AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Lamothe Makes 41 Stops to Backstop Griffins' Sixth Straight Win

Published on December 6, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids, Mich. - The dam finally burst for Tomas Kopecky and Marc Lamothe held strong against a torrent of shots on Saturday, leading the first-place Griffins to a 3-1 win over the St. John's Maple Leafs at Van Andel Arena.

Lamothe helped the Griffins (15-6-4-0) extend their winning streak to six games and their unbeaten streak to eight (7-0-1-0) by making a season-high 41 saves. The netminder, whose personal seven-game winning streak stands one shy of Mike Fountain's franchise record, has allowed only six goals and has stopped 97% of the opponents' shots during his run.

Kopecky, meanwhile, broke a near nine-month scoring drought by notching a pair of goals, his first since March 12 at Utah. The first came on a fluky play just 2:08 into the contest. Skating through the neutral zone, Kopecky flipped a 75-foot wrister on net that bounced off the glove of Leafs goalie Mikael Tellqvist and dropped behind the line.

Grand Rapids was out-shot 16-5 during the opening period, but the red-hot Lamothe denied all of St. John's attempts to keep it a 1-0 game at the break.

The Griffins continued their efficiency and Lamothe his mastery during the second period, scoring twice on 10 shots and keeping the Leafs' 13 tries out of the net. During a rush at the 2:58 mark, Kopecky snapped a shot from the right circle past Tellqvist for his second of the night, and Kevin Miller made it a 3-0 game on a slapshot from the right circle with 3:16 left, off a nifty pass by Jiri Hudler from behind the goal line. That assist extended Hudler's point streak to six games (2-7-9).

The Leafs finally penetrated Lamothe early in the final period on their 32nd shot, as Kris Newbury tapped in a Jeff Daw pass from close-in at 4:09. Lamothe shut the door on St. John's 12 other tries during the frame, earning his 42nd win as a Griffin to move past Ian Gordon into second on the franchise's all-time list.

Overshadowed this night was the continued excellence of the Griffins' penalty killers, who denied the Leafs (11-13-2-1) on four power play attempts. Grand Rapids has not allowed a power play goal in a team-record nine straight games (0-for-37) and has denied the opponents' last 43 chances overall.

Goaltender Curtis Joseph, who was assigned to the Griffins by the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, arrived in Grand Rapids during the afternoon and served as Lamothe's backup during the contest.

View this game's official box score on-line at griffinshockey.com.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2003


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