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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Clash Between Old Rivals Commences New Season

October 10, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


We Meet Again: The Griffins and Chicago Wolves will kick off their third season as members of the American Hockey League this Saturday, Oct. 11 at Allstate Arena, in the 45th regular season installment of their long-time rivalry. Grand Rapids, which won the Central Division last season and posted the best record in the Western Conference (48-22-8-2), defeated the Wolves 4-0 in the conference semifinals to become just the 11th team in AHL history to sweep the defending champions. Fourteen current members of the Griffins took part in that series, while 15 current Wolves came out on the losing end.

Homeward Bound: After playing at Cleveland next Friday, Oct. 17, Grand Rapids will celebrate its home opener on Saturday, Oct. 18, when the defending Calder Cup champion Houston Aeros visit Van Andel Arena for a 7:30 p.m. start. Should the game sell out as expected (less than 1,000 tickets remain), it will mark the eighth consecutive season that the Griffins make their home debut before a capacity crowd (10,834). Individual tickets for all 2003-04 home games are currently on sale, and can be purchased through Tickets PLUS outlets (222-4000 or 800-585-3737), West Michigan Meijer locations and The Zone at Van Andel Arena, or by visiting griffinshockey.com. Single ticket prices are $5, $10 and $12 in the arena's upper bowl, and $17, $20 and $25 in the lower bowl. Griffins full-season, mini-season and group ticket packages are currently on sale through the team's office at (800) 2-HOCKEY.

At the Helm: Griffins general manager Bob McNamara begins his eighth season with the club, while head coach Danton Cole enters his second campaign behind the bench, after leading his 2002-03 squad to within one game of the Calder Cup finals. Cole's new assistant coach is Greg Ireland, who spent the last five seasons as head coach of the ECHL's Dayton Bombers.

Detroit Exports: Fifteen Red Wings-contracted players are on the Griffins' 20-man roster, including forwards Ryan Barnes, Darryl Bootland, Matt Ellis, Derek King, Tomas Kopecky, Kevin Miller, Mark Mowers, Michel Picard and Nathan Robinson; defensemen Danny Groulx, Niklas Kronwall, Anders Myrvold and Jamie Rivers; and goaltenders Marc Lamothe and Joey MacDonald. Five Griffins-contracted players round out the lineup, including forwards Hugo Boisvert, David Brisson and Tim Skarperud, and defensemen Travis Richards and Dave Van Drunen.

Back in the Fold: Fourteen members of the Griffins spent time with the 2002-03 unit that claimed the AHL's Central Division title: forwards Ryan Barnes, Hugo Boisvert, Darryl Bootland, Derek King, Tomas Kopecky, Mark Mowers, Michel Picard, Nathan Robinson and Tim Skarperud; defensemen Danny Groulx, Travis Richards and Dave Van Drunen; and goaltenders Marc Lamothe and Joey MacDonald. In addition, forward Kevin Miller (1999-00) and defenseman Jamie Rivers (2000-01) have previously donned a Griffins crest.

Welcome Back: Right wing Kevin Miller, who captained the Griffins to the 2000 IHL Turner Cup finals, has returned to Grand Rapids after signing with Detroit in August. The 38-year-old Michigan State University alum, the first of three Miller brothers to play for the Griffins, compiled 54 points (20-34-54) for Grand Rapids in 1999-2000 and tied for the team lead with seven power play goals in 63 regular season games. He also led the league with 11 goals and 18 points in 17 playoff contests, setting Griffins records for a single postseason.

For Starters: Grand Rapids is 5-2 all-time in openers but has lost its two season debuts in the AHL. The Griffins are also 5-2 in road openers, including four straight wins.

Tune-up Tales: The Griffins went 1-1 in two preseason road games, losing 3-1 at Chicago on Oct. 2 and winning by the same score at Milwaukee the following night. Michel Picard led all Griffins with three points (2-1-3).

Tell Me What It Takes: Five players and coaches for the Griffins have won major championships in North America at the pro, college or major junior level, including Hugo Boisvert (2001 IHL Turner Cup - Orlando), head coach Danton Cole (2002 UHL Colonial Cup - Muskegon, 1995 NHL Stanley Cup - New Jersey, 1986 NCAA - Michigan State), Kevin Miller (1986 NCAA - Michigan State), Michel Picard (1994 AHL Calder Cup - Portland, 1991 AHL Calder Cup - Springfield) and Tim Skarperud (2000 NCAA - North Dakota).

Do You Feel a Draft?: Eleven of the Griffins' 20 players were once selected in the NHL Entry Draft, from Derek King (#13 overall by the New York Islanders in 1985) to Darryl Bootland (#252 overall by Colorado in 2000).

NHL Experience: Nine Griffins have combined to play 2,068 games in the National Hockey League: Derek King (830), Kevin Miller (616), Jamie Rivers (340), Michel Picard (166), Mark Mowers (85), Anders Myrvold (25), Travis Richards (3), Marc Lamothe (2) and Dave Van Drunen (1).

Veteran Roll Call: Excluding goaltenders, AHL clubs may not dress more than six skaters with more than 260 games of experience in the NHL, AHL, IHL or Europe. The Griffins' designated veterans are Derek King, Kevin Miller, Mark Mowers, Anders Myrvold, Travis Richards and Jamie Rivers. Michel Picard, who has played more than 450 games in the AHL (507), qualifies as an exempt player and does not count against the veteran limit.

One For the Ages: The average age of the Griffins is 26 years, from Kevin Miller (38 years, one month) to Tomas Kopecky (21 years, eight months).

International Flavor: The Griffins' roster includes three players who were born overseas: Tomas Kopecky (Slovakia), Niklas Kronwall (Sweden) and Anders Myrvold (Norway).

