REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
Nov. 29, 2010
by Randy Rice - griffinshockey.com
As the hockey season rolls along, it is not typical for a team to look back. First and foremost is the next game and what lies ahead on the schedule. However, the past week was no typical stretch for the Griffins, who set or tied several franchise records. So, we feel it is necessary to reflect on the past just this once.
Let’s begin with Wednesday’s matinee contest in Toronto on Nov. 24. The start of Grand Rapids’ first four-in-five of the season, the game saw nine roughing penalties called through the first two periods, but no majors were whistled. All seemed normal with a little extra pushing and shoving entering the second intermission.
It did not take long for the sparks to fly during the final frame, as Greg Amadio paired up with Jay Rosehill and Brandon Straub dropped the gloves with Danny Richmond just 3:39 in. Shortly after, tempers escalated and a line brawl broke out at 5:45 that saw Jamie Tardif, Tomas Tatar and Francis Pare ejected for the Griffins and Darryl Boyce, Korbinian Holzer and Matt Lashoff kicked out for the Marlies. All that was missing was a goalie fight during the old-fashioned donnybrook.
Cooler heads failed to prevail as two more fights and several scrums broke out before the final horn. When all was said and done, the Griffins were whistled off for a franchise-record 112 PIM, breaking the mark of 104 that was set 13 seasons ago on April 11, 1998 versus Quebec. The game’s combined 218 PIM, which also set a Griffins record, included 184 PIM during the third period (96 for Grand Rapids, 88 for Toronto).
As a result of the sin-bin affair, the Griffins vaulted into first place in the AHL for both PIM (531) and game misconducts (6) as of the conclusion of the Thanksgiving weekend.
The penalty box was not the only area for which the Griffins set new standards this past week, as their historic 10-8 win in Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 27 broke records in numerous categories. Rather than go into great detail about what happened, here is rundown of the records and notes from that game, taken straight from the Nov. 28 game notes we were able to put together after some in depth research;
| A Night to Remember: No fewer than 11 Griffins franchise records were set or tied during the incredible 10-8 win at Chicago, with Tomas Tatar etching his name into the record book four times. INDIVIDUAL
TEAM
But Wait, There’s More: The Griffins’ 10-8 win over Chicago was the AHL’s highest scoring contest since March 29, 1996, when the Baltimore Bandits defeated the Binghamton Rangers by an identical score…Tomas Tatar’s seven points (2-5—7) were the most by an AHL player since Chicago’s Jason Krog put up seven (3-4—7) against Peoria on Nov. 4, 2006…Jordan Pearce became the first AHL goalie to win while allowing eight goals since Providence’s Scott Bailey earned a 9-8 victory at Adirondack on Dec. 11, 1996…The Wolves scored on five consecutive power play opportunities spanning the second and third periods and finished 5-for-7 on the night, falling one shy of Grand Rapids’ record for power play goals allowed in a game (6, Dec. 2, 2005 at Peoria, 6-for-9). |
Seem like a lot to take in? As stated above, after the week the Griffins had surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday, making an exception to the rule about looking back seemed appropriate in this situation in order to process all the fine details.
From here though, it is full speed ahead for Grand Rapids, which looks to build on this record-setting week as the team aims to climb in the standings.
