11/11 GDT: Houston Aeros @ Grand Rapids Griffins

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Houston Aeros (7-6-0-0) @ Grand Rapids Griffins (5-2-2-1)

@

The Griffins take on the Houston Aeros, Minnesota Wild’s NHL affiliate. The Griffins are currently 4th in the North division while Houston are 4th in the West division. The Griffins are expected to be without Ville Leino for a third straight game as he battles a groin injury. The revolving door of forwards and defenceman will likely continue and it’s a toss of the coin as to whether Mursak or Emmerton will be in the line-up today.

The Griffins are coming off a disappointing 5-3 loss at the hands of the Peoria Rivermen. It was a game in which they were leading 3-1 but some costly penalties and the injury to Howard in the second period threw the balance of the team. This is a key game as it is very winnable and the gap between the top teams and the Griffins is starting to increase.

Probable line-up:

Wilson - Abdelkader - Haydar
Ritola - Helm - Mursak
Pare - McGrath - Tardif
Lemieux - Oulahen - Downey

Pairings:
Kindl - Galvin
Ericsson - Pyett
Stafford - Kolosov

Larsson
Reichmuth

Team Leaders:

Goals: Abdelkader (7)
Assists: Leino (9)
Points: Leino (13)
Penalty Minutes: Wilson (21)

Notes:

• Jimmy Howard suffered a bruised calf in his last outing and won’t play. His exact status is unknown.
• Evan McGrath is battling for his hockey future and has 3 points in his last 2 games.
• Mattias Ritola continues to impress and is now a key member of the PP and PK units.

[Coyote0106 2]

Mitch Love is on the Houston team...expect some fireworks. Whatever team he has played for, he has stirred the pot against the Griffs. He STARTED our "rivalry" with Lake Erie last year. It might not be real bad as Quincey is gone (that was his main issue it seemed).

Jon Insana also makes the return trip to the Van. People around here are under the impression that he is a good D man for some reason. Can't wait to prove 'em wrong.

[Coyote0106 2]

Well im at the game, and Downey didnt dress for warm-ups. I hope it isnt anything major.

[j.hoop 64]

griffs with the win 1-0 !!! helm with the lone goal, larsson with the shutout!

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Yeah disappointing Downey didn't play, wonder whether he is injured or a healthy scratch? Seems strange that he would've been scratched.

Anyway good, solid win for the Griffins. Pretty dominating performance looking at the scoresheet with the lopsided shot count. Well done to Larsson on his first AHL shutout, hopefully the first of many.

Helm the lone goal and obviously the GWG, pleased to see Leino back in the line-up as well as both Emmerton and Mursak playing.

Coyote what did you make of Ritola and Kindl?

[FinRedWing 172]

Yeah disappointing Downey didn't play, wonder whether he is injured or a healthy scratch? Seems strange that he would've been scratched.

Anyway good, solid win for the Griffins. Pretty dominating performance looking at the scoresheet with the lopsided shot count. Well done to Larsson on his first AHL shutout, hopefully the first of many.

Helm the lone goal and obviously the GWG, pleased to see Leino back in the line-up as well as both Emmerton and Mursak playing.

Coyote what did you make of Ritola and Kindl?

Excellent news!

[Coyote0106 2]

Our D was perfect. They had a couple of errant passes, but nothing bad at all. The completely shut down Houston. I don't want to take away from Larsson's shutout, but the shots he faced were all really easy. Our D just wouldn't let them do anything.

Helm had a BIG hit in the first period. It was loud, and rattled everything. He had a really strong game, and the goal was a nice one.

Kindl and Ericsson had big nights on D. They were blocking passing lanes, and doing a good job of keeping people to the outside. Ericsson was huge for us in the final minute. I was looking at Kindl's stats, and he is a -4, which shows me how useless that stat is. He has had a really good start, with only a few hiccups, while his defense partner has led to his negative stat. It's really unfortunate for him.

Mursak had a couple big shifts, his penalty was bogus. It was a very weak call. He missed an empty net in the final seconds of the game, and even sacrificed his body to block a couple shots. His defensive skills are very good.

Emmerton, to me, needs to bulk up a little. He is getting pushed off the puck easily, but when he does get open space makes nice plays. Leino looked alittle "slow" tonight, but after a couple games off, it's no big deal.

As for Ritola, he had a good game being on a line with Abdelkader. They were creating Havoc in the offensive zone, and were just unable to score.

All of our guys played the full 60 minutes. It's down right scare for the opposing team if they see us play like this all the time.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Excellent recap yet again.

Seems like some very promising signs to take from this game, a much tighter defensive effort (maybe the Wings could learn a thing or two) and continued improvement from our prospects.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Yeah disappointing Downey didn't play, wonder whether he is injured or a healthy scratch? Seems strange that he would've been scratched.

Anyway good, solid win for the Griffins. Pretty dominating performance looking at the scoresheet with the lopsided shot count. Well done to Larsson on his first AHL shutout, hopefully the first of many.

Helm the lone goal and obviously the GWG, pleased to see Leino back in the line-up as well as both Emmerton and Mursak playing.

Coyote what did you make of Ritola and Kindl?

This is forsure strange. Downey was also placed on waivers 2 days ago, interesting..

[uk_redwing 495]

Downey was also placed on waivers 2 days ago, interesting..

Say what?

[Coyote0106 2]

This is forsure strange. Downey was also placed on waivers 2 days ago, interesting..

Yes, explain. Someone else said they heard such a rumor. Why would he have to clear waivers again?

Edited November 12, 2008 by Coyote0106

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Yes, explain. Someone else said they heard such a rumor. Why would he have to clear waivers again?

Got me. It was on TSN's ticker, along with Jesse Boulerice, who was claimed. Meaning he was really put on waivers.

[uk_redwing 495]

Got me. It was on TSN's ticker, along with Jesse Boulerice, who was claimed. Meaning he was really put on waivers.

Hmm...

[uk_redwing 495]

On the mlive page where it talks about Athertons call up, the Downey rumour is quashed

[pinkprincess027 0]

It really doesn't help, but the guy from mlive says the following

"I've also heard a rumour that the Griffins "waived" Aaron Downey to create room on their roster via a Snapshots reader, and that's not accurate--AHL teams don't waive players to send them down to lower minor leagues, nor could Downey be demoted as he has a two-way (NHL/AHL) contract, not a three or four-way, "send me anywhere" deal. It is entirely possible that the Griffins may loan a player to another team to alleviate their roster crunch, but trades are rare, and Downey can't be "loaned" anywhere without his and the Red Wings' consent."

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/11/gr...erton_reca.html

I really don't understand how waivers work but I believe that last year he was waived twice towards the beginning of the year in case someone had to be called up, and each time he was waived it lasted for a month? I know he is not supposed to have to clear waivers if he gets called back up, but is that only for the month and then if they want to call him back up they have to re waive him?

As I said I really don't understand waivers, I was just trying to figure out how he may have been put on them, does anyone have a better idea of how they work? I have checked around online and haven't been able to find anything about his status.