Detroit Red Wings Clips May 11, 2016 Detroit Red Wings PAGE 2 Detroit Red Wings hear 'great things,' add Doug Houda to staff PAGE 4 Red Wings' Andreas Athanasiou extends Griffins' AHL playoffs run PAGE 6 Blashill hires ex-wings player Doug Houda as assistant PAGE 8 Red Wings will rely on Doug Houda to help improve defense, penalty kill PAGE 10 Jeff Salajko 'a leading candidate' as Red Wings goalie coach PAGE 11 Doug Houda fills one of Red Wings' assistant coaching vacancies PAGE 12 Kyle Quincey uncertain of future, but would love to return to Red Wings PAGE 14 Houda added to coaching staff PAGE 16 Griffins stay alive, rally from 3-goal deficit on Andreas Athanasiou's late goal PAGE 19 Andreas Athanasiou shows he has some more playoff magic to give PAGE 21 Griffins goalie Jared Coreau goes from bench to star in one memorable period
Detroit Red Wings hear 'great things,' add Doug Houda to staff Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press 1:41 a.m. EDT May 11, 2016 Doug Houda hit every check mark on Jeff Blashill's wish list. Houda's decade of experience as an assistant with the Boston Bruins, his 550-plus games as an NHL defenseman and his background running penalty kills made for an easy hire as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings. "I heard great things about him as a person and as a coach," Blashill said today. "I thought his knowledge was very deep, he's used lots of different systems on penalty kills, and his work with individual defensemen has been very good." Houda's three-year contract mirrors the term left on Blashill's contract. Another coaching hire seems imminent, as Blashill called minor league goaltending consultant Jeff Salajko "a leading candidate" to become the new goaltending coach for the Wings. Houda will concentrate on the defense and penalty killing, a job last held by Tony Granato, who left after the season to take over at Wisconsin. Blashill also is looking for an assistant to focus on the forwards and the power play. That hire, Blashill said, "is not close. There's no timetable." The role was occupied last season by Blashill's assistant from the minors, Pat Ferschweiler, whose new position will focus on individual player development. The power play was a seasonlong sore spot, but Blashill emphasized that, beyond adding a fresh voice in charge next season, "players have to execute at a higher level." Blashill, who went 41-30-11 his first year as head coach in Detroit, noted a desire that the next new assistant have the kind of bench-management wisdom that comes from having been an NHL head coach. Former Wings coach Mike Babcock did the same thing when he hired Granato and Tom Renney as assistants. "It won't be restricted to that," Blashill said, "but there are decisions throughout games and... they've got a unique perspective, one I'd like to be able to learn from and grow our staff from." Blashill and general manager Ken Holland met to determine the next step after each had conducted exit interviews with players. Stung by a five-game ouster from the playoffs and a season sullied by numerous players underachieving, revamping the coaching staff emerged as the first step. "We wanted to... maximize our staff," Blashill said. "We wanted to add more NHL experience to our bench. It can only help." Houda was relieved of duties by the Bruins after they failed to make the playoffs this spring. He had been with them since 2006, including their 2011 Stanley Cup title. 2
Houda, who turns 50 next month, has a bit of history with the Wings. They drafted him 28th overall in 1984 (back then, that was in the second round) and he played for them intermittently in 1985-1991 and made a very brief reappearance in 1998-99. World championships: Two games Tuesday in Russia with Red Wings ties: Germany beat Slovakia, 5-1. Wings draft pick Brooks Macek scored for Germany while Wings forward Tomas Jurco had six shots on goal and was a minus-2. Also, Norway defeated Kazakhstan, 4-2. Former Griffin Ole-Kristian Tollefsen had no points, no shots on goal but one minor penalty for Norway. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.11.2016 3
Red Wings' Andreas Athanasiou extends Griffins' AHL playoffs run By Max Bultman, Special to Detroit Free Press 2:26 a.m. EDT May 11, 2016 GRAND RAPIDS The Grand Rapids Griffins season will live another day. The Red Wings AHL affiliate rallied from a 4-1 deficit to take Game 4 of the Central Division Finals and stay alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs. After losing the first three games of the series by one goal each, the Griffins beat Lake Erie, 5-4, at Van Andel Arena on Tuesday. Andreas Athanasiou scored the gamewinner with 1:55 to play, sniping Monsters goalie Joonas Korpisalo to complete the comeback. He s a gamebreaker, Griffins coach Todd Nelson said of Athanasiou. He did it at the right time, that s for sure. With the game tied, 4-4, Tyler Bertuzzi found