Griffins Game #22 * Road Game #12 * AHL Game #328

Season Series: 1-3-0-1 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-2-0-1
All-Time Series: 66-36-1-1-8 All-Time Home Series: 36-15-1-1-5 All-Time Road Series: 30-21-0-0-3

Griffins vs. Moose
Sixth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Canada Life Centre…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 22-12-0-1 against them, including a 9-7-0-1 ledger in Winnipeg…Grand Rapids is winless in the last five games (0-4-0-1) in Manitoba, dating back to the 2019-20 season...This is the 113th meeting between the two teams, which is the third most encounters by any Grand Rapids opponent...Manitoba has won five of its last six games (5-1-0-0) and are 8-2-0-0 in its past 10 outings...At home this season, the Moose are 8-2-0-0 while the Griffins bolster a 5-4-1-1 ledger away from West Michigan...The Moose rank third in the AHL with a penalty kill percentage of 88.0% while their power play is places 11th at 20.5%...Manitoba has had strong goaltending this season, as both of its netminders rank in the top 15 for goals against average (Arvid Holm 2.12/4th; Mikhail Berdin 2.52/13th)...The Griffins have managed to score just two goals in every meeting against Manitoba this season...Riley Barber (1-3—4), Turner Elson (3-0—3) and Taro Hirose (0-3—3) lead the Griffins against the Moose...Calvin Pickard lives in Winnipeg during the offseason and forward Jon Martin was born there.

Last Time Out
After a scoreless opening frame, Grand Rapids jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the second period courtesy of Tyler Spezia and Turner Elson. That two-goal advantage vanished rapidly when the Griffins allowed four tallies in the third period and dropped the contest 4-2. Grand Rapids is now winless in its last five trips (0-4-0-1) to Manitoba, dating back to the 2019-20 campaign. Calvin Pickard made his 10th straight start in the contest and totaled 38 saves, including tying a season-high for most saves in a period with 20 in the second. Seth Barton made his season debut for Grand Rapids after being sidelined for the first two months due to an injury and defenseman Randy Gazzola made his AHL debut.

Roster Shake Up
The Detroit Red Wings this week recalled defensemen Brian Lashoff, Dan Renouf and Luke Witkowski while also calling up center Kyle Criscuolo. In addition, the Red Wings reassigned defenseman Seth Barton and goaltender Victor Brattstrom to Grand Rapids from the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). Later in the week, Grand Rapids signed forwards Max Humitz and Josh Dickinson to professional tryouts. The Griffins made one last roster change when they inked defenseman Randy Gazzola to a PTO. Detroit wrapped up a busy week when it reassigned Witkowski to the Griffins on Friday. Grand Rapids got another boost when the Red Wings reassigned Brian Lashoff and Kyle Criscuolo back to the Griffins on Saturday.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 0-4-1-0 (0.100) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and 9-5-1-1 (0.625) against the rest of the AHL.

This Date in Griffins History
2000: Head coach Bruce Cassidy is named a co-coach for the IHL squad at the 2001 IHL All-Star Game in Chicago.

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. After rattling off three first-period goals against Cleveland on Dec. 6, Grand Rapids has now outscored its opponents 8-0 over the opening 20 minutes of its last three games. The Griffins are 8-4-0-0 (0.667) this season when scoring first and 7-2-0-0 (0.778) when leading after the opening frame. