AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Coming Home after Remarkable Run

January 6, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Breathing Room: By posting a 9-2-1-0 mark (0.792) since Dec. 14, the Griffins have opened up a substantial lead atop the AHL's Central Division standings. Grand Rapids currently stands at 22-9-5-2 overall, good for 51 points and a 0.671 winning percentage that ranks second in the Western Conference and fourth in the AHL. They enjoy divisional leads of 12 points over Rochester, 19 over Cincinnati, 24 over Syracuse and 25 over Cleveland.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: For just the second time in team history, the Griffins recently played eight games in a span of only 11 days, culminating with Sunday's 4-1 win at Cincinnati. Grand Rapids posted a 5-2-1-0 mark (0.688) during the grueling gauntlet, which began on Dec. 26 and concluded with three games in three cities in as many days over the weekend. The team endured its only identical test from March 1-11, 1997, finishing with a 4-3-1 record.

Welcome Home: Following this Wednesday's rematch in Milwaukee, the Griffins will return to Van Andel Arena for a five-game home stand, their longest of the season. Grand Rapids, 10-4-2-0 (0.688) in its last 16 at home, will welcome the Syracuse Crunch to Michigan for the first time ever with a pair of games this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, the Griffins will don their new red and white jerseys, and fans will be entertained with youth hockey and WLAV's Classic Rock Bingo. Saturday is Griff's Beach Party, presented by Herman Miller. The first 5,000 fans will receive a Griffins sun visor, and a steel drum band will perform. Fans can register on the concourse to participate in an on-ice scuba contest for a chance to win a trip to the Riu Playacar resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, courtesy of Apple Vacations. Finally, six Griffins players will sign autographs in the stands for 15 minutes after the game.

Maybe Road Life's Not So Bad: By stretching their road unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1-0) over the weekend, the Griffins improved to 12-2-2-2 (0.778) away from home this season and 15-2-2-2 (0.810) in enemy territory since April 2002. A win or tie this Wednesday in Milwaukee would match the single-season franchise record for longest road unbeaten streak (5-0-3-0 from Jan. 6 to Feb. 2, 2002).

Rare Air: Michel Picard's power play goal on Sunday in Cincinnati marked his 250th AHL goal, making him just the 36th player in league history to reach that milestone. He already stands as one of only 63 players in league history to reach the 500-point plateau (543).

3-in-3 is EZ: Thanks to their solid 2-0-1-0 performance in Chicago, Milwaukee and Cincinnati over the weekend, the Griffins have compiled a 10-3-2-0 mark (0.733) this year when playing three games in three nights.

Mid-Term Grades: The Griffins have completed exactly half of their 40-game home schedule with a record of 10-7-3-0 (0.575)...Grand Rapids, which will reach the midpoint of its 80-game season with this Friday's contest against Syracuse, is currently on pace to finish the season with 46 wins and 107 points, which would surpass the totals from all but two of the team's previous six seasons...The Griffins' average home attendance of 6,700 represents a five percent increase from the first 20 games last season (6,388), putting Grand Rapids on track to record its first attendance rise in franchise history.

Power Surge: After scoring just one power play goal (1-for-25, 4.0%) over a four-game span, the Griffins exploded for six power play tallies in 19 chances (31.6%) during the weekend's three games. Stacy Roest had a hand in all six goals (3-3-6).

League Leaders: Goalie Marc Lamothe leads the AHL with 15 wins and ranks among the league's best with a 2.16 GAA (5th), a 0.923 save percentage (T5th), three shutouts (T3rd) and 1,608 minutes (2nd)...Michel Picard stands third in the scoring race with 43 points (16-27-43), Mark Mowers is fourth with 42 points (17-25-42), and Stacy Roest is tied for 18th at 34 points (10-24-34)...Picard is also tied for third with 27 assists...Rob Collins is tied for the league lead with two game-tying goals...Dave Van Drunen is tied for fifth among defensemen with a plus-17 rating.

All-Stars: Two members of the Griffins were selected last week to participate in the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, Feb. 2-3 at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Center Mark Mowers was named to the PlanetUSA All-Star team, while goalie Marc Lamothe was tabbed for the Canadian All-Star squad.

Top Guns: Michel Picard has points in six straight contests (3-8-11), 11 of his last 12 games (5-12-17) and 15 of his last 17 outings (8-13-21)...Mark Mowers has 10 goals in the last 16 contests and points in five of the last six games (4-5-9)...Stacy Roest owns a five-game point streak (3-7-10) and has 12 points (5-7-12) in the last eight games...Rob Collins has earned points in five of the last eight games (4-2-6).

New Season, Same Great "D": After leading the AHL in goals allowed (2.23 per contest) last season, the Griffins currently rank second in the league by surrendering just 2.37 goals per game.

Like Father, Like Son: The Griffins and parent Detroit Red Wings form the only AHL/NHL affiliation in which each member currently resides atop its division.

