Griffins Game #58 * Road Game #26 * AHL Game #893

Season Series: 5-1-0-0 Home Series: 3-1-0-0 Road Series: 2-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 57-37-9-11 All-Time Home Series: 36-12-5-5 All-Time Road Series: 21-25-4-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Seventh of eight meetings overall, third of four at BMO Harris Bank Center…Dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, Grand Rapids now has points in 13 of the last 15 games (10-2-2-1) against the IceHogs...The Griffins are 21-11-6-6 in the last five seasons against Rockford. On the road in the past five years, Grand Rapids is 8-8-2-3 against the IceHogs, being outscored 62-55...The Griffins are 5-1 in the past five meetings at Rockford...Rockford comes into the contest with a 11-12-2-0 home record this season while Grand Rapids is 12-11-1-1 on the road...The IceHogs are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games while the Griffins are 5-5-0-0 in their last 10...Prior to their 9-4 win at Rockford on March 3 last season, the Griffins’ last nine-goal outing was a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. They came within two goals of matching of their team record, set in an 11-6 victory at – you guessed it – Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013…Rockford is Grand Rapids’ fifth-most frequent opponent (Milwaukee 203, Chicago 181, Manitoba 115, Cleveland 115), as tonight’s game marks the 115th meeting between the two franchises...Both Grand Rapids’ (14.2%, 30th) and Rockford’s (19.2%, 18th) power play percentage rank in the bottom half of the AHL. In addition, the penalty kill for Grand Rapids places near the bottom (75.4%, 30th) while the IceHogs are tied for eighth (82.8%)...Jonatan Berggren (2-5—7), Ryan Murphy (2-5—7) and Tyler Spezia (3-4—7) all pace the Griffins against Rockford with seven points in six games…Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13).

Last Time Out
Four different Stars scored to help lift Texas over the Griffins 4-2 on Friday at Van Andel Arena during the 10^th annual Purple Community Game presented by Van Andel Institute. The loss snapped the Griffins’ seven-game point streak in West Michigan against the Stars (6-1-1-0). Despite the loss, Turner Elson recorded his fifth goal in just as many games, which is now the longest goal streak of the season by any Griffin. Brian Lashoff skated in his 700^th game as a pro while Elson recorded his 200^th point in the AHL. Riley Barber registered a multi-point game with helpers on both tallies. Elson extended his point streak to five games (5-2—7). Victor Brattstrom tied his season high for saves with 36. Kyle Criscuolo recorded his 100th assist in the AHL while Ryan Murphy saw his four-game point streak (1-5—6) come to an end.

Roster Shake Up
- March 14, 2022—F Patrick Curry recalled by Grand Rapids; F Hayden Verbeek assigned to Toledo (ECHL) by Grand Rapids
- March 16, 2022—D Seth Barton reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) by Detroit
- March 18, 2022—D Luke Witkowski reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2016: Goals from Mitch Callahan and Jeff Hoggan 10 seconds apart erase a two-goal third-period deficit before Eric Tangradi scores 42 ticks into overtime as the Griffins win their 13th straight game, 6-5 at Texas. Tom McCollum becomes the second goaltender in franchise history to win 100 regular season games, trailing only Joey MacDonald (109).

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 3-11-1-2 (0.265) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and the second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 23-13-4-0 (0.625) against the rest of the AHL.

Unusual Circumstances
On March 10, the Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned Jan Drozg from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) to the Grand Rapids Griffins. It is a rare occurrence that a NHL franchise sends a player to a team it is not affiliated with. In fact, it had been nearly 12 and a half years since the Griffins organically acquired a player from another NHL organization (Patrick Rissmiller, 10/22/09). Discounting partial affiliations, in-effect trades, and players who had previously been with the Griffins, it’s happened only six other times in Grand Rapids’ 20 seasons with Detroit.

