AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins One Win Away from Conference Crown

Published on April 1, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


One More Win: Grand Rapids and Houston are the only teams alive in the race for the Western Conference's top playoff seed, and the Griffins need just one win in the season's final three games to secure their first AHL conference crown. (They finished first in the IHL's Eastern Conference in both 2000-01 and 1999-00). One Grand Rapids victory would guarantee no worse than a tie with the Aeros in both points and wins, and the Griffins would then earn the number-one seed based on their wins advantage in the head-to-head series (currently 5-3, heading into Saturday's final meeting in Houston). Here's how the race breaks down:

Seed Team Record Points Games Remaining Opponent Winning %
1 Grand Rapids 47-20-8-2 104 3 (0 home/3 road) 0.563
2 Houston 45-22-7-3 100 3 (3 home/0 road) 0.590

Chasing the Dogs: With 104 points, the Griffins have closed to within just three points of the Hamilton Bulldogs (107) in the race for the AHL's Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, signifying the regular season points champion. Grand Rapids trailed Hamilton by 18 points (96-78) entering play on Feb. 23. Since then, the Griffins have posted a 13-5-0-0 mark, while Hamilton has gone 5-8-1-0. The Bulldogs have one game in-hand over Grand Rapids entering the final week of the regular season.

Playoff Tickets on Sale: Although their opponent and road dates are yet to be determined, the Griffins will commence the best-of-five Western Conference quarterfinals with a pair of games at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday, April 16 (7 p.m.) and Friday, April 18 (7:30 p.m.). If necessary, game five will also be held in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, April 23 (7 p.m.). Tickets for games one and two are currently on sale for $26, $21, $17, $13, $11 and $6 (advance purchase only). They may be purchased at The Zone and all Tickets PLUS outlets, including Meijer stores, and are available by calling (616) 222-4000.

Unbelievable: Heading into Saturday's final showdown, the Griffins have won each of their last four clashes with Houston, enjoying a huge 18-2 advantage on the scoreboard despite a monstrous 145-72 deficit in shots. Grand Rapids connected on 25% of its shots in those four games, while its goalies held the Aeros to a 1.4% success rate. The Griffins were out-shot 32-10 by Houston on March 23, setting a franchise record for fewest shots for the second consecutive meeting with the Aeros. (Houston allowed just 14 shots in the Griffins' 2-1 win at the Compaq Center on Mar. 13.) Grand Rapids was officially out-shot 17-0 in the final frame that day, marking the first time the Griffins have ever been held without a shot during a period.

Shutout Stories: Marc Lamothe's 32-save shutout of Hershey on Sunday was his sixth of the season, tying a Griffins' record (Mike Fountain 2000-01 and Pokey Reddick 1996-97). The blanking was Grand Rapids' eighth of the season, one shy of the standard established by last year's Griffins squad.

Road Killers: With Saturday's 3-2 win at Cincinnati, Grand Rapids tied both an AHL mark (held by four teams) and a franchise record (1999-00) with its league-high 25th road win of the season (25-7-3-2, 0.743). Three road games are left on the docket. For the first time in their seven-year history, the Griffins will finish this season with more wins at home than on the road.

Griffins Pursue AHL Records: The Griffins are within striking distance of several significant AHL records. They've allowed only 168 goals, eight shy of the league mark (176 Rochester 1998-99) with three games to play. With three road games left, Grand Rapids has already tied an AHL record with 25 road wins, and its 55 road points are two shy of the league mark (57 Binghamton 1992-93). Finally, the Griffins have allowed just 75 goals away from home, 11 fewer than the standard (86 Rochester 1998-99).

Season to Remember: The Griffins have long since surpassed both their win and point totals from the 2001-02 season (42-27-11-0, 95 pts.), their first as a member of the AHL. They are on pace for 48 wins and 108 points, and will finish with the third-highest total of each in the franchise's seven seasons (53/113 in 2000-01 and 51/111 in 1999-00).

Stingy Defense: Grand Rapids, which ranks first in the AHL by allowing only 2.18 goals per game, is bidding to become the first team since the Rochester Americans (1990-91 and 1991-92) to post the AHL's lowest goals against average in consecutive seasons. The Griffins have allowed seven fewer goals than the Hamilton Bulldogs (168/175) in one more game. They allowed a league-low 2.23 goals per game last year.

