Billins, Glendening and the rest of the Griffins ready for the Calder Cup Playoffs

Marysville native Chad Billins. (Mark Newman/Grand Rapids Griffins)

By Pat Evans –

Last season, Luke Glendening and Chad Billins were lacing up for NCAA Tournament games for universities in Michigan. Tonight, they’ll take the ice as significant contributors for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL playoffs.

Glendening, a two-time captain at Michigan, and Billins, a co-captain for Ferris State in its Frozen Four run last season, have played 51 and 76 games, respectively, for the Griffins on the team’s way to a Midwest Division title.

The Griffins will take the ice in the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since 2009 on Friday in Houston.

Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill said the playoff run will be good for the organization, ownership and the city of Grand Rapids.

“At the beginning of the year, as a team, you want to get into the playoffs,” Blashill said. “We talked about putting a stamp on the organization; to win the division, that’s a good first step toward that stamp.”

With home ice advantage in the first round against the Houston Aeros, the Griffins will play the first two games of the series in Texas, before returning for at least one game in Grand Rapids.

“We’ve had some good games against them,” Billins said. “We’re going to have to go down there and muster out a couple of wins. Hopefully we won’t have to use all three games at home; it’s nice to have the road ones out of the way early in the series.”

Grand Rapids was 3-0 when it traveled to Houston.

“The fact we were a good road team all year will help give us confidence on the road in the playoffs,” Blashill said. “But, these are new games, and they have a couple new guys back.”

Although the Griffins are young, it shouldn’t pose much of an issue for the team. Most AHL teams are in a similar position, and Blashill said his team is in a good spot with a captain who has won a Calder Cup in Jeff Hoggan. Hoggan has spent several stints in the NHL, but won the cup in his first full AHL season in 2003 with Houston.

“We don’t have to change anything,” Blashill said. “We’ve been a real good team all season for a reason. The focus just needs to be similar to what we’ve done all year.”

Several Detroit Red Wings could be available to play if they are assigned, including Danny DeKeyser, Gustav Nyquist and Joakin Andersson. That hinges on whether the Red Wings make the playoffs when the NHL regular season concludes tomorrow.

For Glendening, who went to four NCAA Tournaments, including a Frozen Four Championship Game, the postseason isn’t exactly new. And the case is similar to most of the players on the ice. The leadership from the guys who’ve been there before played a key factor, Glendening said.

“They’ve done it before,” he said. “A lot of the other guys have done it too, just not in the AHL. We just have to take a step forward and be even better than we have been.”

Although the young players might be inexperienced compared to a few other playoff teams, they bring energy, Billins said.

Of course Glendening has the unique factor of playing front of his hometown, the first ever Griffin to have that chance, now in the playoffs. But while he’s enjoyed the season under the eyes of his friends and family, it’s on to a new chapter.

“There’s a bigger task at hand,” he said. “As cool as that will be, we still need to focus on what we’re doing to make a good run. We have an opportunity and we want to make the most of it.”