This weekend was filled with one thing: Hockey. The Griffins were playing three games in three nights. The Red Wings played Saturday and Sunday as well.
After a boring and mildly uneventful day at work we had some dinner and took off for the arena. There wasn’t a large promotion or anything going on, but the Griffins played very well and put the hurt on Peoria.
griffinshockey.com – Returning from a five-game absence due to a concussion, Jimmy Howard made 24 saves to best former Detroit Red Wings netminder Manny Legace and guide the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 4-1 win over the Peoria Rivermen on Friday at Van Andel Arena.
Darren McCarty and Garrett Stafford each had a goal and an assist while Ryan Oulahen had a pair of assists to help the Griffins claim their fourth win in five games and stay within five points of first-place Manitoba in the North Division race.
Saturday started with some shopping and a bathroom project. The valve that controls the shower nozzle failed last week. By Friday taking a shower was not an option due to very little water actually going up instead of down the spout. This situation was a very easy fix. I just replaced the spout with one that has a gate diverter on it. Total Cost: $11.23 & 5 minutes.
I then watched the Red Wings game on TV. They were able to get past the Blues. Then it was off to the arena for day two of Griffins vs. Peoria. This time it didn’t turn out so well for the Griffins.
griffinshockey.com – The game was scoreless until a flurry of goals in the final six minutes of the second period saw Peoria go to the locker room with a 2-1 lead. The Rivermen (34-30-1-1) scored the first two, with Ryan Reaves cleaning up a loose puck in the crease at 14:22 and Nicholas Drazenovic splitting two defenders before beating Jimmy Howard at 17:09.
The Griffins would answer before intermission, as Francis Pare potted his 21st goal from just outside the crease, putting a rebound past Holt. Pare now stands as one of only five rookies in franchise history to score more than 20 goals in a season.
An unfortunate bounce for Grand Rapids resulted in a gift goal for former Griffin Carl Corazzini and a 3-1 Peoria lead just 1:11 into the third period. As Howard skated behind his net to stop a dump-in, the puck took an odd deflection off the end glass and caromed out in front of the vacated net, allowing the charging Corazzini an uncontested goal.
Sunday came and it was promising to be a long day of everything Hockey. The annual Season Ticket Holder Event was going on before and after the afternoon game. After lunch we arrived at the arena around 1pm. We collected our Jiri Hudler jersey cards and headed in. Our first stop was waiting for the next tour of the press box and control room. During this time Drake took a bunch of pictures with my camera. He must really like the flash and screen because he laughed after almost every picture he took.
We all headed up to the press box where we were told that Drake could not be for safety and security reasons. It was basically because there is no barrier keeping him from jumping from the table up there. I call BS, it’s not like I would have set him down up there. From there we were treated to the control room to see the sound and video boards. I even got to press the air horn button!
Down on the ice we were treated to the penalty box, and the chance to shoot some pucks. Drake was so cute and adorable playing with a full size stick. Yes, there are pictures below. After some fun down there we headed up to our seats, where Drake did take a short nap.
The game proved to be as tough as I thought it was going to be. They had to play three games in three nights, and the Admirals are a good team.
griffinshockey.com – The Grand Rapids Griffins suffered the season’s sixth one-goal loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday, dropping a frustrating 2-1 decision in their third game in three nights at Van Andel Arena.
The game was scoreless for nearly 58 minutes until a controversial interference call on Darren McCarty resulted in a power play goal by Milwaukee’s Cody Franson with 2:04 remaining, and the Admirals held on as the Griffins suffered consecutive regulation losses at home for the first time this season.
After the game we all seperated a little to gather some autographs. I sent Theresa to wait for Jimmy Howard. My dad was second in line for Justin Abdelkader, as I waited for Darren McCarty. Once those were completed we headed to the basement where the Griffins locker room is at. Yes, it is a locker room. Yes, it smells like a locker room wehre plenty of hockey players just changed out of game equipment.
Okay, on to the pictures. There are 77 pictures in thumbnail form below the cut. There are also two videos from the locker room. Enjoy!
Tags: Carl Corazzini, Chris Holt, Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wings, Drake, Flickr, Francis Pare, Garrett Stafford, Grand Rapids Griffins, Hockey, Jimmy Howard, Justin Abdelkader, Manny Legace, Milwaukee Admirals, Nicholas Drazenovic, Peoria Rivermen, Ryan Oulahen, Ryan Reaves, Theresa, Van Andel ArenaSo I think I’ll go through the front gates on Saturday as opposed to the rear gate we usually go through.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A day after celebrating their 500th regular season home game, the Grand Rapids Griffins are expected to welcome the 4 millionth fan in franchise history this Saturday, Dec. 20, when they host the Milwaukee Admirals in a 7 p.m. start at Van Andel Arena.