Where Are They Now: Players and coaches from last year's playoff roster have scattered throughout North America and Europe: LW Bryan Adams - Iserlohn Roosters (Germany); G Chad Alban - Kalamazoo Wings (UHL); D Sheldon Brookbank - Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL); D Ed Campbell - Providence Bruins (AHL); RW Rob Collins - Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL); D Jeremiah McCarthy - Springfield Falcons (AHL); Assistant coach Todd Nelson - Head coach, Muskegon Fury (UHL); D Philippe Plante - Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL); C Stacy Roest - SC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland); and C Jason Williams - Detroit Red Wings.

This Week's Scouting Report

Sat., Oct. 11 at Chicago Wolves - Allstate Arena - 8 p.m.
TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 7:40 p.m. Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five in Rosemont. All-Time Series: AHL: 10-7-2-1 Overall, 5-4-0-1 Road. Total: 25-14-4-1 Overall, 13-9-0-1 Road.
Chicago Affiliation: Atlanta Thrashers. Head Coach: John Anderson (7th season).
Huffin' and Puffin': Throughout this season, the Wolves will honor former teammate Dan Snyder by wearing his No. 19 on their helmets and by displaying his number in the ice surface at Allstate Arena...To their perennially powerful lineup, the Wolves have added 2002-03 AHL goal-scoring champion Eric Healey (42 with Manchester), 12-year NHL veteran Bill Lindsay, and goaltender Kari Lehtonen, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2002 by Atlanta...Steve Maltais, last year's AHL scoring champ (86 pts.), returns for his tenth season in the Windy City.

2002-03 IN REVIEW

To the Victors Went the Spoils: The Griffins' 2002-03 campaign, their first as the primary affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, ranked as one of the most successful seasons in the franchise's history. Among their accomplishments were:
* Their third regular season conference title in four seasons (first in the AHL);
* Their fourth consecutive division crown (second straight in the AHL);
* Their third-highest win (48) and point (106) totals ever, and their third 100-point campaign in four years;
* An AHL-record 26 road wins and a record-tying 57 road points, the highest totals in franchise history;
* Their fewest regulation losses (22, tied) and road regulation losses (9) ever;
* A team-record 14-game unbeaten streak (11-0-3-0) from Oct. 25 to Nov. 27.

Honor Roll: While their team won the Western Conference's regular season title plus the John Chick Trophy as Central Division champions, several Griffins players and coaches received significant individual honors last season:
Tomas Kopecky AHL Rookie of the Month (Feb.)
Marc Lamothe Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (AHL Outstanding Goaltender); Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award (AHL Outstanding Team Goaltenders); AHL First Team All-Star; Played for Canadian AHL All-Star team; AHL Player of the Week (Nov. 18)
Joey MacDonald Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award (AHL Outstanding Team Goaltenders)
Mark Mowers AHL Second Team All-Star; Played for PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team
Michel Picard AHL Second Team All-Star

All in the Family: All three tiers of the Detroit Red Wings' organization earned division championships last season. The parent Red Wings (48-20-10-4, 110 pts.) won the NHL's Central Division and finished second in the Western Conference, the Griffins (48-22-8-2, 106 pts.) finished atop both the AHL's Central Division and the Western Conference, while the ECHL's Toledo Storm (47-15-10, 104 pts.) claimed the Brabham Cup as regular season champs, in the process taking home the Northwest Division and Northern Conference crowns as well.

Top Guns: For just the second times in franchise history, the Griffins had two 80-point scorers and had two players finish in the top 10 of their league's scoring race. Michel Picard ranked third in the AHL with 84 points (32-52-84), while Mark Mowers was fourth with 81 points (34-47-81). In 1996-97, Picard (46-55-101) and Jeff Nelson (34-55-89) broke the 80-point threshold, while in 2000-01, Derek King tied for the IHL scoring crown with 83 points (32-51-83) and Slava Butsayev placed tenth on the circuit with 68 points (33-35-68). In addition, Stacy Roest tied for 12th in the AHL with 72 points (24-48-72) this season, giving Grand Rapids three 70-point scorers for the first time ever.

Simply the Best: Several Griffins ranked among the AHL's individual leaders during the 2002-03 regular season:
Rob Collins 2 game-tying goals (T4th overall, 1st among rookies)
Tomas Kopecky Plus-18 rating (T2nd among rookies)
Marc Lamothe 60 games played (T1st), 2.13 GAA (2nd), 33 wins (1st), 3,438 minutes (1st), 1,469 saves (3rd), 6 shutouts (3rd), 0.923 save percentage (4th)
Mark Mowers 81 points (4th), 34 goals (T6th), 9 game-winning goals (T3rd), plus-26 rating (6th overall, 1st among forwards)
Michel Picard 84 points (3rd), 52 assists (4th)
Travis Richards Plus-31 rating (T2nd overall and among defensemen), 4 game-winning goals (T2nd among defensemen) Stacy Roest 72 points (T12th)
Dave Van Drunen Plus-31 rating (T2nd overall and among defensemen)

Keep Lamothe Shut: Marc Lamothe rewrote the Griffins' record book last season, setting marks for minutes played (3,438), home wins (19, tied), shutouts (6, tied) and saves (1,469). Lamothe's 13-game unbeaten streak (9-0-4) from Oct. 19 to Nov. 27 was the longest in franchise history, and he became just the third Griffins goalie to post consecutive shutouts (Nov. 12-15), in the process establishing yet another record for longest shutout streak (153:58). In perhaps the greatest goaltending performance in franchise history, Lamothe led Grand Rapids to a dramatic 2-1 win at Houston on March 13. He made a record 52 saves that night, including a team-high 24 during the third period, as the Griffins persevered despite a 53-14 disadvantage in shots.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 10, 2003


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