AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins begin stretch run from pole position

February 11, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


View From the Top: After hosting the AHL's stars earlier this week, the Griffins find themselves in the stratosphere of the league standings as they enter the season's final two months. With a 30-14-8-0 record, Grand Rapids owns the most wins and points (68) in the 28-team circuit, along with a seven-point lead over Chicago atop the West Division.

Home Sweet Home: Grand Rapids has not lost in its last 10 games at Van Andel Arena, posting a 7-0-3-0 mark in 2004 that ties the franchise record for longest unbeaten streak at home (10-0-0 from Dec. 22, 2000 to Jan. 26, 2001). The Griffins will try to break the mark when the Manitoba Moose pay a 7:30 p.m. visit this Friday. No AHL team has lost fewer times before the home folk this season than the Griffins, who sport a 15-5-6-0 record in friendly confines, including a 12-2-3-0 mark since Nov. 28. Both losses since that date were by a single goal.

Double Your Pleasure: This Saturday, the Griffins and Grand Rapids Rampage will stage their first-ever doubleheader at Van Andel Arena. The Rampage will try for their first win against the Colorado Crush at noon, while the Griffins will host the Houston Aeros at 8 p.m. (previously moved from its original 7:30 faceoff). In honor of Valentine's Day, the first 1,000 ladies at the Griffins game will receive a flower, courtesy of Meijer.

Robinson Update: Griffins leading scorer Nathan Robinson, who pulled his groin while competing in the Fastest Skater portion of Sunday night's AHL All-Star Skills Competition at Van Andel Arena, is expected to be out of action until at least Feb. 20.

Time to Make Hay: The Griffins will have ample opportunity to pad their leads in the divisional and league races over the next month, as each of their next four contests and 11 of their next 16 games will be played against teams with losing records: Houston (0.453, five times), San Antonio (0.478, twice), Cincinnati (0.469), Manitoba (0.462), Toronto (0.481) and Utah (0.375). Dangers are present throughout the stretch, however, as the Griffins own just a 0.500 record this season against Houston (2-2-0-0), Manitoba (1-1-1-0) and Utah (2-2-1-0). Meanwhile, in their five other games, they'll host league powers Philadelphia (0.640), Hamilton (0.625), Milwaukee (0.606, twice) and Chicago (0.598).

Defense Never Rests: Over the last 10 games, the Griffins' defense has surrendered just 14 goals (1.37 GAA), helping Grand Rapids climb to third in the AHL rankings for goals allowed per game (2.00).

Simply Amazing: Marc Lamothe's shutout of the Mighty Ducks on Feb. 4, his third straight against Cincinnati, was his fourth blanking of the season and the 10th regular season shutout of his Grand Rapids career, breaking the record he shared with Mike Fountain. The victory was Lamothe's 50th as a Griffin, second to only Fountain's 55. He picked up his 18th win (and number 51 as a Griffin) in 3-2 fashion over Chicago last Friday, then made his 96th appearance between pipes on Saturday at Cincinnati, breaking the franchise mark he held with Ian Gordon. Lamothe has surrendered more than two goals in just five of his last 29 appearances, dating back to Nov. 13.

League Leaders: Four Griffins currently rank among the AHL's best in various categories: Marc Lamothe - 1.88 GAA (5th), 18 wins (2nd) and four shutouts (5th); Joey MacDonald - 2.10 GAA (9th); Kevin Miller - Six game-winning goals (T2nd); and Nathan Robinson - 41 points (T14th), 21 goals (T4th), 10 power play goals (T3rd), and six game-winning goals (T2nd).

Home-Work: February's nine games at Van Andel Arena, along with January's eight home contests, comprise the busiest two-month stretch at home in franchise history. Grand Rapids will be at home for every Friday in February, only the second time that has occurred during a month (Nov. 2000).

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 41-for-243, 16.9% (6th)
* Penalty Killing: 227-for-259, 87.6% (7th)
* Penalty Minutes: 15.79 avg. (25th)
* Goals For: 2.56 avg. (14th)
* Goals Against: 2.00 avg. (3rd)
* Shots For: 26.77 avg. (22nd)
* Shots Against: 27.92 avg. (9th)
* Attendance: 6,415 avg. (9th)

Griffins Earn Their Wings: Ten members of the Griffins have contributed to the success of the Detroit Red Wings this season. Four of those players, including AHL All-Star defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who broke his leg during pre-game warm-ups in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, remain with Detroit.

Player GP G A PTS +/- PIM Avg. Ice Time
Mark Mowers 33 2 7 9 7 2 10:45
Niklas Kronwall 20 1 4 5 5 16 13:51
Jamie Rivers 24 2 1 3 10 6 9:22

Goalie GP W L T SO GAA Save %
Curtis Joseph *25 *13 9 2 *2 2.48 0.904
* Leads team

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the second season of a five-year affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings stand in first place in the NHL's Central Division (31-15-8-2), following their 3-2 overtime win at Colorado last Thursday. They'll host San Jose tonight at 7:30 (FSN).

This Week's Scouting Report

Fri., Feb. 13 vs. Manitoba Moose (20-24-7-2) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 1-1-1-0 Overall, 0-0-1-0 Home. Fourth and final meeting overall, second of two in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 11-3-1-0 Overall, 5-1-1-0 Home. Total: 22-10-4-0 Overall, 11-4-4-0 Home. Manitoba Affiliation: Vancouver Canucks. Head Coach: Stan Smyl (3rd season). Hunting Season: The Moose have just one win in their last seven visits to Van Andel Arena...Manitoba ranks 25th in the AHL in goals allowed per game (2.89)...The Moose are 10-13-4-2 on the road this season...AHL All-Star Brandon Ried leads the Moose with 39 points (11-28-39), while Fedor Fedorov paces them with 19 goals.

Sat., Feb. 14 vs. Houston Aeros (18-23-9-3) - Van Andel Arena - 8 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM / WHTC 1450 AM at 7:40 p.m. Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Fifith of 10 meetings overall, fifth and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 11-9-6-0 Overall, 8-5-2-0 Home. Total: 19-13-10-0 Overall, 12-7-3-0 Home. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (3rd season). Aero Dynamics: Following Saturday's tilt, the last five meetings of the season will take place at Houston's brand new Toyota Center...The defending AHL champs are just 7-15-4-1 on the road, where they've lost three straight...The Aeros rank in the league's bottom third in both goals scored (2.32 - 20th) and goals allowed (2.77 - 21st)...Stephane Veilleux paces Houston with 31 points (12-19-31).

This Week's Games:

Fri., Feb. 13 Manitoba Moose at GRIFFINS 7:30 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM
Sat., Feb. 14 Houston Aeros at GRIFFINS 8 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM / WHTC 1450 AM

Last Week's Results:

Wed., Feb. 4 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 0 at GRIFFINS 1 29-13-8-0, 66 pts. (1st, West Division)
Fri., Feb. 6 Chicago Wolves 2 at GRIFFINS 3 30-13-8-0, 68 pts. (1st)
Sat., Feb. 7 GRIFFINS 1 at Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 3 30-14-8-0, 68 pts. (1st)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from February 11, 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