AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Open Record Lead Atop Division

Published on February 18, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


21-Gun Salute: Thanks to a two-game sweep in New York state that extended their winning streak to four games, the first-place Griffins have increased their lead atop the AHL's Central Division to 21 points, marking the largest margin they've enjoyed in seven seasons of play. Last night's 4-3 win at Syracuse capped off a week in which Grand Rapids outscored its opposition by a 21-8 count.

Trading Spaces: The Griffins will swap their suitcases for the comforts of home this weekend, as they return to Van Andel Arena to host the Cleveland Barons (Fri.) and Utah Grizzlies (Sat.). On Friday, the first 5,000 fans will receive four Griffins trading cards, in the third of four Shoe Carnival Trading Card nights. The Griffins will wear their third jerseys, modeled after those of the Red Wings, and post-game will feature a Throw for Dough and an autograph session with six players. Saturday is "Trading Spaces with the Griffins" night, presented by Stock Building Supply. Fans can meet Amy Wynn Pastor, carpenter on The Learning Channel's hit television series "Trading Spaces," at a pre-game autograph session. One lucky fan and their "neighbor" will each win $1,000 to remodel a room, plus a $1,000 design project from the builders at Stock Building Supply. Another Throw for Dough will be held after the game.

Wild West Showdown: Grand Rapids, which trails the Houston Aeros by five points in the race for first place overall in the Western Conference, will travel to the Lone Star State on Sunday for a 6:00 p.m. showdown at the Compaq Center. The game will mark the third in as many nights for the Griffins, who have compiled a solid 10-5-3-0 record (0.639) this year in such situations, including 4-2-0-0 in the third contest.

Central Issues: The first-place Griffins own a 33-14-8-2 record overall, good for 76 points, and possess divisional leads of 21 points over Rochester, 32 over Cincinnati, 34 over Cleveland and 35 over Syracuse.

Hot Wing: Jason Williams is enjoying the most prolific goal-scoring run in Griffins history, having lit the lamp 12 times in nine contests since Jan. 31. His two goals last night in Syracuse enabled him to surpass the previous efforts of Kip Miller and Michel Picard, who each tallied 11 goals over nine-game spans during the 2000-01 and 1996-97 seasons, respectively. Williams has accounted for 36% (12-of-33) of the Griffins' goals over the last nine games, while contributing three assists. He has recorded points in 10 of the last 14 games (13-8-21), with five multi-goal outings.

Hit the Road, Jack: Following this weekend's two-game home set, the Griffins will play 14 of their final 21 regular season contests away from Van Andel Arena. This is far from bad news, however, as Grand Rapids is 11-2-2-0 in its last 15 road contests and 17-4-3-2 overall (0.750) in foreign buildings. The Griffins are on pace to record 26 wins on the road, a total that would surpass the franchise record of 25 set in 1999-2000.

Greedy Offense, Stingy Defense: Due to a recent scoring barrage, the Griffins have climbed to eighth in the AHL in goal scoring, averaging 3.09 per game. Their 17-goal explosion between last Wednesday and Sunday marked the first time they've scored five or more goals in three consecutive games since Dec. 5-8, 2001. Grand Rapids has been even more impressive on the other end, allowing a league-low 2.23 goals per game. The Griffins have surrendered more than three goals just once since Dec. 31 and only eight times in their first 57 games overall. They are 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.

Westward Ho!: Grand Rapids, which won the inaugural West Division title last season, will reacquaint itself with its former rivals during the season's stretch run. Sixteen of the Griffins' final 23 games will be staged against either Houston, Utah, San Antonio or Chicago, while they'll face current Central Division foes Rochester, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Cleveland just five times. In 28 games to date against the West Division (including Milwaukee), Grand Rapids has posted an aggregate 13-9-5-1 record (0.571).

Ironman: Marc Lamothe made 25 saves against the Crunch last night to record his league-leading 23rd victory and retain the AHL leads in games played (44) and minutes (2,524). Lamothe, who has appeared in 11 straight contests and has started nine straight, last night surpassed his previous career-high for wins (22 for Hamilton last season).

Richie Hits Another Milestone: Travis Richards, who became the first Griffin to appear in 500 regular season games on Jan. 31 in Milwaukee, joined Michel Picard as the only franchise players to reach 200 points during last Friday's 5-2 win over Cincinnati. He registered three assists on the night, the second of which (Boisvert PP 11:13 2nd) marked the bicentennial milestone. Richards has three multi-point efforts in the last six games (2-6-8).

