AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Welcome Phantoms for First Visit

Published on February 10, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Home is Where the Heart Is: The Griffins enter the final third of the AHL's regular season schedule this week, beginning with a pair of games at Van Andel Arena. The Philadelphia Phantoms, a perennial league power, will make their first-ever visit to Van Andel Arena this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., on the heels of the Griffins' 3-1 win in the City of Brotherly Love on Jan. 25. Grand Rapids will then try to add to its six-game unbeaten streak against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in a 7:30 p.m. start on Valentine's Day. Following Wednesday's game, six Griffins players will sign autographs in the stands. For Friday's game, fans can purchase a Fox 17 Family Four-Pack, offering four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks and four chocolate hockey pucks for $44. Fans who bring their own skates can hit the Van Andel Arena ice for 45 minutes during the Stouffer's Post-Game Family Fun Skate.

New York State of Mind: After closing out their two-game home stand on Friday, the Griffins will board a bus for games in Rochester on Sunday (6:05 p.m.) and Syracuse next Monday (7:00 p.m.). Despite residing in the same division as their two Empire State foes, the Griffins will total just four games against each opponent this season. Griffins Bite Wolves: A sellout crowd of 10,834 witnessed Grand Rapids' 4-4 tie against Chicago on Saturday night at Van Andel Arena, marking the Griffins' first midseason sellout (non-opener or finale) since a 4-3 loss to the Wolves on March 10, 2001. The Griffins rallied from a 4-1 deficit midway through the second period to forge a 4-4 tie on Travis Richards' power play goal with just 34 seconds left, thereby avoiding their first three-game losing streak at home since Dec. 1999.

Auction Raises $12,175: The racing-themed jerseys worn by the Griffins during last Friday's game with Norfolk garnered $12,175 in bids during a post-game auction to benefit Bauer Christian Reformed Church. Rob Collins' sweater fetched a high of $875.

Crime Sometimes Pays: The Griffins were awarded the fifth penalty shot in franchise history on Sunday when Cleveland's Ryan Kraft covered the puck in the crease at 2:48 of the second period. Mark Mowers' attempt was denied by Seamus Kotyk, making the Griffins three-for-five all-time on penalty shots. Bryan Adams converted earlier this season on a try against Manitoba's Tyler Moss on Dec. 17.

Terrible Trio: After posting a league-best 7-1-2-0 record over a 10-game span, the Griffins stumbled to a 0-2-1-0 mark last weekend while completing a stretch of four games in five nights. Still, the Griffins have compiled a solid 10-5-3-0 record (0.639) this year when playing three games in three nights, including 4-2-0-0 in the third contest.

Central Issues: The Griffins own a 29-14-8-2 record overall, good for 68 points and first place in the Central Division. They trail Houston by seven points in the overall Western Conference standings, and possess divisional leads of 17 points over Rochester, 24 over Cincinnati, 27 over Syracuse and 31 over Cleveland.

Road Warriors: Despite Sunday's 1-0 loss at Cleveland, Grand Rapids is 9-2-2-0 in its last 13 road contests and 15-4-3-2 overall (0.729) in foreign buildings. The Griffins are on pace to record 25 wins away from home, a total that would tie the franchise record set in 1999-2000.

All Hail Hugo!: Center Hugo Boisvert scored his 12th goal of the season on Friday against Norfolk, then added lucky number 13 on Saturday versus Chicago. His previous personal best was 11, set last season during his Griffins debut.

Hot Wing: Jason Williams tied a franchise record by scoring five goals in a two-game span for the Griffins from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5, then added another in Saturday's 4-4 tie with Chicago. He notched the team's first hat trick of the season in a 4-3 come-from-behind win at Milwaukee on Jan. 31, and scored the tying and winning goals in Wednesday's 3-2 victory at Utah. Yves Sarault (May 13-19, 2000) and Petr Schastlivy (Nov. 17-18, 2001) are the only other Griffins to total five goals over a two-game span.

Picard Registers 300th AHL Assist: Grand Rapids' all-time leading scorer Michel Picard, who currently stands at 297 career points (129-168-297) as a Griffin, recorded the 300th assist of his AHL career last Wednesday in Utah.

Stacy Comes to Roest in Detroit: Center Stacy Roest, who paced the Griffins with 24 points (11-13-24) in a 19-game span between Christmas and the AHL All-Star break, was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. Roest, who spent the last two seasons with the NHL's Minnesota Wild, played in 108 games with the Red Wings from 1998-2000, tallying 28 points (11-17-28). He had appeared in 49 consecutive Griffins games since his assignment from Detroit on Oct. 17.

Goalie-Go-Round: After utilizing Alfie Michaud as their backup goalie in Utah last Wednesday, the Griffins signed Doug Teskey to a pro tryout on Friday. A fourth-year pro from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Teskey has played 32 games this season for the ECHL's Toledo Storm, posting a 19-6-4 record with a 3.07 GAA and a 0.907 save percentage. He fills in for Joey MacDonald, who is recovering from a groin injury suffered against San Antonio on Jan. 29.

Westward Ho!: Grand Rapids, which won the inaugural West Division title last season, will reacquaint itself with its former rivals during the season's stretch run. Sixteen of the Griffins' final 27 games will be staged against either Houston, Utah, San Antonio or Chicago, while they'll face current Central Division foes Rochester, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Cleveland just eight times. In 28 games to date against the West Division (including Milwaukee), Grand Rapids has posted an aggregate 13-9-5-1 record (0.571).

Mowers of Power: All-Star center Mark Mowers has already tallied 51 points (22-29-51) this season, besting his former career-high of 50 points (25-25-50) set in 2000-01 with Milwaukee. His 22 goals lead the team, stand three shy of his career best (2000-01) and tie Petr Schastlivy's team-leading total from last season, with 27 games left.

Three Musketeers: Only once in their history have the Griffins had more than one player finish in the top 10 of their league's scoring race, that being the 2000-01 IHL season when Derek King tied for the scoring crown with 83 points and Slava Butsayev placed tenth with 68 points. However, Grand Rapids currently has two players in the AHL's top 10 in Michel Picard (T3rd) and Mark Mowers (T8th), while Stacy Roest stands 17th.

Stifling Defense: Grand Rapids, which ranks second in the AHL by allowing just 2.25 goals per game, surrendered four goals last Friday to Chicago, marking the first time in 17 games that a Griffins opponent scored more than three goals. Grand Rapids has allowed more than three goals in just eight of its first 53 games overall.

Hot Hands: Jason Williams has six goals and two assists in the last five games, and has recorded points in seven of the last 10 games (7-7-14) overall...Michel Picard has points in five of the last eight contests (3-8-11)...Derek King has contributed assists in six of his last nine outings (0-7-7)...Tomas Kopecky has five goals and two assists in the last seven games, along with points in eight of the last 13 outings (5-6-11).

League Leaders: Goalie Marc Lamothe is tied for the AHL lead with 19 wins and ranks among the leaders with a 2.18 GAA (T4th), four shutouts (T2nd) and 2,284 minutes (2nd)...Michel Picard is tied for third in the scoring race with 55 points (20-35-55) and is tied for fifth with 35 assists...Mark Mowers is tied for eighth in the league with 51 points (22-29-51)...Stacy Roest is 17th with 47 points (16-31-47)...Rob Collins is tied for second overall and paces all rookies with two game-tying goals...Dave Van Drunen is fourth among defensemen with a plus-21 rating, while Travis Richards is tied for fifth at plus-20.

On Track: The Griffins are on pace for 43 wins and 102 points, totals that would surpass those from all but two of the team's previous six seasons (53/113 in 2000-01 and 51/111 in 1999-00).

By the Numbers: Where the Griffins rank among the AHL's 28 teams in various statistical categories:
* Power Play: 46-for-307, 15.0% (T18th)
* Penalty Killing: 210-for-250, 84.0% (T15th)
* Penalty Minutes: 15.9 avg. (26th)
* Goals For: 2.92 (T12th)
* Goals Against: 2.25 avg. (2nd)
* Shots For: 29.47 avg. (18th)
* Shots Against: 27.51 avg. (2nd)
* Attendance: 6,925 avg. (7th)

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the first season of a five-year affiliation with the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings stand in second place in the NHL's Central Division (27-17-9-2), following a 5-3 loss at Colorado on Saturday. They'll host San Jose tonight at 8:00 p.m. (WXSP/ESPN2).

Boileau Keeps Motorin': Defenseman Patrick Boileau scored the first NHL goal of his eight-year pro career on Jan. 24 at Vancouver, helping Detroit to a 5-2 win. Outside of a two-day reassignment to Grand Rapids on New Year's Eve, Boileau has been with Detroit since Dec. 14. He has appeared in 15 contests for the defending champs, notching three points (1-2-3), a plus-six rating and 11 shots while averaging 12:18 in ice time. Boileau played only seven games with Washington from 1996-02, recording one assist and four penalty minutes.