Athanasiou streaking up the left side, and Athanasiou found another gear. It was his first goal of the playoffs for Grand Rapids. But equally crucial to the comeback was Griffins backup goalie, Jared Coreau, who stopped all 16 shots he faced after starter Thomas McCollum was pulled in the second period. Lake Erie jumped all over McCollum, scoring four goals on its first 21 shots and chasing him 13:31 into the second. The first two goals McCollum allowed looked nearly impossible to stop. One was a blast from the point that Monsters forward Michael Chaput tipped into the net, and the second was a miraculous spinning backhand that Sonny Milano ripped top shelf. McCollum didn t have much of a chance on either attempt, and the Griffins went into the first intermission down, 2-1. But as Lake Erie s lead stretched to 4-1 late in the second period, Grand Rapids coach Todd Nelson had seen enough from McCollum. He inserted Coreau, a move that paid big dividends down the stretch. Coreau played 26 minutes and 29 seconds of scoreless hockey despite coming in cold. It says a lot about (Coreau) his confidence and his ability to stay in it mentally, said Griffins forward Daniel Cleary. (Coreau) has got some swagger to him, let s be honest here. He s got a lot of confidence and he s a real good goalie. With Coreau holding down the net, the Griffins finally broke through on the other end of the ice. Anthony Mantha scored just before the end of the second period to trim the Monsters lead to 4-2 after two frames. Cleary, the longtime Red Wing who has played in Grand Rapids this season, said the message between the second and third periods was, Guys, we have 20 minutes here if we don t win, we re done. And the Griffins certainly played that way out of the break. Louis-Marc Aubry and Robbie Russo both scored in the first five minutes of the period, re-energizing a crowd that could have been forgiven if it had checked out early. 4
Asked after the game whether there was any better way to stave off elimination than with an improbable comeback, Nelson admitted it might not have been his preferred method to win Game 4. Yeah, there s a better way, he said. You can be up three or four goals, you don t have to come back. But it was very emotional. I mean, for the fans, it was a great game for them to watch. But we definitely don t want to be in too many of those situations against Lake Erie. On Tuesday, though, he couldn t afford to be picky. The Griffins and Monsters play Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday. And with his team still just one game from elimination, Nelson can t afford to be picky then, either. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.11.2016 5
Blashill hires ex-wings player Doug Houda as assistant Gregg Krupa, The Detroit News 5:49 p.m. EDT May 10, 2016 Detroit Jeff Blashill is intent on surrounding himself with NHL experience, especially after losing Tony Granato, the man he turned to most for advice during games in his rookie season. After conversations with general manager Ken Holland in three weeks since the Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs, Blashill said he is proceeding with his plan to overhaul the coaching staff. His desire to hire NHL-tenured assistants affected the decision, announced Tuesday, to appoint Doug Houda, who spent 10 years with the Bruins. Houda inherits Granato s responsibilities for the defensemen and penalty kill. Blashill said the reason the Wings will remove Pat Ferschweiler from behind the bench also is the need for NHL seasoning. He said he would prefer to hire a replacement with head coaching experience. I went to Ken as soon as our season was over, Blashill said. We ve had numerous conversations about different areas that hopefully will improve our hockey team. And within that, I came up with some ideas for the coaching staff, and these are the ideas you are seeing, right now. The only slot in which experience apparently is not critical for Blashill is goaltending coach. He said Jeff Salajko, finishing his third season in Grand Rapids, has the inside track to replace the 18 year-veteran in Detroit, Jim Bedard. We looked at our staff at the end of the year and we want to make sure that we maximize it, Blashill said. So the idea of adding another bench coach (replacing Ferschweiler) was because I wanted to add some more NHL experience to our bench. We felt by doing that we could find some candidates who have hopefully been through a lot of the different situations that I and our staff will face on a regular basis, and having people who have been through it, I think it only helps. Granato, a former head coach with long service as an assistant and a player in the NHL, is now head coach at Wisconsin. Houda, 49, assisted while the Bruins made the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, ending in 2014, and the Stanley Cup in 2011. The Bruins frequently had a good defensive corps under Houda. But some of the players were lost in personnel moves in recent seasons. The Wings drafted Houda in 1984 and he played for parts of seasons from 1985 to 1991 and again in 1998-99. A journeyman defender, he also played for the Whalers, Kings, Sabres, Islanders and then-mighty Ducks. 6
