Griffins' Rally Stuns Wolves
November 1, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
Grand Rapids, Mich. - Patrick Boileau's goal with 1:51 remaining on Friday capped the Griffins' largest comeback since the 2000-01 season, as Grand Rapids overcame a 3-0 deficit to stun the Chicago Wolves 4-3 at Van Andel Arena.
Boileau came off the bench, took a pass from Nathan Robinson and beat Norm Maracle from the right side with a shot into the right corner of the net, igniting the crowd of 5,448. The Griffins then withstood a wild flurry by the Wolves as time ran out, giving Grand Rapids its first home win of the season and its fourth win in its last six games overall (4-1-1-0).
The Griffins (4-3-1-0) stand alone atop the Central Division heading into their game against the undefeated Milwaukee Admirals (4-0-3-0) at home on Saturday. Chicago remains winless since opening night at 1-5-1-1.
The Wolves scored on their first two shots before the game was six minutes old. Ben Simon scored shorthanded at 3:23 after stealing the puck inside his own blueline, and just 2:01 later, Brad Tapper sent a pass from the left half-wall into the slot to a streaking J.P. Vigier, who redirected the puck through Marc Lamothe's five hole.
Chicago used its potent power play to make it a 3-0 game early in the second period. During a 5-on-3 advantage, Vigier found Steve Maltais wide open in the slot from the left corner, and the veteran winger buried the puck on a one-timer.
The Griffins began their rally with 5:40 remaining in the middle frame. Stacy Roest, re-assigned by the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the day, set up behind the Chicago goal and sent a perfect pass out front to Rob Collins, who connected top shelf for his first goal as a Griffin. Mark Mowers pulled the home team within one on the power play at the 19:44 mark, cleaning up during a scramble just outside the Chicago crease.
Midway through the final period, Chicago was attempting to reassert its cushion during a power play, but it was the Griffins who struck shorthanded to knot the score. Hugo Boisvert finished an impressive sequence of passes with Mowers and slipped the puck past the Wolves' netminder at the 10:52 mark, setting up the final heroics.
Lamothe won his third straight game thanks to 18 saves, while Maracle took the loss despite 27 stops.
The comeback from a 3-0 deficit was the first for the Griffins since a 7-5 win at Kansas City on Feb. 16, 2001. Grand Rapids was awarded 11 power plays on the night, breaking the franchise record of 10 set six times previously. The Griffins have now scored a power play goal in seven consecutive games, one shy of the team standard established from Feb. 20 to March 7, 1998.
American Hockey League Stories from November 1, 2002
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- Ducks take bite out of Crunch - Cincinnati RailRaiders
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- Baumgartner reassigned to Manitoba - Manitoba Moose
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- Flames Make Roster Moves - Saint John Flames
- Brown, O'Sullivan Assigned by Anaheim - Cincinnati RailRaiders
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- Penguins Re-Assign Robinson to Wheeling - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
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- Rochester Americans vs. Binghamton Senators Game Notes - Rochester Americans
- Haydar Named AHL Rookie of the Month - AHL
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