AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins and Wolves renew playoff rivalry

Published on April 14, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Calder Cup Festivities Begin Friday at Van Andel Arena

2004 Calder Cup Playoffs - West Division Semifinals - Best of Seven Game 1 Fri., Apr. 16 Wolves at GRIFFINS 7:30 p.m. (Game A) Game 2 Sun., Apr. 18 Wolves at GRIFFINS 6 p.m. (Game B) Game 3 Wed., Apr. 21 GRIFFINS at Wolves 8 p.m. Game 4 Fri., Apr. 23 GRIFFINS at Wolves 8:30 p.m. *Game 5 Sat., Apr. 24 Wolves at GRIFFINS 8 p.m. (Game C) *Game 6 Mon., Apr. 26 GRIFFINS at Wolves 8 p.m. *Game 7 Wed., Apr. 28 Wolves at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. (Game D)

* If necessary All times Eastern and subject to change. All games on WOOD 1300 AM.

The Journey Begins: Two West Division powers and fierce rivals will lock horns in a best-of-seven series to begin their chase for the Calder Cup, as the Grand Rapids Griffins and Chicago Wolves square off in the playoffs for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years. As the second seed, Grand Rapids will host the third-seeded Wolves for Games 1 and 2 of the West Division semifinals at Van Andel Arena this Friday, April 16 (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday, April 18 (6 p.m.). The series will then shift to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday, April 21 and Friday, April 23. Should the series go the distance, Game 7 would be staged in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, April 28.

Get Your Tickets: Tickets for Games 1 and 2, which are included in Griffins season ticket packages, are currently on sale for $26, $21, $18, $13, $11 and $6 (advance purchase only). They may be purchased at The Zone and all Star Tickets Plus outlets, including West Michigan Meijer stores, or by calling (616) 222-4000. Tickets for additional home playoff games will be placed on sale as warranted.

Cup Crazy: The Griffins are searching for the first championship of their eight-year existence, while the Wolves will try to cap off their 10th Anniversary Season by hoisting a grail for the fourth time (2002 Calder Cup, 2000 and 1998 IHL Turner Cups). John Anderson, who has been behind Chicago's bench for all three titles, also has a UHL Colonial Cup to his credit (1997 Quad City). Danton Cole, in his second season as the Griffins' head coach, looks to add a Calder Cup to his impressive array of hardware won as a coach (2002 UHL Colonial Cup - Muskegon) and as a player (1995 NHL Stanley Cup - New Jersey, 1986 NCAA - Michigan State).

Colorful Past: Last spring, Grand Rapids defeated Chicago 4-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, becoming the 11th team in AHL history to sweep the defending Calder Cup champion and the first team ever to blank the Wolves in a best-of-seven series. However, the Griffins came up short in their first two playoff clashes with Chicago, losing 3-2 in the 2002 AHL Western Conference quarterfinals and 4-2 in the 2000 IHL Turner Cup finals.

What's Next?: The winner of this series will advance to the West Division finals to face the survivor of the other divisional semifinal, which will pit #1 Milwaukee against either #4 Houston, the defending Calder Cup champion, or #5 Cincinnati. The Aeros and Mighty Ducks will play a best-of-three qualifying series in Houston for the right to play the Admirals, the AHL's regular season champions.

Clash of the Titans: Grand Rapids and Chicago have been the most successful Triple-A organizations over the last several years. The Wolves have won a league championship in each even-numbered year since 1998, while over the last five regular seasons, no team at this level has accumulated more wins (238), points (521) or division crowns (4) than the Griffins. Chicago ranks second in each category with respective totals of 218, 487 and two (tied).

Distinguished Service: No AHL players have logged more games with their current teams than Chicago's Steve Maltais and Grand Rapids' Travis Richards. Maltais, who had a 26-game stint with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000-01, has appeared in 759 regular season contests for the Wolves since 1994, while Richards boasts the longest continuous stretch of service for one team, having played in 607 games with the Griffins since 1996.

