AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Host Reunion with Binghamton Wednesday

Published on January 13, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Good to See You Again: The Griffins will continue their five-game home stand this Wednesday with a long awaited family reunion against the Binghamton Senators. Thirteen current members of the Senators - most notably David Hymovitz, Josh Langfeld, Chris Bala and Simon Lajeunesse - played for the Griffins in 2001-02, Grand Rapids' final season as the primary affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. By contrast, only seven current Griffins spent time with the club last season. Binghamton will hold a pair of practices at Van Andel Arena prior to the matchup, including Tuesday at noon and Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. The season's longest stretch of home games then concludes this weekend against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks on Friday and the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday.

Friday Fun: This Friday is another Family Four Pack Night. Fans can purchase four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks and two Griffins t-shirts for just $44. The Griffins will wear their red and white uniforms modeled after the Detroit Red Wings, and various mascots from area sports teams and businesses will be on hand for Mascot Mania!

Women in Sports Night: On Saturday, fans can meet several local women who've made significant contributions to local sports, including Tanya Powell Tillman, Stacey Slobodnik, Connie Sweeris, Val Sterk, Kristin Koetsier and members of the Grand Rapids Chicks baseball team. The first 5,000 fans will receive four Griffins trading cards as part of the second Shoe Carnival Trading Card Night, and fans can try to win up to $5,000 in Throw for Dough. After the game, six Griffins players will sign autographs, and fans who bring their skates can hit the ice for 45 minutes in the Stouffer's Family Fun Skate.

Lucky 13: With a 23-11-5-2 record and 53 points in the standings, the first-place Griffins have opened up a 13-point lead atop the AHL's Central Division, marking their largest cushion of the season. Grand Rapids owns margins of 13 points over Rochester, 18 over Cincinnati, 24 over Syracuse and 27 over Cleveland.

250 Club: Michel Picard on Saturday became the second player in Griffins history to play in 250 regular season games (Travis Richards - 492), while Stacy Roest's first assist gave him 250 points for his AHL career. Roest now boasts 86 goals and 166 assists in 279 league contests with Grand Rapids and Adirondack.

Power Surge: After scoring just one power play goal (1-for-25, 4.0%) over a four-game span from Dec. 27-31, the Griffins have capitalized with the advantage in all six games during the New Year, scoring 11 times on 44 chances (25.0%).

League Leaders: Goalie Marc Lamothe is tied for the AHL lead with 15 wins and stands among the leaders with a 2.19 GAA (4th), three shutouts (T3rd), 1,727 minutes (1st) and 735 saves (4th)...Mark Mowers leads the Griffins and ranks among the AHL's best with 44 points (3rd) and 19 goals (T5th)...Michel Picard stands fourth in the league scoring race with 43 points and is tied for fifth with 27 assists...Stacy Roest has climbed into a tie for 11th with 38 points (11-27-38)...Rob Collins is tied for the league lead with two game-tying goals...Dave Van Drunen is tied for fourth among defensemen with a plus-17 rating.

Hot Hands: Mark Mowers has 12 goals in the last 19 contests and points in seven of the last nine games (6-5-11)...Stacy Roest has points in seven of the last eight games (4-10-14)...Rob Collins has earned points in seven of the last 11 contests (6-2-8)...Hugo Boisvert owns a four-game point streak (1-3-4) and has points in six of the last eight games (2-5-7)...Travis Richards has registered points in six of 11 outings (0-8-8).

He's Back: Center Jason Williams, a member of the 2002 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, was assigned to the Griffins last Wednesday. The 22-year-old former AHL All-Star, who has played 15 games with Detroit this season (3-3-6), scored his first two goals as a Griffin and earned Star of the Game honors in Saturday's 5-1 win over Syracuse.

Mid-Term Grade: Just past the halfway point of their 80-game schedule, the Griffins are on pace for 44 wins and 103 points, totals that would surpass those from all but two of the team's previous six seasons (2000-01 and 1999-00).

Maybe Road Life's Not So Bad: The Griffins' 2-1 defeat at Milwaukee last Wednesday 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.

Showtime!: The 2004 AHL All-Star Classic was awarded to the Griffins and the city of Grand Rapids last Thursday. AHL President & CEO David Andrews made the announcement during a press conference at Van Andel Arena. The league's showcase event will be held over two days in either late January or early February, pending selection of the networks that will televise the first night's skills competition and subsequent night's game live throughout the United States and Canada. The 2004 event will mark the farthest west that the AHL All-Star Classic has ever been held.

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.

