AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Soaring Once Again

Published on December 8, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... Only five teams in the American Hockey League's 68-year history have ever won three consecutive division titles. The Grand Rapids Griffins are gearing up to make it six.

Winners of the West Division in 2001-02 and the Central Division in 2002-03, the Griffins are back in the West, and enter play this week in a four-way tie atop the AHL's overall standings with 34 points. Second-year head coach Danton Cole has his club in the hunt to join the Springfield Indians (1960-62), Quebec Aces (1964-66), Hershey Bears (1967-69), Philadelphia Phantoms (1997-99) and Rochester Americans (1999-2001) as back-to-back-to-back first-place finishers.

The Griffins won their first two AHL division titles with defense, and their 2003-04 campaign appears to be no different. Grand Rapids allowed 178 goals in Year One and 177 goals in Year Two, both times barely missing Rochester's AHL record for fewest goals against in an 80-game season (176 in 1998-99). With veteran Marc Lamothe and second-year pro Joey MacDonald leading the way in net, not to mention the recent return of two-time NHL All-Star Curtis Joseph, the Griffins are on their way to another sub-2.00 season; their 1.96 goals allowed per game currently ranks second in the Western Conference.

Jiri Hudler, a second-round pick by the parent Detroit Red Wings in 2002, has been a catalyst for the Griffins' offense since rejoining the AHL club four weeks ago. The 19-year-old Hudler has 16 points in 15 games in a Griffins uniform, and has nine points during the club's current six-game winning streak. Former first-rounder Niklas Kronwall, another blue-chip prospect for the Red Wings, is the Griffins' top-scoring defenseman with 13 points, and fellow 22-year-old Danny Groulx ranks second among all AHL blueliners with a plus-11 rating on the season.

Kevin Miller, a veteran of 616 NHL games with nine teams, had never played in the AHL until this season, and he leads the Griffins with 10 goals and 18 points. Tomas Kopecky, a standout rookie in 2002-03 who missed six weeks after sustaining an injury this opening night, netted his first two goals of the year in a 3-1 win over St. John's on Saturday.

Grand Rapids continues to be a force on foreign ice as well. The Griffins are 53-27-11-2 away from Van Andel Arena over the past three seasons, and their 9-3-1-0 road mark this year puts them on pace to surpass the AHL-record 26 road wins they posted in 2002-03. Grand Rapids has won six straight overall by a combined score of 16-5, and takes an eight-game unbeaten streak into this Wednesday's game at Cleveland.

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MORE FROM THE TIGERS' LAIR ... Bridgeport ran its unbeaten streak to 16 games with a 1-0 win over Hartford on Sunday evening, as rookie Wade Dubielewicz blanked the Wolf Pack for the second time in 10 days. The Sound Tigers are 13-0-3-0 in their last 16, including eight one-goal victories. They have not lost in regulation (14-0-3-1) since opening the season with a five-game winless streak, and are unbeaten in nine (8-0-1) on the road.

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REUNIONS GALORE ... Familiar faces in familiar places highlighted the week around the AHL, including a triumphant return to Albany for Worcester's Scott Pellerin. A team captain and a Calder Cup champion during his three-year stint with the River Rats (1993-96), Pellerin scored twice in the IceCats' 3-0 win on Saturday, his first game back at Pepsi Arena in nearly eight years.

Brad Boyes, who spent most of his All-Rookie 2002-03 season with St. John's, recorded a goal and an assist on Friday to help Cleveland to a 4-1 win over the visiting Maple Leafs at Gund Arena. A first-round draft pick by Toronto in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Boyes was acquired by San Jose in a March deal.

Rochester defenseman Brian Chapman made his return to Winnipeg over the weekend, playing a pair of games in the city where he suited up 447 times over six seasons (1997-2003) for the Manitoba Moose. Chapman helped the Amerks to three of a possible four points in the two-game series.

Traded from Atlanta to Nashville on Tuesday night, Simon Gamache and Kirill Safronov made their Milwaukee Admirals debuts on Wednesday against their former AHL team, the Chicago Wolves. Also on Wednesday, Milan Hnilicka, a 2000 Calder Cup champion with Hartford, made 25 saves to help Manchester defeat the Wolf Pack, 4-2. And Sunday, ex-Bulldogs Tony Salmelainen and Jani Rita provided the offense in Toronto's 2-0 win at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.

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OFF THE ICE ... The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks will be available to skate with fans, sign autographs and pose for photos at the Cincinnati Zoo's outdoor skating rink on Dec. 10... The Grand Rapids Griffins' annual 24-hour Great Skate raised $15,000 for the Griffins Youth Foundation on Dec. 6-7... The Stanley Cup, won by 22 Albany River Rats alumni over the past 10 years, will be at Albany's game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Dec. 13... A day before the 62nd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Utah held a Salute to the Military night at the "E" Center on Saturday, with the Grizzlies wearing camouflage uniforms and discounted tickets available to all military personnel.

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ETC. ... With a first-period assist on Wednesday night, Philadelphia's Peter White became the 20th player in AHL history to record 700 career points... Rookie Mike Stutzel scored the first three goals of Springfield's 6-2 victory over Worcester on Friday... Hartford's Jason LaBarbera stopped Bridgeport's Martin Kariya on a penalty shot Sunday, dropping shooters to 4-for-8 on attempts this season... Lowell's Jason Morgan made his first NHL appearance since the 1997-98 season on Tuesday, skating for Calgary in a 3-1 win over San Jose... Manchester's Pavel Rosa has recorded 21 points during his current 13-game home-ice scoring streak... Milwaukee defenseman Andrew Hutchinson recorded back-to-back two-point games last week... Hamilton's Jozef Balej recorded four points in a 4-2 win over Cleveland on Saturday, a night after teammate Benoit Gratton had four points in a 4-2 win over Binghamton... Portland went the first 22 games of the season without topping 30 shots on goal in game; the Pirates then registered 32 shots vs. Hartford on Friday and 47 against Springfield on Saturday... St. John's has allowed the game's first goal in 22 of its 27 games... The AHL's top two power play teams this year, Syracuse and Lowell, ranked 27th and 26th, respectively, last season with the man advantage.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2003


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