From the Grand Rapids Griffins:
JARED COREAU NAMED CCM/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Hockey League announced today that Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Jared Coreau has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 18, 2018.
Coreau led the Griffins to consecutive road shutouts of the Western Conference-leading Manitoba Moose last week, stopping all 66 shots he faced.
Grand Rapids brought a nine-game points streak (7-0-0-2) into a two-game series against Manitoba at Bell MTS Place, and Coreau helped the Griffins maintain their winning ways with 28 saves in a 1-0 victory over the Moose on Thursday night. Coreau came back on Saturday with his second consecutive shutout, making a season-high 38 stops in a 5-0 win to improve to 5-1-0 (1.41 GAA, 0.955 save percentage) in seven appearances against Manitoba this season. Coreau became the first Griffins goaltender to record a shutout in back-to-back starts since Petr Mrazek on Feb. 27-28, 2015, and his 13 career shutouts place third in franchise history.
Since Dec. 22, the 6-foot-6 netminder sports a 13-2-3 record along with a 1.92 goals against average and a 0.933 save percentage in 18 appearances, as the Griffins have gone from being five games under 0.500 (10-15-1-3) to 10 games over 0.500 (28-18-1-6) in a span of 24 games.
Coreau, the first Griffin this season to garner Player of the Week accolades, collects his third career honor from the AHL, as he was named Player of the Week on Feb. 1, 2015, and Goaltender of the Month in December 2015.
The 26-year-old Coreau ranks among the AHL’s goaltending leaders this season with 20 wins (T3rd), a 2.47 GAA (13th), a 0.916 save percentage (T13th) and 2092:11 minutes (3rd).
A fifth-year pro from Perth, Ontario, Coreau started all 19 games of last spring’s Calder Cup championship run, showing a 15-4 record, a 2.84 GAA and a 0.909 save percentage. In 146 career AHL games all with Grand Rapids, Coreau has an 84-48-10 record to go along with a 2.42 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage. He became the 158th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with the Red Wings on Dec. 3, 2016 at Pittsburgh. In his first taste of NHL action last season, Coreau posted a 5-4-3 mark, a 3.46 GAA, a 0.887 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 appearances.
In recognition of being named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week, Coreau will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Griffins home game.
The Griffins have points in 11 straight games (9-0-0-2) and will host the Chicago Wolves on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to begin a six-game homestand.
