Final Push

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Thu., April 6 // 8 p.m. EDT // Canada Life Centre
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Fri., April 7 // 7 p.m. EDT // Canada Life Centre

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

Watch: AHLTV on Thursday and Friday

Season Series: 2-4-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Road. Seventh and eighth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at the Canada Life Centre

All-Time Series: 69-41-1-1-9 Overall, 31-23-0-0-3 Road

NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets

Noteworthy: Manitoba’s rookie netminder Arvid Holm ranks fourth among first-year goaltenders with a 0.912 save percentage and sixth with a 2.65 goals against average.

GRIFFINS at Cleveland Monsters // Mon., April 10 // 7 p.m. // Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

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

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 3-3-0-1 Overall, 1-2-0-0 Road. Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

All-Time Series: 71-37-6-11 Overall, 31-19-4-8 Road

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: Cleveland’s Trey Fix-Wolansky has amassed 67 points (26-41—67) in just 55 games this season, which ranks fifth in the AHL. He has had his fair share of success against the Griffins this season, as he has recorded 11 points (2-9—11) in seven outings.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., March 29 // GRIFFINS 2 vs. Chicago 3 (SO) // 27-30-4-4 (62 pts., 0.477, 7th Central)
Fri., March 31 // GRIFFINS 3 vs. Milwaukee 6 // 27-31-4-4 (62 pts., 0.470, 7th Central)
Sun., April 2 // GRIFFINS 1 at Rockford 5 // 27-32-4-4 (62 pts., 0.463, 7th Central)

Last Week’s Notes
Wednesday vs. Chicago (2-3 SOL) - The Griffins’ comeback effort fell short in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Wolves at Van Andel Arena. Carter Mazur made his pro debut, getting ice time on the power play, penalty kill and overtime. Dominik Shine scored in his 350th game as a Griffin, while Joel L’Esperance recorded his 13th power-play goal of the season, the third-most in the AHL. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Milwaukee (3-6 L) - The Admirals won their sixth-consecutive game in a 6-3 contest over the Griffins at Van Andel Arena. Danny O'Regan's goal in the third was his 300th point in the AHL and was assisted by Carter Mazur, marking his first point as a pro. Dylan St. Cyr (seven saves) made his pro debut after subbing in for fellow MSU Spartan John Lethemon in the second frame. St. Cyr is the son of Manon Rheaume, who competed in two ECHL seasons, two IHL campaigns from 1992-95 and was the first woman to appear in a NHL preseason game with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992. Grand Rapids registered a season-high 46 shots in front of its fifth sellout crowd of the season and the fourth since Jan. 21. Recap | Highlights

Sunday at Rockford (1-5 L) - The Griffins were shut down by Arvid Soderblom (W, 36 saves) in a 5-1 defeat to the IceHogs at the BMO Center. With an assist on Danny O’Regan’s goal, Taro Hirose now ranks sixth all time in assists (123) for Grand Rapids, passing Nathan Paetsch. Hirose has a career-high 40 helpers on the season and is currently in a tie for 11th in the AHL in that category. William Wallinder and Ryan Bednard each made their debut in a Grand Rapids uniform. Bednard subbed in for John Lethemon in the second, becoming the franchise-record eighth goalie to man the pipes for the Griffins this season. Recap | Highlights

Win Some, Lose Some: The Griffins have had an up-and-down season this year and are currently on a four-game winless streak, which is tied for their season high. Grand Rapids has points in eight of its last 14 games (5-6-1-2). The Griffins rank seventh in the Central Division and are nine points out of a playoff spot with five games remaining. Grand Rapids has points in 20 of its last 34 contests (14-14-3-3, 0.500). Since the new year, the Griffins have lost in regulation just 15 times through 38 games (16-15-3-4, 0.513).

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 123 assists he now ranks sixth in franchise history, passing Nathan Paetsch. He is seven helpers away from tying Derek King for fifth in franchise annals. 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 career-high 40 helpers in 67 games this year, which is tied for 11th on the circuit. In addition, his 21 power-play assists this season are tied for sixth in the AHL. Hirose also leads the roster with 55 points (15-40—55) in 67 appearances.

Griffin Tenders: On Friday, Dylan St. Cyr became the seventh goaltender to man the Griffins’ pipes this season, breaking the franchise record for most goalies used that was set in 2005-06. That season, Jimmy Howard made his pro debut and was a stalwart for Grand Rapids, appearing in 38 games for the AHL’s regular season champions and earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team. Joey MacDonald (32), Drew MacIntyre (13) and Logan Koopmans (1) saw action along with Chris Osgood (3) and Manny Legace (1), who both came to the Griffins on conditioning stints from Detroit. On Sunday, Ryan Bednard made his Griffins debut and became the eighth netminder to compete for Grand Rapids this campaign.

Just the Beginning: On Wednesday, Carter Mazur made his pro debut with the Griffins and recorded three shots and a minus-one rating. Mazur was the 70th overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit. Mazur spent two seasons at the University of Denver and compiled 75 points (36-39—75) in 81 games, winning a national title in 2022. He became the eighth Denver Pioneer to play for the Griffins, with five of them winning an NCAA championship, spanning each of the school’s last four titles (2004, 2005, 2017, 2022). In his second game, Mazur recorded his first pro point with an assist against Milwaukee on Friday.

Few and Far Between: Dominik Shine last Wednesday became just the seventh player in franchise history to reach 350 games played. This is rare air occupied by four Calder Cup champs, all three of the Griffins’ two-time winners, and two of the three Griffins who’ve had their numbers retired. Throughout the 352 games as a Griffin, Shine has accumulated 104 points (51-53—104) and 404 penalty minutes. Below is a list of the seven players who have played at least 350 games for Grand Rapids.

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 enjoyed a five-game point streak (2-5—7) from Feb. 24-March 4 and now has 12 points (6-6—12) in his last 12 outings. O’Regan also has 22 points in his last 21 games (10-12—22).

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 15-2-4-4 (0.760) in games decided by one goal and 6-0-4-0 in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 12-30-0-0 (0.286) 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 eighth, three short-handed goals are tied for third
Simon Edvinsson—22 assists rank sixth among rookie defensemen, 27 points are tied for seventh among rookie defensemen
Taro Hirose—21 power-play assists are tied for sixth, 40 assists are tied for 11th
Joel L’Esperance—13 power-play goals are tied for third, 232 shots rank third

Milestones:
Joel L’Esperance appeared in his 250th game in the AHL on April 2. Danny O’Regan secured his 300th AHL point with a goal on March 31 against Milwaukee. Dominik Shine scored a goal in his 350th game as a Griffin on March 29 against Chicago.
Taro Hirose—Two games from 250 as a pro
Brian Lashoff—One assist from 100 as a Griffin and in the AHL
John Lethemon—One win from 50 as a pro
Chase Pearson—One assist from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Ben Simon—Four wins from setting the franchise record for most wins as a head coach (147)
Tyler Spezia—Two goals from 50 as a pro
William Wallinder—Two assists from 50 as a pro

Photo by Manitoba Moose