The AHL has brought four new teams into the fold for the 2005-06 season, each of which will be a frequent visitor to Van Andel Arena. However, with the relative geographic proximity of these franchises to West Michigan, road trips to each new city are well within your reach as a fan, given four decent tires and a couple tanks of gas. We proudly present this primer on each of the Griffins’ new foes and the towns that they call home.


Iowa Stars


NHL Affiliate: Dallas Stars
Arena (Capacity): Wells Fargo Arena (15,585)
Director of Hockey Operations: Scott White
Head Coach: Dave Allison (He served as the Griffins’ first head coach from 1996-98, posting a 70-55-19 record before his dismissal late in the team’s second season.)
Assistant Coach: Paul Jerrard
Colors: Forest Green and Gold

City: Des Moines, Iowa
Population: 196,093
Driving Distance from GR: 494 miles
Fun Facts about Des Moines:
• Largest city in Iowa, with a population slightly greater than Grand Rapids
• Home to Drake University and two former IHL teams, the Capitols (1972-75) and Oak Leafs (1963-72)
• The state capitol building in Des Moines has a genuine gold-covered dome.
• Hometown of the members of the heavy metal band Slipknot and the McCaughey septuplets, the world’s first surviving set
• Des Moines boasts the highest per capita consumption of Jell-O in the U.S. (28 boxes per year).
• President Ronald Reagan announced Chicago Cubs games for WHO Radio in Des Moines during the mid 1930s. In 1937, while covering Cubs spring training in California, Reagan was discovered by a Warner Bros. agent and began his film career.
• The Des Moines Register newspaper sponsors RAGBRAI, a week-long, cross-state bicycle tour that draws 10,000 riders each summer.

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Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights


NHL Affiliate: Calgary Flames
Arena (Capacity): Omaha Civic Auditorium (8,000)
President: Doug Soetaert
Assistant Coach: Scott Allen
Colors: Red, Black and Gold

City: Omaha, Nebraska
Population: 404,267
Driving Distance from GR: 629 miles
Fun Facts about Omaha:
• Largest city in Nebraska
• Home to Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, the College World Series, Boys Town, ConAgra Foods, Mutual of Omaha, Omaha Steaks, Union Pacific Railroad, Borsheims (the largest jewelry store in the nation) and Offutt Air Force Base, location of the U.S. Strategic Command
• Also home to college (CCHA Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks) and junior (USHL Omaha Lancers) hockey teams, as well as a former IHL team called the Knights (1959-63)
• President Gerald R. Ford was born Leslie King Jr. in Omaha on July 14, 1913. Omaha is also the hometown of civil rights activist Malcolm X, talk show host Johnny Carson, billionaire Warren Buffett, football Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers, baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, and actors Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda and Nick Nolte.
• Lied Jungle at the Henry Doorly Zoo is the world’s largest indoor rain forest.
• In Omaha, it is illegal to sneeze or burp during a church service, or for a man to be seen with a shaved chest.
• Nebraska is the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich and Spam, and Omaha has the highest per capita consumption of ice cream in the U.S.
• The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation is a civic and philanthropic organization that dates to the 1890s. Frustrated with what they viewed as the backwards nature of their state, the founders expressed their opinion by reversing the spelling of Nebraska in their name.

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Peoria Rivermen


NHL Affiliate: St. Louis Blues
Arena (Capacity): Carver Arena at Peoria Civic Center (9,400)
General Manager: Kevin McDonald
Associate Head Coaches: Don Granato, Steve Pleau
Colors: Navy Blue and Gold

City: Peoria, Illinois
Population: 112,907
Driving Distance from GR: 316 miles
Fun Facts about Peoria:
• Seventh-largest city and the oldest community in Illinois
• Home to Bradley University and Caterpillar, Inc.
• On the Vaudeville circuit, it was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, it would work anywhere. The question “Will it play in Peoria?” became a metaphor for whether something would appeal to the mainstream American public.
• Peoria is often used as a test market for new products, as its demographics - including population, employment, family income, age and education – closely resemble the average American city.
• Hometown of musician Dan Fogelberg, comedian Richard Pryor, baseball player Jim Thome, and general John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• The Rivermen’s 18-game winning streak as members of the IHL in 1990-91 set a record as the longest in professional hockey history.
• The Rivermen won IHL Turner Cups in 1985 (4-3 over Muskegon) and 1991, along with an ECHL Kelly Cup in 2000.

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Toronto Marlies


NHL Affiliate: Toronto Maple Leafs
Arena (Capacity): Ricoh Coliseum (10,000)
Head Coach: Paul Maurice (He coached the Carolina Hurricanes against the Detroit Red Wings in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.)
Colors: Blue and White

City: Toronto, Ontario
Population: 2,385,400
Driving Distance from GR: 358 miles
Fun Facts about Toronto:
• Largest city in Canada and the capital of Ontario
• Known by several nicknames, including T.O., The Big Smoke, and Hogtown
• Toronto trucks 1.235 million tons of its garbage to Michigan each year
• One-third of the Canadian population lives within a five-hour drive of Toronto, and one-sixth of all Canadian jobs lie within the city’s limits.
• Nearly half of the city’s population is comprised of immigrants who hail from more than 100 countries, making Toronto the “world’s most multicultural city.”
• Hometown of comedians Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Jim Carrey, Phil Hartman, Norm MacDonald, Mike Myers and Martin Short, hockey player Wayne Gretzky, musicians Barenaked Ladies, Celine Dion, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, Rush, and Neil Young, actors Neve Campbell, Jason Priestly and Keanu Reeves, and game show host Alex Trebek
• Toronto served as home to the AHL’s Road Runners in 2003-04.
• The nickname Marlies dates to 1903 and honors the Duke of Marlborough. It has since adorned several junior, senior and youth teams in the Toronto area.