Welcome Back, March
The Griffins have had a remarkable stretch of success during the month of March throughout their 25 seasons. Grand Rapids has earned a winning record in March for 13 straight years, in large part by going 0.500 or better on the road during each of those months and despite playing 62% of its games on the road. All time, the Griffins have only had a losing March record three times in 25 years. The last time Grand Rapids suffered a losing record in March was back in 2008. Things that were also happening in March of 2008: Jimmy Howard was playing his third of four full seasons in Grand Rapids; Ben Simon was an alternate captain for the Springfield Falcons, 2.5 years from starting his coaching career; Donovan Sebrango was six years old; President George W. Bush was serving his final year in the White House; and the Red Wings were three months from winning their most recent Stanley Cup.

Overtime Magician
Turner Elson has been on a tear as of late with a goal in five straight games, which is the longest goal streak this season by a Griffin. The 29-year-old recorded overtime winners in two straight outings from March 13-16. After registering zero overtime goals in his first 233 regular-season games as a Griffin, Elson has scored overtime goals in consecutive games and in three of his last 43 contests. With three OT tallies apiece, Elson and Jonatan Berggren have tied Grand Rapids’ single-season record (Andy Miele in 2014-15 and Kevin Miller in 2003-04) and sit one shy of the career mark shared by Miele and Jiri Hudler. Elson has amassed 35 points (18-17—35) this season, which is four points away from tying his career best.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard has had a stellar season thus far, as he ranks near the top in multiple categories in the AHL. The 10-year-pro currently places 10th in the AHL with a 2.43 goals against average while his 0.923 save percentage is tied for third in the league. Pickard also ranks second with 2441:52 minutes played and is tied for fourth with 21 wins. Pickard has got it done on the offensive end as well with four assists on the season, which is two more than his previous career high. The netminder has been a work horse for the Griffins this season, appearing in 41 of the 57 games.

Murphy’s Law
Reigning AHL defenseman of the year Ryan Murphy has started to find a rhythm offensively for the Griffins. Murphy recorded two points in back-to-back games from March 11-13 and enjoyed a four-game point streak (1-5—6) from March 9-16. The defenseman registered an assist in four consecutive games during his point streak, which tied for the longest assist streak this season by a Griffin. The nine-year pro places fifth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 29 points (11-18—29) in 53 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his 11 goals rank second and his 29 points are tied for 14th. 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.

Johnny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren 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 Chris Bala (1/10/02). Berggren’s 38 points (14-24—38) ranks ninth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 24 assists are tied for eighth among league rookies while his 14 goals are tied for 12th. Berggren is also tied for eighth in the league with five game-winning goals, which also places second among rookies.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 561 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fifth in league history among one-team players. Of the players ahead of him on that list, the most recent – and, coincidentally, the record-holder – last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). Lashoff overtook Pete Backor (Pittsburgh Hornets 1945-54) for the No. 5 spot on Jan. 14 against Manitoba and is now nine games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 94 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Jonatan Berggren—38 points (14-24—38) ranks ninth among first-year players, 24 assists are tied for eighth among rookies and 14 goals are tied for 12th among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for eighth in the league and place second among rookies
Taro Hirose—31 assists are tied for 11th, 14 power play assists are tied for 15th
Ryan Murphy—11 goals rank second among blueliners, 29 points (11-18—29) are tied for 14th among defenseman
Calvin Pickard—2.43 goals against average places 10th, 0.923 save percentage is tied for third, 21 wins are tied for fourth, 2441:52 minutes played places second
Dominik Shine—102 penalty minutes ranks fifth

Milestones
Brian Lashoff appeared in his 700th game as a pro on March 18 against Texas while Kyle Criscuolo bagged his 100th assist in the AHL. Turner Elson also earned his 200th point in the AHL on March 18. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jonatan Berggren—Two points from 100 as a pro
Jan Drozg—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro
Calvin Pickard—Two games from 400 as a pro
Dan Renouf—One game from 350 as a pro

Photo by Todd Reicher/Rockford IceHogs