Go-To Goalies: This season, Marc Lamothe (21 wins, four shutouts) and Joey MacDonald (22 wins, six shutouts) became just the second goalie pairing in Grand Rapids history to reach 20 wins apiece, equaling the tandem of Jani Hurme (29) and Mike Fountain (21) that took the Griffins to the 2000 IHL Turner Cup finals. Their 10 combined shutouts eclipsed by one the team standard they had equaled last season, and, under their leadership, the Griffins surrendered a record-low 166 goals. MacDonald set a Griffins record and tied for fourth in the AHL with a 0.936 save percentage, and both he (1.97 GAA, 7th) and Lamothe (2.06 GAA, 10th) finished among the league's top 10 goaltenders. Each spent time with the Detroit Red Wings, with Lamothe posting a 1-0-1 record with a 1.44 GAA and a 0.948 save percentage in two games with the parent club...Chicago's Kari Lehtonen, heralded by The Hockey News as the top NHL prospect, was chosen to play in the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic. In 39 games with the Wolves, he went 20-14-2 with three shutouts, a 2.41 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage. He played four games with the Atlanta Thrashers near the end of the campaign, going 4-0 with one shutout, a 1.25 GAA and a 0.953 save percentage. Creasemate Frederic Cassivi allowed one goal over Chicago's two-game sweep of the Griffins in early April.

Series Notes: The Griffins' all-time records versus the Wolves stand at 31-18-4-1 during the regular season (16-6-4-0 at Van Andel Arena, 15-12-0-1 at Allstate Arena) and 8-7 during the playoffs (4-4 at home, 4-3 on the road)...Grand Rapids compiled a 6-4-0-0 mark against Chicago this season (4-1-0-0 at home, 2-3-0-0 on the road)...Two of the Griffins' wins in the season series came in overtime...Prior to the Wolves' two late-season victories (3-0 in GR on Apr. 2, 2-1 in CHI on Apr. 3), the Griffins had beaten Chicago six consecutive times at Van Andel Arena and 10 out of 12 overall, dating back to the 2003 playoffs...Jiri Hudler (1-7-8), Nathan Robinson (4-2-6), Kevin Miller (4-2-6) and Hugo Boisvert (2-4-6) paced the Griffins' offense versus Chicago this season, while Marc Lamothe (4-2-0, 1 SO, 2.49 GAA, 0.915%) and Joey MacDonald (2-2-0, 2.26 GAA, 0.922%) split duties between the pipes...Steve Maltais (5-3-8), Eric Healey (4-2-6), Shawn Heins (2-4-6) and Stephen Baby (4-1-5) led the Wolves' charge against Grand Rapids, with Frederic Cassivi (3-4-0, 1 SO, 2.42 GAA, 0.914%) and Kari Lehtonen (1-2-0, 2.70 GAA, 0.914%) serving as backstops...The teams were nearly even on the power play in the series, with the Griffins going 7-for-46 (15.2%) and the Wolves converting 8-of-53 (15.1%).

Tale of the Tape: Second-seeded Grand Rapids finished the regular season with a 44-28-8-0 record and 96 points, falling short in its bid for a fifth straight division title. The Griffins were one of five teams to claim at least 20 wins both at home (24-10-6-0) and on the road (20-18-2-0)...Chicago finished third in the division at 42-26-9-3 (96 pts.), racking up an AHL-high 26 home wins (26-10-3-1) to go with its pedestrian road record (16-16-6-2)...Here's how the two teams stacked up in key statistical categories during the regular season:

Grand Rapids Chicago * Power Play: 60-for-362, 16.6% (T5th) 76-for-424, 17.9% (2nd) * Penalty Killing: 334-for-384, 87.0% (9th) 341-for-396, 86.1% (12th) * Penalty Minutes: 16.11 avg. (25th) 20.73 avg. (9th) * Goals For: 2.44 avg. (19th) 3.08 avg. (2nd) * Goals Against: 2.08 avg. (4th) 2.60 avg. (14th) * Shots For: 27.03 avg. (26th) 30.10 avg. (T15th) * Shots Against: 29.18 avg. (T12th) 32.45 avg. (22nd)

