AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Sweep Defending Champion Chicago

Published on May 2, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Rosemont, Ill. - They huffed and they puffed and they swept the defending Calder Cup champions.

Stacy Roest broke a scoreless deadlock with just 1:57 remaining in the third period and Derek King added an empty net goal with 40 seconds left to give the Grand Rapids Griffins a 2-0 victory and a four-game sweep of the Chicago Wolves in the AHL Western Conference semifinals.

Powered by a 26-save shutout by Marc Lamothe, who did not allow a goal over the final 102:05 of the series, the top-seeded Griffins will advance to their third conference final in the last four years and first as members of the AHL. Grand Rapids will face the winner of the conference semifinal series between #2 Houston and #3 Norfolk, currently tied at two games apiece.

Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven Western Conference finals will take place at Van Andel Arena on Monday, May 12 and Wednesday, May 14 at 7 p.m. each night. Tickets for both games are currently on sale at The Zone and all Tickets PLUS outlets, including Meijer stores, or by calling (616) 222-4000.

Tonight's contest looked as if it might be headed to overtime when Roest received a pass from Rob Collins in the right corner and took a shot along the ice that deflected off goaltender Frederic Cassivi's skate and into the net, sparking an eruption from several dozen Griffins faithful that had made the trip from West Michigan. With Cassivi pulled in the final minute, King scored into the empty cage off an assist from Roest to cement the Griffins' first playoff series win over Chicago in three tries.

Roest, who lit the lamp in each game of the series, notched three game-winning goals against Chicago to push his playoff total to four, one shy of the AHL record held by four players.

The Griffins, who are now 8-7 in their playoff history against the Wolves, became just the second team in AHL history to sweep the defending champions, mirroring Philadelphia's feat against Hershey in the 1998 conference semifinals. Grand Rapids had authored only one other sweep in its seven seasons, a 4-0 win over Cleveland in the 2001 IHL Eastern Conference semifinals, while Chicago suffered the first winless best-of-seven series in its nine campaigns. The Wolves had been 6-0 in elimination games over the last two seasons prior to tonight.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 2, 2003


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