AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Embark on East Coast Swing

January 20, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Bon Voyage: After completing their season-high five-game home stand with a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1-0), the Griffins return to the road this week for their first meetings of the season with the South Division's Norfolk Admirals and Philadelphia Phantoms. While Grand Rapids went 2-0 against Norfolk last season, Saturday's visit to the City of Brotherly Love will mark its first-ever clash with the Phantoms. This battle between two of the AHL's premier franchises will take place at the First Union Center, home of the NHL's Flyers, and will be a reunion of sorts for Philly's top scorer and goaltender. Right wing Mark Greig finished second on the Griffins in scoring with 62 points (26-36-62) in 1997-98, while Neil Little paced Grand Rapids with 18 wins and a 3.15 GAA in 1998-99. In addition, the Griffins' Michel Picard split time between the Phantoms and Flyers in 2000-01.

Central Issues: The Griffins' 4-2 win over San Antonio on Saturday gave them a 17-point lead over Rochester atop the Central Division, marking the largest cushion they've enjoyed in their seven seasons. (The Amerks' 3-3 tie with Hamilton on Sunday reduced the margin to 16 points.) With a 25-11-6-2 record and 58 points in the standings, the Griffins now possess divisional leads of 16 points over Rochester, 22 over Cincinnati, 26 over Syracuse and 30 over Cleveland.

Road Warriors: The Griffins' 2-1 defeat at Milwaukee on Jan. 8 broke their seven-game road unbeaten streak and marked just their third regulation loss in enemy territory this season. The Griffins now stand 12-3-2-2 (0.737) away from home this season and 15-3-2-2 (0.773) in foreign buildings since April 2002.

Like Father, Like Sons: The Detroit Red Wings (26-13-7-1, 60 pts.) and each of their minor league affiliates, the Griffins (25-11-6-2, 58 pts.) and the ECHL's Toledo Storm (27-7-6, 60 pts.), stand atop their respective divisions and boast point totals that place fifth (tied), fourth and first in their respective leagues. The organization's current winning percentage is an astounding 0.679 (78-31-19-3).

Another Milestone for Richards: Defenseman Travis Richards, the Griffins' all-time leader in games played (495), notched his 50th franchise goal with Saturday's game-winner against San Antonio, joining forwards Michel Picard (126), Slava Butsayev (61), Derek King (59) and Ed Patterson (51) as the only players to reach the plateau. He needs nine assists to become the second Griffin to reach 150, and nine points to become the second to hit 200.

Big Mac Attack: Rookie Joey MacDonald made 33 saves on Friday to record his first AHL shutout, a 3-0 win over Cincinnati. He has won his last five decisions to improve to 8-3-0, and has allowed only two goals in his last three outings, in the process posting a 0.67 GAA and a 0.977 save percentage (85-87).

Torrid Pace: The Griffins are on pace for 45 wins and 105 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).

Quick Draws: Friday night against Cincinnati, the Griffins scored all three of their goals (by Stacy Roest, Michel Picard and Mark Mowers) in a span of 2:06 late in the first period. Their only faster trio this season was also against the Ducks on Jan. 5 in Cincinnati, when Tim Skarperud, Nathan Robinson and Mowers all tallied within 1:09 of the second period.

PK Enjoys Night Off: The Griffins were not forced to kill any penalties in last Wednesday's 2-2 tie with the Senators, incurring just a pair of five-minute fighting majors on the night. It marked the first time since a 5-0 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones on Feb. 21, 2001, that they did not face a single shorthanded situation.

Hot Hands: Stacy Roest has points in nine of the last 11 games (6-12-18), including five multi-point games...Hugo Boisvert saw his five-game point streak snapped on Friday, but he still has points in seven of the last 11 games (4-5-9)...Mark Mowers has 13 goals in the last 22 contests and points in eight of the last 12 games (7-5-12)...Rob Collins has earned points in eight of the last 14 contests (6-3-9)...Bryan Adams' two goals on Saturday marked his season-high...Jason Williams has five points in the last four contests (2-3-5)...Rookie Danny Groulx had his first multi-point game on Wednesday with two assists...Sheldon Brookbank has notched assists in four of the last five outings...Tomas Kopecky has assists in three of the last four games.

League Leaders: Goalie Marc Lamothe leads the AHL with 16 wins and stands among the leaders with a 2.17 GAA (4th), three shutouts (T4th), 1,852 minutes (3rd) and 787 saves (4th)...Mark Mowers leads the Griffins and ranks fifth in the AHL with 45 points (20-25-45)...Michel Picard stands sixth in the league scoring race with 44 points (17-27-44)...Stacy Roest is tied for 11th with 42 points and is tied for fifth with 29 assists...Rob Collins is tied for second overall and paces all rookies with two game-tying goals...Dave Van Drunen ranks fourth among defensemen with a plus-20 rating.

The More Things Change...: After leading the AHL in goals allowed (2.23 per contest) and shots allowed (25.34) last season, the Griffins currently rank second (2.27) and fourth (27.73, tied) in those respective categories. Grand Rapids has surrendered more than three goals in just seven of its first 44 games.

Close Calls: Grand Rapids, which began the season by winning each of its first six games that was decided by a single goal, now stands 11-5-0-2 record in tight affairs.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 38-for-269, 14.1% (22nd)
* Penalty Killing: 194-for-229, 84.7% (T14th)
* Penalty Minutes: 17.1 avg. (25th)
* Goals For: 2.93 avg. (12th)
* Goals Against: 2.27 avg. (2nd)
* Shots For: 29.52 avg. (18th)
* Shots Against: 27.73 avg. (T4th)
* Attendance: 6,898 avg. (6th)

All-Stars: Two members of the Griffins have been selected 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.

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 26-13-7-1 record, following their 4-1 loss at home to Vancouver on Sunday. They'll start a four-game road swing in Edmonton on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (FSN).

Boileau in Motown: Outside of a two-day reassignment to Grand Rapids on New Year's Eve, defenseman Patrick Boileau has been with the Detroit Red Wings since Dec. 14. He has appeared in eight contests for the defending champs, notching one assist, a plus-one rating and four shots, while averaging 10:36 of ice time. The eighth-year pro appeared in 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 21-18-5-3 record...Kip Miller is fifth on the Caps with 31 points (8-23-31), Ivan Ciernik has totaled nine points (3-6-9) in 22 appearances, Jason Doig has three points (1-2-3) in 20 games, and Joel Kwiatkowski has two assists in 21 games between the Caps and Senators...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-5-5) has a 2.81 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (22-11-5) owns a 2.06 GAA, a 0.916 save percentage and five shutouts, while Martin Prusek (8-0-0) shows a 2.28 GAA and a 0.920%...Todd White is fourth on the Sens with 36 points (15-21-36), Petr Schastlivy is 11th with 16 points (9-7-16) in just 27 games, Karel Rachunek has 13 assists in 23 games since rejoining the team, and Chris Neil has chipped in four goals and a pair of helpers.

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. 22 at Norfolk Admirals - Norfolk Scope - 7:15 p.m.
TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:40 p.m.

Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first and only in Norfolk. All-Time Series: 2-0-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Norfolk Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Trent Yawney (3rd season). Anchors Aweigh: The Admirals lead the South Division with a 25-14-3-3 mark, but they've managed just a 10-9-2-2 record at home...The Griffins won both meetings last season, including a 7-1 decision at the Norfolk Scope on Jan. 25, 2002...Mike Peluso leads the Ads with 38 points (16-22-38)...Craig Andersson (1.74 GAA) and Steve Passmore (2.55) have assumed the goaltending duties from Michael Leighton (2.71), currently on recall to the parent Blackhawks...Norfolk ranks fourth in AHL in goals against (2.44 per game) and is tied for fourth with Grand Rapids in shots allowed (27.73).

Sat., Jan. 25 at Philadelphia Phantoms - First Union Center - 3:05 p.m.
TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 2:40 p.m.

Season/All-Time Series: First of two meetings overall, first and only in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Affiliation: Philadelphia Flyers. Head Coach: John Stevens (3rd season). Spirited Play: Saturday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Grand Rapids and Philadelphia...The matinee is the first of three games the Phantoms will play this season at the home of the parent Flyers, First Union Center, instead of their regular venue, the First Union Spectrum...Former Griffins Mark Greig (19-23-42) and Neil Little (2.13 GAA) lead Philly and place eleventh (tied) and third, respectively, in AHL scoring and goaltending...The traditionally powerful franchise finds itself in third place in the South Division with a 20-17-1-3 record after winning its last three games...The Phantoms allow only 27.15 shots per game, second in the league.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2003


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