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Griffins playoff tix on sale Friday at 10 AM EDT

The Grand Rapids Griffins’ playoff tickets are going on sale this Friday at 10 AM EDT:

Tickets for the defending Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins’ first two home games during the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs will go on sale to the public this Friday, April 13 at 10 a.m.

Grand Rapids’ opponent and dates for the best-of-five Central Division Semifinals are still to be decided. The Griffins currently are in second place in the division in terms of points with 89, trailing Chicago by two points and leading both Manitoba and Rockford by one point. Grand Rapids plays at San Antonio tonight at 8 p.m. EDT before its regular season campaign concludes on home ice on Saturday against Cleveland at 7 p.m.

Single-game playoff tickets will be available at all Star Tickets locations, including The Zone, online through griffinshockey.com/tickets, by phone through Star Tickets at (800) 585-3737, or via the Griffins app for iPhone or Android.

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Monroe previews the Toledo Walleye-Indy Fuel series

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe penned a fine article on Thursday evening, previewing the playoff series between the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and their first-round opponent, the Indy Fuel:

The Toledo Walleye clearly seem to have the upper-hand against their first-round playoff opponent, the Indy Fuel.

But looks can be deceiving. Top-seeded Toledo (50-17-5) hosts fourth-seeded Indy (36-30-6) in Game 1 of a best-of-7 Central Division semifinal series at 7:35 p.m. Friday at the Huntington Center.

The Walleye posted an 8-1-0 record against the Fuel this season and are 23-2-1 all-time vs. Indy. Toledo outscored Indy 36-26 in the season series. The Walleye won the division and Western Conference titles, while the Fuel got in on the final day of the regular season.

However, five of the games this season were decided by just one goal and the last two games went to overtime. The last time the Fuel visited the Huntington Center, they earned a 7-4 win March 11.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said. “They are not an easy team. They are a big physical team. It’s a tough test.”

The teams also were dead-even in overall offensive production. Toledo and Indy averaged 3.36 goals per game, tied for the eighth most in the ECHL.

Monroe continues, and his article includes interviews with Walleye coach Dan Watson; Monroe also wrote an article regarding goaltender Pat Nagle winning the ECHL’s “March MASKness” competition.

 

Detroit News’s Kulfan, Krupa and Niyo have a Wings podcast w/ new episode available today

The Detroit News has posted a 28-minute podcast in which Ted Kulfan, Gregg Krupa and John Niyo discuss the following:

Wakiji speaks with Danny DeKeyser regarding his abbreviated campaign

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji filed a locker room clean-out day article regarding Danny DeKeyser, who missed 17 games with a fractured ankle in October and November. DeKeyser feels that he played solidly this past season:

In the end, DeKeyser finished with six goals, six assists and was plus-2, one of five plus players on the team.

“I definitely felt a lot better in the second half,” DeKeyser said. “I felt I was playing a lot better, being more active, skating better and moving better out there. I thought it took me a little bit to get going after that injury. Once I got going, once I got my feet under me, I thought I was a lot better.”

DeKeyser, who turned 28 last month, is a lean 6-foot-3, 192 pounds. When he first came to the Wings, they wanted him to gain some weight. But now, DeKeyser isn’t focused on gaining weight.

“I’m pretty comfortable with where I’m at,” he said. “For me it’s mostly strength-wise. Just being strong, games when I’m out there and I’m feeling strong, that’s when I have my best games. Just taking care of my body over the course of the season. Not so much about weight. More concerned with strength.”

Wakiji continues, speaking with DeKeyser regarding the possibility of playing in the World Championship and addressing the Wings’ youth movement…

And I would argue that DeKeyser still needs to work on his strength, especially his core strength and upper-leg strength.

Griffins lose Dominic Turgeon to blood clot caused by thoracic outlet syndrome

From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

DOMINIC TURGEON OUT INDEFINITELY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday announced that center Dominic Turgeon will be out of the lineup indefinitely while undergoing treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome, which caused a blood clot affecting his right arm that was diagnosed yesterday prior to the team’s road game against the Texas Stars.

Dr. Ryan Turley performed a procedure to alleviate the clot Wednesday evening at St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center in Round Rock, Texas. Turgeon is scheduled for another procedure today before a consultation next week in Tampa, Fla., with Dr. Karl Illig, who successfully treated Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos for a similar condition two years ago.

It is expected that Turgeon will resume his playing career after making a full recovery. Further updates on his condition and prognosis will be provided as warranted.

After winning a Calder Cup championship with the Griffins last year as a rookie, the 22-year-old Turgeon more than doubled his goal total and nearly doubled his point total this season, posting 14 goals and 32 points in 69 games. The son of longtime NHLer Pierre Turgeon, he made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 14 and appeared in five games with the parent club.

Centre Ice Arena to start crowdfunding to raise $ for rink upgrades

From Centre Ice Arena’s newsletter:

Crowdfunding Campaign Begins Monday April 16 – Help Us…
HIT THE GOAL & RENOVATE THE RINK!

Centre Ice Arena will launch a crowdfunding campaign beginning on Monday, April 16 in an effort to raise funds to cover costs associated with rink renovations mandated by the NHL. The rink upgrades are required for Detroit Red Wings Training Camp and NHL Prospect Tournament to return to Traverse City. This year will mark the 20th time both events have taken place at Centre Ice. Rink renovations, which will make the rink safer for all athletes and spectators, will begin on May 14 and will take about three weeks to complete.

Centre Ice needs to raise at least $110,000 for the project. Here are 3 important ways you can help!
1) Donate to our GivingGrid.com Crowdfunding Campaign beginning on Monday, April 16.
starting on Monday, April 16. The campaign will conclude on June 2.
2) Attend the upcoming event Sticks & Skates for I.C.E. on Sunday, April 29 from 11-2 at Centre Ice Arena. (See poster below with full details.)
3) Participate in the 5th Annual Centre Ice Golf Outing at Interlochen Golf Course on June 2. Details coming soon!

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Ken Holland appears on 97.1 the Ticket’s Jamie and Stoney Show

Updated at 2:23 PM: Red Wings GM Ken Holland appeared on 97.1 the Ticket’s Jamie and Stoney show this Thursday morning, speaking for 20 minutes regarding cursory post-season topics:

Also of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

  1. Crain’s Detroit Business’s Bill Shea reports that the creditor which is tasked with redeveloping Joe Louis Arena’s footprint is asking for a 2-year extension to be mediated between itself and the City of Detroit;
  2. FYI:

Update: Among 97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burtchfield’s partial transcript highlights:

If Holland has an alibi, it’s that his hands may have been tied toward the end of the playoff streak. Late owner Mike Ilitch was justifiably hungry for one more championship. Was Holland under some kind of edict to win at all costs, to push for the playoffs under the premise that anything can happen once a team gets in?

“That was my philosophy,” Holland told 97.1 The Ticket.

Maybe he’s in a position to answer that question truthfully, maybe not. To him, the answer is academic. The rebuild was coming one way or another.

“Whether you say it should’ve started in 2015 or in 2013, you’re still going to have to live it, and you would have lived it from 2013 to 2017. There’s going to be a period of time that a franchise needs to rebuild,” Holland said. “You’re talking about different years, and I’m just saying, what’s the difference?”

Then he pointed to the past, mentioning the Red Wings were the last team to miss the playoffs in the salary-cap era. They survived from 2005-06 to 2015-16.

“During those 10 years, we won the championship, we went to the finals twice and at the end, from 2007 to 2013 — a seven-year period — six of the years we went to the second round or further. There’s your run, there’s you run, ” he said. “We tried to milk it a little bit longer.”

Grand Rapids Griffins drop OT game in Texas

The Grand Rapids Griffins “earned a point” on Wednesday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit en route to a 3-2 overtime loss to the Texas Stars.

Defensemen Dan Renouf and Brian Lashoff scored second-period markers to help Grand Rapids earn a point, and Jared Coreau stopped 26 of 29 shots in his return to the Griffins’ crease.

Grand Rapids heads to San Antonio for one more game in Texas prior to the team’s season finale on Saturday in GR (against the Cleveland Monsters).

The Griffins’ website posted a game recap:

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins drop OT game in Texas

The Athletic’s LeBrun compares Jets’ fourth line to Grind Line

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun gave the Winnipeg Jets’ fourth line a hell of a compliment after Winnipeg’s 3-2 win over Minnesota on Wednesday.

LeBrun suggested that the Jets’ Lowry-Tanev-Copp line evokes memories of the Red Wings’ Grind Line:

Watching from the press box on this night was Kirk Maltby, scouting the game for Detroit, he of the famous Grind Line from late ‘90s Red Wings Cup glory lore. That was a unit centred by Kris Draper that scored big goals while providing important minutes in big matchups.

“It didn’t really click in for me in terms of what were able to do as a line until we started Game 1 of the Cup final in 1997 against Philly’s Legion of Doom line,’’ Maltby told The Athletic after Wednesday night’s game.

That was an achievement. It was such an asset that the Wings could deploy their fourth line against any line that spring.

“We knew our stars would be stars from Stevie (Yzerman) on down, but for us, we always had the mindset if our line could chip in the odd goal and keep the other team off the scoresheet, that would be huge for our team,’’ Draper, driving back late Wednesday night from a scouting assignment, told The Athletic over the phone.

“We got to play against Gretzky’s line when he was in St. Louis that year in the playoffs, it was a fun challenge,” added Draper. “We had the trust of Scotty Bowman to play in all kinds of situations. That trust from your coach allows you to have the confidence to chip in offensively and play minutes.’’

LeBrun continues (paywall), with Maltby suggesting that the “Lowry Line” does indeed have a boatload of potential…

Prospect playoff round-up: Rasmussen posts assist as Tri-City sweeps Victoria; Fulcher back-stops Hamilton to win, Sambrook rebounds

Of playoff-related prospect note:

In the OHL, Kaden Fulcher stopped 24 of 27 shots as his Hamilton Bulldogs won 4-2 over the Niagara IceDogs.

Fulcher was named the game’s third star, and Hamilton now leads Niagara 3 games to 1 in the teams’ second-round series;

Jordan Sambrook finished even with 2 shots in the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds’ 5-2 win over the Owen Sound Attack.

Sault Ste. Marie tied the second-round series at 2 games apiece;

And in the WHL, Michael Rasmusssen only had an assist on the game-winning goal, finishing +2 with 6 shots as his Tri-City Americans won 5-3 over the Victoria Royals.

Tri-City swept the second-round series, advancing to the WHL’s Western Conference Final…

And Rasmussen now has 10 goals, 14 assists and 24 points over the course of 8 playoff games played, with a +15;

Lane Zablocki had a rough night for Victoria, finishing at -2 with 3 shots and a 3-for-6 faceoff record. It’s possible that the Wings might assign Zablocki to the Grand Rapids Griffins to give him some AHL playoff experience.

Zablocki, a checking forward, ended the year with 12 goals, 19 assists and 31 points registered over the course of 65 games played with the Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Victoria, accumulating 105 penalty minutes.