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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins to host San Antonio Friday in home finale

April 5, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Thanks for the Memories: The Griffins will conclude their 2003-04 regular season home schedule this Friday with a visit from the San Antonio Rampage at 7:30 p.m. In celebration of another great season, fans will enjoy a pre-game laser light show, and a variety of great prizes will be given away throughout the night including gift certificates from Fox Motor Group, restaurants and sporting goods stores, along with DVDs, CDs, movie passes, jerseys, T-shirts and more. The Griffins will wear their alternate red jerseys, modeled after those of the Red Wings, and the sweaters will be auctioned to the public on the concourse immediately after the game. The first 1,500 fans will receive a CD carrying case, courtesy of West Michigan Chrysler Jeep Dealers. To finish the night, both a Griffins autograph session and a Stouffer's Family Fun skate will take place after the game.

Playoff Posturing: Entering the final week of the AHL's regular season, the second-place Griffins mathematically remain in the hunt for a fifth consecutive division title. Despite winning six of their last 17 games (6-11-0-0), the Griffins stand only four points behind the first-place Milwaukee Admirals in the West Division standings and still lead the third-place Chicago Wolves by two points. As such, the Griffins' magic number for clinching second place is four points over Chicago, while their magic number for winning the division is 13 points over Milwaukee. Several weeks ago they secured no worse than a third-place finish, earning an exemption from the qualifying round and an automatic berth in the division semifinals of the 2004 Calder Cup playoffs.

Chasing Lord Stanley: Eight of the NHL's 16 Stanley Cup playoff teams have former Griffins either playing for or coaching them. Guy Charron, who coached Grand Rapids from 1998-2000, is an assistant with Montreal, while Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, Ottawa, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Vancouver have a total of 20 former Griffins on their rosters.

Three-Peat: The Griffins this weekend will conclude the regular season by playing three games in three nights for the ninth time this year. They are now 14-6-4-0 when playing "three in three," including a 6-1-1-0 mark in the third game.

Three's Company: If the Calder Cup playoffs were to begin today, second-place Grand Rapids would enjoy home-ice advantage in a best-of-seven divisional semifinal series against the third-place Chicago Wolves, in what would mark their fourth playoff meeting in the last five years (the Griffins swept Chicago 4-0 in last year's Western Conference semifinals, but fell to the Wolves 3-2 in the 2002 Western Conference quarterfinals and 4-2 in the 2000 IHL Turner Cup finals). In a three-way race atop the West Division, Grand Rapids has the easiest remaining schedule, Milwaukee has had the most success against its remaining foes, and Chicago has the most favorable balance of home games:

Team Points Games Left (Home/Road) Opponent. Win. % Win. % vs. Remaining Opp.
Milwaukee 98 4 (2/2) 0.508 0.706
Grand Rapids 94 3 (1/2) 0.439 0.640
Chicago 92 3 (2/1) 0.573 0.460 Playoff Tickets: Although the exact dates and opponent are yet to be determined, tickets for Grand Rapids' first two home games during the 2004 Calder Cup playoffs are now on sale. Single-game playoff ticket prices are $26, $21, $18, $13, $11 and $6 (advance purchase only), reflecting a league-wide increase of $1 over regular season prices. Playoff tickets may be purchased at The Zone and all Star Tickets Plus outlets, including West Michigan Meijer stores, or by calling (616) 222-4000.

Century City?: If the Griffins can sweep their final three regular season games, they would secure their fourth 100-point campaign in the last five years (106 in 2002-03, 113 in 2000-01, 111 in 1999-00).

Turning the Tables: The Griffins' 6-0 loss to the Toronto Roadrunners on March 17 tied a franchise record for the largest margin of defeat at home, mirroring a 6-0 whitewashing to the IHL's San Antonio Dragons back on Nov. 2, 1996, the 12th game of the Griffins' inaugural season. However, Grand Rapids exacted revenge on Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum, beating Toronto by an identical 6-0 count for its largest margin of victory this season.

Shutout Stories: Joey MacDonald made 39 saves in Sunday's 6-0 win at Toronto, tying a franchise record (held by Marc Lamothe, Mike Fountain and Pokey Reddick) with his sixth shutout of the season. Including Lamothe's four blankings this season, the Griffins' 10 shutouts have broken the team standard of nine established in 2001-02 and equaled by Lamothe and MacDonald in 2002-03. Grand Rapids has also been shut out on nine occasions, marking a new record for most shutouts involved in during a single season (19; old record 18 in 2001-02).

