AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins' Unbeaten Streak Stands at Seven

Published on January 19, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Do You Believe in Miracles?: On Jan. 9, as the Griffins began a record-tying run of seven games in nine nights, they bore a season-high three-game losing streak and were coming off one of the worst losses in franchise history, a 7-0 drubbing at Milwaukee. Under the weight of such circumstances, Grand Rapids sailed through the seven-game test without a defeat, posting a 5-0-2-0 streak that it will carry into another difficult schedule of four games in five nights this week. The Griffins will host a trio of games before getting a shot at redemption on the road against the Admirals on Sunday.

Family Feud: Barring call-ups, the stage is set this Wednesday at Van Andel Arena for the first AHL meeting between Griffins forward Kevin Miller and his cousin, Rochester Americans goalie Ryan Miller. Kevin, 38, and 23-year-old Ryan, a 2001 Hobey Baker winner at Michigan State, experienced their first clash as professionals during NHL stints last month, when the Detroit Red Wings skated to a 7-2 win at Buffalo on Dec. 10. Ryan made 23 saves in the loss but none against Kevin, who went without a shot in nearly 12 minutes of playing time.

All Good Things Must End: The Griffins will complete their six-game home stand, the second-longest in franchise history, with games on Friday versus the San Antonio Rampage and Saturday against the Cleveland Barons. On Friday, the first 5,000 fans will receive four Griffins trading cards, in the second of four Shoe Carnival Trading Card Nights. The Griffins will wear their Red Wings-inspired third jerseys, and a Stouffer's Family Fun Skate and autograph session with six players will take place after the game. For Cartoon Night on Saturday, the first 3,000 fans will receive a special-edition cartoon Griffins poster, and fans can meet Marvel Comic Book heroes Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk on the concourse throughout the night.

Top of the Charts: The Griffins lead the AHL with 25 wins and 56 points (tied with Bridgeport), and their 0.651 winning percentage ranks second only to the Sound Tigers' 0.683 mark. Grand Rapids currently owns a five-point lead over Chicago atop the West Division.

Number Two With a Bullet: Jiri Hudler assisted on Kevin Miller's game-winner on Saturday in overtime to extend his point streak to 12 games (6-12-18), the longest in the AHL this season and five games shy of Derek King's franchise record (Dec. 7, 2000-Jan. 13, 2001). Hudler's streak is the second-longest in Griffins history, passing Glen Metropolit's 11-game run during the 1998-99 campaign.

Working Overtime: Each of the Griffins' last five home games has been tied at the end of regulation, a franchise first. They've earned three wins and two ties in those games, including consecutive victories last Friday and Saturday, giving them an undefeated mark (3-0-2-0) at home thus far in the new year. Prior to this remarkable stretch, the Griffins had never gone beyond regulation for more than two consecutive home games.

Work Horse: Defenseman Dave Van Drunen, whose 243 games played as a Griffin stand behind only Travis Richards (571) and Michel Picard (328), is scheduled to break Richards' franchise record for consecutive regular season games played this Saturday against Cleveland. Van Drunen has played in 124 straight games, last sitting out on April 6, 2002, while Richards made 126 consecutive appearances from Jan. 16, 1998-Oct. 9, 1999. Including playoffs, Van Drunen has participated in each of the Griffins' last 144 games.

Magic Number 14: Kevin Miller's three overtime goals are the most ever for a Griffin during a single regular season, eclipsing Rob Collins' two OT tallies in 2002-03. Stacy Roest, who like Miller wore jersey #14, also had three overtime goals last year, one during the regular season and two in the playoffs, tying Miller for most overtime goals scored for a Griffins career.

The Untouchables: Grand Rapids, San Antonio and Providence are the only AHL clubs that have not suffered an overtime loss this season. The Griffins have been taken to an extra session 11 times, showing five wins and six ties. In 40 overtime games during their three AHL seasons, the Griffins now have 13 wins, 25 ties and just two losses.

When You're Hot, You're Hot: AHL All-Star Nathan Robinson owns a five-game point streak (4-4-8). He assisted on the tying goal in last Wednesday's 3-3 deadlock with Manitoba, then notched three points (2-1-3) in Friday's 4-3 win against the Wolves in overtime, forcing the extra session with a power play tally...Anders Myrvold has a three-game assist streak (0-5-5).