I heard great things about Doug as a person and as a coach from guys that he coached and I thought that was an important part of the process, Blashill said. Tony Granato had a lot of respect from our current players, and I wanted to replace him with a coach in the National Hockey League who had that level of respect, and Doug certainly has that. After some research, Blashill said, he interviewed Houda and thought he evidenced a deep knowledge of both defensive play and the penalty kill. Blashill said he liked that Houda worked with a variety of systems in Boston to account for changes in personnel. Houda s priorities will include improving the puck management of the defenseman, Blashill said. Uncharacteristically, the Red Wings defense unit last season was guilty of lots of turnovers and poor zone exits. Another area is stick-on-puck defense, the tactic that helped make Nicklas Lidstrom a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. I think those are the big areas of improvement for our team, Blashill said. It s a stick-on-puck league in terms of defending now. That is an area that Doug has said to me he s hypercritical about. The decision not to extend a contract to Bedard is the biggest surprise of all of the Wings coaching moves in the last two days. An 18-year veteran of coaching the likes of Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek, goalies often credited work with Bedard for corrections in their game. But Howard experienced two lengthy periods of inconsistency in consecutive seasons, and Mrazek s game faltered down the stretch this season, nearly costing the Red Wings a playoff spot. Jim Bedard is a great person who s had a great run here in Detroit, Blashill said. He was somebody who I felt helped me through my first year in Detroit and certainly, I owe him a lot of thanks for that. I think there are times when certain moves are needed and we just felt this was the right time, and so that decision was made. The Wings could trade one of the goalies this offseason, probably Howard. Mrazek has worked with Salajko, 41, in Grand Rapids, where he was hired under Blashill after coaching at Ohio State and in juniors. Ferschweiler, who will begin sitting with other assistant coaches aloft during games, is charged with establishing a systematic approach to player development, Blashill said. One of the best areas of growth for our hockey team is going to be the internal growth of our individual players, Blashill said. One of Pat Ferschweiler s greatest strengths is the skill development aspect of his coaching. I think we all need to get a little bit better in order for us to have the success that we ve wanted. 7
Red Wings will rely on Doug Houda to help improve defense, penalty kill Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com By Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com on May 10, 2016 at 4:02 PM, updated May 10, 2016 at 4:06 PM DETROIT In researching candidates to fill one of his assistant coaching vacancies, Jeff Blashill sought someone with a track record for developing defensemen, somebody who was knowledgeable on the penalty kill and had respect of the players. Blashill said Doug Houda "hit every check mark," and that's why the Detroit Red Wings hired him Tuesday, signing him to a three-year contract. Houda, who turns 50 on June 3, replaces Tony Granato, the new head coach at Wisconsin. He will work with the defense and the penalty kill units. "I heard great things about Doug as a person and as a coach from guys that he's coached," Blashill said. "I thought that was an important part of the process. Tony Granato had a great amount of respect from our current players and I wanted to replace him with a coach in the National Hockey League with lots of experience who had that type of similar respect and Doug certainly has that." Houda was an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins for 10 years before the club opted last month not to renew his contract. The Red Wings drafted Houda in the second round in 1984. The journeyman defenseman played 15 seasons in the NHL. Blashill was impressed by Houda's knowledge during his interview. "I thought his knowledge on penalty kill was very deep," Blashill said. "He's run the penalty kill for Boston for a number of years. He's used different types of systems to success in different years, depending upon personnel. And then I also thought his work with individual defensemen was really good." Blashill said there are two main areas the defense needs to improve puck management and stick-on-puck defense. "(Puck management) is a team thing a lot of times that has to do with the availability of the forwards," Blashill said. "It has to do with the talking component. "I think we have a number of defenders who can improve in stick-on-puck and making sure that our sticks aren't in the air, that our sticks are on puck. I think it's a stick-onpuck league in terms of defending now in the National Hockey League. That's an area that Doug has said to me he's hyper-critical about, it's extremely important to him, and you know." Blashill said they'll explore various ways to upgrade the defense internal improvement, promotion from the Grand Rapids Griffins and acquisitions through trade or free agency. 8
"I can't say which is the best route until we know what all our options are," Blashill said. "But we certainly are examining all three of those knowing that we need our team to play better and within that we need our D corps to perform better." Blashill also is seeking to replace Pat Ferschweiler, who has been reassigned after one year behind the bench. He said he'd like to bring in someone with extensive NHL experience, preferably as a head coach. But it's not mandatory. That person will be in charge of the forwards and the power play. "We have a number of candidates that I would like to interview," Blashill said. "I want to find the best person, so there's certainly no timetable." The Red Wings are expected to speak with Todd Richards, the head coach for Team USA at the World Championship. He was the head coach for the Minnesota Wild for two seasons and the Columbus Blue Jackets for three-plus seasons. Other potential candidates include Paul MacLean, Dave Cameron and Mike Yeo. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.11.2016 9
Jeff Salajko 'a leading candidate' as Red Wings goalie coach By Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com on May 10, 2016 at 3:01 PM, updated May 10, 2016 at 3:09 PM DETROIT The Detroit Red Wings will have a new goaltending coach for the first time in nearly two decades. They might fill the vacancy from within the organization. "I would say right now Jeff Salajko, our goaltending coach in Grand Rapids, is certainly a leading candidate," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Tuesday. "I got a number of other good candidates that have contacted me. We're going to go through the process, first with Jeff and then we'll move forward if needed." Salajko, 40, has been with the Griffins for three seasons and has a working relationship with goaltender Petr Mrazek. When Mrazek was slumping late in the season, Salajko worked with him during practices in Columbus. Salajko, a 10th round pick by the San Jose Sharks in 1993, played seven seasons in the minor leagues (IHL, AHL and ECHL) before joining Ohio State's coaching staff in 2008. The Red Wings opted not to renew Jim Bedard's contract. He had been with the organization since 1997. "Jim Bedard is a great person. He's had a great run here in Detroit," Blashill said. "He was somebody who I felt helped me through my first year in Detroit. I certainly owe him a lot of thanks. I think there's times where certain moves are needed and we just felt that this was the right time." Michigan Live LOADED: 05.11.2016 10
Doug Houda fills one of Red Wings' assistant coaching vacancies By Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com on May 10, 2016 at 1:17 PM, updated May 10, 2016 at 4:09 PM DETROIT Doug Houda is returning to the organization that drafted him 32 years ago this time as an assistant coach. The Detroit Red Wings filled one of their two assistant coaching vacancies on Tuesday by hiring Houda. He signed a three-year contract. He had been an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins the past 10 seasons before being let go last month, when his contract wasn't renewed. Houda, who turns 50 on June 3, likely will work with the defensemen and the penalty kill, as did Tony Granato before he took the Wisconsin head coaching job. Houda was a journeyman defenseman who played for seven NHL teams and three minor league clubs from 1985-86 to 2002-03. He appeared in 169 games with the Red Wings from 1985-86 to 1990-91. Overall, he had 19 goals and 63 assists in 561 games. Before joining the Bruins' staff, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL Rochester Americans, at the conclusion of his playing career in 2003. The Bruins hired him in 2006 as part of coach Dave Lewis' staff. After Lewis, the former Red Wings head coach and assistant, was fired the following season, Houda was retained as part of Claude Julien's staff. The Red Wings selected Houda with the 28th pick (second round) in 1984. The Red Wings soon will hire one more assistant coach to replace Pat Ferschweiler, who was reassigned to a role that hasn't yet been determined. They are expected to talk to Todd Richards when he returns from the World Championship, where he is the head coach for Team USA. Richards is the winningest coach in Columbus Blue Jackets history, going 127-112-21 over parts of four seasons before being replaced by John Tortorella on Oct. 21 following an 0-7 start to the 2015-16 season. He is the only Blue Jackets coach to win a playoff game. He also coached the Minnesota Wild for two seasons and has a career record of 204-176-37. The Red Wings also are seeking a goaltending coach, after opting not to renew Jim Bedard's contract. Jeff Salajko, the goaltending development coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins, is a leading candidate. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.11.2016 11
Kyle Quincey uncertain of future, but would love to return to Red Wings By Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com on May 10, 2016 at 6:03 AM, updated May 10, 2016 at 6:10 AM DETROIT Kyle Quincey cleaned out his locker following the team photo on April 25 and wondered whether it would be his final time in the Detroit Red Wings dressing room. "I've been thinking that for a while and just kind of soaking in," Quincey said at the time. "The Philly game (regular season home finale on April 6), with the uncertainty of the playoffs, I was really soaking in that game. "Everyone keeps talking about change, so it's uncertainty right now." Quincey, 30, has been one of the team's more consistent defensemen the past two seasons, forming a solid pairing with Danny DeKeyser for much of that time. But the Red Wings need changes following another first-round playoff exit. Quincey, an unrestricted free agent on July 1, might not be back. "If Kenny (general manager Holland) offers me something I'd love to come back," Quincey said. "We love it here. But if not, just see what happens." Holland said he'll speak with people in the organization over the next couple of weeks and decide which, if any, of the club's unrestricted free agents (Quincey, Darren Helm, Drew Miller, Brad Richards) will be offered a contract. The Red Wings have salary-cap concerns especially if they're not able to move Pavel Datsyuk's $7.5 million cap hit, if he returns to Russia. They also have three defensemen in Grand Rapids (Xavier Ouellet, Ryan Sproul and Nick Jensen) who lose their waiverexempt status next season and could be lost for nothing if the Red Wings attempted to send any of them to the Grand Rapids Griffins. "Two years ago I didn't know anything until July 1," Quincey said. "I'm assuming it's probably going to be the same thing." The Red Wings signed Quincey to a two-year, $8.5 million contract on the first day of free agency in 2014. Quincey would surely attract interest if he explores the market, which is particularly thin on defense. The Colorado Avalanche might have interest. Quincey lives in Colorado in the off-season. But Quincey would prefer to remain with the organization that drafted him in 2003 (132nd overall in the fourth round). He had four goals and seven assists in 47 games, missing six games with a concussion and 29 following surgery to remove bone chips in his ankle. He was a healthy scratch for Game 3 against Tampa Bay, for reasons coach Jeff Blashill didn't explain. 12
"Going into the season I had a meeting with Blash right away and it wasn't what I really wanted to hear, but I feel like I changed his mind with my play and moved up in his eyes," Quincey said. "My goal was always to come back and play with Danny and shut down first lines. And at the end of the year when they needed it most that's where I was. "So for me, that's a huge win in my book and for the most part I think we did a good job. We shut down some very good lines." Quincey hopes to be reunited with DeKeyser next season. "I think it was two years ago that (former coach Mike Babcock) tried to put a few guys with (DeKeyser) on the right side for the first week or two and it didn't work out," Quincey said. "And then he came to me and said, 'Can you play the right side?' I never played on the left side since. So I can obviously play both sides comfortably. It was a challenge that I ran with and really take a lot of pride in. Danny's a great player, so it's very easy to play with him." Michigan Live LOADED: 05.11.2016 13
Houda added to coaching staff By Chuck Pleiness, The Macomb Daily POSTED: 05/10/16, 7:54 PM EDT UPDATED: 4 HRS AGO # COMMENTS DETROIT >> Jeff Blashill wanted coaches with NHL experience with him on the bench going forward. He met that requirement for one of the two vacancies the Wings have, hiring long-time Boston Bruins assistant and former Detroit Red Wing defenseman Doug Houda. I wanted somebody who had the respect Tony (Granato) had from the players and somebody who was real knowledgeable in the PK and developing defensemen and Doug hit every check mark, Blashill said. Doug was my first call. Houda, whose contract was not renewed by the Bruins after they failed to reach the playoffs a second straight season, will work with the defense and penalty kill units, a job previously held by