Griffins Game #20 * Road Game #10 * AHL Game #303

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 61-34-5-10 All-Time Home Series: 35-17-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 26-17-4-8

Griffins at Monsters
First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse…Grand Rapids finished 7-3 against Cleveland a season ago. Against all other foes, the Monsters were 13-3-1-2 and the Griffins were 9-9-3-1...In the past five years, the Griffins are 23-10-2-3 against Cleveland and have outscored them 126-106. On away ice during that span, Grand Rapids is 10-5-2-2 at the Monsters with a +6 scoring margin (64-58)...After finishing in second in the AHL a year ago with a 26.9% power play rating, Cleveland currently places 27th in the league with a conversion rate of 15.4%. However, the Monsters’ penalty kill ranks 10th with a kill percentage of 83.8%...Cleveland has points in the past five of its past seven games (4-2-1-0) and are 5-3-1-1 in its last 10 contests...The Monsters are the third most frequent opponent of the Griffins, as this game marks the 111th meeting between the two franchises...Defenseman Wyatt Newpower skated for Cleveland a season ago, logging 10 points (3-7—10) and 14 penalty minutes in 24 games...Griffins head coach Ben Simon is a native of the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights.

Last Time Out
Grand Rapids snapped its four-game home losing skid on Saturday with a 6-2 victory over the Rockford IceHogs. Six different Griffins recorded goals in the contest, headlined by Dominik Shine’s highlight-reel tally midway through the first period. The Griffins flew out to an explosive start with five goals in the opening frame, which set a new season high for most goals in a period. Kyle Criscuolo extended his point streak (6-6—12) to six games, as he bagged his fourth multi-point contest of the year. Jonatan Berggren and Ryan Murphy joined Criscuolo with two points (1-1—2) each. Matt Berry and Luke Witkowski both recorded their first point as a Griffin. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made his eighth consecutive start and picked up his third assist of the season, which set a new AHL career high for the netminder. Grand Rapids went 1-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Roster Shake Up
On Monday, the Detroit Red Wings recalled defenseman Dan Renouf and reassigned blueliner Seth Barton to Grand Rapids. In addition, Detroit reassigned goaltender Kaden Fulcher to Toledo and netminder Victor Brattstrom to Grand Rapids. Renouf has appeared in one game for Detroit this season, logging a plus-two rating on Nov. 24 against St. Louis. Barton has been sidelined for much of the season with an injury and made his season debut on Dec. 5 with Toledo. Brattstrom returns to Grand Rapids after appearing in three games in the ECHL with Toledo, logging a 2-1-0 record and a 4.25 goals against average.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 0-4-1-0 (0.100) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and 8-4-1-1 (0.643) against the rest of the AHL.

This Date in Griffins History
2013: The Griffins push their winning streaks to six games overall and seven at home with a 5-1 beating of Rochester, improving their AHL-best winning percentage to 0.773 (16-4-1-1) and spoiling the returns of former captains Matt Ellis and Jamie Tardif in their first games as visitors at Van Andel Arena.

Sweet Berries
Matt Berry was named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Player of the Month for November when he led the ECHL with a plus-13 rating while scoring eight goals with 13 assists in 12 games. The former Michigan State Spartan logged at least one point in ten of Toledo’s 12 contests. His four assists on Nov. 14 started a stretch in which he totaled 10 points (3-7—10) in three games, which was enough to make him the Player of the Week in the ECHL. In total, the Canton, Mich., native bagged five multi-point outings in November. Berry was signed to a PTO by Grand Rapids on Nov. 28 and has appeared in three games, registering one assist and two penalty minutes.

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 15 points (8-7—15) in 14 contests. The Harvard University graduate logged a two-game point streak (1-1—2) from Oct. 30-31 and surpassed that mark with an active six-game point streak (6-6—12) from Nov. 20-Dec. 4, which is tied for a season high for the Griffins. He posted back-to-back three-point (1-2—3) nights last week against Milwaukee and Chicago. Criscuolo’s three-game goal streak (Nov. 20-26) tied Jonatan Berggren (Oct. 30-Nov. 5) for the longest on the team this season while his four-game assist streak (Nov. 20-28) set a new season high for Grand Rapids. The sixth-year pro is tied for second on the roster with 15 points while his eight goals pace the team and are tied for 15th in the AHL. On Nov. 29, Criscuolo was recalled by Detroit and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 1 against Seattle, marking his first NHL game since March 5, 2018. Criscuolo was then reassigned to Grand Rapids the following morning.