The Hard Way: With a combined winning percentage of 0.568, the West Division is by far the toughest in the league. Despite playing their first season as a member of the Central Division, the Griffins have played more games against West Division foes this season (41) than any AHL team, posting a solid 20-15-5-1 mark (0.561). Grand Rapids played only 22 games within its own division this season (18-3-1-0, 0.841).

First Attendance Jump: With Sunday's crowd of 10,478, the Griffins completed the regular season with an average attendance of 7,216, marking a first-ever increase of 2.4% for the franchise over the 2001-02 season.

Griffins Grab Honors: Three members of the Griffins were named to the AHL's 2002-03 All-Star Teams last Friday. Goaltender Marc Lamothe was tabbed for the First All-Star Team, while left wing Michel Picard and right wing Mark Mowers were Second Team honorees. Befitting their status as the top team in the Western Conference, the Central Division champion Griffins had greater representation on the AHL's honor roll than any other team, garnering one-quarter of the total selections. Lamothe follows in the footsteps of former Griffin Martin Prusek, who was named the AHL's First Team goaltender in 2001-02. Grand Rapids is the first AHL team since the Portland Pirates (1994 Byron Dafoe, 1995 Jim Carey) to boast First Team goalies in back-to-back seasons. In addition, Lamothe became the fourth consecutive Griffins netminder to be named to his league's postseason all-star team, joining Prusek, Mike Fountain (2001 IHL Second Team) and Jani Hurme (2000 IHL Second Team). Picard, who ranks third on the AHL's active career scoring list with 581 points (264-317-581) in 503 games, has earned postseason honors with three other AHL teams, including a pair of First Team selections (1995 P.E.I and 1991 Springfield) and a Second Team choice (1994 Portland). He was also named an IHL First Team All-Star as a member of the Griffins in 1997. Mowers earned the first postseason all-star mention of his five-year career. With three all-stars, the Griffins tied a franchise record set during the 2000-01 season, when left wing Derek King (First Team), defenseman Travis Richards (Second Team) and Fountain were honored by the IHL.

Marc of Distinction: Marc Lamothe, a top candidate for the AHL's Aldege "Baz" Bastien award (outstanding goaltender), has won 14 of his last 18 decisions. On Sunday, he tied a franchise record with his sixth shutout of the season, a 32-save effort against Hershey. He paces the league with 33 wins, eight more than any other netminder and one short of the franchise record (Mike Fountain 2000-01). Lamothe also leads the league with 58 games played (tied) and 3,340 minutes, breaking the franchise standard of 3,244 set by Pokey Reddick in 1996-97. Lamothe ranks second in the AHL with a 2.08 GAA, is tied for second with six shutouts, and is third with 1,414 saves. Only the third AHL goalie in the last three seasons to eclipse 30 wins, Lamothe needs just three games played, one win and 22 saves to equal Grand Rapids' franchise records in each category.

Top Gun: Michel Picard, a leading candidate for the AHL's Les Cunningham Award (regular season MVP), is chasing the first scoring title of his prolific 14-year career. He currently stands second on the circuit with 81 points (30-51-81), one behind Houston's Jean-Guy Trudel. Picard also ranks fourth with 51 assists. Just the fifth player in franchise history to reach the 80-point milestone, he is four assists from tying the team record he co-authored in 1996-97.

Other AHL Leaders: Mark Mowers is fourth in the AHL scoring race with 77 points (31-46-77) and his eight game-winning goals tie for fourth...Stacy Roest (23-47-70) is tied for 11th in league scoring...Travis Richards (plus-33) and Dave Van Drunen (plus-32) are second and third, respectively, both overall and among defensemen...Richards' four game-winning goals tie for second among blueliners...Rob Collins is tied for third overall and paces all rookies with two game-tying goals...Among rookies, Tomas Kopecky is tied for 18th with 38 points (17-21-38) and is third at plus-19.

Three Musketeers: Only once in their history have the Griffins had more than one player finish in the top 10 of their league's scoring race, that being the 2000-01 IHL season when Derek King tied for the scoring crown with 83 points and Slava Butsayev placed tenth with 68 points. However, Grand Rapids currently has three players who could finish in the AHL's top 10, including Michel Picard (2nd), Mark Mowers (4th) and Stacy Roest (T11th). All three have eclipsed 70 points, marking the first time in franchise history that three players have hit that milestone.

