Griffins Game #32 * Road Game #15 * AHL Game #542

Season Series: 1-0-1-0 Home Series: 0-0-1-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 62-34-6-10 All-Time Home Series: 35-17-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 27-17-4-8

Griffins at Monsters
Third of eight meetings overall, second 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 24-10-3-3 against Cleveland and have outscored them 131-109. On away ice during that span, Grand Rapids is 12-5-2-2 at the Monsters with a +12 scoring margin (72-60)...After finishing in second in the AHL a year ago with a 26.9% power play rating, Cleveland currently ranks 26th in the league with a conversion rate of 17%. The Monsters’ penalty kill places 25th with a kill percentage of 78%...Cleveland comes into the outing with a 3-5-2-0 record in its last 10 contests and a 4-5-1-1 ledger at home...The Monsters are the third most frequent opponent of the Griffins, as this game marks the 113th 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...Netminder Calvin Pickard began his pro career with Cleveland and was with the team from 2012-15, posting a 60-54-21 record and a 2.64 goals against average...Griffins head coach Ben Simon is a native of the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights.

Last Time Out
Luke Johnson’s shootout goal propelled the Manitoba Moose over the Griffins 2-1 at Van Andel Arena during the season series finale. The Griffins finished the regular season 2-4-0-2 against Manitoba. Taro Hirose scored Grand Rapids’ lone goal of the contests. Despite the loss, the Griffins extended their home point streak to a season-high eight games (5-0-2-1) and have tallied points in eight of their last nine contests overall (5-1-2-1). Kyle Criscuolo began the shootout with a goal before Jonatan Berggren and Hirose missed their chances. The Moose went 2-for-2 in the shootout to take the victory. Grand Rapids was awarded a season-high nine power plays.

Roster Shake Up
- Jan. 16, 2022—Taro Hirose, Luke Witkowski and Calvin Pickard recalled to Detroit’s taxi squad
- Jan. 17, 2022—Kaden Fulcher, Taro Hirose, Luke Witkowski and Calvin Pickard reassigned by Detroit

Winning Resolution
The Griffins have gotten off to a strong start to ring in 2022, as the team has 10 points (4-1-1-1) in the opening seven games of the new year. Grand Rapids has outscored its opponents 19-15 in January and has scored an average of 2.71 goals per game while allowing just 2.14. The 10 points in seven 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.

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 68 games played; both numbers surpass any full season since Simon joined the team as an assistant coach in 2015-16. On average, 10.4% of Grand Rapids’ lineup has been tryout players, yet the team sits in third place in the Central Division with a 0.548 winning percentage through Jan. 17.

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 12-2-3-0 (0.794) against the rest of the AHL.

This Date in Griffins History
2006: Donald MacLean’s second consecutive hat trick ties an AHL record, marks a franchise first and sends the Griffins to a 6-3 triumph over Iowa. With his team-record fourth hat trick of the campaign, MacLean becomes the first AHL player in three years to notch four in one season.

Fast Starts
On Dec. 4, the Griffins set a season high for goals in a period when they exploded for five tallies in the opening frame against Rockford. Despite allowing three goals in the past three games in the opening frame, Grand Rapids has still outscored its opponents 15-7 over the opening 20 minutes of its last 12 games. The Griffins are 11-4-2-1 (0.694) this season when scoring first and 10-2-0-0 (0.833) when leading after the opening frame. The majority of Grand Rapids’ goals (34, 38.2%) have come during the first period.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 536 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 34 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 119 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

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 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 North America 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 13th among league rookies with eight goals. His 23 points (8-15—23) are tied for seventh among first-year players on the circuit and rank third 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 19 helpers in the opening 30 games, which is a team high and tied for ninth in the league. Eight assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 14th 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 27 points (8-19—27) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 14th in the league. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

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 31 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his point total is tied for 13th while six goals are tied for second. 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.

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 24 points (11-13—24) in 23 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 second on the roster with 24 points while his 11 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 NHL point on an assist against New Jersey on Dec. 18.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in 14 of his 25 appearances this season. The 10-year-pro currently ranks sixth in the AHL with a 2.31 goals against average while his 0.930 save percentage places second. 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 25 of the 31 games this season, including 16 straight from Nov. 5-Dec. 22. Pickard made his 12th consecutive start on Dec. 22, which set a new career high for the goaltender and was only halfway to Joey MacDonald’s franchise record of 24, set during the 2004-05 season. The goaltender 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 recorded his first shutout of the year 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.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Five power play goals are tied for eighth
Jonatan Berggren—Eight goals are tied for 13th among league rookies, 23 points (8-15—23) are tied for seventh among first-year players
Taro Hirose—19 assists are tied for ninth, eight power play assists are tied for 14th
Ryan Murphy—Six goals are tied for second among blueliners, 17 points (6-11—17) are tied for 13th among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—39 penalty minutes are tied for third among rookies and tied for 15th among league defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.31 goals against average ranks sixth, 0.930 save percentage places second, 1481 minutes and 755 saves both lead the league
Dominik Shine—75 penalty minutes rank second
Luke Witkowski—47 penalty minutes are eighth among league blueliners

Milestones
Turner Elson recorded his 100th AHL assist and 200th pro point on Jan. 14 versus Manitoba. Dan Renouf skated in his 300th AHL contest on Jan. 14. Other upcoming milestones include:
Erik Bradford—One point from 300 as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—Five assists from 100 as a pro, six assists from 100 in the AHL
Brian Lashoff—One assist from 100 as a pro
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