Close Calls: Grand Rapids, which began the season by winning each of its first six games that was decided by a single goal, now holds an impressive 11-3-0-2 record in tight affairs following its 4-3 win at Chicago on Friday.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 33-for-236, 14.0% (23rd)
* Penalty Killing: 176-for-210, 83.8% (17th)
* Penalty Minutes: 17.9 avg. (24th)
* Goals For: 2.95 avg. (T12th)
* Goals Against: 2.37 avg. (2nd)
* Shots For: 29.63 avg. (18th)
* Shots Against: 27.89 avg. (5th)
* Attendance: 6,700 avg. (7th)

Hello, I Must Be Going: After being reassigned to Grand Rapids late on New Year's Eve following a 19-day stint in Detroit, defenseman Patrick Boileau was again recalled by the Red Wings last Thursday to assist their banged-up defensive corps. Boileau, originally recalled on Dec. 14, has appeared in six contests for the defending champs, notching one assist, a plus-one rating and four shots, while averaging 10:28 of ice time. The eighth-year pro appeared in seven games with Washington from 1996-02, recording one assist and four penalty minutes.

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 atop the NHL's Central Division with a 23-9-7-1 record, following their 4-3 overtime win at Chicago last night. They'll visit Tampa Bay tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. (FSN).

White-Out: Former Griffins center Todd White, now with the Ottawa Senators, was named the NHL's Player of the Month for December. White, who tallied 54 points (22-32-54) in 64 contests with the Griffins in 2000-01, recorded 18 points (7-11-18) and a plus-eight rating in 15 December games, leading the Senators in scoring during a 10-3-2-0 run that propelled the club to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. White joins previous winners Dan Cloutier of Vancouver (Nov.) and Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux (Oct.).

Griffins Alumni Report: Rookie NHL head coach Bruce Cassidy's Washington Capitals (18-16-5-2) stand in first place in the Southeast Division...Kip Miller is sixth on the Caps with 23 points (5-18-23), Ivan Ciernik has totaled nine points (3-6-9) in 20 appearances, and Jason Doig has two assists in 14 games...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-4-5) has a 2.37 GAA and a 0.928 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (17-10-5) owns a 2.12 GAA and a 0.916 save percentage, while Martin Prusek (7-0-0) shows a 2.47 GAA and a 0.916%...Todd White is fourth on the Sens with 31 points (14-17-31), Petr Schastlivy is tied for 13th with 11 points (7-4-11), Karel Rachunek has 13 assists in 18 games since rejoining the team, and Chris Neil has chipped in three goals.

Get Your Tickets: Tickets for all regular season games at Van Andel Arena are currently on sale. Fans can visit either location of The Zone (Van Andel Arena store or Rivertown Crossings Mall kiosk) or any Tickets PLUS location (including Meijer stores), call 222-4000/800-585-3737 or visit www.griffinshockey.com. Full-season ticket packages, mini-plans and group tickets for all Griffins games are by calling 800-2-HOCKEY.

This Week's Scouting Report

Wed., Jan. 8 at Milwaukee Admirals - Bradley Center - 8:12 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:40 p.m. Season Series: 1-1-2-0 Overall, 0-0-1-0 Road. Fifth of six meetings overall, second of three in Milwaukee. All-Time Series: AHL: 7-3-6-0 Overall, 2-1-4-0 Road. Total: 25-13-10-0 Overall, 9-8-8-0 Road. Milwaukee Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Peter Horachek (1st season). Smooth Sailing: Of the seven meetings between Grand Rapids and Milwaukee at the Bradley Center over the last two seasons, four have ended in ties...In the 3-3 tie at Van Andel Arena on Nov. 2, the Admirals forced overtime with a pair of third period goals after trailing 3-1. The Griffins returned the favor in Suds City on Saturday...Milwaukee is unbeaten (3-0-1-0) in its last four overall and is 3-1-1-0 in its last five at home...Rookie Darren Haydar ranks sixth in league scoring with 39 points (15-24-39)...Chris Madden's 2.93 GAA leads the club.

Fri., Jan. 10 vs. Syracuse Crunch - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 11 vs. Syracuse Crunch - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM (both nights)/WHTC 1450 AM (Sat. only) at 7:10 p.m. Season/All-Time Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Second and third of four meetings overall, first and second of two in Grand Rapids. Syracuse Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets. Head Coach: Gary Agnew (3rd season). Crunchy Bites: Friday's game will mark the Crunch's first-ever visit to Van Andel Arena...The Griffins won 6-2 in their inaugural trip to Syracuse on Oct. 26...Former Griffin Radim Bicanek (1998-99) now patrols the Crunch's blueline...Syracuse has not tasted victory since a 2-1 win at Cincinnati on Dec. 11, going 0-9-3-1 overall and 0-3-1-0 on the road while enduring four shutouts...The Crunch is led by right wing David Ling (5-26-31) and goaltender Karl Goehring, who places among the AHL's best with a 2.37 GAA (T10th) and four shutouts (T1st)...Syracuse ranks last in the league in goals per game (2.24).




American Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2003


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