Red Wings select Canadian Forward, Anthony Mantha with 20th Overall Pick

When the Red Wings made their first round selection, they
chose Anthony Mantha, an 18-year old Canadian phenom.

The Red Wings were set to make their selection at 18th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft until the San Jose Sharks came calling. San Jose offered the Red Wings the 20th and 58th overall picks to move up two picks, it was an easy decision for Greg Holland and the Red Wings front office.

However, when Detroit was actually on the clock two picks later, they opted to go with 18-year old, Anthony Mantha. Mantha is a Canadian phenom who scored 50 goals in 89 games played last season with Val d'Or Foreurs in Quebec. Along with the 50 goals, Mantha also recorded 39 assists, making him an obvious first round selection in this years draft.

Mantha seems extremely excited to begin his career with the Red Wings, "My grandfather played for Detroit, it's a great city and a great organization. Mantha's grandfather is Andre Pronovost, who played 556 games in the NHL during his eleven year career, including winning the Stanley Cup in each of his first four seasons with the Montreal Canadians. Mantha also credits his grandfather for getting him interested in hockey, "He gives me a lot of advice, but it's mainly to remind me to work hard every game, every shift," said Mantha.

The Grand Rapids Griffins Win The 2013 Calder Cup

After a loss in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals, the Griffins had to head to
Syracuse to retrieve the trophy in Game 6.
Picture Courtesy: WZZM 13 Dan Harland

SYRACUSE, NY -- It has been a long ride for the Grand Rapids Griffins this postseason. However, this season will have a fairy tale ending after the Griffins defeated the Syracuse Crunch 4-2 in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals on Tuesday night. After a deflating Game 5 loss at Van Andel Arena on Saturday night, the Griffins needed to travel to Syracuse to wrap up their first ever Calder Cup trophy, and they did just that.

The Syracuse Crunch drew first blood after Richard Panik scored past an out-of-position Petr Mrazek. However, the Griffins came right back and scored two straight in the second period when Mitch Callahan and Calder Cup MVP Tomas Tatar each scored. Just five minutes into the third period, Andrej Sustr tied the game at 2-2. However, the Griffins wouldn't look back after that. Just minutes later, the unlikely postseason story of Griffins' defenseman, Brennan Evans continued with his second goal of the playoffs after not scoring in the regular season. His goal came on assists from Mitch Callahan and Riley Sheahan, and would give the Griffins the 3-2 lead with ten minutes remaining. Finally, with under a minute remaining, Tomas Tatar and Joakim Andersson would each add empty net goals to seal the deal and bring the Calder Cup trophy to Grand Rapids for the first time in franchise history.

Despite many long and gruesome series' this postseason, the Griffins were able to finish the job in the Calder Cup Finals. Many people doubted whether or not the Griffins could remain fresh for the Calder Cup Finals after their long postseason. The Grand Rapids playoff run included a five game series with Houston in the first round, a six game series with Toronto in the Western Conference semifinals, and a seven game series with the Oklahoma City Barons in the Western Conference Finals, a playoff journey much longer lived than that of the Syracuse Crunch.

Grand Rapids Defeats Syracuse 3-1 in Game One of the Calder Cup Finals

The Griffins were able to take Game 1 of the Calder  Cup Finals
from the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy: Grand Rapids Griffins Facebook Page

SYRACUSE, NY -- The hunt has officially began for the Calder Cup trophy. The Grand Rapids Griffins and Syracuse Crunch began game one on Saturday night from complete opposite postseason backgrounds. The Crunch have cruised to victories in their journey to the cup, going 11-1 this postseason. The Griffins, however, have gone deep in each series thus far in the postseason, including winning a seven game series in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Barons on Wednesday night. Immediately after the Game Seven victory, the Griffins began their travel to Syracuse for tonight's beginning of the Calder Cup Finals.

Mitch Callahan drew first blood for Grand Rapids just seven minutes into the first period after nice passes from Griffins defense men Chad Billins and Brennan Evans. The defense would then take over for the next two periods until Riley Sheahan rifled a shot past Crunch goaltender, Cedrick Desjardins to make it 2-0 Griffins with eight minutes remaining in the third period.

