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Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL, 2012-13)

2012-13 Regular Season:
Griffins vs. Hamilton Bulldogs
     Despite being one of the largest cities in Michigan, Grand Rapids had trouble making professional hockey work in town. The last pro franchise in town was the IHL's Owls, who arrived midway through the 1977-78 season from Dayton, Ohio. Despite a successful 1978-79 season, the team ended up folding in 1980 after being evicted from Stadium Arena due to unpaid rent bills. Stadium Arena was considered obsolete for the IHL even then, so pro hockey went dark in Kent County.
      That changed in 1996, with the opening of Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids and the arrival of the IHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. The Griffins were a huge hit in town, and were one of the highest-drawing teams in the IHL's later years. When that league folded in 2001, the Griffins joined the American Hockey League. 
     By 2011-12, the Griffins were the top farm club of the Detroit Red Wings for the past ten years. Unfortunately, that didn't translate to wins on the ice. The team had missed the postseason for three of the last four years. This season was no different, as Grand Rapids went 33-32-11, good enough for fourth place in the North Division. Their 77 points were nine back of second place Rochester.
     Former Atlanta Thrashers head coach Curt Fraser was behind the bench for his fourth, and final, season. Despite the subpar record, the Griffins actually had a pretty strong offense, finishing second overall in goals with 245. The team had a couple of future Red Wings leading the charge on offense. Tomas Tatar (now with Montreal) led the team with 24 goals and 58 points. Gustav Nyquist, now with Columbus, was right behind with 22 goals and tied Tatar with 58 points. Jamie Johnson (21), Joakim Andersson (21) and Chris Menard (21) were the other 20-goal scorers.
     It was the defense that hurt Grand Rapids that season, as the Griffins allowed the third-most goals in the AHL with 249. The team used four netminders in 2011-12. Joey MacDonald and Tom McCollum were the two main goaltenders. MacDonald, who played in the NHL with Detroit, Calgary, Toronto, the Islanders and Boston, played 26 games for Grand Rapids, sporting a 11-11-3 record, a 2.63 GAA and 3 shutouts. McCollum, who played 3 games for Detroit in his career, was in net for 28 games, with an 11-16-3 record and 3.49 GAA. The other two netminders that season were Jordan Pearce and Red Wings backup Ty Conklin. 
     My brother went to a Griffins-Hamilton Bulldogs game on St. Patrick's Day 2012, a 5-3 Griffins win in front of 6,452 at Van Andel. This game was Free BBQ Set Night! Also, the team was holding a "Love for Lokomotiv" fundraiser for the KHL team that was wiped out by a plane crash in September. This game was my first, and so far only, game at Van Andel, though I've been to Grand Rapids a couple times. Van Andel is one of the best minor-pro rinks I've been to, just a beautiful arena. I also remember downtown Grand Rapids just crawling with people throughout the day, looking for a drink. 
     As for the program, it's 72 pages and is half the length and width of a typical program. However, it's all in color and was free, something you don't see too often. Chris Minard, one of the veteran players signed by the Griffins, is featured on the cover. This was Minard's final season in Grand Rapids, and would play the last five years of his career in Germany. There are articles about Fabian Brunnstrom, the Grand Rapids Sled Wings (a hockey team for physically-challenged athletes), Chris Minard and several ex-Griffins who were helping to continue the Red Wings 21-season playoff streak.
     Local ads include Rogers Printing, T&W Electronics, The Rapid and Superior Asphalt, Inc. 

Aftermath: In 2012-13, the Griffins would rebound in a big way. Led by current Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, Grand Rapids would improve to 42-26-8 and capture the franchise's first-ever Calder Cup Championship and the city's first pro hockey championship since the 1977 Blades. 
 

Reference:
American Hockey League Season Statistics: 2011-12, from hockeydb.com.
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