Griffins Game #33 * Home Game #18 * AHL Game #567

Season Series: 5-1-1-0 Home Series: 3-0-1-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 107-69-7-8-8 All-Time Home Series: 57-33-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 50-36-5-5-5

Admirals at Griffins
Eighth of 12 meetings overall, fifth of six at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 22-10-2-1 in the last five seasons against Milwaukee...Grand Rapids is 10-7-1-0 in the last 18 overall against the Admirals, including points in six straight (5-0-1-0)…Dating back to the 2015-16 season, the Griffins are 16-9-2-1 against Milwaukee at Van Andel Arena with a +19 scoring margin (83-64)…The Admirals come into the contest with a 3-5-0-2 record in their past 10 outings and possess a 8-11-0-2 ledger on the road this year...The Griffins are 8-5-3-1 on home ice this season...Four of the seven match ups this season have been decided by three or more goals, with an average of 7.29 goals scored in each contest...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 200th meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 107 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee ranks fourth in the league with a power play conversion rate of 22.6% while the Griffins come in at 30th at 13.5%. The Admirals’ penalty kill places 17th in the AHL at 81.3%, and Grand Rapids ranks 26th at 77.6%...Kyle Criscuolo (2-6—8) and Taro Hirose (3-5—8) lead the Griffins against Milwaukee...Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4).

Last Time Out
Five different Griffins scored when Grand Rapids took a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Tuesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Jonatan Berggren notched a career-high four assists in the contest, which also set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins rookie single-game record of five assists set by Tomas Tatar (11/27/10) and Chris Bala (1/10/02). The Swede has points (1-10—11) in seven of the last eight contests. Kyle Criscuolo added another goal, giving him a team-high 12 on the campaign. Both Berggren (1-5—6) and Taro Hirose (2-2—4) extended their point streaks to three games while Jon Martin registered his first goal of the season. Grand Rapids now has points in nine of its last 10 games (6-1-2-1). Erik Bradford recorded his 300th point as a pro while Brian Lashoff captured his 100th assist as a pro.

Roster Movement
- Jan. 20, 2022—G Calvin Pickard recalled to Detroit’s taxi squad
- Jan. 21, 2022—F Justin Abdelkader signed to a PTO
- Jan. 22, 2022—F Gemel Smith assigned by Detroit

Winning Resolution
The Griffins have gotten off to a strong start to ring in 2022, as the team has 12 points (5-1-1-1) in the opening eight games of the new year. Grand Rapids has outscored its opponents 24-18 in January and has scored an average of three goals per game while allowing just 2.25. The 12 points in eight games this month have already surpassed the Griffins’ point total in October (7 GP, 5 pts.) and December (7 GP, 7 pts.). The Griffins enjoyed a six-game point streak from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which was the longest since an identical 4-0-2-0 run from March 3-26, 2021. Grand Rapids now has points in nine of its last 10 games (6-1-2-1).

This Date in Griffins History
2020: After former Ferris State star Gerald Mayhew scores his second goal of the night late in the third period to put Iowa ahead, Chris Terry answers in the final minute of regulation then tallies in the first round of the shootout for a 4-3 Griffins victory.

Busy Bodies
The Griffins have competed in 32 games over the first 99 days of the season between Oct. 15-Jan. 21. The calendar for Grand Rapids intensifies in the second half of the campaign, as the club is scheduled to play 43 contests over 96 days from Jan. 22-April 28. The Griffins are no stranger to a busy workload, as Grand Rapids appeared in 16 games in 30 days to conclude the 2020-21 season.

Welcome Home, Abby
Veteran left wing Justin Abdelkader signed a professional tryout on Friday with the Griffins. The 14-year-pro competed with the Griffins for two seasons from 2008-10 before moving on to the Detroit Red Wings, where he ultimately played parts of 13 seasons. The Muskegon, Mich., native became the first West Michigan native to suit up for Grand Rapids when he made his AHL debut on Oct. 11, 2008. Abdelkader skated in 109 games for the Griffins and totaled 76 points (35-41—76) and 188 penalty minutes, earning AHL All-Rookie Team honors during the 2008-09 season when he logged 52 points (24-28—52) in 76 contests. Abdelkader earned a full-time roster spot with Detroit in the 2010-11 season and concluded his NHL career with 739 games, 252 points (106-146—252) and 608 penalty minutes. The left winger wore the “A” on his Red Wings jersey from 2016-20 while also captaining Team USA at two World Championships (2014, 2021).

Familiar Foe
Tonight’s contest against Milwaukee will be the 200th meeting against the division rival. Grand Rapids’ 107 wins over the Admirals are the most against any opponent in the AHL. The Griffins hold an 89-59-7-7-5 record against Milwaukee in the AHL while the franchise had an 18-10-0-1-3 ledger against the Admirals during its IHL days. The Griffins were 33-30-5-5-5 (0.519) at the Bradley Center, the former home of the Admirals. However, since Milwaukee moved to the Panther Arena, Grand Rapids is a staggering 17-6-0-0 (0.739).