Picard Registers 300th Griffins Point: Grand Rapids' all-time leading scorer Michel Picard notched his 300th point as a Griffin with his third assist last Wednesday against Philly. Picard, who now has 130 goals and 173 assists as a Griffin, already has 61 points this season, eclipsing Kip Miller's team-leading total (56) from last year.

Mowers of Power: All-Star center Mark Mowers has already tallied 58 points (24-34-58) this season, besting his former career-high of 50 points (25-25-50) set in 2000-01 with Milwaukee. His 24 goals lead the team, stand one shy of his career best (2000-01) and surpass Petr Schastlivy's team-leading total (22) from last season.

All Hail Hugo!: Center Hugo Boisvert scored a pair of goals last Wednesday versus Philadelphia and added a power play tally on Friday against Cincinnati. He has scored five goals in the last seven games and 16 on the season, after notching only 11 goals last season and scoring just 17 in his first two years combined.

Reinforcements: The Griffins last Tuesday recalled right wing Darryl Bootland from the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League and signed defenseman Ryan Knox to a professional tryout. Bootland notched his first AHL point with an assist last night in Syracuse and has totaled nine penalty minutes in four games. Knox, meanwhile, scored a goal in Sunday's 7-1 demolition of Rochester.

Get Teskey: The Griffins signed Doug Teskey to a pro tryout on Feb. 7. A fourth-year pro from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Teskey has played 32 games this season for the ECHL's Toledo Storm, posting a 19-6-4 record with a 3.07 GAA and a 0.907 save percentage. He fills in for Joey MacDonald, who is recovering from a groin injury suffered against San Antonio on Jan. 29.

Deadly Duo: 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 two players in the AHL's top five in Michel Picard (3rd) and Mark Mowers (4th).

Hot Hands: Michel Picard has points in seven of the last 12 contests (4-13-17) and has a pair of three-point nights in the last four games...Mark Mowers owns a four-game point streak (2-5-7)...Rob Collins has assists in four of the last seven games (0-5-5)...Tomas Kopecky has a three-game point streak (1-5-6), six goals and seven assists in the last 11 games, and points in 11 of the last 17 outings (6-11-17)...Nick Greenough tallied his first two AHL goals on Sunday in Rochester.

On Track: The Griffins are on pace for 46 wins and 106 points, totals that would surpass those from all but two of the team's previous six seasons (53/113 in 2000-01 and 51/111 in 1999-00).

League Leaders: Goalie Marc Lamothe paces the AHL with 23 wins and 2,524 minutes and ranks among the leaders with a 2.16 GAA (2nd), four shutouts (T3rd) and 1,039 saves (5th)...Michel Picard is third in the scoring race with 61 points (21-40-61) and also stands third with 40 assists...Mark Mowers is fourth in the league with 58 points (24-34-58)...Rob Collins is tied for second overall and paces all rookies with two game-tying goals...Dave Van Drunen is tied for second both overall and among defensemen with a plus-29 rating...Travis Richards is tied for fourth both overall and among defensemen at plus-27, while tying for first among blueliners with four game-winning goals...Among rookies, Tomas Kopecky is tied for 18th with 31 points (15-16-31) and stands fourth at plus-16.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 51-for-335, 15.2% (21st)
* Penalty Killing: 224-for-267, 83.9% (15th)
* Penalty Minutes: 15.9 avg. (27th)
* Goals For: 3.09 (8th)
* Goals Against: 2.23 avg. (1st)
* Shots For: 29.40 avg. (20th)
* Shots Against: 27.14 avg. (2nd)
* Attendance: 6,875 avg. (7th)

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 in second place in the NHL's Central Division (30-17-9-2), following Saturday's 6-2 win at Atlanta. They'll host Vancouver tonight at 7:30 p.m. (FSN).

Stacy Comes to Roest in Detroit: Center Stacy Roest, who paced the Griffins with 24 points (11-13-24) in a 19-game span between Christmas and the AHL All-Star break, was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 7 but has yet to appear in any games. Roest, who spent the last two seasons with the NHL's Minnesota Wild, played in 108 games with the Red Wings from 1998-2000, tallying 28 points (11-17-28). He had appeared in 49 consecutive Griffins games since his assignment from Detroit on Oct. 17.