Griffins Alumni Report: Rookie NHL head coach Bruce Cassidy's Washington Capitals stand atop the Southeast Division with a 26-21-7-3 record...Kip Miller is tied for fourth on the Caps with an NHL career-high 43 points (11-32-43), Ivan Ciernik has totaled 11 points (4-7-11) in 29 appearances, Jason Doig has four points (1-3-4) in 30 games, and Joel Kwiatkowski has three assists in 31 games between the Caps and Senators...Florida's Jani Hurme (4-6-6), who recently signed a three-year contract extension with the club, has a 2.74 GAA and a 0.911 save percentage...Ottawa's Patrick Lalime (24-14-6) owns a 2.20 GAA, a 0.912 save percentage and five shutouts, while Martin Prusek (10-1-1) shows a 2.35 GAA and a 0.913%...Todd White is third on the Sens with 45 points (20-25-45), Petr Schastlivy is 11th with 19 points (9-10-19) in 33 games, Karel Rachunek has 17 assists in 33 games since rejoining the team, and Chris Neil has chipped in four goals and a pair of helpers.

Get Your Tickets: Tickets for all regular season games at Van Andel Arena are currently on sale. Fans can visit The Zone at Van Andel Arena or any Tickets PLUS location (including Meijer stores), call 222-4000/800-585-3737 or visit www.griffinshockey.com. Full-season ticket packages, mini-plans and group tickets for all Griffins games are available by calling 800-2-HOCKEY.

This Week's Scouting Report

Wed., Feb. 12 vs. Philadelphia Phantoms (22-23-3-3) - Van Andel Arena - 7:00 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season/All-Time Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Second and final meeting overall, first and only in Grand Rapids. Philadelphia Affiliation: Philadelphia Flyers. Head Coach: John Stevens (3rd season). Spirited Play: Wednesday's game marks the Phantoms' first-ever visit to West Michigan...Philly, which would miss the playoffs if they started today, is just 2-6-2-0 in its last 10 and 9-12-1-2 on the road...The Phantoms' power play ranks 24th in the league (13.8%)...They are 10th in goals allowed (2.61) and fifth in shots allowed (27.75)...Philadelphia is the third-most penalized team, averaging 27.1 PIM...Peter White (19-29-48) leads the team and is tied for 14th in league scoring...Former Griffins Mark Greig (21-25-46) and Neil Little (2.39 GAA) place 18th (tied) and ninth, respectively, in AHL scoring and goaltending.

Fri., Feb. 14 vs. Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (15-22-10-4) - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: 5-0-1-0 Overall, 2-0-1-0 Home. Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth and final in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: 8-2-2-0 Overall, 4-0-2-0 Home. Cincinnati Affiliation: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Head Coach: Brad Shaw (1st season). Quack Me Up: Cincinnati trails the Griffins by 24 points in the Central Division...Three of the first four meetings between these teams this season went to overtime, with Grand Rapids winning twice in Cincy and earning a 2-2 tie on Nov. 20 in GR...The Griffins have won the last four meetings by holding Cincy to an average of one goal per game, and have outscored the Ducks 22-9 overall in six games...The Ducks are unbeaten in their last four (2-0-2-0) but carry a 5-11-7-1 road record...Tony Martensson leads Cincinnati and is tied for 11th among AHL rookies with 34 points (13-21-34)...Ilja Bryzgalov (2.94 GAA) and Jean-Francois Damphousse (3.04) share goaltending duties.

Sun., Feb. 16 at Rochester Americans (17-20-13-4) - Blue Cross Arena at Roch. War Memorial - 6:05 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 5:40 p.m. Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Second of four meetings overall, second and final in Rochester. All-Time Series: 2-3-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Road. Rochester Affiliation: Buffalo Sabres. Head Coach: Randy Cunneyworth (3rd season). American Pride: Rochester trails Grand Rapids by 17 points in the Central Division...These rivals have met just once this season, with the Griffins taking a 2-1 overtime win in New York way back on Oct. 25...They'll play a two-game set at Van Andel Arena on March 1-2...The Amerks are unbeaten in two (1-0-1-0) and possess a 7-10-9-1 mark at home...Rochester's power play ranks 26th (13.5%)...AHL All-Star and former Wolverine Jason Botterill leads the league with 31 goals and is tenth with 49 points...With ex-Spartan Ryan Miller in Buffalo, the load falls to Mika Noronen (2.85 GAA).

Mon., Feb. 17 at Syracuse Crunch (16-28-6-3) - War Memorial at Oncenter - 7:00 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 6:40 p.m. Season/All-Time Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Fourth and final meeting overall, second and final in Syracuse. Syracuse Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets. Head Coach: Gary Agnew (3rd season). Crunchy Bites: Syracuse stands 27 points behind the Griffins in the Central Division...The Crunch, winless in three (0-2-1-0), are 7-15-3-2 at home...Syracuse is third in the league with 13 shorthanded goals...The Crunch have been outscored 67-34 in the second period...They rank 24th in goals allowed (3.15) and 27th in goals scored (2.32)...Karl Goehring is tenth in the AHL with a 2.45 GAA...Leading scorer David Ling (7-34-41) is currently on recall to NHL Columbus.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 10, 2003


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