Milestones: Kevin Miller appeared in the 1,000th game of his 16-year career last Wednesday against Manitoba...Michel Picard needs just one goal to become the first player to hit 150 as a Griffin.

Three-Peat: For the sixth time this season, the Griffins this weekend will play three games in as many nights. Overall, they are 9-3-3-0 this season when playing "three in three," including a 4-1-0-0 mark in the third game.

Record Breaker: Marc Lamothe, who already assumed the Griffins' all-time lead in minutes played (5208:49) earlier this season, surpassed Ian Gordon's saves standard of 2,155 in Saturday's 2-1 OT win over St. John's. Lamothe, who has made 2,173 stops in a Grand Rapids uniform, is pursuing team records in shutouts (nine, tied with Mike Fountain), games played (90, five behind Gordon) and wins (48, seven behind Fountain).

Road Warriors: Grand Rapids, which set an AHL record last season with 26 road wins, currently leads the league with 14 victories in enemy territory (14-7-1-0), giving it a 25-win pace for a full season.

Home-Work: The Griffins will host a total of 17 games during January (eight) and February (nine), marking the busiest two-month stretch at home in franchise history. This weekend, they'll complete their first-ever stretch of hosting games on both Friday and Saturday over three consecutive weekends. Grand Rapids will also be at home for every Friday in February, only the second time that has occurred during a month (Nov. 2000).

Tough to Beat: Marc Lamothe, the reigning AHL goaltender of the year, has surrendered more than two goals in just four of his last 23 appearances, dating back to Nov. 13.

League Leaders: Four Griffins currently rank among the AHL's best in various categories: Jiri Hudler - Plus-15 rating (T4th); Marc Lamothe - 1.93 GAA (6th), 15 wins (3rd), 1770:40 minutes (4th); Kevin Miller - Six game-winning goals (T2nd); and Nathan Robinson - 33 points (T18th), nine power play goals (3rd)

Record Watch: Just over midway through the season, several Griffins are on pace to challenge various franchise records. Nathan Robinson has nine power play goals, putting him on pace to eclipse Jeff Nelson's standard of 13 set in 1996-97. Kevin Miller has six game-winning goals, within range of Michel Picard's 12 from 1996-97. Marc Lamothe's 1.93 GAA would place second all-time to Martin Prusek's 1.83 mark from 2001-02. Finally, Hugo Boisvert, Danny Groulx, Anders Myrvold and Dave Van Drunen have played in all 43 games, attempting to join eight previous Griffins who've appeared in every regular season game.

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 33-for-201, 16.4% (7th)
* Penalty Killing: 193-for-221, 87.3% (T7th)
* Penalty Minutes: 14.93 avg. (27th)
* Goals For: 2.58 avg. (T13th)
* Goals Against: 2.12 avg. (4th)
* Shots For: 26.88 avg. (22nd)
* Shots Against: 27.70 avg. (8th)
* Attendance: 6,547 avg. (8th)

Griffins Earn Their Wings: Although Nathan Robinson (Dec. 9), Joey MacDonald (Dec. 14), Ryan Barnes (Dec. 16), Kevin Miller (Dec. 20), Darryl Bootland (Dec. 29) and Jiri Hudler (Jan. 9) have returned to Grand Rapids over the last month, four other members of the Griffins are still on recall to Detroit:

Player GP G A PTS +/- PIM Avg. Ice Time
Mark Mowers 27 2 7 9 5 0 11:30
Niklas Kronwall 18 1 4 5 4 16 13:52
Jamie Rivers 17 0 0 0 6 4 8:15

Goalie GP W L T SO GAA Save %
Curtis Joseph *19 *10 7 2 *2 2.22 0.913
* Leads team

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the second season of a five-year affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings stand in first place in the NHL's Central Division (27-13-5-2), following their 3-3 tie with Phoenix on Friday. They'll visit San Jose tonight at 8 (FSN).

The AHL's Grand Event!: The Griffins will be in the hockey spotlight in less than three weeks, when they and the city of Grand Rapids host the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic at Van Andel Arena. The two-day event will consist of the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Feb. 8, followed by the AHL All-Star Game on Monday, Feb. 9. For ticket and event information, visit griffinshockey.com/all-star.