Granato, who left to become the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. I thought his knowledge on penalty kill was very deep, Blashill said. He s run the penalty kill for Boston for a number of years. He s used different types of systems to success in different years, depending upon personnel. And then I also thought his work with individual defensemen was really good, kind of the different system thoughts that he ll bring with him from Boston. Overall he was very impressive in both his approach and in his knowledge as a coach. Houda, who signed a three-year deal, was an assistant coach with Boston for the last 10 seasons. He was drafted in the second round by the Wings in 1984 and spent 15 seasons in the NHL as a journeyman defenseman. Blashill feels there are two main things the Wings defensemen need to get better at puck management and stick-on-puck defense. Now that s a team thing a lot of times that has to do with the availability of the forwards, it has to do with the talking component, Blashill said of puck management. I think we have a number of defenders who can improve in (stick-on-puck defense) and making sure that our sticks aren t in the air that our sticks are on puck. I think it s a stick-on-puck league in terms of defending now in the National Hockey League. That s an area that Doug has said to me he s hyper critical about, it s extremely important to him, and you know, those are two areas are two big areas of improvement for our D. The Wings also need to replace first-year assistant coach Pat Ferschweiler, who was re-assigned to the press box to watch games, and goalie coach Jim Bedard. One of Pat Ferschweiler s greatest strengths is his skill development aspect of his coaching, Blashill said. He was in charge of player development for me at Western Michigan and in Grand Rapids and that is going to be a significant part of his role moving forward, to create a systematic approach tailor made to each player to develop 14
each player to the best of his abilities, not just our young players, but the majority of our players. I think we all need to get a little bit better in order for us to have the success we want. The Wings are expected to speak with Todd Richards, who s coaching Team USA at the World Championships. Richards was let go by Columbus last season. Other potential candidates are Dave Cameron (Ottawa Senators) and Mike Yeo (Minnesota Wild), who were both relieved of their duties in midseason. We have a number of candidates that I would like to interview, Blashill said. I m not in a rush for that to happen. I want to find the best person, so there s certainly no timetable on it. I would not term it close as in it s going to happen here in the next couple of days. It will be a process and we re going to go through a good process to make sure we get the right person. Jeff Salajko, the goalie development coach in Grand Rapids, appears to be the front runner to replace Bedard, who had been with the organization for the last 18 seasons. I would say right now Jeff Salajko is certainly a leading candidate, Blashill said. I got a number of other good candidates that have contacted me. We re going to go through the process, first with Jeff and then we ll move forward if needed. I don t want to term it close or not close. Salajko worked closely with Petr Mrazek while he was with the Griffins. Macomb Daily LOADED: 05.11.2016 15
Griffins stay alive, rally from 3-goal deficit on Andreas Athanasiou's late goal By Peter Wallner / MLive.com GRAND RAPIDS - The Griffins mounted an epic comeback from a three-goal deficit as Andreas Athanasiou sealed it with a goal with 1:55 remaining for a stirring 5-4 victory. Athanasiou put his speed on display as he sped down the left side and fired a wrist shot that went past the right pad of Joonas Karisalo. With the win, the Griffins staved off elimination in the Central Division Finals before 6,544 at Van Andel Arena. The Monsters lead the series 3-1 with Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday. The Griffins, after trailing 4-1, scored three times in 5:34 from the end of the second to the start of the third to tie it. Meantime, Jared Coreau replaced Tom McCollum in goal with the Griffins trailing by three. He stopped all 16 shots in his first postseason appearance. The three-goal outburst was started by Anthony Mantha on the power play with 54 seconds left in the second. To start the third, Louis-Marc Aubry scored within 3:12 and Robbie Russo followed at 4:40 for the remarkable comeback. Here's how the game played out in our live blog: THIRD PERIOD-completed Griffins 5, Monsters 4 18:16 - Andreas Athanasiou scores to give the Griffins the lead after a three-goal deficit. 4:30 - What a stunner. Robbie Russo scores his first of the playoff to tie it and give the Griffins three goals in just over 5:30 going back to the final minute of the second. Russo fired from the right circle and Jeff Hoggan may have provided a screen on goalie Joonas Korpisalo. 3:12 - It's not over yet. Louis-Marc Aubry gets in close and fires a shot past Korpisalo to make it a one-goal game. Griffins trailed by three just before the end of the second period. SECOND PERIOD-completed Monsters 4, Griffins 2 It was close to a disastrous period for the Griffins as the Monsters tacked on two goals before Anthony Mantha salvaged a power play goal in the final minute. 16
