Griffins goalies win AHL's Hap Holmes Award
April 5, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release
SPRINGFIELD, MA ... The American Hockey League has announced that Marc Lamothe and Joey MacDonald of the Grand Rapids Griffins have won the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for the 2002-03 season. Since 1972, the award has been presented to the goaltender(s) appearing in at least 25 games for the team which allows the fewest goals in the regular season.
Grand Rapids, which finished their regular season with a record of 48-22-8-2, allowed just 177 goals in 2002-03, one shy of the AHL record for an 80-game season (176). The Griffins are the first team since the Rochester Americans in 1991-92 to win the award in successive seasons, and will be the top seed in the Western Conference for the Calder Cup 2003 Playoffs.
A 2002-03 First Team AHL All-Star, Lamothe leads the AHL in minutes played (3,438) and victories (33), posting a record of 33-18-8 with a 2.13 goals against average, a .923 save percentage and six shutouts. MacDonald, a 23-year-old rookie, is 14-6-0 (2.20, .916, 3 SO) in 25 appearances. Both goaltenders have spent time with the parent Detroit Red Wings this season.
The Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award, which was first awarded in 1948 to the goaltender with the best goals against average in the AHL, is named for Hockey Hall of Famer Harry "Hap" Holmes, a prominent figure in early professional hockey and an outstanding goaltender of his time. Previous winners or co-winners of the award include Gil Mayer (1951, '53, '54, '55, '56), Johnny Bower (1957, '58), Marcel Paille (1961, '62), Gerry Cheevers (1965), Pete Peeters (1979), Pelle Lindbergh (1981), Byron Dafoe and Olaf Kolzig (1994), Mike Dunham and Corey Schwab (1995), Manny Legace (1996), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (1998), Martin Biron (1999), Mika Noronen (2001) and Martin Prusek (2002).
Now in its 67th season, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 77 percent of all players to compete in the NHL this season have been AHL graduates, and over 380 players have taken the ice in both leagues in 2002-03. Four AHL head coaches have also been promoted to the NHL during this season.
The Calder Cup 2003 Playoffs get underway in just a few days, with 20 teams vying for the honor of capturing the league's coveted championship trophy.
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