Welcome Aboard!: Center Eric Himelfarb (Wed.) and defenseman Brett Lebda (Fri.) each made strong impressions after signing amateur contracts with the Griffins last week. Himelfarb sparked Grand Rapids' rally from a 2-0 deficit and its eventual 6-3 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday by scoring on his first pro shot at 2:25 of the second period against Wade Flaherty. He also scored a goal and an assist and tied a Griffins season-high with a plus-four rating during Sunday's 6-0 win at Toronto. Lebda made his pro debut on Friday versus Chicago, and notched an assist for his first pro point on Sunday versus the Roadrunners. The 21-year-old Himelfarb, whose stellar Ontario Hockey League career came to an end on March 25 with Kingston's four-games-to-one playoff loss to Barrie, enjoyed an outstanding overage season with the Frontenacs, pacing them and ranking among the league leaders with 37 goals (T8th in OHL), 70 assists (2nd) and 107 points (4th) in 67 games. Lebda, 22, recently concluded his senior season at Notre Dame. A Second Team All-CCHA performer and finalist for the league's top offensive defenseman award after posting 24 points (6-18-24) in 39 games, he helped lead the Fighting Irish to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, a 5-2 loss to Minnesota on March 27 at Van Andel Arena.

Feast or Famine: After totaling only eight goals in a span of eight games (Mar. 8-26), the Griffins busted loose for nine over their next two contests, including Wednesday's 6-3 rout of first-place Milwaukee. Then, after scoring just one goal during its two-game set against Chicago, Grand Rapids exploded for a 6-0 win on Sunday at Toronto.

Rare Snub: No Griffins were named to the AHL's First or Second All-Star Teams that were announced last Thursday, marking the first season since 1998-99 and just the third in franchise history that a Griffin has not been named to a postseason all-star team: 2002-03 AHL: Marc Lamothe (1st), Mark Mowers (2nd), Michel Picard (2nd); 2001-02 AHL: John Gruden (1st), Martin Prusek (1st); 2000-01 IHL: Derek King (1st), Mike Fountain (2nd), Travis Richards (2nd); 1999-00 IHL: Jani Hurme (2nd); 1996-97 IHL: Michel Picard (1st).

Milestones: Derek King is one point shy of 900 for his pro career (375-524-899 in 1,188 games)...Jeff Nelson needs one point to reach 500 for his AHL career (163-336-499 in 549 games), a plateau reached by only 69 other players (including Michel Picard) in the league's 68-year history.

Accidents at Home: Following a franchise-record 16-game home unbeaten streak (13-0-3-0) and a record-tying 10-game home winning streak, the Griffins have dropped five of their last seven games at Van Andel Arena. Still, the Griffins sport a remarkable 20-7-3-0 record at Van Andel Arena since Nov. 28. Discounting a 6-0 loss to Toronto on March 17, the other six losses since that date were by a total of nine goals.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 56-for-345, 16.2% (8th)
* Penalty Killing: 325-for-373, 87.1% (8th)
* Penalty Minutes: 16.40 avg. (24th)
* Goals For: 2.44 avg. (19th)
* Goals Against: 2.04 avg. (4th)
* Shots For: 26.96 avg. (T25th)
* Shots Against: 29.06 avg. (12th)
* Attendance: 6,671 avg. (9th)

League Leaders: Three Griffins currently rank among the AHL's best in various categories: Marc Lamothe - 2.01 GAA (11th); Joey MacDonald - 1.97 GAA (8th) and a 0.936 save percentage (T4th); and Kevin Miller - Nine game-winning goals (T3rd).

Griffins Earn Their Wings: Thirteen members of the Griffins were recalled by the Detroit Red Wings during the regular season. Eleven players saw action with the Red Wings, while goaltender Joey MacDonald spent several games as a backup and forward Blake Sloan was claimed on waivers by Dallas. The 10 players who were projected to spend the entire season with Grand Rapids (excluding Curtis Joseph) combined for 177 games in Hockeytown, totaling nine goals, 22 assists, 31 points, 149 PIM and a plus-13 rating.

Player GP G A PTS +/- PIM Avg. Ice Time
*Mark Mowers 52 3 8 11 3 4 10:27
*Jamie Rivers 50 3 4 7 9 41 10:13
*Niklas Kronwall 20 1 4 5 5 16 13:51
Jiri Hudler 12 1 2 3 -1 10 8:09
Darryl Bootland 22 1 1 2 -3 74 6:06
Kevin Miller 4 0 2 2 2 0 7:21
Anders Myrvold 8 0 1 1 -1 2 12:11
Ryan Barnes 2 0 0 0 0 0 2:22
Nathan Robinson 5 0 0 0 -1 2 6:00

Goalie GP W L T SO GAA Save %
*Curtis Joseph 31 16 10 3 2 2.39 0.909
*Marc Lamothe 2 1 0 1 0 1.44 0.948


* Currently with Detroit

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the second season of a five-year affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings, who claimed the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best regular season record at 48-21-11-2, will face the eighth-seeded Nashville Predators in the Western Conference quarterfinals. The schedule is as follows: Game 1 at Detroit (Wed. at 7), Game 2 at Detroit (Sat. at 3), Game 3 at Nashville (Sun. at 4), Game 4 at Nashville (Tue., Apr. 13 at 7:30), Game 5 at Detroit (Thu., Apr. 15 at 7:30), Game 6 at Nashville (Sat., Apr. 17 at 3), Game 7 at Detroit (Mon., Apr. 19 at 7:30).

This Week's Scouting Report

Fri., Apr. 9 vs. San Antonio Rampage (28-39-8-0) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

Sun., Apr. 11 at San Antonio Rampage - SBC Center - 5 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. (Fri.) and 4:40 p.m. (Sun.). Season Series: 5-2-1-0 Overall, 2-1-1-0 Home, 3-1-0-0 Road. Ninth and tenth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five in both Grand Rapids and San Antonio. All-Time Series: 11-6-1-0 Overall, 6-3-0-0 Road. San Antonio Affiliation: Florida Panthers. Head Coach: Scott Allen (1st season). On a Stampede: The Rampage currently reside in sixth place in the West Division, five points out of a playoff spot...Four of their five games this week are against a murderer's row of Grand Rapids (twice), Milwaukee (once) and Chicago (once), including three on the road...San Antonio is 1-4-1-0 in its last six at home...On average, only five AHL teams allow more goals than the Rampage (2.89)...Travis Scott is tied for the league high with 29 losses...Denis Shvidki paces the Rampage with 51 points (15-36-51).

Sat., Apr. 10 at Houston Aeros (27-33-14-4) - Toyota Center - 8 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:40 p.m. Season Series: 5-4-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Road. Tenth and final meeting overall, fifth of five in Houston. All-Time Series: AHL: 14-11-6-0 Overall, 5-6-4-0 Road. Total: 22-15-10-0 Overall, 9-8-7-0 Road. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (3rd season). Aero Dynamics: If the season ended today, defending champion Houston would finish fourth in the West Division and would host Cincinnati in the best-of-three qualifying round...In each of the last seven meetings between Grand Rapids and Houston, the losing team has either been shut out or held to a single goal...Both Griffins wins at the Toyota Center this season came via 3-1 scores, while both of their losses were by 4-1 margins...The Aeros are winless in their last three (0-1-2-0) and are 3-3-3-1 in their last 10...Since a 3-1 loss to Grand Rapids on March 5, Houston has posted a 4-1-3-0 mark at home, improving to 17-12-8-2 on the season...Travis Roche ranks 12th among AHL blueliners with 38 points (8-30-38).

This Week's Games:
Fri., Apr. 9 San Antonio Rampage at GRIFFINS 7:30 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM
Sat., Apr. 10 GRIFFINS at Houston Aeros 8 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM
Sun., Apr. 11 GRIFFINS at San Antonio Rampage 5 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM END OF REGULAR SEASON

Last Week's Results:
Wed., Mar. 31 Milwaukee Admirals 3 at GRIFFINS 6 42-24-8-0, 92 pts. (2nd, West Division)
Fri., Apr. 2 Chicago Wolves 3 at GRIFFINS 0 42-25-8-0, 92 pts. (2nd)
Sat., Apr. 3 GRIFFINS 1 at Chicago Wolves 2 42-26-8-0, 92 pts. (2nd)
Sun., Apr. 4 GRIFFINS 6 at Toronto Roadrunners 0 43-26-8-0, 94 pts. (2nd)

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