Hot Hands: Philippe Plante owns a four-game point streak (1-3-4)...Michel Picard had a five-game scoring streak (3-3-6) snapped on Sunday, but he still has points in nine of the last 11 games (6-6-12)...Mark Mowers has points in eight of 11 outings (3-6-9), 14 of the last 18 games (7-12-19) and 18 of the last 24 contests (9-17-26)...Stacy Roest owns a five-game point streak (4-3-7).

Milestones: Dave Van Drunen needs to play in each of the final three games to become the fifth player to record 200 career games in a Griffins uniform...Stacy Roest has 98 AHL goals, while Jason Williams has 93 AHL assists.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 65-for-432, 15.0% (23rd)
* Penalty Killing: 294-for-352, 83.5% (15th)
* Penalty Minutes: 16.2 avg. (27th)
* Goals For: 3.03 (9th)
* Goals Against: 2.18 avg. (1st)
* Shots For: 28.81 avg. (24th)
* Shots Against: 27.26 avg. (4th)
* Attendance: 7,215 (7th)

Century City: The Griffins' 3-1 win over Houston on March 23 gave them 100 points, marking the third time in the last four seasons they've reached that milestone. Now at 104 points, they finished the 2000-01 and 1999-00 IHL campaigns with 113 and 111 points, respectively.

We Are the Champions: On March 9, Grand Rapids claimed the 2002-03 John Chick Trophy as champion of the Central Division. The Griffins have won a division crown in each of their two seasons in the AHL and have earned four consecutive division championships overall, dating back to their 1999-2000 season in the IHL. Along with the division title, the Griffins that day secured a postseason berth at the earliest date in franchise history, seven days earlier than their 2001-02 counterparts, who won the inaugural N.R. (Bud) Poile Trophy as champions of the AHL's West Division.

Terrible Trio: Eight times this season, the Griffins played three games in as many nights. Grand Rapids compiled a solid 14-7-3-0 record (0.646) in three-game sets, including 6-2-0-0 in the third contest.

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the first season of a five-year affiliation with the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings (47-20-9-3) claimed the NHL's Central Division title with a 3-0 win over Nashville on Monday. They'll host the New York Islanders on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. (FSN/ESPN).

This Week's Scouting Report

Wed., Apr. 2 at Utah Grizzlies (35-32-4-5) - The E Center - 9 p.m.

Fri., Apr. 4 at Utah Grizzlies - The E Center - 9 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 8:59 p.m. (Wed.) and 8:40 p.m. (Fri.). Season Series: 4-4-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Road. Ninth and tenth of 10 meetings overall, fourth and fifth of five in West Valley City. All-Time Series: AHL: 8-11-1-0 Overall, 4-4-1-0 Road. Total: 16-16-2-0 Overall, 5-9-2-0 Road. Utah Affiliation: Dallas Stars. Head Coach: Don Hay (2nd season). Grin and Bear It: Utah begins the week as the seventh seed in the Western Conference...The Griffins won four of the first six meetings, but the Grizzlies have claimed the last two clashes...Seven of eight meetings this season, including each of the last four, were decided by a single goal in regulation...Grand Rapids' three-game winning streak at The E Center was snapped by Utah's 4-3 win on March 12...The Grizzlies are winless in their last five home games (0-2-1-2)...Utah's power play is tied for third in the AHL (18.4%)...Jim Montgomery is tied for 19th in league scoring (20-44-64)...Corey Hirsch paces the bruins with a 2.74 GAA and a 0.920 save percentage.

Sat., Apr. 5 at Houston Aeros (45-22-7-3) - Compaq Center - 8:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 8:10 p.m. Season Series: 5-3-1-0 Overall, 2-1-1-0 Road. Tenth and final meeting overall, fifth and final in Houston. All-Time Series: AHL: 9-6-6-0 Overall, 3-3-4-0 Road. Total: 17-10-10-0 Overall, 7-5-7-0 Road. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (2nd season). Battle Plans: Houston begins the week as the second seed in the Western Conference, four points behind the Griffins...Should they finish the season tied in both points and wins, the Griffins would earn the number-one seed based on their head-to-head record (5-3-1-0)...The Griffins have won four straight and five of the last six against the Aeros, including three shutout victories...Houston has lost two of its last three at home...The Aeros rank second in the league in shots allowed (26.78), second in shots (34.43) and fourth in goals scored (3.26)...Jean-Guy Trudel leads the AHL scoring race (29-53-82) and stands third with 53 assists.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from April 1, 2003


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