AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Prepare For Three Home Games in Four Nights

Published on November 19, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


This Week's Games

Wed., Nov. 21 - Hamilton Bulldogs at GRIFFINS - 7 p.m. - WOOD 1300 AM/B2 Networks

Fri., Nov. 23 - Iowa Stars at GRIFFINS - 7 p.m. - WOOD/B2

Sat., Nov. 24 - Iowa Stars at GRIFFINS - 7 p.m. - WOOD/B2

Sun., Nov. 25 - GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs - 5:05 p.m. - WOOD/B2

Last Week's Results

Tue., Nov. 13 - Quad City Flames 3 at GRIFFINS 1 - 5-7-0-1, 11 pts. (T5th, North Division)

Thu., Nov. 15 - GRIFFINS 1 at Manitoba Moose 2 - 5-8-0-1, 11 pts. (T5th)

Fri., Nov. 16 - GRIFFINS 2 at Manitoba Moose 4 - 5-9-0-1, 11 pts. (T5th)

Busy Boys: The Griffins this week face their toughest schedule to date with four games in five nights, including three home games surrounding Thanksgiving (Wed., Fri. and Sat.). It marks the first of four 4-in-5 sets they'll play this season, with the second coming next week (Nov. 28-Dec. 2) on the road. In all, beginning with Wednesday's home game versus Hamilton, the Griffins will play eight times in a span of just 12 days.

The Tradition Continues: This Saturday's game against Iowa will mark the Griffins' eighth annual Teddy Bear Toss. Fans are encouraged to bring new, store-tagged teddy bears and stuffed animals to toss onto the ice when the Griffins score their first goal. This annual event is the largest provider of stuffed animals to Hug-A-Bears of Kent County, which distributes the toys through many local agencies to provide comfort to victims of fires, accidents, illness and crimes. It's also Comerica Bank Youth Jersey Night, as the first 1,500 kids (ages 12 and under) will receive replicas of the Griffins' new home sweaters. For a complete rundown of promotions for this week's three home games, visit griffinshockey.com/promotions/calendar.

Adios, Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen: This Sunday's game in Rockford will kick off a five-game road trip (Nov. 25-Dec. 2) for the Griffins, their second-longest road swing of the season (six games, Jan. 31-Feb. 10).

Attendance On the Rise: Nearly 5,200 students and teachers were among the 7,525 fans in attendance for last Tuesday's seventh annual matinee game at Van Andel Arena, helping to bolster the Griffins' attendance to 36,702 through six games this season (6,117 avg., 6th in AHL). This represents a year-to-date increase of 35.5%, as last season the team welcomed 27,083 fans through its first half-dozen home games.

Welcome Back: The Griffins on Monday recalled left wing Mike Walsh from the ECHL's Dayton Bombers. Walsh, a Grand Rapids-contracted player who was assigned to Dayton after being a healthy scratch in the Oct. 6 season opener, has five points (4-1-5) and 17 penalty minutes in 13 games with the Bombers. He appeared in five games with the Griffins last season, going scoreless.

Enough is Enough: Now 0-6 at home for the first time in their history, the Griffins have been outscored 26-10 at Van Andel Arena. They are one home defeat shy of tying the franchise records for longest home losing/winless streak (7, 12/11/04-1/15/05, 0-7-0-0). In addition, the Griffins are 0-7-0-1 in their last eight games overall, having been outscored 35-18. They are one defeat shy of tying the franchise records for longest losing/winless streak (9, 12/17/04-1/8/05, 0-8-0-1).

It's Been Such a Long Time: At 5-9-0-1, the Griffins are four games under 0.500 for the first time in their era of NHL affiliation (Detroit 2002-present, Ottawa 1999-2002). The last time was when they concluded the 1998-99 IHL campaign six games below the break-even mark at 34-40-8.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Three of the Griffins' last five losses have been by a single goal, and each of the last seven has been by two or fewer goals...Grand Rapids scored the first goal in three of the last four games and had leads in four of the last six games, but has not led by more than one goal at any time during its eight-game winless streak...The Griffins and their opponents have been tied in the third period of four of their last six games.

