Battle for Final Playoff Spot

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Wed., March 1 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 3-1-1-0 Overall, 1-0-1-0 Home. Sixth of 10 meetings overall, third of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 94-82-2-8-3 Overall, 45-37-2-6-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Griffins and Wolves are currently tied for sixth in the Central Division, six points behind the Iowa Wild for the final playoff spot.

Promotion: Winning Wednesday presented by Michigan First Credit Union

GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Fri., March 3 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Sat., March 4 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on Friday, WXSP-TV and AHLTV at 7 p.m. on Saturday

Season Series: 2-3-0-1 Overall, 1-2-0-0 Home. Seventh and eighth of 10 meetings overall, fourth and fifth of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 42-21-4-3 Overall, 21-9-3-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: Iowa’s Sammy Walker ranks first among AHL rookies with 42 points (22-20—42) in 46 games. Walker also has eight points (4-4—8) in six outings against the Griffins this season.

Promotions: $2 beers & hot dogs on Friday, Star Wars Night presented by DTE on Saturday

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Feb. 24 // GRIFFINS 4 vs. Chicago 5 (OT) // 21-24-3-2 (47 pts., 0.470, T6th Central)
Sat., Feb. 25 // GRIFFINS 6 vs. Cleveland 2 // 22-24-3-2 (49 pts., 0.480, 6th Central)

Last Week’s Notes
Friday vs. Chicago (4-5 OTL) - The Griffins picked up a point in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Wolves at Van Andel Arena. Joel L’Esperance extended his goal streak to three outings, which tied for the longest by a Griffin this season. Danny O’Regan contributed a goal and an assist for his third multi-point game in a Grand Rapids uniform. The German-born forward has five points in his last four appearances. The Griffins are 3-0-1-0 in their last four matchups against Chicago. Riley Sawchuk made his pro debut and Victor Brattstrom notched an AHL career-high 38 saves. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. Cleveland (6-2 W) - The Griffins secured a 6-2 win over the Monsters behind Dominik Shine’s pair of goals at Van Andel Arena. Shine had his first two-goal outing of the season, which tied his career high. The veteran forward is riding a two-game goal streak and has 11 total on the season (11-6–17). Eleven skaters for Grand Rapids posted a point or more, including Joel L’Esperance, who has scored in four-consecutive games (4-2–6), the longest goal streak by a Griffin this campaign. The four-goal win tied for the largest margin of victory for Grand Rapids this season. The Griffins improved to 16-5-1-0 against Cleveland over the past two seasons. Recap | Highlights

Inching Closer & Closer: The Griffins secured three out of four possible points last week and now have points in three of their past four games (2-0-1-0). Grand Rapids faces an extremely important slate of games this week, as it battles Chicago and Iowa, its rivals for the final playoff position in the Central Division. Grand Rapids is tied for sixth in the division and is now just six points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand (21 remaining) on fifth-place Iowa. Grand Rapids has points in 12 of its last 17 contests (9-5-2-1, 618). Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just seven times through 22 games (11-7-2-2, 0.591).

Rewrite the Record Book: Taro Hirose has been known for his passing abilities throughout four seasons with the Griffins. The former Michigan State Spartan has continued to climb the Griffins’ all-time assist leaderboard, and with 112 assists he is now two shy of tying Jiri Hudler for seventh in franchise history. Hirose is as consistent as they come, as he has had at least 22 assists in each AHL campaign in his career. The Calgary, Alberta, native has totaled a team-leading 29 helpers in 51 games this year. In addition, his 15 power-play assists this season are tied for 14th in the AHL. Hirose also leads the roster with 41 points (12-29—41) in 51 appearances.

Jumping for Joel: Joel L’Esperance has been on a tear as of late with goals in four straight games from Feb. 19-25, which is the longest streak by a Griffin this season. His active goal streak is also tied for a career high, with his most recent four-game goal run coming from Jan. 28-Feb. 9, 2022. L’Esperance has six points (4-2—6) in his last four contests and leads the team with 18 tallies in 51 games. In addition, L’Esperance’s 10 power-play goals are tied for fifth in the AHL.

Shine Like a Diamond: Veteran forward Dominik Shine tied a career high with two goals last Saturday and now has lit the lamp three times in his last two contests. The Detroit native has 11 goals in 48 games this season and has a career-high 15.3 shooting percentage on 72 shots. Last season, Shine posted a career-best 17 goals, and he’s on pace for 16 this campaign. Shine has spent his entire pro career with the Griffins and has 97 points (48-49—97) in 336 appearances.

Danny Boy: Danny O’Regan is starting to find a rhythm with the Griffins after joining the team on Dec. 19. After exploding for three points (2-1—3) in his Griffins debut, O’Regan had just three points in his next 12 games from Dec. 28-Feb. 15. However, the German-born forward now has six points in his last five outings, including three points (1-2—3) in two games last weekend.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig: The Griffins are in the midst of a five-game homestand and will play seven out of eight games at Van Andel Arena from Feb. 24-March 11. Grand Rapids is 10-12-3-1 (0.462) at home this season and has been outscored 95-74. On the road, the Griffins are 12-12-0-1 (0.500) with a minus-21 scoring margin. Out of the 21 remaining games, Grand Rapids will play 10 at Van Andel Arena.

Just Keep it Close: The Griffins have had their ups and downs this season, but they have excelled at winning close games. In fact, Grand Rapids is 12-0-3-2 (0.853) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-3-0 in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 10-24-0-0 (0.294) in games decided by two or more tallies. In the 2021-22 season, the Griffins finished with a 13-7-6-2 (0.607) mark in games decided by one goal.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Austin Czarnik—Five game-winning goals are tied for sixth, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—20 assists rank fifth among rookie defensemen, 25 points rank fifth among rookie defensemen, five goals are tied for fifth among rookie defensemen
Joel L’Esperance—10 power-play goals are tied for fifth, 165 shots rank fourth

Milestones:
Joel L’Esperance recorded his 100th goal as a pro on Feb. 19 at Manitoba. Adam Erne eclipsed 50 assists in the AHL on Feb. 17 against the Cleveland Monsters. Simon Edvinsson recorded four points (1-3—4) on Feb. 15 and eclipsed 50 points as a pro. Albert Johansson notched his 50th assist as a pro on Feb. 15 against Rockford and Tyler Spezia skated in his 250th game as a pro.
Alex Chiasson—Four assists from 150 as a pro
Simon Edvinsson—Three assists from 50 as a pro
Adam Erne—Two assists from 100 as a pro
Taro Hirose—Two points from 150 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Steven Kampfer—Two assists from 150 as a pro
Joel L’Esperance—Two goals from 100 in the AHL
Alex Nedeljkovic—Two wins from 100 in the AHL
Chase Pearson—Two assists from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Dominik Shine—One assist from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL, two goals from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL
Ben Simon—Two games from 300 as Griffins head coach

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins