AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins face treacherous Eastern swing

March 15, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


The Puck of the Irish: The Griffins will close out their three-game home stand this Wednesday against the Toronto Roadrunners at 7 p.m. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, dancers from the Donahue School of Irish Dance in Grand Rapids will entertain fans during an intermission, and Irish tunes and green beer will flow throughout the night.

Dangerous Road: The Griffins will face a pair of difficult road games this weekend, putting their sparkling record in hostile territory (18-12-2-0) to the test. On Friday, they'll visit Blue Cross Arena to take on the Rochester Americans, whose league-leading power play has contributed to their excellent 21-11-3-0 home record. Following a rare Saturday off, Grand Rapids will then do battle with the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday, in the Griffins' first-ever game at the Wachovia Spectrum. The rough-and-tumble Phantoms, who pace the East Division standings and lead the AHL in penalty minutes, are 19-9-3-1 at home. They dealt the Griffins a 5-3 defeat at Van Andel Arena on Feb. 29, ending Grand Rapids' franchise-record 16-game unbeaten streak at home.

Two's Company: Although the Griffins still possess the most wins in the AHL with a 40-19-8-0 record, last Friday's 2-1 loss to Milwaukee enabled the Admirals to tie them for both the West Division and overall league lead in points (both teams now have 88) and surpass them in winning percentage (currently 0.667 to 0.657). That loss was the fourth in six games for Grand Rapids, which had stood alone in first place in the division since Nov. 26. Milwaukee, which still has a game in-hand on the Griffins, will enjoy a slightly easier schedule down the stretch. The Griffins' remaining opponents have a combined 0.510 winning percentage, compared to 0.497 for the Admirals' foes.

Playoff Positioning: With their 2-1 win at San Antonio on March 6, the Griffins became the first team to secure a spot in the 2004 Calder Cup playoffs and clinched a postseason berth on their earliest date ever, beating the 2002-03 squad by three days (March 9). In the new divisional playoff format, the top five teams in each division will qualify for the postseason. Grand Rapids currently stands at 88 points, guaranteeing it a higher place than Cincinnati, Houston and Utah in the final standings. Now, the Griffins' magic number for earning an exemption from the qualifying round (i.e. locking up third place in the West Division) is two points over San Antonio, a goal they could accomplish with a win on Wednesday.

Shutout Stories: Joey MacDonald made 26 saves in Saturday's 1-0 win against Cincinnati to notch his team-high fifth shutout of the season, one short of the single-season franchise record...Combined with Marc Lamothe's four shutouts, the Griffins have tied a team mark with nine blankings this season (2002-03 and 2001-02), including a record seven at home...All five of MacDonald's shutouts have come at Van Andel Arena, tying Pokey Reddick's mark from 1996-97 and contributing largely to his 10-2-1 record, 1.37 GAA and 0.952 save percentage within friendly confines...Grand Rapids has shut out Cincinnati in each of its last three visits, compiling a streak of 182:23 against the Ducks that dates back to Nov. 5.

Proud to be 40: Grand Rapids has now won 40 or more games in five consecutive seasons, a streak unmatched among AHL teams. The next-closest run is by Bridgeport, an expansion team in 2001-02 that needs six more wins to hit 40 for the third straight year.

Saturday Night's Alright: Saturday's 1-0 win over Cincinnati was enjoyed by a capacity crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena, marking the 98th sellout in Griffins history.

Powerful Play: The Griffins' power play, which had converted chances in six straight games (6-for-26, 23.1%) prior to Saturday's 0-for-7 showing, ranks second in the AHL at 17.4% for the season. Such success is relatively unfamiliar to Grand Rapids, which ranked 22nd on the power play during each of its first two AHL campaigns.

Milestones: Derek King is two points shy of 900 for his pro career (374-524-898 in 1,178 games)...Jeff Nelson needs four points to reach 500 for his AHL career (162-334-496 in 539 games), a plateau reached by only 69 other players (including Michel Picard) in the league's 68-year history.

D.C. Nears Record: The Griffins' 1-0 win versus Cincinnati on Saturday marked their 88th regular season triumph under head coach Danton Cole (88-41-16-2 from 2002-present), putting him just seven wins behind Bruce Cassidy (95-49-18-0 from 2000-2002) on the team's all-time wins list.

Big Mac: Joey MacDonald has won nine of his last 10 games at Van Andel Arena, going 9-1-0 with five shutouts, a 1.09 GAA and a 0.962 save percentage (275-286) since Jan. 16. His overall 20-5-3 record this season gives him the highest winning percentage of any AHL goalie (0.768), and he also places among the league's best with a 0.940 save percentage (3rd), a 1.81 GAA (4th) and those five shutouts (T5th).

Any Place, Any Time: Grand Rapids has claimed the most home wins (22-7-6-0, tied) and second-most road victories (18-12-2-0) in the league. No AHL team has lost fewer times before the home folks this season than the Griffins, who sport a remarkable 19-4-3-0 record at Van Andel Arena since Nov. 28. The four losses since that date were by a total of five goals.

Accidents at Home: The Griffins' 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 29 was their first defeat at Van Andel Arena since New Year's Eve, snapping both their team-record 16-game home unbeaten streak (13-0-3-0) and their record-tying 10-game home winning streak. Coupled with last Friday's 2-1 loss to Milwaukee, the Griffins dropped consecutive home games for just the second time this season (Nov. 15-19). They avoided the trifecta by beating Cincinnati on Saturday.

Defense Never Rests: Over the last 25 games, the Griffins' defense has surrendered just 39 goals (1.54 GAA), helping Grand Rapids attain third in the AHL rankings for goals allowed per game (1.93). The Griffins have shut out six of their last 13 opponents at Van Andel Arena, while allowing just a single goal on two other occasions.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 53-for-305, 17.4% (2nd)
* Penalty Killing: 288-for-329, 87.5% (8th)
* Penalty Minutes: 16.58 avg. (25th)
* Goals For: 2.49 avg. (16th)
* Goals Against: 1.93 avg. (3rd)
* Shots For: 27.04 avg. (26th)
* Shots Against: 28.58 avg. (10th)
* Attendance: 6,725 avg. (9th)

League Leaders: Three Griffins currently rank among the AHL's best in various categories: Marc Lamothe - 1.92 GAA (6th); Joey MacDonald - 0.768 winning percentage (1st), 1.81 GAA (4th), 0.940 save percentage (3rd) and five shutouts (T5th); and Kevin Miller - Nine game-winning goals (2nd).

Griffins Earn Their Wings: Twelve members of the Griffins have contributed to the success of the Detroit Red Wings this season. Four of those players remain with Detroit, including Ryan Barnes, who was recalled on Sunday:

Player GP G A PTS +/- PIM Avg. Ice Time
Mark Mowers 45 3 7 10 3 2 10:25
Jamie Rivers 39 2 2 4 11 28 9:56
Ryan Barnes 1 0 0 0 0 0 4:30
Goalie GP W L T SO GAA Save %
Curtis Joseph 28 15 9 2 *2 2.41 0.908
* 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 (42-17-10-2), following their 3-2 overtime win versus Nashville last night. They'll host Calgary tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. (FSN) before embarking on a five-game trip out west.

This Week's Scouting Report

Wed., Mar. 17 vs. Toronto Roadrunners (30-26-8-3) - Van Andel Arena - 7 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season/All-Time Series: 1-0-1-0 Overall, 0-0-1-0 Home. Third of four meetings overall, second of two in Grand Rapids. Toronto Affiliation: Edmonton Oilers. Head Coach: Geoff Ward (1st season). Wile E. Bunch: The Roadrunners' only other visit to Van Andel Arena was back on Oct. 29, a 3-3 tie...Toronto is 15-5-2-1 in its last 23 games and 9-2-0-1 in its last 12...The expansion club has lost three of its last four on the road, dropping to 12-18-3-2 away Ricoh Coliseum...The 'Runners rank sixth in AHL scoring at 2.82 goals per game...Former Griffin Tyler Moss, acquired by parent Edmonton from Vancouver on Feb. 16, is 3-2 with a 2.37 GAA and a 0.935 save percentage since joining Toronto...Jamie Wright leads the club with 22 goals and 48 points.

Fri., Mar. 19 at Rochester Americans (29-24-9-4) - Blue Cross Arena - 7:35 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 0-0-1-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Second and final meeting overall, first and only in Rochester. All-Time Series: 5-3-1-0 Overall, 3-1-0-0 Road. Rochester Affiliation: Buffalo Sabres. Head Coach: Randy Cunneyworth (4th season). Salute to Americans: The Griffins won both visits to Rochester last season, and earned a 2-2 tie in their only Grand Rapids clash this season (Jan. 21)...The Amerks boast an impressive 21-11-3-0 record at home...They are 8-3-2-0 in their last 13 overall...Rochester (17.9%) and Grand Rapids (17.4%) rank 1-2 in the AHL on the power play...The Amerks are also tied for fifth in penalty killing (87.7%)...Domenic Pittis (44 assists-2nd, 59 points-T7th) and Jason Pominville (29 goals-T4th, 53 points-T12th) are among the league's top scorers...Former MSU star Ryan Miller, cousin of the Griffins' Kevin, owns a 2.24 GAA.

Sun., Mar. 21 at Philadelphia Phantoms (38-22-6-1) - Wachovia Spectrum - 5:05 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 4:40 p.m. Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Second and final meeting overall, first and only in Philadelphia. All-Time Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Philadelphia Affiliation: Philadelphia Flyers. Head Coach: John Stevens (4th season). Spook Scoop: The Phantoms' 5-3 win in Grand Rapids on Feb. 29 broke the Griffins' 16-game unbeaten and 10-game winning streaks at home...The Griffins have never played at the Wachovia Spectrum, as last year's meeting was staged at the First Union (now Wachovia) Center, home of the parent Flyers...The Phantoms currently stand atop the East Division...Philly averages over 29 penalty minutes per game, most in the league...Kirby Law is fifth in the AHL with 61 points (23-38-61)...Former Griffin Neil Little is 13th with a 2.04 GAA.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 15, 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