I stayed up late to watch the Red Wings game. Meech had a perfect scoring opportunity 28 seconds into the game. He shot, Samuelson tipped it, and Meech got his first point of the season on his first shift of the season. The guys on FSN were commenting that this is why Meech stayed in town and Quincy got put on waivers.
The Grand Rapids Griffins also played last night. This was just game number two for them, but they were able to come out with a shoot out win.
GriffinsHockey.com: The Griffins and Lake Erie Monsters went into overtime at the Quicken Loans Arena for the second consecutive game on Saturday and this time the Griffins came out on top with a 4-3 shootout victory. Jimmy Howard stopped four shootout chances and Cory Emmerton went top shelf in the fifth round for the game winner.
Two new faces got in on the action.
Justin Abdelkader put Grand Rapids on the board with 3:35 remaining in the second period. With the Griffins on the power play, Ville Leino forced a turnover deep in the Monsters’ zone and Abdelkader took a quick shot from the slot that beat Bacashihua. The goal was Abdelkader’s second in as many professional games, and it made the score 2-1.
Our new captain got his first goal with his new team, and another Red Wings depth player got in on the action.
The Griffins tied it at the 7:34 mark of the third as Darren Haydar notched his first goal in a Griffins uniform. Abdelkader picked up his second point with a nice pass back to Jonathan Ericsson, who launched a heavy shot. Bacashihua kicked the save out into the slot where a waiting Haydar snapped a wrist shot past the Monsters’ goalie.
Tags: Michael Zuidema reports that Griffins coach Curt Fraser has appointed Darren Haydar the Griffins’ captain, and he gave an “A” to “The Big RIg”:
October 10, Grand Rapids Press: Darren Haydar will be the Griffins’ captain this season. Haydar was signed in July after serving as captain last season for the Chicago Wolves, who won the Calder Cup. Landon Wilson and Jonathan Ericsson are the alternate captains.”Darren’s got great experience at it, he’s been a captain for a long time. We had a long talk with him and I think he’s the right man for the job of leading this team,” Fraser said. “Wilson has been around for a long time and he’s really a good guy, and a real strong presence in our locker room. Ericsson, out on the ice, leads by example and that’s kind of players I’m looking for to lead our team.”
If injuries or recalls affect the status of any of those players, Justin Abdelkader and Ryan Oulahen will fill the alternate roles.
With the state that the Griffins are in I support Haydar as the captain. He has been around the AHL for a while, he has been captain in Chicago, he has a Calder Cup.
Darren Haydar is in Traverse City for Red Wings training camp. He sat down with Michael Zuidema of The Grand Rapids Press to talk about why he went from the Chicago Wolves to the Grand Rapids Griffins. It does seem a little strange to see a player move from the Calder Cup champs to a team that is going to be doing a lot of rebuilding this season.
September 22, Grand Rapids Press: “I already crossed sides once going from [the] Milwaukee [Admirals] to Chicago. I’m making my way around the lake,” Haydar said, laughing. “I’m just trying to give myself the best opportunity to make it at the NHL level. Detroit plays a skilled game, and I feel like I fit their mold.”
Haydar hopes to make a strong impression on Red Wings coaches during training camp at Centre I.C.E. Arena, but he knows that Detroit’s depth makes cracking the lineup a difficult task.
George James Malik from Mlive.com also makes mention of the Haydar interview.
September 22, Mlive.com: Grand Rapids Griffins forward Darren Haydar is a tremendous point-producer at the AHL level, and he was spectacular for the Chicago Wolves on their way to the Calder Cup last season, but he tells the Grand Rapids Press’s Michael Zuidema that “jumping ship” to an up-and-coming franchise wasn’t a difficult decision
