GAME 6 TONIGHT AT VAN ANDEL ARENA
The Griffins tonight have an opportunity to close out what has been a hard-fought, see-saw series with the Moose. Grand Rapids 3-2 victory at the MTS Centre on Saturday put them one win shy of joining the Milwaukee Admirals in the Western Conference Finals. Manitoba, which will try to force a Game 7 here tomorrow night, will attempt to become the third team in AHL history to win Games 6 and 7 of a series on the road.
Facts and Figures: In AHL history, the team that has won Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead has gone on to take the series 79.5% of the time (70 of 88 times)The Griffins won the only prior series in which they led 3-2, that being the 2000 IHL Eastern Conference Semifinals versus ClevelandGrand Rapids is 1-0 this postseason and 6-7 all-time when in position to eliminate its playoff opponent, including just a 1-5 mark at homeThe Griffins have clinched just one playoff series on home ice in their history, the 2000 IHL Eastern Conference Finals against CincinnatiGrand Rapids is 2-2 at home and 5-1 on the road during the current playoffsThe road team has won seven of the Griffins 10 playoff games in 2006The Moose have received 26 of the last 35 power play opportunities awarded in the seriesJimmy Howard made 34 saves and Grand Rapids penalty killers denied all nine Manitoba power play chances to secure the 3-2 win in Game 5On Saturday, the Griffins built a 25-6 advantage in shots over the first 25 minutes of the game, before the Moose out-gunned Grand Rapids 30-2 the rest of the wayThe Griffins have won five of the nine best-of-seven playoff series in their historyThe Griffins have won six of 13 total playoff series, five of which including the last four have been clinched on the road.
Player Notes: On Saturday, Terry Virtue appeared in his 100th career Calder Cup Playoff game, becoming just the ninth player in league history to reach that milestoneJiri Hudler is now tied with Kevin Miller for sixth place on the Griffins all-time playoff scoring list, showing 21 points (6-1521) in 14 games. Hudler, who already has six multi-point games during the current playoffs, is fifth in AHL postseason scoring with 15 points (5-1015), and his 10 helpers tie for thirdDonald MacLeans six playoff goals tie for sixth in the leagueHudler (3-58) and Valtteri Filppula (2-57) have led the Griffins offense in this series, while Alexandre Burrows (3-47) and Kevin Bieksa (0-55) have carried the load for the MooseDarryl Bootland is now the Griffins career playoff leader with 90 penalty minutes, surpassing Chris Szysky (72)Drew MacIntyre ranks first among AHL playoff netminders with a 1.35 GAA and a 0.953 save percentage, both of which are the best marks of any goalie in Griffins playoff history.
Facts and Figures: In AHL history, the team that has won Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead has gone on to take the series 79.5% of the time (70 of 88 times)The Griffins won the only prior series in which they led 3-2, that being the 2000 IHL Eastern Conference Semifinals versus ClevelandGrand Rapids is 1-0 this postseason and 6-7 all-time when in position to eliminate its playoff opponent, including just a 1-5 mark at homeThe Griffins have clinched just one playoff series on home ice in their history, the 2000 IHL Eastern Conference Finals against CincinnatiGrand Rapids is 2-2 at home and 5-1 on the road during the current playoffsThe road team has won seven of the Griffins 10 playoff games in 2006The Moose have received 26 of the last 35 power play opportunities awarded in the seriesJimmy Howard made 34 saves and Grand Rapids penalty killers denied all nine Manitoba power play chances to secure the 3-2 win in Game 5On Saturday, the Griffins built a 25-6 advantage in shots over the first 25 minutes of the game, before the Moose out-gunned Grand Rapids 30-2 the rest of the wayThe Griffins have won five of the nine best-of-seven playoff series in their historyThe Griffins have won six of 13 total playoff series, five of which including the last four have been clinched on the road.
Player Notes: On Saturday, Terry Virtue appeared in his 100th career Calder Cup Playoff game, becoming just the ninth player in league history to reach that milestoneJiri Hudler is now tied with Kevin Miller for sixth place on the Griffins all-time playoff scoring list, showing 21 points (6-1521) in 14 games. Hudler, who already has six multi-point games during the current playoffs, is fifth in AHL postseason scoring with 15 points (5-1015), and his 10 helpers tie for thirdDonald MacLeans six playoff goals tie for sixth in the leagueHudler (3-58) and Valtteri Filppula (2-57) have led the Griffins offense in this series, while Alexandre Burrows (3-47) and Kevin Bieksa (0-55) have carried the load for the MooseDarryl Bootland is now the Griffins career playoff leader with 90 penalty minutes, surpassing Chris Szysky (72)Drew MacIntyre ranks first among AHL playoff netminders with a 1.35 GAA and a 0.953 save percentage, both of which are the best marks of any goalie in Griffins playoff history.