MacDonald earns fourth shutout in last six home games
Published on February 26, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
Grand Rapids, Mich. - A battle between the AHL's best and worst teams went as expected on Thursday, as the Grand Rapids Griffins extended their remarkable unbeaten streak on home ice to 15 games (12-0-3-0) with a 2-0 victory over the Utah Grizzlies at Van Andel Arena.
Ryan Barnes and Kevin Miller scored a period apart for the Griffins (36-15-8-0), who continue to pace the league with 36 wins, 80 points and a 0.678 winning percentage. The Grizzlies, whose 1-0 win on New Year's Eve was the last defeat suffered by the Griffins at home, were unable to put any of their 33 attempts past Joey MacDonald, who earned his fourth shutout in his last six home appearances.
Since Marc Lamothe's recall to Detroit on Feb. 12, MacDonald has posted a 6-1-0 record with three shutouts, a 0.99 goals against average and a 0.966 save percentage. He is 7-0-0 during the Griffins' home unbeaten streak and, over his last six games at Van Andel Arena alone, owns a microscopic 0.33 GAA to go with a stratospheric 0.988 save percentage.
The Griffins will continue their stretch of three home games in four days on Friday, when they host the Chicago Wolves at 7:30 p.m.
Grand Rapids lit the scoreboard exactly 10 minutes into the opening period. Falling to the ice while driving down the right side, Tomas Kopecky pushed a pass into the slot to Barnes, who slid the puck past Dan Ellis for the 1-0 lead.
Grand Rapids faced an important test early in the second period when forced to kill off 1:57 of a 5-on-3 Grizzlies power play. Penalty killers Kevin Miller, Travis Richards and Derek King were up to the task despite staying on the ice for nearly the entire disadvantage, limiting Utah to just two fruitless shots on MacDonald.
The Griffins used their own power play to make it a two-goal cushion at 14:13 of the frame. Jiri Hudler sent a pass from the right goal line to Miller, who collected the bouncing biscuit and beat Ellis from the right circle. That goal was a bad omen for the Grizzlies (19-32-4-3), as they entered the night with just a 5-30-3-3 record when allowing more than a single tally, while the Griffins owned a 14-0-2-0 mark in the last 16 games in which they had scored during a power play.
Although the Griffins were without the services of defenseman Anders Myrvold, recalled by the Detroit Red Wings late Wednesday, they welcomed back to their lineup forwards Darryl Bootland and Nathan Robinson, who had missed the last three and six games, respectively, due to injuries. View this game's official box score on-line at griffinshockey.com.
American Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2004
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- Bulldogs Fall To Roadrunners - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Aeros rally from two goals down for 3-3 tie - Houston Aeros
- MacDonald earns fourth shutout in last six home games - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Grizzlies Blanked by Griffins, 2-0 - Utah Grizzlies
- Rampage announce transactions - San Antonio Rampage
- Griffins fan to become "King for a Day" - Grand Rapids Griffins
- 'E' Center Prepares for State Basketball Tournament - Utah Grizzlies
- Rampage report for duty - San Antonio Rampage
- Columbus Assigns Lasse Pirjeta to Syracuse - Syracuse Crunch
- Tip-A-Griffin raises $13,083 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Fans to Choose Final Spot in 2004 PharmAssist Players' Championship - Toronto Marlies
- Penguins reassign defenseman T.J. Reynolds to Wheeling - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Myrvold becomes 13th Griffin recalled by Detroit - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Aeros assigned first-round pick on conditioning assignment - Houston Aeros
- Canucks Recall Bouck - Manitoba Moose
- Calder Cup Trophy to be on display at Cincinnati Gardens - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Aeros Game Day - Houston Aeros
- Sound Tigers Lose 5-2 In Hartford - Bridgeport Islanders
- 'Pack'-ed Hockey Weekend in Hartford - Connecticut Whale
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