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 14 helpers in the opening 19 games, which is a team high and tied for fourth in the league. Eight assists have come on the power play, which is tied for third in the AHL. Hirose saw his six-game point streak (2-7—9) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13 come to an end on Nov. 17 against Chicago. Hirose’s 18 points (4-14—18) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for ninth on the circuit.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in eight of his 16 appearances this season. Pickard recorded his first shutout of the season and fourth as a Griffin on Nov. 12 against Manitoba, moving him into a tie for 10th place in franchise history with Jani Hurme, Martin Prusek, and Eddie Pasquale. The 10-year pro currently places 13th in the AHL with a 2.49 goals against average while his 0.925 save percentage is tied for fifth. The netminder made his sixth straight start on Nov. 28 and 10th consecutive appearance, both personal highs as a Griffin. In fact, Pickard has seen action in 16 of the 19 games this season. The netminder recorded his third assist of the season on Dec. 4 versus Rockford, which set a new AHL career high for assists in a season. Pickard played in just nine games in North America a season ago due to being assigned to Detroit’s taxi squad for much of the year. The Moncton, New Brunswick, native also spent some time with Vienna in the ICEHL last season, logging six games and a 1.96 goals against average.

Jonny on the Spot
Rookie Jonatan Berggren saw his six-game point streak (3-4—7 from Oct. 30-Nov. 13) come to a close on Nov. 17 against Chicago. The Uppsala, Sweden, native bagged his first AHL goal and two-point (1-1—2) night on Oct. 30, which began a three-game goal scoring streak for the right winger. The forward recorded his first two-goal night in the AHL on Nov. 20 at Texas. The former second-round draft choice notched his 50th pro assist on Nov. 12 against Manitoba and is tied for fourth among league rookies with seven goals while his 15 points (7-8—15) are tied for sixth among first-year players.

Return of Riley
Although it was a slow start to this year, Riley Barber rattled off a six-game point streak (4-5—9) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13. His 13 points (5-8—13) this season are tied for fourth on the roster while his four power play goals are tied for third in the AHL. Barber led the Griffins in goals (20), points (34) and points per game (1.06) a season ago. His scoring pace equaled a 48-goal, 81-point clip in a regular 76-game AHL season. Barber also ranked second in the league for goals, just one shy of Cooper Marody (who played seven more games), and was named a Central Division AHL All-Star. Six game-winning goals tied a career best while his four-game goal streak from Feb. 26 through March 11 also matched a career high. The forward added seven multi-point outings out of 32, including a career-high four points (2-2—4) on May 7 against Chicago. Barber posted a nine-game point streak (8-5—13) from Feb. 5-March 11 that was the longest ever to start a player’s Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 528 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and seventh 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 Kapusta (Providence Reds 1946-55) for the No. 7 spot on Oct. 27 against Chicago and is now three games behind No. 6 Roger DeJordy (Hershey Bears 1962-70). Lashoff is still 127 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

Power Outage
Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins exceeded that mark in 2020-21 with a power play conversion rate of 21.5%, the fifth best on the circuit. This season began just like the past years but the power play has stalled as of late, cashing in on just five of its last 41 opportunities (0.12%). However, the Griffins have scored on the power play in three straight games and four of the last five contests. Grand Rapids was held scoreless in 17 consecutive power play chances before it broke the drought on Nov. 24 with a goal on the man advantage against Milwaukee. Through 19 games the power play is converting on 17.1% of its opportunities, which is 23rd in the AHL. The penalty kill is tied for second to last in the league at 74.0%. Through the 19 games this season, the penalty kill has allowed at least one goal in 14 contests.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Four power play goals are tied for third
Jonatan Berggren—Seven goals are tied for fourth among league rookies, 15 points (7-8—15) are tied for sixth among first-year players
Kyle Criscuolo—Eight goals are tied for 15th
Taro Hirose—18 points (4-14—18) are tied for ninth, 14 assists are tied for fourth, eight power play assists are tied for third
Ryan Murphy—Four goals are tied for seventh among blueliners, 13 points (4-9—13) are tied for eighth among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—32 penalty minutes are second among rookies and tied for eighth among league defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.49 goals against average ranks 13th, 0.925 save percentage is tied for fifth
Dominik Shine—56 penalty minutes are tied for second
Luke Witkowski—43 penalty minutes are tied for second among league blueliners

Upcoming Milestones
Riley Barber appeared in his 50th game as a Griffin on Dec. 3 against Rockford. Matt Berry skated in his 250th game as a pro on Dec. 3 versus the IceHogs. Ryan Murphy suited up for his 250th game in the AHL on Dec. 3. Finally, Donovan Sebrango appeared in his 50th game as a Griffin at the age of 19 on Dec. 4 and Luke Witkowski bagged his 50th assist as a pro. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—Three points from 50 as a Griffin,
Turner Elson—Three assists from 100 in the AHL, five goals from 50 as a Griffin
Brian Lashoff—Three assists from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—Two points from 50 in the AHL

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins