Sports stats



AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Host Home Finale Tonight

April 8, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins (36-31-2-8) vs. Abbotsford Heat (37-30-4-6)

TONIGHT 7 p.m. Van Andel Arena

The Griffins will try to keep their playoff hopes alive tonight when they host their regular season home finale against Abbotsford, one of the teams they're chasing in the postseason hunt. The Heat's two visits to Van Andel Arena this season are coming 182 days (26 weeks) apart, as they were the opponent for both Grand Rapids' season opener (Oct. 8) and home finale.

To maintain any chance of making the playoffs, the Griffins must win each of their final three games, hope Oklahoma City loses each of its last three, and receive help in four other games. The earliest Grand Rapids can clinch is Sunday's season finale in Milwaukee, while it would be eliminated tonight with any type of loss. In addition to beating the Heat, two other results must fall the Griffins' way tonight to enable them to fight another day: Peoria must defeat Chicago in regulation and San Antonio must beat Oklahoma City.

Tonight's promotions include Dollar Beers, Dollar Dogs from 6-8 p.m. (while supplies last), College Night and the D-Zone. The Griffins will wear their special Friday jerseys, which will be signed by the respective players and auctioned off following the game in the Fifth Third Bank Vault. In addition, several other themed jerseys from throughout the season will be included in the auction.

The Griffins, whose average attendance of 7,149 ranks fifth out of 30 AHL teams, are guaranteed to finish with an attendance increase for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Their attendance of 278,812 is just 1,815 shy of last season's total, and tonight's sellout will give the Griffins a 3.2% attendance increase over last season. Their season-long figure of 289,646 will mark their second-largest in 10 seasons of AHL membership (297,905 in 2008-09).

TICKETS: Limited tickets for tonight's game are available at The Zone at Van Andel Arena and all Star Tickets outlets, including Meijer stores. Call 222-4000 / 800-585-3737 or purchase online at griffinshockey.com.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2011


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