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Griffins Relish the Role of Underdog
2007 Calder Cup Playoff Primer...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com

The Grand Rapids Griffins are thankful that they have a berth in the Calder cup playoffs despite dropping all three games over the last weekend of the regular season. But the outlook for the post-season is surprisingly upbeat. Head Coach Greg Ireland was very optimistic this morning about his team's chances in the second season despite it's less than stellar finish. "Obviously things didn't go the way we would have wanted last weekend, but that is behind us...It's a new season" said Ireland. Seven of the eight games between Manitoba and Grand Rapids were decided by one goal including four that went to shootouts. Ireland said that the Griffins matched up well with the Moose, and played some good games against all of the top clubs in the west.

That's not to say that everything is rosy in Grand Rapids. The team opens the playoffs on the road where they have lost 9 of their last 10 games. Several veteran players have been "freelancing" according to Ireland, not following the team game plan, and frustrating the coaching staff and their teammates. Time has run out, and some of these players may find themselves on the outside looking in. The arrival of top prospects Cory Emmerton, Jan Mursak, and most recently Jakub Kindl gives the coach some options when putting together his lineup. Ireland said not to be surprised to see several of them in the lineup against the Moose.

Among several positives going into the playoffs relayed by Coach Ireland are the play of second year man Ryan Oulahen, "the most improved player on the team", and the surging Eric Himelfarb who is "playing some of his best hockey of the season". The Griffins leaders, Captain Matt Ellis, and alternates Derek Meech and Dan Smith are playing well, and the emergence of rookies Scott Parse and Jamie Tardif have added some spark to the team. Last but not least is ace netminder Jimmy Howard's elevated level of play down the stretch, adding a critical component to any playoff team.

Provided the Griffins can stay out of the box, this series is up for grabs, with the hardest working team moving on to the second round.

Northern Division Semi-Finals
#1 Manitoba Moose vs #4 Grand Rapids Griffins


Game 1 @ Manitoba Thursday April 19th
Game 2 @ Manitoba Saturday April 21st
Game 3 @ Grand Rapids Monday April 23rd
Game 4 @ Grand Rapids Wednesday April 25th
Game 5 @ Grand Rapids Friday April 27th *if Necessary
Game 6 @ Manitoba Sunday April 29th *if Necessary
Game 7 @ Manitoba Tuesday May 1st *if Necessary

#1 Manitoba Moose#4 Grand Rapids Griffins
REGULAR SEASON TOTALSREGULAR SEASON TOTALS
Overall: 45-23-7-5Overall: 37-32-6-5
Home: 25-10-3-2Home: 22-13-2
Road: 20-13-4-3Road: 15-19-4-2
Goals For: 232Goals For: 226
Goals Against: 201Goals Against: 244
PP Rank: 18th (16.1%) - 76PPGPP Rank: 27th (12.5%) - 55PPG
PP vs GR: 12 for 59 (20.3%) - 12PPG, 3SHGAPP vs Manitoba: 2 for 50 (4.0%) - 2PPG, 0SHGA
PK Rank: 1st (89.7%) - 5SHG, 42PPGAPK Rank: 13th (83.2%) - 24SHG, 85PPGA
PK vs GR: 48 for 50 (96.0%) - 0SHG, 2PPGAPK vs Manitoba: 47 for 59 (79.7%) - 3SHG, 12PPGA


Manitoba Moose Playoff Roster
No. Player Pos. Shoots Ht Wt DOB Birthplace
1 Drew MacIntyre G L 6-1 185 Jun. 24, 1983 Charlottetown, PEI
2 Alex Edler D L 6-3 194 Apr. 21, 1986 Ostersund, Sweden
5 Daniel Rahimi D L 6-3 213 Apr. 28, 1987 Umea, SWE
6 Prestin Ryan D L 6-0 190 Jan. 6, 1980 Arcola, SK
7 Mason Raymond LW L 6-0 170 Sep. 17, 1985 Calgary, AB
8 Nathan McIver D L 6-2 195 Jan. 6, 1985 Summerside, PEI
10 Brandon Reid C R 5-8 185 Mar. 9, 1981 Kirkland, PQ
12 Mike Keane RW R 5-11 185 May. 29, 1967 Winnipeg, MB
13 Mike (S.) Brown RW R 6-0 210 Jun. 24, 1985 Northbrook, IL
14 Marc Chouinard C R 6-4 200 May. 6, 1977 Charlesbourg, PQ
15 Jason Jaffray LW L 6-1 205 Jun. 30, 1981 Olds, AB
16 Michael Grabner RW L 6-1 177 Oct. 5, 1987 Villach, AUT
18 J.J. Hunter C L 6-1 196 Jul. 6, 1980 Shaunavon, SK
20 Brad Moran C L 5-11 185 Mar. 20, 1979 Abbotsford, BC
22 Jesse Schultz RW R 6-0 192 Sep. 28, 1982 Strasbourg, SK
23 Dustin Wood D L 6-1 208 May. 21, 1981 Scarborough, ON
26 Brendan Brooks RW R 5-10 185 Nov. 26, 1978 St. Catharines, ON
27 Maxime Fortunus D R 6-1 190 Jul. 28, 1983 La Prairie, PQ
29 Colby Genoway RW R 6-1 201 Dec. 12, 1983 Morden, MB
30 Dov Grumet-Morris G L 6-2 198 Feb. 28, 1982 Evanston, IL
32 Tyler Bouck LW L 6-0 196 Jan. 13, 1980 Camrose, AB
33 Wade Flaherty G L 6-0 190 Jan. 11, 1968 Terrace, BC
37 Lee Goren RW R 6-3 205 Dec. 26, 1977 Winnipeg, MB
38 Yannick Tremblay D L 6-2 180 Nov. 15, 1975 Pointe-aux-Trembles, PQ
45 Shaun Heshka D R 6-1 195 Jun. 30, 1985 Melville, SK