After the Monsters' Lukas Sediak skated in and scored on a simple wrist shot from the left circle near the mid-point of the period, the Monsters increased the margin as Oliver Bjorkstrand scores on a rocket right off the face off with 7:30 left. The goal prompted coach Todd Nelson to pull McCollum after four goals on 21 shots. Jared Coreau made his first postseason appearance. Mantha helped build some momentum with his late goal, the Griffins third with an extra man. 19:06 - Anthony Mantha snapped off a shot from the right side in close on the power play 18:18 - Griffins get a power play to end the period as goalie Joonas Korpisalo (served by Sonny Milano( is called for slashing. 15:52 - Jeff Hoggan of the Griffins goes off for interference. 13:31 - Right off the face off, the Monsters' Oliver Bjorkstrand scores over McCollum's shoulder. McCollum is pulled and Jared Coreau makes his first appearance in the playoffs. 11:43 - The Griffins get a chance to get back into it after a penalty for slashing to Josh Anderson. 9:36 - The Monsters take control of the game with a pretty soft goal. Lukas Sediak skates in alone from the left side, fires a simple wrist from the middle of the circle and it gets by short side on McCollum. 0:48 - Griffins get their first power play as Dilllon Heatherington called for tripping. FIRST PERIOD- complete Monsters 2, Griffins 1 The Griffins made the most of very few scoring chances in the first period, but the highlight came from the Monsters Sonny Milano. Less than a minute after Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Griffins to tie it, Milano had a beautiful goal as he pirouetted and put in a backhander with 5:34 left. The Griffins managed only two shots through the opening 10 minutes and were outshot 11-5 overall. The Monsters capitalized with Daniel Cleary off for tripping about eight minutes in. Michael Chaput tipped in Daniel Zaar's shot from the point at 8:33. The Monsters have five power play goals in the series. ---------- 17
17:57 - Josh Anderson (cross checking) of the Monsters and Andy Miele (slash) go off at the same time. Four on four to finish the period. 14:26 - The Griffins' lead lasted less than a minute as Sonny Milano scored on a beauty. He backhanded a shot as he spun around and went over the shoulder of Tom McCollum. 13:32 - Tyler Bertuzzi ties it as the Griffins worked the puck around for just the right shot. Bertuzzi found it with an open shot over Joonas Korpisalo's glove side. Mark Zengerle, who deliver a great goal-front pass, and Nick Jensen assisted. 8:33 - Michael Chaput scores on the power play on a set play off a shot from the point by Daniel Zaar. That's the fifth goal with an extra man for the Monsters. The other assist went to Alex Broadhurst. 7:42 - The first power play on the night goes to the Monsters after Daniel Cleary is called for tripping. 18
Andreas Athanasiou shows he has some more playoff magic to give By Peter Wallner / MLive.com GRAND RAPIDS - Andreas Athanasiou, who during the Stanley Cup playoffs gave the Detroit Red Wings a glimpse of what the future holds, provided at least a tomorrow for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Athanasiou capped an epic comeback for the Griffins on Tuesday with a goal 1:55 remaining for a 5-4 victory over Lake Erie that staved off elimination. The center, who provided a toe-dragging highlight reel goal for the Red Wings in their first-round series against Tampa Bay, used his speed to put one in the memory bank for the Griffins. He took a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi, streaked down the left side and fired a low shot that whizzed past Lake Erie goalie Joonas Korpisalo to cap a Griffins' comeback from a 4-1 deficit. "It was definitely a big one for me and a big one for this team," Athanasiou said. The series, with Lake Erie leading 3-1, shifts to Cleveland on Saturday. Athanasiou has only been with the Griffins for the second round series. He was excused to attend to a family matter when the Red Wings were eliminated and the Griffins' first round series against Milwaukee began. It was his first goal with the Griffins since Dec. 19. "I was just breaking up the wall there and I knew I had a lot of speed and I saw Bert (Bertuzzi) cut back and throw it over there," Athanasiou said. "I was just happy he caught me in stride really well and I just went down. "I think I was passing up shots a little earlier in the game and so I figured I'd let this one go." The goal breathed life into the Griffins, who trailed 4-1 until late in the second period. Athanasiou also showed an ability to persevere as he is still trying to regain his endurance in the transition from limited minutes with the Red Wings to a big role with the Griffins. "I don't think he had jump all through the game," coach Todd Nelson said. "I thought there were spurts of it. But on the winning goal, he definitely kicked it into high gear." That's what Nelson hopes Athanasiou can contribute the rest of the way. "He's a guy who's a game-breaker," Nelson added. "He can explode in a situation and make a nice shot, like he did. He did it at the right time, that's for sure. 19