Beijing Bound
Eight former Griffins will represent five different countries at the 2022 Winter Olympics. All three goaltenders from the 2018-19 team that went 38-27-7-4 (0.572) will be headed to Beijing. Valtteri Filppula was selected to represent Finland for the second time, as he claimed a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Tomas Jurco (2012-14; 15-17) also received his second selection on to Team Slovakia after playing for his home country in the 2014 Sochi Games, while competing for the Griffins that season.

Going with the Flow
It has been a busy season thus far for head coach Ben Simon and general manager Pat Verbeek, as players on professional tryouts have been plentiful for the Griffins this year. Nine PTO skaters have seen action so far this season and have totaled 72 games played; both numbers surpass any full season since Simon joined the team as an assistant coach in 2015-16. On average, 11.3% of Grand Rapids’ lineup has been tryout players, yet the team sits in third place in the Central Division with a 0.563 winning percentage through Jan. 19.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-9-1-2 (0.250) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and second-place Manitoba Moose. The Griffins picked up their first win against either club since Nov. 12 on Jan. 14. However, Grand Rapids is 13-2-3-0 (0.806) against the rest of the AHL.

Murphy’s Law
Reigning AHL defenseman of the year Ryan Murphy has started to find a rhythm offensively for the Griffins. The nine-year pro is sixth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 17 points (6-11—17) in 32 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his point total is tied for 16th while six goals are tied for third. The Aurora, Ontario, native signed a one-year contract with Detroit on July 28, 2021 and is the midst of his inaugural season with the Griffins.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren completed a four-game point streak (0-5—5) from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which tied Kyle Criscuolo for the longest assist streak on the team this season. The Uppsala, Sweden, native registered a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland, which set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins rookie single-game record of five assists set by Tomas Tatar (11/27/10) and Chris Bala (1/10/02). The Swede has points (1-10—11) in seven of the last eight contests. The former second-round is tied for 16th among league rookies with eight goals. His 27 points (8-19—27) are tied for fourth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster.

High-Flying Hirose
After leading the Griffins in assists a year ago with 23, Taro Hirose has picked off right where he left off as he has bagged 20 helpers in the opening 31 games, which is a team high and tied for ninth in the league. Nine assists have come on the power play, which is tied for ninth in the AHL. Hirose logged his second three-point night (2-1—3) of the season on Jan. 1 against Milwaukee, which tied a career high for the forward. In that same game, he also tied a career-best two goals. The former Michigan State Spartan enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 29 points (9-20—29) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 13th in the league. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Cris-COOL-o
After being sidelined in the first four games due to an injury, center Kyle Criscuolo has made up for his lost time with 25 points (12-13—25) in 24 contests. The Harvard University graduate logged a two-game point streak (1-1—2) from Oct. 30-31 and surpassed that mark with a 10-game point streak (7-11—18) from Nov. 20-Jan. 5, which set a new career high for the forward. His point streak was the 17th-longest in Griffins history. Most recently, Riley Barber had a nine-game point streak from Feb. 5-March 11, 2021 that was the longest to ever start a Griffins season or career. Criscuolo’s 10-game streak also tied for the ninth-longest scoring run in Grand Rapids history and the longest since Matt Puempel’s 11-game tear from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019. The sixth-year pro is third on the roster with 25 points while his 12 goals pace the Griffins. Criscuolo made his NHL season debut with Detroit on Dec. 1 against Seattle, marking his first NHL game since March 5, 2018. Criscuolo then collected his first career NHL point on an assist against New Jersey on Dec. 18.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Five power play goals are tied for 10th
Jonatan Berggren—Eight goals are tied for 16th among league rookies, 27 points (8-19—27) are tied for fourth among first-year players
Taro Hirose—20 assists are tied for ninth, nine power play assists are tied for ninth
Ryan Murphy—Six goals are tied for third among blueliners, 17 points (6-11—17) are tied for 16th among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—39 penalty minutes are tied for fourth among rookies
Calvin Pickard—2.34 goals against average ranks seventh, 0.929 save percentage ranks third, 13 wins places second, 1541 minutes and 783 saves both lead the league
Dominik Shine—75 penalty minutes rank second
Luke Witkowski—47 penalty minutes are 10th among league blueliners

Milestones
Erik Bradford earned his 300th point as a pro on Jan. 18 while Brian Lashoff tallied his 100th assist as a pro. Jonatan Berggren recorded a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland. Other upcoming milestones include:
Kyle Criscuolo—Five assists from 100 as a pro, six assists from 100 in the AHL
Brett McKenzie—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Four goals from 50 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—One point from 50 in the AHL

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins