AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Four Games in Five Nights Awaits Griffins

Published on February 4, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Back Into the Fray: Following a four-day hiatus for the AHL All-Star Classic, the Griffins will dive back into action tomorrow to start one of their most daunting weeks of the season. Road games in Utah on Wednesday and Cleveland on Sunday bookend a huge weekend at home, marking the Griffins' second stretch of four games in five nights this season. The Norfolk Admirals, leaders of the South Division, will carry their impressive 16-5-1-1 road record into Van Andel Arena on Friday, while the rival Chicago Wolves come to town on Saturday.

NASCAR Night: In celebration of NASCAR Night this Friday, the Griffins will wear special racing-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game to benefit Bauer Christian Reformed Church. Fans can meet NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett at a pre-game autograph session (6:30-7:30 p.m.) and see a replica of Dale Earnhardt's #3 car in the arena lobby. They can also play a tire changing game on the concourse, and a few will be selected to participate in an on-ice go-kart race during the first intermission. Auto racing prizes will be given away throughout the night, and fans can register during the game on the concourse for a chance to win a two-year lease on a new 2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport from Fox Mitsubishi.

Red Wings Alumni: The second annual Red Wings Alumni game will take place at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, pitting former Red Wings players against the Grand Rapids All-Stars amateur team. (Fans need a ticket to that night's Griffins-Wolves game for admission.) Bottle jerseys (insulated bottle coolers shaped like a Griffins jersey) will be given to the first 1,500 fans through the gates before the Griffins game, courtesy of Northwood University, and the Red Wings alumni will conduct a pre-game autograph session. Fans can play WLAV Classic Rock Bingo throughout the night and try to win $5,000 in the post-game Throw For Dough.

All-Star Wrap-Up: Griffins goaltender Marc Lamothe and center Mark Mowers took to the ice as opponents last night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, as the Canadian All-Stars skated to a 10-7 victory over the PlanetUSA All-Stars at the 2003 AHL All-Star Game. Mowers scored a first period goal against Maxime Ouelette and assisted on former Michigan Wolverine Mike Komisarek's tally against Lamothe in the second period. Lamothe turned away 14 of 18 shots in the middle frame to keep his Canadian team within 7-6, before they exploded for four unanswered goals in the third to take the victory. Lamothe made his mark on Sunday during the Pepsi AHL Skills Competition, claiming the Dodge Goaltenders' Competition by stopping 13 of 19 shots in the evening's three goaltending events. The Griffins and the city of Grand Rapids will host the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic at a yet-to-be-determined date.

Central Issues: The Griffins, who've lost just once in their last nine games (6-1-2-0), own a 28-12-7-2 record overall, good for 65 points and first place in the Central Division. Although they trail Houston by eight points in the overall conference standings, they possess divisional leads of 17 points over Rochester, 23 over Cincinnati, 27 over Syracuse and 33 over Cleveland.

Westward Ho!: Grand Rapids, which won the inaugural West Division title last season, will reacquaint itself with its former rivals during the season's stretch run. Eighteen of the Griffins' final 31 games will be staged against either Houston, Utah, San Antonio or Chicago, while they'll face current Central Division foes Rochester, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Cleveland just nine times. In 26 games to date against the West Division (including Milwaukee), Grand Rapids has posted an aggregate 12-9-4-1 record (0.558).

Richie Hits 500: Defenseman Travis Richards, Grand Rapids' all-time leader in games played, suited up for his 500th regular season game in a Griffins uniform last Friday at Milwaukee. The bedrock of the blueline has missed just 39 regular season games in his seven-year Griffins career, while appearing in each of the team's 40 playoff games. Only one other AHL player, Chicago's Steve Maltais (652), has appeared in 500 regular season games with his current team.

A Night to Remember: Michel Picard's four assists, Mark Mowers' three points (1-2-3) and Jason Williams' four points (3-1-4), including Grand Rapids' first hat trick of the season, enabled the Griffins to rally from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 win last Friday at Milwaukee. The win temporarily increased Grand Rapids' lead atop the Central Division to a record 18 points, prior to Rochester's 3-2 overtime loss at Syracuse on Saturday.

Mowers of Power: All-Star center Mark Mowers has already tallied 50 points (22-28-50) this season, matching the career-high he posted in 2000-01 with Milwaukee. His 22 goals lead the team, stand three shy of his career best (2000-01) and match Petr Schastlivy's team-leading total from last season, with 31 games still to play. Mowers is on pace to finish with 35 goals, which would place second all-time on the team.

Picard on the Brink: Griffins all-time leading scorer Michel Picard begins the week on the verge of two significant milestones, as he currently stands at 295 career points as a Griffin and 299 career assists in the AHL. Picard assisted on all four goals in Friday's 4-3 win at Milwaukee, falling one shy of the team's single-game record.

Road Warriors: With Friday's 4-3 win at Milwaukee, Grand Rapids is now 8-1-2-0 in its last 11 road contests and 14-3-3-2 overall (0.750) in foreign buildings. The Griffins are on pace to record 25 wins away from home, a total that would tie the franchise record (1999-00).

Torrid Pace: The Griffins are on pace for 45 wins and 106 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).

Making a Statement: The Griffins' 7-0 destruction of Houston last Tuesday marked their most goals and largest margin of victory this season, as well as their second straight shutout of the Aeros at Van Andel Arena. Marc Lamothe made 32 saves to become the fifth Griffins goalie to record four shutouts in a single season. He needs two more to tie the team record held by Mike Fountain (2000-01) and Pokey Reddick (1996-97).

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 two players in the AHL's top 10, including Michel Picard (5th) and Mark Mowers (T6th), while Stacy Roest is tied for 11th.

Stifling Defense: Grand Rapids, which ranks second in the AHL by allowing just 2.22 goals per game, did not surrender more than three goals in any game during January, as the Griffins posted an 8-3-3-0 record for the month. They accomplished the same feat during November, when they went 9-0-3-2. Grand Rapids has allowed more than three goals in just seven of its first 49 games.

Hot Hands: Jason Williams has points in five of the last six games (4-6-10), including last Friday's hat trick at Milwaukee...Michel Picard has three multi-point efforts in the last four contests (3-6-9)...Derek King has contributed assists in five of the last six games (0-6-6)...Mark Mowers has five points (2-3-5) in his last two outings...Stacy Roest's five-game goal scoring streak ended last Wednesday night, falling one shy of the Griffins' franchise record established by current NHL stars Pavol Demitra (Dec. 1-14, 1996) and Kip Miller (Feb. 14-23, 2001)...Tomas Kopecky has three goals and five points in the last three games, along with points in six of the last nine outings (3-6-9)...Marc Lamothe is unbeaten in his last five decisions (3-0-2).

League Leaders: Goalie Marc Lamothe is second in the AHL with 18 wins and ranks among the leaders with a 2.15 GAA (3rd), four shutouts (T2nd) and 2,041 minutes (4th)...Michel Picard stands fifth in the scoring race with 53 points (20-33-53)...Mark Mowers is tied for sixth in the league with 50 points and is tied for sixth with 22 goals...Stacy Roest is tied for 11th with 46 points (16-30-46)...Rob Collins is tied for second overall and paces all rookies with two game-tying goals...Dave Van Drunen is third both overall (tied) and among defensemen with a plus-24 rating, while Travis Richards' plus-21 rating ties for fourth among blueliners.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 41-for-287, 14.3% (21st)
* Penalty Killing: 203-for-240, 84.6% (15th)
* Penalty Minutes: 16.4 avg. (26th)
* Goals For: 3.00 (T11th)
* Goals Against: 2.22 avg. (2nd)
* Shots For: 29.43 avg. (18th)
* Shots Against: 27.69 avg. (5th)
* Attendance: 6,726 avg. (7th)

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 stand in second place in the NHL's Central Division (27-15-8-2), following a 2-2 tie with Florida on Jan. 30. They'll host Nashville tonight at 7:30 p.m. (FSN).

Boileau Keeps Motorin': Defenseman Patrick Boileau scored the first NHL goal of his eight-year pro career on Jan. 24 at Vancouver, helping Detroit to a 5-2 win. Outside of a two-day reassignment to Grand Rapids on New Year's Eve, Boileau has been with Detroit since Dec. 14. He has appeared in 12 contests for the defending champs, notching two points (1-1-2), a plus-five rating and seven shots, while averaging 11:26 of ice time. Boileau played seven games with Washington from 1996-02, recording one assist and four penalty minutes.

