Two Down, Four to Go

A third of the 2006-07 regular season is already in the books, and the playoffs loom only four months away. Regardless of what the Griffins' cards hold, several of their players and alumni have already enjoyed some special moments and accomplishments this season.

With the Griffins on a season-best 6-2-0-1 run as of this writing, the team's record is finally catching up with some of the impressive performances submitted so far by individual players. Here's a sampling:

Darryl Bootland: Game-winning goals on Nov. 24 and 25 gave him 14 for his Griffins career, moving him into second place on the team's all-time list behind Michel Picard (26)...Now one of just eight players in franchise history to reach the 60-goal plateau (61)...Registered goals in five of six games - a career first - from Nov. 24-Dec. 2...Tied his personal best with a three-game goal streak, Nov. 29-Dec. 2...With 1,020 career penalty minutes (17 hours!), he's the first Griffin to surpass 1,000 PIM.

Brendan Brooks: Tied his longest AHL point streak by scoring in four consecutive games, Nov. 29-Dec. 8.




Matt Ellis: The captain is currently tied for the team lead with 10 goals...Has two shorthanded goals this season, extending his franchise record total to nine...Has lit the lamp in three of the last four games, including a pair of two-goal outings, and the five goals are his most ever in a four-game span...His 53 career goals now place 10th on the Griffins’ all-time list.

Valtteri Filppula: On Oct. 13 at Toronto, he registered an assist in his eighth straight regular season appearance with the Griffins (dating to last season), setting a franchise record for longest assist streak...Scored his first NHL goal against Manny Legace in Detroit’s 3-2 win at St. Louis on Oct. 28...In 21 games with the Red Wings this season, he shows three goals and an assist.

Eric Himelfarb: His three-point effort (1-2—3) in the 4-2 win over league-leading Rochester on Dec. 1 matched his career best (Oct. 19, 2005 at SAN).




Jimmy Howard: With his 6-2 win over Philadelphia on Oct. 28, he became the fastest goalie in franchise history to notch 30 career wins, accomplishing the feat in his 40th decision and 44th game played...Is 6-1-1 in his last eight decisions, with a 2.09 GAA and a 0.934 save percentage. More impressively, during December alone he boasts a 1.58 GAA and a 0.950 save percentage to go with a 4-1 record...Has appeared in each of the Griffins’ last 15 games, surpassing his previous high of 14 consecutive games played set last season, and is on pace to play in 68 contests, which would eclipse Joey MacDonald’s franchise record of 66 established in 2004-05.

Josh Langfeld: Ranks second on the Griffins with 12 assists and 20 points...Saw action in two games with the Red Wings.




Derek Meech: Made his NHL debut with the Red Wings on Dec. 7. In four games with the Wings, he averaged nine shifts and 5:47 in ice time while totaling a plus-one rating, four penalty minutes, three shots, seven hits and one blocked shot.



Kip Miller: Currently tied for the team lead with 10 goals...His 28 points pace the Griffins and tie for 10th in the AHL...Now ranks among the franchise's Top 10 alltime in goals, assists, points and power play goals...Has scored on three of five shootout attempts for a team-best 60% rate.


Danny Syvret: After going without a goal in 72 games with Hamilton and Edmonton during his 2005-06 rookie season, he already has lit the lamp four times as a Griffin...Spent two games as a healthy scratch with the Oilers in late November.<br><br>

A Night to Remember

The Griffins retired the first jersey number in franchise history on Nov. 24 when the familiar no. 24 of longtime defenseman Travis Richards was raised to the Van Andel Arena rafters during a second-intermission ceremony.

Mr. Griffin’s 714 games and 10 seasons (1996-2006) played in Grand Rapids were more than any other professional athlete in the city’s history, and prior to his retirement on June 14, he had the longest continuous stretch of service with one team of any player in the AHL.

Furthermore, at the time of Richards’ retirement announcement, only five pro athletes in the state of Michigan – Kris Draper, Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, and Jason Hanson and Cory Schlesinger of the Detroit Lions – had logged more consecutive, uninterrupted seasons of play in their current uniform than Richards, who became the second player and first American to sign with the Griffins on July 26, 1996.

He helped lead the Griffins to five division titles, four conference championship appearances and an IHL Turner Cup Finals berth (2000), and garnered accolades such as the captaincy of the PlanetUSA squad at the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids and Second Team IHL All-Star honors in 2001. Richards served three seasons (2001-04) as the Griffins’ captain – the longest tenure in franchise history – and the other seven as an alternate captain, skating alongside 265 teammates through the years.

In addition to ranking first with 655 regular season games played, he places among the franchise’s career leaders with a plus-131 rating (1st), 182 assists (2nd), 238 points (2nd), 995 shots (2nd), 24 power play goals (T3rd), 502 penalty minutes (5th) and 56 goals (T8th).

With the NHL debuts this season of Joey MacDonald and Derek Meech, the Griffins’ honor roll of NHL alumni has now reached 82. Four members of the 2006-07 Griffins have gone up to play for the Detroit Red Wings this season, while a total of 31 Grand Rapids graduates have laced up their skates for 13 different NHL teams:

Kevyn Adams - Carolina
Dmitry Afanasenkov - Tampa Bay
Sean Avery - Los Angeles
Wade Brookbank - Boston
Pavol Demitra - Minnesota
Mark Eaton - Pittsburgh
Valtteri Filppula - Detroit
David Gove - Carolina
Shane Hnidy - Atlanta
Jiri Hudler - Detroit
Curtis Joseph - Phoenix
Chris Kelly - Ottawa
Tomas Kopecky - Detroit
Niklas Kronwall - Detroit
Joel Kwiatkowski - Florida
Josh Langfeld - Detroit
Brett Lebda - Detroit
Manny Legace - St. Louis
Joey MacDonald - Detroit
Donald MacLean - Phoenix
Derek Meech - Detroit
Glen Metropolit - Atlanta
Mark Mowers - Boston
Chris Neil - Ottawa
Chris Osgood - Detroit
Kyle Quincey - Detroit
Karel Rachunek - NY Rangers
Jamie Rivers - St. Louis
Jason Spezza - Ottawa
Todd White - Minnesota
Jason Williams - Detroit