All-Star Quartet: Four Griffins have been selected to participate in the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic. Forward Nathan Robinson was named to the Canadian All-Star team, while captain Travis Richards (starter), fellow defenseman Niklas Kronwall and forward Jiri Hudler were chosen for the PlanetUSA squad. The four selections tie Grand Rapids with Hamilton and Manchester for greatest representation during the event and match the Griffins' record all-star bounty of 2001, when current NHL players John Gruden, Kip Miller, Martin Prusek and Petr Schastlivy were tabbed for the AHL's mid-season showcase.

This Week's Scouting Report

Wed., Jan. 21 vs. Rochester Americans (20-13-5-3) - Van Andel Arena - 7 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first and only in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 5-3-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Rochester Affiliation: Buffalo Sabres. Head Coach: Randy Cunneyworth (4th season). Salute to Americans: The Amerks stand second in the North Division, only five points behind Hamilton, and boast the Western Conference's third-highest winning percentage...Rochester is just 5-8-3-3 on the road this season...The Griffins swept all four meetings last season, including two at Van Andel Arena...Rochester's power play (17.2%) and penalty kill (87.9%) rank fifth and fourth, respectively, in the AHL...All-Stars Jason Pominville (19-20-39) and Ryan Miller (2.08 GAA) each place ninth in the league.

Fri., Jan. 23 vs. San Antonio Rampage (17-15-6-0) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 3-1-1-0 Overall, 1-1-1-0 Home. Sixth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 9-5-1-0 Overall, 4-3-1-0 Home. San Antonio Affiliation: Florida Panthers. Head Coach: Scott Allen (1st season). On a Stampede: The Griffins have won the last three meetings against the Rampage, including a 4-1 win in Grand Rapids on Dec. 17...San Antonio is unbeaten in its last three (2-0-1-0)...Only 13 of the Rampage's first 38 games have been staged on the road (5-6-2-0)...AHL All-Star Eric Beaudoin is tied for sixth in league scoring (20-22-42)...Goalie Travis Scott ranks among the AHL's best with 16 wins (T1st) and 993 saves (1st).

Sat., Jan. 24 vs. Cleveland Barons (18-14-4-5) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 1-2-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Fourth and final meeting overall, second and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 7-6-0-0 Overall, 4-2-0-0 Home. Cleveland Affiliation: San Jose Sharks. Head Coach: Roy Sommer (3rd season). Rock-n-Roll: Jiri Hudler's overtime goal gave the Griffins a 4-3 home win over the Barons on Jan. 10...Cleveland is six games over 0.500 on the road (11-5-3-3) but two games under at home (7-9-1-2)...The Barons' power play is the third-most potent in the AHL at 17.7%...All-Star Miroslav Zalesak ranks among the league's best with 47 points (T1st), 21 goals (3rd) and 26 assists...Goalie Seamus Kotyk (2.27 GAA, 0.936%) has returned to the lineup after an injury.

Sun., Jan. 25 at Milwaukee Admirals (18-13-5-2) - Bradley Center - 3 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 2:40 p.m. Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Road. Fifth of eight meetings overall, fourth and final in Milwaukee. All-Time Series: AHL: 11-5-6-0 Overall, 5-3-4-0 Road. Total: 29-15-10-0 Overall, 12-10-8-0 Road. Milwaukee Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Claude Noel (1st season). Ships Ahoy: The Admirals were the last team to beat the Griffins, winning 7-0 in Milwaukee on Jan. 3...That loss marked the worst shutout defeat in Griffins history and tied their franchise record for largest margin of defeat...Milwaukee is only 8-8-2-0 at home...The Admirals lead the league in goals scored (3.13) and rank second in shots (33.74)...Curtis Murphy and Scottie Upshall were selected as AHL All-Stars.

This Week's Games:
Wed., Jan. 21 Rochester Americans at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM
Fri., Jan. 23 San Antonio Rampage at GRIFFINS 7:30 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM
Sat., Jan. 24 Cleveland Barons at GRIFFINS 7:30 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM
Sun., Jan. 25 GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals 3 p.m. WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM

Last Week's Results:
Tue., Jan. 13 GRIFFINS 2 at San Antonio Rampage 1 23-12-5-0, 51 pts. (1st, West Division)
Wed., Jan. 14 Manitoba Moose 3 at GRIFFINS 3 OT 23-12-6-0, 52 pts. (1st)
Fri., Jan. 16 Chicago Wolves 3 at GRIFFINS 4 OT 24-12-6-0, 54 pts. (1st)
Sat., Jan. 17 St. John's Maple Leafs 1 at GRIFFINS 2 OT 25-12-6-0, 56 pts. (1st)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2004


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