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RWC Archives - March 1 Griffins Monthlye
Griffins find wins in February after coaching change...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com
March 1, 2005
A coaching shakeup has helped the Grand Rapids Griffins get on track.
Since the organization fired head coach Danton Cole and replaced him with assistant Greg Ireland, the Griffins have won five of eight games and sit in fifth in the West Division, two points out of a playoff spot.
The following is the Griffins' monthly report for February:
OFFENSE
' Kip Miller led the team in scoring in February with 12 points.
Matt Ellis
, meanwhile, collected 10 points, his most productive stretch of the season. The trio of Ellis,
Pete Vandermeer
and
Darryl Bootland
kicked in with 21 points.
Tomas Kopecky
,
Jiri Hudler
and
Nathan Robinson
have been ineffective offensively.
DEFENSE
' The team defense has improve greatly recently with the return of penalty killer Kory Karlander and defensive forward Ernie Hartlieb, not to mention the signing of NHL defenseman Mark Eaton. There hasn't been much offense from the back end, however, and third-year pro
Danny Groulx
needs to step up his game.
GOALTENDING
'
Joey MacDonald
has seen the lion's share of playing time this season, and has stolen several games recently.
Drew MacIntyre
, the team's backup all season, was reassigned to the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League and replaced with rookie pro
Logan Koopmans
.
POWER PLAY
' The Griffins slipped to 19th in the league with the man advantage thanks to a 14.5 percent success rate. With 40 power-play goals in 55 games, Grand Rapids has been unable to rely upon this unit as a consistent weapon. Rookie forward
Eric Himelfarb
leads the team with seven power-play goals.
PENALTY KILL
' The league's 13th-ranked penalty kill ' with a success rate of 84.7 percent ' should get a boost from the return of Karlander and the addition of Eaton. Ellis and Miller are one shorthanded duo, while Karlander and Blake Sloan are the other. Himelfarb has a pair of shorthanded goals.
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
' Ellis. He has always been a standout player because of his hustle and work ethic. But a commitment to improving himself during the off-season has added a new dimension to his game: speed and muscle that allow him to bull his way to the net and capitalize on scoring chances. Ellis is ultra-dependable.
LINE OF THE MONTH
' The unit of Vandermeer, Ellis and Bootland was assembled after Ireland took over as coach, and has done the job at both ends of the ice. Vandermeer has improved his game offensively since the start of the year, and the line has combined for 21 points and 71 shots in 12 games.
DEFENSE PAIRING OF THE MONTH
'
Niklas Kronwall
and Eaton. Eaton, a stay-at-homer, and Kronwall, a highly-skilled puck-rusher, are the perfect duo. Kronwall now has a green light to go offensively, and is starting to pull out of a slump. Eaton is still getting back into game shape, but has looked good.
ROOKIE WATCH
' MacIntyre was pulled twice in three outings before being demoted to Toledo ...
Derek Meech
has rebounded from a sub-par stretch to lead all Griffins defencemen with a plus-5 rating in February ... Himelfarb is tied for the team lead in goals, and is gaining ground on the team's scoring leader, Kronwall ...
CURRENT INJURIES
' Brent Kelly, separated shoulder, day-to-day ... Travis Richards, back, indefinite ...
Eric Manlow
, broken foot, day-to-day ...
MOVEMENT
' Kopecky, returned from broken hand ... Todd Robinson, released ... Mark Eaton, signed ... Karlander, returned from broken foot ... Hartlief, returned from broken foot ... MacItnyre, assigned to Toledo ... Koopmans, recalled from Toledo.
KEY STATS
' MacDonald passed Mike Fountain to take over the Griffins all-time wins lead with 58 ... MacDonald has set the following other team records this season: games (109), minutes (6,131), shutouts (13) and saves (2,827) ... Kronwall's 38th point of the season established a new club record for defenseman ...
UP NEXT
' Grand Rapids plays its next six home games against Canadian teams, with matches against St. John's, Manitoba, Hamilton and Edmonton. Seven of the 15 games played in March are against division rivals Milwaukee, Chicago and Houston, three of the four teams the Griffins trail in the standings for the last playoff spot.
Jason Kasiorek contributes monthly Grand Rapids Griffins reports. They appear on RedWingsCentral.com on the first of each month.
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