Team Leaders * Games Played: Hugo Boisvert/Dave Van Drunen (80) Greg Hawgood/Mike Weaver (78) * Goals: Kevin Miller (27) Eric Healey/Steve Maltais (31) * Assists: Michel Picard (37) Hawgood (35) * Points: Picard (54) Maltais (64) * Plus/Minus: Danny Groulx (+20) Karl Stewart (+24) * Penalty Minutes: Ryan Barnes/Darryl Bootland (175) Stewart (186) * Power Play Goals: Miller/Nathan Robinson (11) Maltais (16) * Shorthanded Goals: Boisvert/Miller (2) Three players (2) * Game-Winning Goals: Miller (10) Healey (5) * Wins: Joey MacDonald (22) Kari Lehtonen (20) * Shutouts: MacDonald (6) Lehtonen (3) * Goals Against Avg.: MacDonald (1.97) Lehtonen (2.41) * Save Percentage: MacDonald (0.936) Lehtonen (0.926)

Playoff Roster: 24 players make up the Griffins' 2004 Calder Cup playoff roster: goaltenders Marc Lamothe and Joey MacDonald; defensemen Ryan Bonni, Danny Groulx, Niklas Kronwall, Brett Lebda (ATO), Anders Myrvold, Travis Richards, Aaron Schneekloth and Dave Van Drunen; and forwards Ryan Barnes, Hugo Boisvert, Darryl Bootland, David Brisson, Matt Ellis, Eric Himelfarb (ATO), Jiri Hudler, Kory Karlander, Derek King, Tomas Kopecky, Kevin Miller, Jeff Nelson, Michel Picard and Nathan Robinson. In addition, defenseman Nic Bilotto is "in residence," meaning he will be eligible to play under emergency conditions if the Griffins' playing strength drops below 18 skaters due to injuries, recalls or suspensions.

Are You Experienced?: Four of the Griffins' top six all-time playoff scorers are currently on their roster. Derek King stands first with 16 goals, 23 assists and 39 points in 42 games, and is the lone returnee from the team's top five postseason scorers in 2003 (4-10-14, 2nd). Michel Picard (13-11-24) and Travis Richards (3-21-24), the only player to appear in all 55 postseason games in franchise history, are tied for second on the all-time list. Kevin Miller (11-7-18), who captained the Griffins to the 2000 IHL Turner Cup finals, stands sixth. Hugo Boisvert also ranks in the top 20, coming in at 14th (6-4-10).

Marc of Distinction: Each of the past two years, goalie Marc Lamothe has led his team to within one win of the Calder Cup finals. The 2003 Griffins lost 2-1 to eventual champion Houston in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, while the 2002 Hamilton Bulldogs fell to runner-up Bridgeport in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Lamothe played in all 15 games for the Griffins during the 2003 playoffs, going 10-5 with one shutout, a 1.84 GAA and a 0.935 save percentage.

Tell Me What It Takes: Six 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), Jeff Nelson (1994 AHL Calder Cup - Portland), Michel Picard (1994 AHL Calder Cup - Portland, 1991 AHL Calder Cup - Springfield) and Aaron Schneekloth (2000 NCAA - North Dakota).

Senior Statesman: Michel Picard is tied for 13th on the AHL's all-time playoff scoring list with 71 points (37-34-71 in 84 games), the third-highest total among active players and the highest among those whose teams qualified for the 2004 playoffs. His 84 games played (T20th), 37 goals (9th) and 34 assists (T25th) also place him among the AHL's best postseason performers.

Working Overtime: Backstopped by the clutch goaltending of Marc Lamothe, the Griffins posted a 3-1 overtime record during the 2003 playoffs, improving to 5-6 all-time in extra sessions. During last year's Western Conference finals, the Griffins posted overtime wins in Game 5 at Houston (5-4 in double OT) and Game 6 in Grand Rapids (2-1) to stave off elimination.

Bad Luck Charm: The last four teams to oust the Griffins from the playoffs each continued on to win the league championship: 2003 Houston, 2002 Chicago, 2001 Orlando (Turner Cup) and 2000 Chicago (Turner Cup).

The "Once or Future Griffin" Factor: The rosters of each of the last six and 12 of the past 13 Calder Cup champions sport the name of either a former Griffin or a player who would one day skate for Grand Rapids. The lone exception over that span was the 1997 Hershey Bears.

Stiff Competition: Grand Rapids posted a 30-20-4-0 record against playoff-bound teams this season. Its 30 such wins were the most in the league, while its 0.593 winning percentage against the league's top 20 teams ranked third behind only Bridgeport (27-16-7-4, 0.602) and Milwaukee (29-16-5-2, 0.625).

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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



American Hockey League Stories from April 14, 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