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 (2.34) and fourth (27.59) in those respective categories. Grand Rapids has surrendered more than three goals in just seven of its first 41 games.

Like Father, Like Son: The Griffins and parent Detroit Red Wings continue to 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 stands 11-5-0-2 record in tight affairs following its 3-2 loss to Syracuse on Friday.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 38-for-261, 14.6% (20th)
* Penalty Killing: 189-for-224, 84.4% (T11th)
* Penalty Minutes: 17.6 avg. (23rd)
* Goals For: 2.93 avg. (13th)
* Goals Against: 2.34 avg. (2nd)
* Shots For: 29.51 avg. (17th)
* Shots Against: 27.59 avg. (4th)
* Attendance: 6,823 avg. (6th)

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 24-11-7-1 record, following their 3-2 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday. They'll host Chicago tonight at 7:30 p.m. (FSN).

Boileau Rockin' in Motown: 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 on Jan. 2 to assist their banged-up defensive corps. Boileau, originally recalled on Dec. 14, 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 (20-16-5-2) reclaimed first place in the NHL's Southeast Division with a 12-2 demolition of Florida on Saturday...Kip Miller, whose four assists helped Jaromir Jagr to a seven-point night, stands sixth on the Caps with 28 points (6-22-28), Ivan Ciernik has totaled nine points (3-6-9) in 21 appearances, and Jason Doig has three points (1-2-3) in 16 games...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-5-5) has a 2.81 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (20-11-5) owns a 2.11 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage, while Martin Prusek (7-0-0) shows a 2.47 GAA and a 0.916%...Todd White is third on the Sens with 34 points (15-19-34), Petr Schastlivy is tied for 12th with 13 points (8-5-13), Karel Rachunek has 13 assists in 20 games since rejoining the team, and Chris Neil has chipped in three 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. 15 vs. Binghamton Senators - Van Andel Arena - 7:00 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season/All-Time Series: 0-0-0-1 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Second and final meeting overall, first and only in Grand Rapids. Binghamton Affiliation: Ottawa Senators. Head Coach: John Paddock (1st season). Senate Majority: Former Griffin Jeff Ulmer scored the winning goal for the Senators in their 2-1 overtime win over the Griffins in Binghamton on Thanksgiving...18 players who've worn a Sens jersey at some point this season played for the Griffins in 2001-02...Binghamton sits one point behind first-place Bridgeport in the East Division...The Senators own the only winning road record (10-7-3-0) in their division...They rank sixth in penalty killing (86.7%) and 27th on the power play (10.7%)...Jason Spezza paces the team with 25 points (13-12-25) in just 22 games, while All-Star netminder Ray Emery ranks eighth in the AHL with a 2.33 GAA.

Fri., Jan. 17 vs. Cincinnati Mighty Ducks - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 4-0-1-0 Overall, 1-0-1-0 Home. Sixth of eight meetings overall, third of four in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 7-2-2-0 Overall, 3-0-2-0 Home. Cincinnati Affiliation: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Head Coach: Brad Shaw (1st season). Quack Me Up: Cincinnati trails the Griffins by 18 points in the Central Division...Three of the first four meetings between these teams this season went to overtime, with Grand Rapids winning twice in Cincy and earning a 2-2 tie on Nov. 20 in GR...The Ducks have been outscored 19-9 in the series, following their 4-1 loss at the Gardens on Jan. 5...They are 4-10-5-1 on the road this season...Rookie Tony Martensson is tied for seventh among AHL rookies and leads all Cincy scorers with 30 points (10-20-30)...Jean-Francois Damphousse (3.04) and Ilja Bryzgalov (3.24) share goaltending duties.

Sat., Jan. 18 vs. San Antonio Rampage - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season/All-Time Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 2-0-0-0 Home. Fourth of 10 meetings overall, third of five in Grand Rapids. San Antonio Affiliation: Florida Panthers. Head Coach: John Torchetti (1st season). No Bull: If the playoffs started today, surprising San Antonio would hold the eighth seed in the Western Conference...The Rampage are riding a 5-0-2-0 streak but are just 3-11-3-2 on the road this season...The home team has won all three prior meetings, including Griffins wins of 3-1 on Dec. 20 and 3-2 in OT on Nov. 22...Chris Mason, ranked ninth in the AHL with a 2.34 GAA, is 1-10-1 all-time at Van Andel Arena, including his previous four seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals...The Rampage convert only 9.2% of their road power plays...Jim Campbell, brother of Griffins defenseman Ed, leads San Antonio with 29 points (6-23-29).

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2003


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