June 18, 2013
Syracuse, New York
What a moment for Michigan hockey. The Grand Rapids Griffins have won the Calder Cup for the first time in their 17 year history over the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch were playing in their first ever Calder Cup final appearance and both teams put on a show.
The series went 6 games with the final curtain coming down to a 5-2 victory to finish the series 4 games to 2. Unfortunately for the Griffins, the title capture wasn’t at home but it was still cheers and happiness throughout a crowd of 6375 the War Memorial arena.
The Most Valuable Player award for the entire Calder Cup playoffs went to Tomas Tatar of Grand Rapids who scored twice in the win. He lead the playoffs in points with 21 in an astounding 24 games. Detroit Red Wings prospect goaltender Petr Mrazek made 24 stops in the win.
If this is a sign of things to come, Detroit Red Wings fans should be thrilled with their primary affiliate’s performance this season. The General Manager-less Griffins rely extensively on the Red Wings for support. That being said, Detroit must be doing something right over there with this young and striving team.
marchhockey.com 