Grand Rapids Griffins Playoff Roster
No. Player Pos. Shoots Ht Wt DOB Birthplace
1 Stefan Liv G L 6-0 177 Jul. 23, 1980 Gdynia, Poland
3 Danny Syvret D L 5-11 203 Jun. 13, 1985 Millgrove, ON
4 Dan Smith D L 6-3 220 Oct. 19, 1976 Fernie, BC
5 Brad Norton D L 6-6 245 Feb. 13, 1975 Cambridge, MA
6 Jonathan Ericsson D L 6-5 218 Mar. 2, 1984 Karlskrona, Sweden
8 Ben Simon LW L 6-0 195 Jun. 14, 1978 Shaker Heights, OH
9 Kip Miller C L 5-10 190 Jun. 11, 1969 Lansing, MI
10 Jakub Kindl D L 6-3 202 Feb. 10, 1987 Sumperk, Czech Republic
11 Jan Mursak LW R 5-11 173 Jan. 20, 1988 Maribor, Slovenia
13 Tony Voce LW L 5-8 195 Oct. 30, 1980 Philadelphia, PA
14 Matt Hussey LW L 6-1 210 May. 28, 1979 New Haven, CT
15 Cory Emmerton C L 6-0 190 Jun. 1, 1988 St. Thomas, ON
16 Ryan Oulahen LW L 6-0 185 Mar. 26, 1985 Newmarket, ON
17 Evan McGrath C L 6-0 195 Jan. 14, 1986 Oakville, ON
18 Jon Insana D R 6-1 202 Sep. 2, 1980 Mount Clemens, MI
19 Eric Himelfarb C R 5-9 175 Jan. 1, 1983 Thornhill, ON
20 Jamie Tardif RW R 6-0 203 Jan. 23, 1985 Welland, ON
22 Kyle Quincey D L 6-2 215 Aug. 12, 1985 Kitchener, ON
23 Matt Ellis C L 6-1 210 Aug. 31, 1981 Welland, ON
25 Jonas Johansson RW R 6-2 200 Mar. 18, 1984 Jonkoping, Sweden
26 Adam Keefe RW L 5-10 195 Apr. 26, 1984 Brampton, ON
27 Darryl Bootland RW R 6-2 199 Nov. 2, 1981 Bradford, ON
28 Derek Meech D L 5-11 197 Apr. 21, 1984 Winnipeg, MB
29 Scott Parse F R 6-1 185 Nov. 5, 1984 Portage, MI
33 Jimmy Howard G L 6-1 215 Mar. 26, 1984 Syracuse, NY
34 Jeff Campbell LW R 5-9 175 May. 9, 1981 Hensall, ON


Season Series: 2-3-0-3
11/3/06 GR 4 - Man 0
11/4/06 GR 5 - Man 4 -Shootout
11/7/06 GR 1 - Man 2
11/8/06 GR 1 - Man 2
3/16/07 GR 2 - Man 3 -Shootout
3/17/07 GR 2 - Man 3
3/23/07 GR 2 - Man 3 -Shootout
3/24/07 GR 3 - Man 4 -Shootout

Moose Team LeadersGriffins Team Leaders
REGULAR SEASONREGULAR SEASON
Goals: Jaffrey (35), Goren (26), Moran (25)Goals: Ellis (26), Miller (25), Bootland (18)
Assists: Moran (47), Jaffrey (46), Goren (42)Assists: Miller (47), Hussey (29), Ellis (23)
Points: Jaffrey (81), Moran (72), Goren (68)Points: Miller (72), Ellis (49), Hussey (44)
PP Goals: Jaffrey (16), Moran (7), Goren (10)PP Goals: Miller, Ellis (10), Langfeld (6)
SH Goals: Jaffrey (2), Keane, Hansen, Edler (1)SH Goals: Ellis, Himelfarb (5), Simon, Meech, Oulahen (3)
Plus/Minus: Jaffrey (+12), Goren (+8), Genoway (+8)Plus/Minus: Smith (+13), Insana (+12), Galvin (+7)
PIM: Brown (194), McIver (139), Ryan (125)PIM: Bootland (222), Quincey (126), Norton (102)


Head-to-Head
2006-07 vs GR2006-07 vs Manitoba
Goals: Jaffrey (6), Goren (3), Moran (2)Goals: Miller (3), Insana, Langfeld, Ellis, Hussey, Voce (2)
Assists: Moran (5), Goren, Smith (4)Assists: Quincey (5), Miller, Ericsson (3)
Points: Jaffrey (9), Moran, Goren (7)Points: Quincey (6), Miller (6), Langfeld, Ellis, Hussey (4)
PP Goals: Jaffrey (4), Goren (2)PP Goals: Syvret, Miller (1)
SH Goals: N/ASH Goals: Ellis, Hussey, Brooks (1)
Plus/Minus: Raymond (+1), No other players over 0Plus/Minus: Quincey (+6), Miller (+4)
PIM: McIver (30), Goren (12), Moran, Rypien, Hansen (10)PIM: Bootland (19), Smith (18), Keefe (17)
SOG: Jaffrey (33), Goren (25), Ryan (21) SOG: Hussey (25), Quincey (16), Langfeld, Ellis, Miller (14)