Griffins Alumni Report: Rookie NHL head coach Bruce Cassidy's Washington Capitals stand atop the Southeast Division with a 24-19-7-3 record...Kip Miller is fifth on the Caps with 40 points (11-29-40), Ivan Ciernik has totaled 11 points (4-7-11) in 27 appearances, Jason Doig has four points (1-3-4) in 26 games, and Joel Kwiatkowski has two assists in 27 games between the Caps and Senators...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-6-5) has a 2.70 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (23-14-6), who played in the NHL All-Star Game, owns a 2.18 GAA, a 0.912 save percentage and five shutouts, while Martin Prusek (9-1-0) shows a 2.54 GAA and a 0.907%...Todd White is fourth on the Sens with 40 points (17-23-40), Petr Schastlivy is tenth with 19 points (9-10-19) in 33 games, Karel Rachunek has 15 assists in 30 games since rejoining the team, and Chris Neil has chipped in four goals and a pair of helpers.

This Week's Scouting Report

Wed., Feb. 5 at Utah Grizzlies - The "E" Center - 9:00 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 8:40 p.m. Season Series: 3-2-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Sixth of 10 meetings overall, second of five in West Valley City. All-Time Series: AHL: 7-9-1-0 Overall, 3-3-1-0 Road. Total: 15-14-2-0 Overall, 4-8-2-0 Road. Utah Affiliation: Dallas Stars. Head Coach: Don Hay (2nd season). Grin and Bear It: Four of the first five meetings between these teams were decided by a single goal in regulation...After going 1-5-1 at The "E" Center from 1996-2001, the Griffins are 3-3-1-0 at the Grizzlies' den over the last two seasons, including a 2-1 win on Nov. 9...Since that defeat, Utah is 11-2-0-1 at home...Jim Montgomery is tied for 14th in the AHL with 44 points (16-28-44), while AHL All-Star Game MVP Jon Sim has 42 points (13-29-42) in just 35 contests...Corey Hirsch owns a 2.69 GAA...Utah surrenders a league-high 36 shots per game.

Fri., Feb. 7 vs. Norfolk Admirals - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 0-0-1-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Second and final meeting overall, first and only in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 2-0-1-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Norfolk Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Trent Yawney (3rd season). Anchors Aweigh: The Admirals lead the South Division with a 28-14-4-3 mark, including an impressive 16-5-1-1 road record...The Griffins have never lost to Norfolk, taking two wins last season and earning a 3-3 tie at the Scope on Jan. 22...The Admirals, 10-2-2-0 in their last 14 contests, are riding a six-game winning streak on the road and a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1-0) overall...Craig Andersson (1.78 GAA) and Michael Leighton (2.71 GAA) form a potent tandem...Mike Peluso leads the Ads with 41 points (16-25-41)...Norfolk ranks third in goals against (2.39) and shots allowed (27.49).

Sat., Feb. 8 vs. Chicago Wolves - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 2-0-1-1 Overall, 1-0-1-0 Home. Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 9-5-1-1 Overall, 5-2-1-0 Home. Total: 24-12-3-1 Overall, 12-4-3-0 Home. Chicago Affiliation: Atlanta Thrashers. Head Coach: John Anderson (6th season). Hungry Like the Wolf: Although they are winless in their last four (0-3-1-0), the defending champs stand just one point out of second place in the West Division...Chicago recently completed an eight-game road swing with a 3-3-2-0 record...The Wolves are 9-13-4-1 away from home this season...The Griffins won 4-3 at Allstate Arena on Jan. 3...Chicago's power play is second in the league, converting 19.9% of its chances...Steve Maltais ranks fourth in the AHL with 54 points (20-34-54)...Norm Maracle owns a 2.77 GAA, and Milan Hnilicka (2.60 GAA) has returned from the parent Atlanta Thrashers.

Sun., Feb. 9 at Cleveland Barons - Gund Arena - 4:05 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 3:40 p.m. Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Fourth of six meetings overall, second of three in Cleveland. All-Time Series: 4-3-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Road. Cleveland Affiliation: San Jose Sharks. Head Coach: Roy Sommer (2nd season). Spy Glass: The Barons begin the week 33 points behind the Griffins in the Central Division standings...Cleveland has won just four games since the start of December (4-21-2-2) and lost 13 in a row between Dec. 21 and Jan. 17...The Barons have played five straight home games, losing their last three since a 3-1 win over Milwaukee on Jan. 25...They are 7-14-1-2 at Gund Arena this season...Grand Rapids took a 1-0 win in Cleveland on Dec. 21...Cleveland ranks 27th in goals allowed (3.61) and 24th in goals scored (2.37)...Niko Dimitrakos leads the team and places fourth among AHL rookies with 41 points (15-26-41)...Vesa Toskala (3.34 GAA) handles the goaltending chores.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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



American Hockey League Stories from February 4, 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