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Health & Fitness

Hockey Night in Plymouth - Compuware Arena Hosts Grand Rapids, Lake Erie in AHL Preseason on Sept. 28

Plymouth Whalers fans know Saturday night is Hockey Night at Compuware Arena.

On Saturday, September 28, Compuware Arena will shift focus from the Whalers to the American Hockey League for another Hockey Night in Plymouth.

Compuware Arena will be hosting the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Lake Erie Monsters in an AHL pre-season game on Sept. 28, starting at 7 pm.  Tickets run $10 and are available at the Compuware Arena box office by calling (734) 453-8400.

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“The game should be a lot of fun for our fans,” said Compuware Arena President and Plymouth Whalers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci.  “They’ll be able to watch players who are a half-step away from the National Hockey League.  And they may be able to see Mitchell Heard and Garrett Meurs again, who were very good players here in Plymouth.

“We appreciate the cooperation of (Detroit Red Wings Assistant General Manager and Grand Rapids General Manager) Ryan Martin and (Lake Erie Director of Operations) David Oliver.”

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The Griffins are the AHL-affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and are defending Calder Cup champions, clinching their first league championship in franchise history last June 18 in a 5-2 victory over Syracuse in Game Six of the Calder Cup Finals.

“This game gives Red Wings fans a chance to see the current Calder Cup champions and future Red Wings,” said Martin.  “The opportunity to have the game close to Detroit and at a great venue like Compuware Arena makes for a great fit.  The Griffins are also playing in the Hockeytown Winter Festival later this year, so fans will get a preview of that game (Dec. 30 against the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park).”

RELEASES:   Grand Rapids Griffins       Lake Erie Monsters

Many of the Detroit prospects participated in the early part of Red Wings’ training camp last January at Compuware Arena.  The arena was filled with Red Wings fans during the training camp, which culminated in a sold-out crowd for the Red-White scrimmage on January 15.

In addition, Plymouth fans may see some other familiar names in the game.

OHL alum Petr Mrazek (Ottawa 67’s) backstopped the Griffins to their championship, posting a 2.31 goals against average, .915 save percentage and 15-9 won loss record over 24 playoff games.  Grand Rapids was led offensively in their championship run by Tomas Tatar (16-5), Landon Ferraro (5-11) and Riley Sheahan (3-13), among others.  Red Wings Danny DeKeyser, Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson also played in the Griffins’ championship run after Detroit was eliminated in the 2013 National Hockey League playoffs by Chicago.   Former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenseman Ryan Sproul may also play in the game.

As the AHL-affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, the Monsters could have a definite Whalers flavor in the game.  Plymouth-alum Mitchell Heard was selected by the Avalanche in the second round (41st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft and played 23 games for the Monsters last season before returning to Plymouth for his overage season.

Garrett Meurs was selected fifth round by Colorado (123rd overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft and played from 2009-13 for the Whalers.   Meurs is 15th on Plymouth’s all-time franchise scoring list with 78 goals with 115 assists for 193 points in 265 games.  Although Meurs could return to play for the Whalers in 2013-14, he will probably begin his professional career this season with the Monsters.

If Heard and Meurs are not with the Avalanche in their training camp, they will be playing for Lake Erie in the contest in Plymouth.

Grand Rapids and Lake Erie will also play at Windsor Family Credit Union Centre on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 7 pm.

 


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