Boileau Keeps Motorin': Defenseman Patrick Boileau scored the first NHL goal of his eight-year pro career on Jan. 24 at Vancouver, helping Detroit to a 5-2 win, then notched the game-winner in the Wings' 5-4 triumph over San Jose on Feb. 10. Outside of a two-day reassignment to Grand Rapids on New Year's Eve, Boileau has been with Detroit since Dec. 14. He has appeared in 18 contests for the defending champs, notching five points (2-3-5), a plus-eight rating and 14 shots while averaging 13:12 in ice time. Boileau played only 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 stand atop the Southeast Division with a 28-23-7-3 record...Kip Miller is tied for fourth on the Caps with an NHL career-high 46 points (11-35-46), Ivan Ciernik has totaled 12 points (5-7-12) in 31 appearances, Jason Doig has five points (1-4-5) in 34 games, and Joel Kwiatkowski has four assists in 35 games between the Caps and Senators...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-7-6), who recently signed a three-year contract extension with the club, has a 2.70 GAA and a 0.913 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (27-15-6) owns a 2.10 GAA, a 0.916 save percentage and seven shutouts, while Martin Prusek (10-1-1) shows a 2.35 GAA and a 0.913%...Todd White is third on the Sens with 47 points (20-27-47), Petr Schastlivy is 11th with 19 points (9-10-19) in 33 games, Karel Rachunek has 17 assists in 37 games since rejoining the team, and Chris Neil has chipped in five 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 The Zone at Van Andel Arena 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 available by calling 800-2-HOCKEY.

This Week's Scouting Report

Fri., Feb. 21 vs. Cleveland Barons (17-33-4-4) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m. TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Home. Fifth of six meetings overall, third and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 4-4-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Cleveland Affiliation: San Jose Sharks. Head Coach: Roy Sommer (2nd season). Spy Glass: The Barons trail the Griffins by 34 points in the Central Division standings but have taken two of four meetings, including a 1-0 win at Gund Arena on Feb. 9...Cleveland has earned points in six of its last seven outings (4-1-1-1)...The Barons rank among the AHL's bottom four in goals (2.43, 25th), goals allowed (3.48, 27th), shots (26.47, 28th) and shots allowed (34.12, 25th)...Their power play ranks third in the league (19.2%)...Top scorer Niko Dimitrakos (15-29-44) is on recall to San Jose...Vesa Toskala (3.26 GAA) has earned most of the work in goal, but Seamus Kotyk owns a pair of shutouts, including a 37-save effort against Grand Rapids on Feb. 9.

Sat., Feb. 22 vs. Utah Grizzlies (26-23-3-2) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m. TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 4-2-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Seventh of 10 meetings overall, fifth and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 8-9-1-0 Overall, 4-6-0-0 Home. Total: 16-14-2-0 Overall, 11-6-0-0 Home. Utah Affiliation: Dallas Stars. Head Coach: Don Hay (2nd season). Grin and Bear It: Five of the first six meetings between these teams were decided by a single goal in regulation...Utah has lost three of its last four road games, dropping to 10-13-3-0 overall away from home...The Griffins took a 3-2 win at The "E" Center in the most recent meeting on Feb. 5...On Monday, parent Dallas traded AHL All-Star Game MVP Jon Sim to Nashville for former UM defenseman Bubba Berenzweig, who was assigned to Utah...Jim Montgomery is tied for 11th in the AHL with 51 points (17-34-51)...With Corey Hirsch in Dallas, the netminding load falls to Jason Bacashihua (3.10 GAA)...Utah allows the second-most shots in the AHL (35.46).

Sun., Feb. 23 at Houston Aeros (37-13-6-1) - Compaq Center - 6:00 p.m. TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 5:40 p.m. Season Series: 2-3-1-0 Overall, 0-1-1-0 Road. Seventh of 10 meetings overall, third of five in Houston. All-Time Series: AHL: 6-6-6-0 Overall, 1-3-4-0 Road. Total: 14-10-10-0 Overall, 5-5-7-0 Road. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (2nd season). Battle Plans: The Griffins trail the Aeros by five points in the overall Western Conference standings...Grand Rapids won the last meeting by a 7-0 count at home on Jan. 28, its second shutout in the last three clashes with Houston...Four of eight meetings at the Compaq Center over the last two years have ended in ties...The Aeros own one of the league's top home records at 18-6-4-0...Houston ranks second in shots (34.56) and first in shots allowed (26.40)...Jean-Guy Trudel (24-42-66) and Cory Larose (18-38-56) stand second and sixth (tied) in AHL scoring...Derek Gustafson (2.50 GAA) and Dieter Kochan (2.53) rank 12th and 14th among goaltenders.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2003


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