However, Syracuse would rally late when Jean-Philippe Cote beat Griffins goalie Petr Mrazek to put the Crunch on the board, 2-1 with under seven minutes remaining. Cote's goal would shift momentum in Syracuse's favor late in the third period. However, the Crunch could not get the puck past Petr Mrazek, who was back in his zone. With fourteen seconds remaining, Gustav Nyquist would add an empty net goal to make the final score 3-1 Griffins.

Despite being outshot 28-20 by Syracuse, the Griffins were able to pull out the Game one victory which will give Grand Rapids the momentum heading into game two on Sunday at 6 pm. Following tomorrow night's game two, the series will head back to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids for games three, four, and five.




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Griffins Advance to First Calder Cup Final

The Grand Rapids Griffins celebrate their 5-4 victory over
the Oklahoma City Barons with the home crowd at Van
Andel Arena on Wednesday night.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- For the first time in its twelve year history in the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins will move on to play for the Calder Cup trophy. After a dramatic late loss to Oklahoma City in Game 6, many people questioned how the Griffins would play tonight in Game 7. However, a redirect by Jan Mursak put the Griffins on the board just a minute into the game to kick start the offense. The game would go back-and-forth in the first period, sending the teams into the first intermission deadlocked at 2-2.

After each team added a goal, the Griffins went into second intermission with a 3-3 tie. Twenty minutes was all that stood between the Griffins and a chance to take home the Calder Cup trophy. However, early in the third period, Taylor Fedun put the Barons back in front, 4-3. Five minutes later, however, Grand Rapids found the game-tying goal they needed when Jan Mursak rifled the puck over the shoulder of Yann Danis to tie the game at 4-4. However, following Mursak's goal, the goaltenders seemed to find their zone. That is until Tomas Jurco put a few moves on the Barons defense and whistled one by Danis to give the Griffins a 5-4 lead with 6:12 remaining in the game. The Barons would pull Danis with 53 seconds remaining, but couldn't get anything by Mrazek in the final minutes.

Following the Griffins 5-4 victory, the Griffins will advance to play the Syracuse Crunch in their first ever Calder Cup Finals. Games one and two will be held in Syracuse this Saturday and Sunday. Following those two games in Syracuse, the series will head back to Van Andel Arena for games three, four and five (if necessary). Tickets for the Calder Cup Finals will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning and can be bought through any Star Tickets location or through griffinshockey.com .

Griffins Shutout Barons in Game 5, Look to Advance to First Ever Calder Cup Finals

Van Andel Arena will play host to Game 6 on Tuesday night
as the Griffins look to advance to their first ever Calder Cup
Finals.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Red Wings loss in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals may have been a blessing in disguise for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Following the loss, Detroit sent forwards Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson back down to Grand Rapids along with goalie Jordan Pearce. Nyquist and Andersson each had a tremendous impact during the Red Wings playoff run, and are now helping the Griffins in the playoffs as well, each recording a point in the Game Four victory of the Western Conference Finals.

Despite the great performance by those two in Game Four, Petr Mrazek stole the show, stopping all 40 shots faced on Saturday night. After evening the series, the Griffins wanted to take a 3-2 series lead back to Grand Rapids, and they did just that in Game Five. Mrazek picked up right where he left off, shutting out the Barons once again on Sunday night, giving the Griffins the 3-2 series lead that they were searching for. The Griffins got three goals from Tomas Jurco, Mitch Callahan, and Tomas Tatar in a mater of five minutes late in the second period to give them the 3-0 victory. Now, the series will move back to Grand Rapids for Game Six on Tuesday night and Game Seven on Wednesday, if it's necessary.

Following the back-to-back shutouts in Oklahoma City, Griffins goalie Petr Mrazek now has four postseason shutouts during this year's playoffs. If you find that impressive, you'll love the fact that Mrazek has also stopped 100 consecutive shots and has a 161 minute scoreless streak, which isn't even his longest of the playoffs. The Griffins will now look to advance to their first ever Calder Cup Final with a victory on Tuesday or Wednesday night in Grand Rapids.




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