The Griffins have drawn 3,990,072 fans for their 499 regular season home games over the last 13 seasons, leaving them 9,928 shy of the milestone heading into Friday’s game against Milwaukee – which, barring inclement weather, is expected to draw around 7,000 fans. The magic number should be only a few thousand away when the gates open at 6 p.m. Saturday for the rematch with the Admirals.
The lucky fan will be greeted at the turnstiles in the arena’s main lobby by Griff and Tim Gortsema, the Griffins’ senior vice president of business operations. No. 4 million will then be honored in an on-ice ceremony during the first intermission, where he or she will receive a prize package including:
• A Griffins jersey with the numeral “4” and the nameplate “MILLION” on the back;
• Four lower-bowl tickets to every Griffins home game during the ensuing 4 million seconds;
• Gas card to travel 4 million feet;
• 4 million Zimbabwean dollars;
• 4 million microliters of Pepsi;
• 4 million milligrams of Van Andel Arena popcorn;
• Forty “100 Grand” candy bars;
• Four days of recognition on the griffinshockey.com splash page;
• A four-second standing ovation from Griffins fans during the on-ice ceremony.
4 million feet translates to about 750 miles, 4 million microliters of Pepsi equals one liter of Pepsi, and 4 million Zimbabwean dollars yields $3.50.
The word this morning is that we should expect an announcement from the NHL regarding Sean Avery. It will be very interesting to see what Gary Bettman has to say about all of this. I don’t think I would be sad if Sean was banned from the league forever.
Don’t forget to vote for the Detroit Red Wings in fan balloting for the All Star Game.
Chris Chelios will play the next two games with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Tonight is also $1 beer night. Yes, it is going to be a very busy Van Andel Arena, thank goodness for our guaranteed parking space in the ramp. Oh, and Derek Meech got his first NHL goal last night. Super Awesome!
In other random news; I was able to get two marshmallow launchers from Woot! today.
Monday was a pretty average day. Work was a little busy, home time was good. Tuesday is where it really is at.
In the morning I was taking apart cubicles as my office prepares to move. I kept finding strange things in the desks. There was one that had a bunch of paper bags in it. I swear I never saw anyone bring something like that in here. They are the style of bags that you would get with a large bottle of beer. I even got some push pins in my shoes as they were all over the floor.
I left work real early, 10:30am, to go pick Drake up. He was super excited to see me. We went to the arena for the Griffins annual matinee game. Whomever writes the releases for griffinshockey.com had this to say:
November 11, griffinshockey.com – The AHL’s highest scoring team found a different way to win on Tuesday, riding a dominant defensive effort and a 16-save performance by Daniel Larsson to a 1-0 victory over the Houston Aeros at Van Andel Arena.
A matinee crowd of 7,352 saw the Griffins improve to 6-2-2-1 on the season, 4-1-0-1 on home ice and 6-2 all time in their annual noon game, thanks to Larsson’s first shutout in North America.
Grand Rapids will take aim at its third straight home win this Friday when it hosts its first-ever meeting with the Hartford Wolf Pack at 7 p.m. …
After the game Drake and I headed home for a nap. After he woke up he just sat with me in the lazy boy watching True Blood. Yes I know, I am a very bad father for letting my toddler watch that show with me. There is no need to scold me.
Theresa brought home a new chicken sub to share for dinner. Yum, she even put black olives on my half for me. After dinner Theresa and Drake left to do a little shopping. Right about that time the Red Wings game got underway on VS. I do not like watching games on VS. I will take Mickey Redmond over VS. any day. As far the the Red Wings though, George James Malik says it best:
November 11, Snapshots: Unacceptable – The Detroit Red Wings lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, and their record in “measuring stick” games is now 0-and-4 (they lost to San Jose, Anaheim, the Penguins, and they bombed their banner-raising opener). The Red Wings had 3-1, 4-2, 5-2, 5-4, and 6-4 leads at various points of the game, but “cutesy” plays resulting in turnovers and an inability to clear the slot and bear down on clearing the puck out of the defensive zone resulted in the vast majority of the Penguins’ goals. …
I myself am also highly disappointed with the Red Wings play last night. I would be more disappointed if I have been a paying ticket holder.
As a footnote, I do have pictures on my camera that I need to get uploaded. Maybe I’ll get that done tonight.