Athanasiou said he has embraced a return to Griffins and the chance for a Calder Cup, despite being away from the team since early February. He scored eight goals and 16 points in 26 games during the regular season. "Playing big minutes, being good for the team, working on all the aspects of my game and just giving everything I got every night." 20
Griffins goalie Jared Coreau goes from bench to star in one memorable period By Peter Wallner / MLive.com GRAND RAPIDS Jared Coreau stellar season in goal with the Grand Rapids Griffins appeared it would end with a disappointing seat on the bench during the playoffs. The second-year pro, who shined throughout much of the regular season with six shutouts and an 11-game winning streak, didn't finish well. He allowed 18 goals in his final four starts. So, when the playoff began, it was no surprise that Tom McCollum got the nod in the nets for the second consecutive season. But on Tuesday, it was Coreau who saved the Griffins season. Funny how it works sometimes for goalies. Coreau, appearing in a game for the first time since April 15, replaced McCollum with 13:31 elapsed in the second period after the Monsters had taken a 4-1 lead and seemed headed toward a sweep of the Griffins in the Central Division Finals. But in one of the more epic turnarounds in Griffins history, they rallied for four unanswered goals. Andreas Athanasiou capped it with a goal with 1:55 remaining for a 5-4 win. Coreau did his part, saving all 16 shots, 15 of them in an unforgettable third period. "I was just waiting for an opportunity and it came tonight," Coreau said. "I was just thankful the guys scored three and got that fourth one." Coreau turned momentum early in the third as he fought off a breakaway and pointblank shot by Markus Hannikainen as the puck sat precariously for a moment just outside the goal line next to the post before swept away by the defense. "Those kind of saves are the ones that can kind of get the guys going," Coreau said. "After that we didn't give up much." "Unbelievable," forward Daniel Cleary said of the save. "That (would have) ended the game." "He came in, shut it down and let us take care of business," said defenseman Robbie Russo. "He's got a good demeanor, and I think we kind of fed off that. And he was stopping all the pucks so that was good." After Athanasiou's goal, it was a madcap final minute as the Monsters attacked with six men and peppered Coreau. He was swarmed at the final buzzer. 21
The moral? "You have to keep a good attitude and be ready because you never know," said Coreau, making just his second ever playoff appearance (a 5-2 loss to Toronto last season). For most of the season, Coreau was among the league leaders in goals against and save percentage. He snapped Milwaukee's 10-game winning streak in November in a 6-0 shutout, had 47 saves in a 3-2 win in December and won 11 in a row from November through December as the Griffins emerged from a slow start to compete in the division. He finished the season still with good stats: 29-15-2 record with a 2.43 GAA and.922 save percentage. But after he sat with the Red Wings as an emergency backup for a week in mid-march, he returned and struggled, losing his last five starts. In his last start, he allowed four goals April 15 in a 4-0 loss at Rockford. Even though the regular season ended on a low note, Coreau said he has been prepared and felt mentally sharp if he was called upon. "I felt really good the past three weeks especially," said Coreau, who has been working with goalie coach Jeff Salajko. "Sal and I just went back to the basics and I felt really sharp and had that hop back into my game... I just talked to him and he said he could see it, that I had it back." Coach Todd Nelson said it was difficult to pull McCollum, who had been solid most of the postseason, but Coreau supplied the intended spark. "Tommy's been so good for us and Jared hasn't play in a while and just wanted to spark the bench," Nelson said. "Jared was sharp and gave us a chance to win." As for who starts Saturday when the series resumes in Cleveland, Nelson was noncommittal but Coreau may have the edge. "I haven't made that decision yet," he said. "But Jared showed me a lot tonight." 22