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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Old Rivals Houston and Chicago Visit this Weekend

October 14, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Try It Again: The Grand Rapids Griffins will attempt to put their first marks in the win column this Friday and Saturday at Van Andel Arena, when they host former divisional rivals Houston and Chicago. Game time is 7:30 p.m. each night. They'll complete their first set of three games in three nights on Sunday, when they make their only visit of the season to Hamilton at 6:00 p.m. Grand Rapids will play three games in as many nights a total of nine times this season.

Weekend Fun on Tap: Friday is "Meet the Griffins Night." The first 3,000 fans will receive a Griffins team poster, posters containing players' biographical information will be displayed throughout the concourse, and at least six players will sign autographs immediately after the game. The Griffins will wear their special red and white third jerseys, and fans who bring their skates can hit the ice for 45 minutes during the Stouffer's Post-Game Family Fun Skate. Saturday's visit from the defending Calder Cup champions marks the first Family Four Pack Night of the season. Fans may purchase four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks and two Griffins souvenirs for just $44. Fans will receive two flashlights as part of the offer.

Pack the House: For the seventh time in as many seasons, a capacity crowd of 10,834 witnessed Grand Rapids' home opener on Saturday. As a result, the Griffins currently rank second in the AHL in average attendance.

Sharp Dressed Men: The Griffins assumed the look of their parent club on Saturday against Cleveland, wearing their new red and white third jerseys that are modeled after the uniforms of the Detroit Red Wings. They will don the sweaters for 12 Friday games this season, including this week's matchup against Houston.

Remember Us?: Right wing Bryan Adams was a member of the Wolves' 2002 Calder Cup championship squad, but he's one of the few players who did not return to the Windy City. Chicago currently has 17 players from last year's playoff roster back in the fold. Of course, the Wolves very nearly did not escape the qualifying round last year, surviving a brilliant AHL debut by current Grand Rapids netminder Joey MacDonald, formerly with Cincinnati. Trying to close-out Chicago, the Mighty Ducks lost game two to the Wolves 3-2 in double overtime, spoiling MacDonald's incredible 46-save performance.

Reunion Time: Griffins left wing Derek King was born in Hamilton, Ontario, while goaltender Marc Lamothe was a key member of last year's Bulldogs team that came within one win of the Calder Cup finals. Several other Griffins were born within an hour's drive of Hamilton, including Paul Ballantyne (Kitchener), Ryan Barnes (Dunnville) and Nathan Robinson (Scarborough).

Mowers of Power: Center Mark Mowers assisted on three of the Griffins' four goals in his Grand Rapids debut Saturday, ranking among the most prolific season-opening efforts in franchise history. In a 5-3 win over Michigan on Oct. 3, 1997, Michel Picard set the standard with four points (1-3-4), while current Griffins head coach Danton Cole chipped in two goals and an assist. Mowers, who finished the game with a plus-2 rating, is tied for fourth in the AHL in assists and is deadlocked at 14th in points.

Griffins Suffer Rare Setback: How unusual was the Griffins' loss on Saturday, in which they led 4-2 after two periods? Last season, Grand Rapids was the only AHL team that did not lose when leading after 40 minutes (35-0-4 overall, 18-0-2 home), and over the last three seasons, the Griffins posted records of 103-1-7 overall and 56-1-3 at home when carrying a lead into the third period. The lone blemish was a 3-2 loss to Manitoba on March 7, 2001, when the Griffins held a 2-1 advantage after two periods.

Unlikely Source: Dave Van Drunen's goal 33 seconds into Saturday's game marked the fastest goal so far this season in the AHL, and the fastest season-opening goal in the franchise's seven seasons. He scored just two goals in 48 games last season, and totaled only four in 120 games with the Griffins over the last three seasons.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense: Three of the Griffins' four goals on Saturday were scored by defensemen: Dave Van Drunen, Travis Richards and Patrick Boileau. Grand Rapids received only 29 goals from its blueline all last season.

Reversals of Fortune: The Griffins' 6-4 loss to the Barons marked a departure both offensively and defensively from their trends last season. Grand Rapids scored as many as four goals just three times in its final 32 games in 2001-02, and allowed six or more goals just twice in 80 games. Following a 7-2 loss at Hamilton on Dec. 9, none of the Griffins' final 54 opponents scored more than five goals.

For Openers: Following season-opening wins in each of their first five campaigns, the Griffins have dropped their last two debuts. Both losses came at home, with last year's 3-0 defeat by Utah on Oct. 5 snapping a four-game winning streak in home openers.

Griffins Alumni Shine: Key members of the Griffins' 2001-02 West Division champion squad are already making their mark in the NHL this season:

* Rookie NHL head coach Bruce Cassidy has his Washington Capitals off to a 2-0 start, with victories of 5-4 against Nashville (Friday) and 2-1 over the NY Islanders (Saturday).

* Kip Miller, Grand Rapids' leading scorer last season, had three assists in the Caps' win over Nashville.

* Petr Schastlivy, whose 22 goals last year paced the Griffins, scored on the power play with 22 seconds remaining on Saturday to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 win at Toronto in the "Battle of Ontario."

Red Wings Update: The Griffins are in the first year of a five-year affiliation with the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Following a 2-1 West Coast road trip, the Red Wings will raise their tenth championship banner prior to their home opener versus Montreal on Thursday.

Tickets On Sale Now: Tickets for all regular season games at Van Andel Arena are currently on sale. Fans can visit either location of The Zone (Van Andel Arena store or Rivertown Crossings Mall kiosk) 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 currently available by calling 800-2-HOCKEY.

This Week's Scouting Report

Fri., Oct. 18 vs. Houston Aeros - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 4-3-5-0 Overall, 3-1-2-0 Home. Total: 12-7-9-0 Overall, 7-3-3-0 Home. Houston Affiliation: Minnesota Wild. Head Coach: Todd McLellan (2nd season). Battle Plans: Houston finished runner-up to Grand Rapids in the West Division last season with a 39-26-10-5 record...The Aeros lost to eventual Calder Cup champion Chicago 4-1 in the Western Conference finals...Top scorers Cory Larose and Tony Virta are back, along with defenseman Curtis Murphy and goalie Derek Gustafson...Former Griffin Dieter Kochan holds the other goalie job...Houston began the season with a pair of 3-1 home wins over Utah.

Sat., Oct. 19 vs. Chicago Wolves - Van Andel Arena - 7:30 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM/WHTC 1450 AM at 7:10 p.m. Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four in Grand Rapids. All-Time Series: AHL: 7-5-0-0 Overall, 4-2-0-0 Home. Total: 22-12-2-0 Overall, 11-4-2-0 Home. Chicago Affiliation: Atlanta Thrashers. Head Coach: John Anderson (6th season). Hungry Like the Wolf: The defending Calder Cup champs return 17 players from their playoff roster...Two notable absentees are the Griffins' Bryan Adams and Calder Cup MVP goalie Pasi Nurminen, now with the parent Thrashers...The Wolves finished fourth in the West Division with a 37-31-7-5 record before going 17-8 in the postseason...Chicago won its opener 7-4 over Cincinnati on Saturday.

Sun., Oct. 20 at Hamilton Bulldogs - Copps Coliseum - 6:00 p.m.

TV: None. Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 5:40 p.m. Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first and only in Hamilton. All-Time Series: 3-1-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Road. Hamilton Affiliations: Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens. Head Coach: Claude Julien (3rd season). Leash Laws: The Bulldogs came within one victory of advancing to the Calder Cup finals last season after finishing second in the Canadian Division with a 37-30-10-3 mark...The Bulldogs make their 2002-03 debut today at Rochester.

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