. (1st)
* Shots For: 29.15 avg. (22nd)
* Shots Against: 27.27 avg. (4th)
* Attendance: 7,034 avg. (7th)

We Are the Champions: On March 9, Grand Rapids claimed the 2002-03 John Chick Trophy as champion of the Central Division. The Griffins have won a division crown in each of their two seasons in the AHL and have earned four consecutive division championships overall, dating back to their 1999-2000 season in the IHL. Along with the division title, the Griffins that day secured a postseason berth at the earliest date in franchise history, seven days earlier than their 2001-02 counterparts, who won the inaugural N.R. (Bud) Poile Trophy as champions of the AHL's West Division. Grand Rapids is guaranteed a top-three seed in the Western Conference when the 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs commence in April.

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the first season of a five-year affiliation with the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings remain in first place in the NHL's Central Division (42-18-9-3) following yesterday's 6-2 win over league-leading Ottawa. They'll visit Pittsburgh tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. (FSN).

Griffins Alumni Report: Rookie NHL head coach Bruce Cassidy's Washington Capitals stand second in the Southeast Division with a 34-26-8-5 record...Kip Miller is fifth on the Caps with an NHL career-high 49 points (12-37-49), Ivan Ciernik has totaled 16 points (7-9-16) in 42 appearances, Jason Doig has six points (2-4-6) in 46 games, and Joel Kwiatkowski has four assists in 47 games between the Caps and Senators...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-8-6) has a 2.77 GAA and a 0.909 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (34-19-6) owns a 2.16 GAA, a 0.911 save percentage and a league-leading eight shutouts, while Martin Prusek (11-2-1) shows a 2.47 GAA and a 0.908%...Todd White is third on the Sens with 53 points (22-31-53), Karel Rachunek has three goals and 22 assists in 49 games, the injured Petr Schastlivy has 19 points (9-10-19) in 33 games, and Chris Neil has chipped in five goals and three helpers.

Boileau Keeps Motorin': Outside of a two-day reassignment to Grand Rapids on New Year's Eve, defenseman Patrick Boileau has been with Detroit since Dec. 14. He has appeared in 23 contests for the defending champs, notching seven points (2-5-7), a plus-seven rating and 18 shots while averaging 13:17 in ice time. Boileau played only seven games with Washington from 1996-02, recording one assist and four penalty minutes.

Get Your Tickets: Tickets for all regular season games at Van Andel Arena are currently on sale. Fans can visit The Zone at Van Andel Arena or any Tickets PLUS location (including Meijer stores), call 222-4000/800-585-3737 or visit www.griffinshockey.com. Full-season ticket packages, mini-plans and group tickets for all Griffins games are available by calling 800-2-HOCKEY.

This Week's Scouting Report

Tue., Mar. 18 at Cleveland Barons (22-39-4-4) - Gund Arena - 7:05 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season Series: 3-2-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Road. Sixth and final meeting overall, third and final in Cleveland. All-Time Series: 5-4-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Road. Cleveland Affiliation: San Jose Sharks. Head Coach: Roy Sommer (2nd season). Spy Glass: Cleveland sits in last place in both the Central Division and Western Conference with 52 points...The Barons had won five of seven before their current two-game skid...Cleveland is 5-2-1-1 at Gund Arena since Feb. 8, including a 1-0 shutout of the Griffins on Feb. 9...The Griffins won by an identical 1-0 margin in their only other Cleveland meeting on Dec. 21...Grand Rapids' three series wins have come by a combined four goals...The Barons' power play ranks third in the AHL (19.0%)...They allow the second-most goals (3.48) and generate the second-fewest shots (26.90) in the league per game...Snipers Miroslav Zalesak (27-22-49) and Niko Dimitrakos (15-29-44), as well as top goalie Vesa Toskala (3.21 GAA), are all currently on recall to the San Jose Sharks.

Thu., Mar. 20 vs. Manitoba Moose (33-30-8-0) - Van Andel Arena - 7 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season Series: 3-0-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Fourth and final meeting overall, second and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 9-2-0-0 Overall, 4-1-0-0 Home. Total: 20-9-3-0 Overall, 10-4-3-0 Home. Manitoba Affiliation: Vancouver Canucks. Head Coach: Stan Smyl (2nd season). Moose Tracks: Manitoba currently owns the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race...The Moose's 7-2-1-0 record over the last 10 games is the best in the AHL...They've won three straight and four of the last five on the road...Manitoba lost 4-0 in its only other GR visit on Nov. 12...The Moose's road penalty killing percentage (79.0%) ranks 26th...Brandon Reid (18-34-52) leads Manitoba's attack, while former Griffin Tyler Moss, a recent AHL Player of the Week, owns a 2.88 GAA.

Sun., Mar. 23 vs. Houston Aeros (42-19-7-3) - Van Andel Arena - 4 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 3:40 p.m. Season Series: 4-3-1-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Ninth of 10 meetings overall, fifth and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 8-6-6-0 Overall, 5-3-2-0 Home. Total: 16-10-10-0 Overall, 9-5-3-0 Home. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (2nd season). Battle Plans: Grand Rapids and Houston begin the week with 94 points apiece, tying for most in the Western Conference...The Aeros have lost their last four road games and are winless in their last six away from home (0-4-1-1)...The Griffins have won three straight and four of the last five against Houston, including three shutout victories...Houston was blanked by scores of 7-0 (Jan. 28) and 3-0 (Nov. 15) in its last two visits to GR, extending its scoreless streak at Van Andel Arena to 131:55...Houston ranks first in the league in shots allowed (26.61), second in shots (34.61) and fourth in goals scored (3.24)...Jean-Guy Trudel is tied for third in AHL scoring (26-46-72) and is tied for third with 46 assists...Goalies Frederic Cloutier (2.46 GAA) and Dieter Kochan (2.53) are recovering from injuries.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2003


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