Sports stats



AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Three-goal win gives Wolves three-game lead

April 21, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Rosemont, Ill. - One year after being swept by the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Calder Cup playoffs, the Chicago Wolves are bidding to return the favor.

Kari Lehtonen followed his 37-save shutout from Game 2 with another impressive effort on Wednesday at the Allstate Arena, denying 29 shots to lead the Wolves to a 4-1 victory and a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven West Division semifinals.

The Griffins, who never before have faced a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, will look to mount their comeback in an 8:30 p.m. start this Friday at the Allstate Arena.

The Griffins opened the scoring for the first time in the series, and like their initial goal in Game 1, it came on their first shot of the contest. After taking a pass from Jiri Hudler just inside the Chicago zone, Jeff Nelson got behind a defender and waited patiently before slipping a backhand inside right post at 9:43, ending Lehtonen's series shutout streak at 73:53.

Chicago used its potent power play to pull even before intermission. Marc Lamothe turned away the initial shot by Steve Maltais from the right side, but Tommi Santala swooped in and beat a diving Griffin to the juicy rebound, popping the puck into the top of the net with exactly three minutes remaining.

Maltais, the long-time Griffins nemesis, then gave Chicago its first lead midway through the second period. He received the puck coming out of the left corner and, after an attempted poke check by Lamothe, slipped it into the vacated cage at the 7:43 mark.

The Wolves extended their advantage at 13:38 thanks to Daniel Corso. Seconds after Lamothe had made a huge save on Maltais, Corso fought off a check in the slot and redirected Santala's pass from the left circle through the goalie's five hole. Maltais added an empty-netter with 40 seconds left in the third for the final margin.

Grand Rapids, which in the history of its storied rivalry with Chicago had never lost more than two straight games to the Wolves, has now lost five in a row dating back to the last two meetings of the regular season. The Griffins will now attempt to become the third team in AHL history, and the first since Adirondack in 1989, to win a series after trailing 3-0.

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 21, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Grand Rapids Griffins Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central