AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Ducks Earn First Ever Win in Grand Rapids, 4-1

Published on November 5, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids, Mich. - It didn't take long for the visitors to serve notice that their winless streak at Van Andel Arena would come to an end on Wednesday.

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (4-4-2-0) rode a pair of goals in the game's first 4:21 to a 4-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins (6-4-1-0), who had entered the night with an all-time record of 5-0-2-0 at home against their division rival.

In the game's first minute, an outlet pass from Casey Hankinson sent Alexei Smirnov on a 120-foot breakaway. As Smirnov skated in alone on Marc Lamothe, he deked and slid a forehand shot just inside the left post past the sprawled netminder at the 41-second mark.

Another defensive breakdown less than three minutes later resulted in a 2-0 Ducks lead, as a shot by Michael Holmqvist during a scramble trickled over the goal line. Former Ferris State standout Chris Kunitz, making his first Grand Rapids appearance as a pro, earned an assist on the play.

Later in the period, immediately following a Darryl Bootland fight that seemed to wake up the Griffins, Ryan Barnes sent a pass from behind the Cincinnati net to David Brisson, who one-timed a blast past Ilya Bryzgalov at 9:29.

Kunitz helped the Ducks tack on their third tally at 7:09 of the second period. He skated towards the net from the point, patiently waiting for a shot that he finally took through a crowd from the slot. Lamothe turned away the attempt, but Joel Stepp tapped the rebound into a wide open cage from the right side.

Stepp added another goal with 2:23 left in the third period for the final margin.

Lamothe fell to 2-4-1 on the young season, stopping 17-of-21 shots, while Bryzgalov improved to 4-3 by turning aside 16-of-17.

The Griffins, who suffered their first loss in four home games (2-1-1-0) this season, will attempt to snap a two-game skid overall when they host the Hamilton Bulldogs this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In honor of their NHL affiliate, the Griffins players will wear Detroit Red Wings jerseys during the game, which will be auctioned to charity afterwards.

View this game's official box score on-line at griffinshockey.com.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2003


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.

OurSports Central