Taking Advantage: Eight of the 17 power play goals scored by opponents this season have come with Grand Rapids down two men, as Griffins foes have converted during eight of their 10 5-on-3 advantages. By contrast, Grand Rapids has enjoyed only three two-man advantages all season - for a grand total of 14 seconds - and all 12 power play goals scored by the Griffins thus far have come during one-man advantages...Since converting three of four power play chances in a 6-5 shootout loss at Rockford on Nov. 9, the Griffins have gone 1-for-23 (4.3%) in the last four games, including 0-for-14 during their three losses last week.

Red Wings Jersey Auction: Twenty-three autographed, game-issued Detroit Red Wings jerseys are being made available for public bidding throughout the 2007-08 season through exclusive auctions that begin at griffinshockey.com and conclude after select Griffins home games. Online bidding, which begins at $250 per jersey, will establish the starting bids for silent auctions that will take place on the arena concourse during Griffins games. Subsequently, the highest bids from the silent auctions will serve as the starting bids for live post-game auctions. The first five jerseys - Johan Franzen, Jimmy Howard, Mikael Samuelsson, Pavel Datsyuk and Valtteri Filppula - are now online. Proceeds from the auctions will benefit the Griffins Youth Foundation. For more information and a complete auction schedule, visit griffinshockey.com/fanzone/auctions.

Scouting Report

Wed., Nov. 21 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (5-7-0-3) - Van Andel Arena - 7 p.m.

Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:59 p.m. Web Casts: Video ($6 - B2 Networks) and audio (free) available through griffinshockey.com. All-Time Series (W-L-T-OTL-SOL): 16-14-1-0-2 Overall, 8-5-1-0-2 Home. Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Second of eight meetings overall, first of four in Grand Rapids. NHL Affiliation: Montreal Canadiens. Head Coach: Don Lever (3rd season). Notes: The defending Calder Cup champions will make their first appearance of the season at Van Andel Arena...The Bulldogs have a pair of former Griffins in Eric Manlow (2004-06) and Joel Bouchard (2000-01)...Hamilton's Sergei Kostitsyn is tied for third in AHL rookie scoring with 15 points (4-11-15)...The Dogs rank second in the AHL in penalty killing at 89.8%...The Griffins won 5-3 in Hamilton on Oct. 24 to improve to 4-2 at the time. They are 1-7-0-1 since.

Fri., Nov. 23 vs. Iowa Stars (8-8-1-0) - Van Andel Arena - 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 24 vs. Iowa Stars - Van Andel Arena - 7 p.m.

Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:59 p.m. (Fri.) and 6:40 p.m. (Sat.). Web Casts: Video ($6 - B2 Networks) and audio (free) available through griffinshockey.com. All-Time Series: 5-1-1-1 Overall, 3-0-1-0 Home. Season Series: First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two in Grand Rapids. NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars. Head Coach: Dave Allison (3rd season). Notes: Iowa is two games above 0.500 on the road (4-2-0-0) and two games below at home (4-6-1-0)...Stars coach Dave Allison was the first head coach in Griffins history, leading the franchise to a 70-55-19 record from 1996-98...Iowa's Toby Peterson leads the AHL with 11 goals and is tied for third with 22 points.

Sun., Nov. 25 at Rockford IceHogs (10-4-2-1) - Rockford MetroCentre - 5:05 p.m.

Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 4:40 p.m. Web Casts: Video ($6 - B2 Networks) and audio (free) available through griffinshockey.com. All-Time/Season Series: 0-1-0-1 Overall, 0-0-0-1 Road. Third of four meetings overall, second of two in Rockford. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Mike Haviland (1st season). Notes: The IceHogs own a near-perfect home-ice record of 3-0-0-1, including a 6-5 shootout win over Grand Rapids on Nov. 9...Rockford's Martin St. Pierre is tied for sixth in the league's scoring derby with 20 points (7-13-20)...Long-time Griffins nemesis Wade Flaherty is tied for third in the AHL with a 0.929 save percentage.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 19, 2007


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