Sports stats



AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Early Texas test precedes record homestand

October 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Texas Two-Step: Despite it being just the second week of the AHL season, the Griffins' games in San Antonio this Friday and Sunday could set an early tone for the West Division race. Grand Rapids and San Antonio currently share the division lead (along with Milwaukee) at 2-0, and both teams have exhibited potent offenses (4.00 goals per game) and stingy defenses (1.00 goals against the Rampage, 1.50 goals against the Griffins).

Nice to See You Again: Florida Panthers assistant coach Guy Charron, who guided the Griffins to an 85-62-17 mark and a 2000 IHL Turner Cup finals berth during his two seasons at the helm (1998-2000), is working with Steve Ludzik and the San Antonio Rampage coaching staff during the NHL's labor impasse. Ironically, he will be on the opposing bench this Sunday at the SBC Center when current Griffins coach Danton Cole ties Charron's franchise record for regular season games coached (164).

A Good Omen?: The Griffins have started a season 2-0 for just the second time in franchise history. Their last such start was in 2000-01, when they won their first four games and went on to post the best record in team history (53-22-7, 113 pts.), claiming the IHL's final regular season championship.

Comforts of Home: With the conclusion of their three-game road swing this Sunday in San Antonio, the Griffins will return home for an unprecedented nine-game home stand that will last from Oct. 26 to Nov. 18. The current franchise record was a seven-game stand from Feb. 18-28, 1999, during which Grand Rapids compiled a 5-1-1 mark.

Opening Statements: Several Griffins had strong performances during the Griffins' opening weekend:

With a goal and two assists during the second period of Saturday's 5-1 win at Chicago, Jiri Hudler tied a franchise record for points in a period. He was also the last Griffin to accomplish the feat, on Jan. 23, 2004 vs. San Antonio. Joey MacDonald started where he left off last year, when he set a franchise record for save percentage and posted the second-lowest goals against average in team history. He currently shows a 1.44 GAA and a 0.962 save percentage, figures that rank second among AHL goalies who've played at least two games. Niklas Kronwall showed why he is one of the top prospects in the Detroit Red Wings' system, as he currently ranks among the AHL's best defensemen with four points (T2nd), three assists (T1st) and a plus-four rating (T3rd). Eric Himelfarb's two goals share the lead among rookies, while his 0.400 shooting percentage places second.

On the Verge: In his third season as the Griffins' head coach, Danton Cole has compiled an overall record of 94-50-16-2 (0.636) during the regular season. With 162 games coached and 94 wins, he is poised to surpass the respective franchise records of 164 (Guy Charron, 1998-2000) and 95 (Bruce Cassidy, 2000-02).

Prime Attraction: Friday's capacity crowd (10,834) at Van Andel Arena marked the ninth opening night sellout for the Griffins in as many seasons, as well as the franchise's 99th sellout all-time. Coupled with the throng of 14,877 at Chicago's Allstate Arena on Saturday, the Griffins have played in front of the second- and third-largest crowds in the AHL this season.

It's Been Such a Long Time: Friday's 3-2 win over Cleveland marked the first shootout in which the Griffins were involved since their last season in the IHL (2000-01), when they claimed a 2-1 home win over Utah on March 28, 2001. Grand Rapids now owns a record of 37-45 all-time in shootouts.

The Times Are A Changin': In Friday's season opener, the Griffins faced a 2-0 deficit at the first intermission before rallying for a 3-2 shootout win against Cleveland. Of the five times last season in which Grand Rapids won despite trailing after the first period (5-13-3-0), never did it face a deficit of more than one goal.

For Starters: Thanks to its opening weekend success, Grand Rapids is now 7-2 all-time in season openers, 6-3 in home debuts, and 7-2 in road openers. The Griffins have won their road opener each of the last six years.

Take Me to Your Leaders: Last Thursday, the Griffins chose Blake Sloan as their captain, and Travis Richards, Eric Manlow (home games) and Bryan Helmer (road games) as their assistant captains.

This Week's Scouting Report

Fri., Oct. 22 at San Antonio Rampage – SBC Center – 8 p.m.

Sun., Oct. 24 at San Antonio Rampage – SBC Center – 6 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:59 p.m. (Fri.) and 5:40 p.m. (Sun.). Season Series: First and second of eight meetings overall, first and second of four in San Antonio. All-Time Series: 12-7-1-0 Overall, 6-4-0-0 Road. 2003-04 Series: 6-3-1-0 Overall, 3-2-0-0 Road. NHL Affiliation: Florida Panthers. Head Coach: Steve Ludzik (2nd season). On a Rampage: Former Griffins defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski (2000-02), who skated in all 80 games for NHL Washington last season, now patrols the Rampage's blue line...San Antonio boasts four top-nine NHL draft picks on its roster, including defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and forwards Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton and Petr Taticek...Bouwmeester (2-18—20), Weiss (12-17—29) and Horton (14-8—22) took regular shifts with Florida last season...Patrick DesRochers owns a 1.00 GAA and a 0.964 save percentage.

This Week's Games

Fri., Oct. 22 GRIFFINS at San Antonio Rampage 8 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM

Sun., Oct. 24 GRIFFINS at San Antonio Rampage 6 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM

Last Week's Results

Fri., Oct. 15 Cleveland Barons 2 at GRIFFINS 3 SO 1-0-0-0, 2 pts. (T2nd, West Division)

Sat., Oct. 16 GRIFFINS 5 at Chicago Wolves 1 2-0-0-0, 4 pts. (T1st)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from October 18, 2004


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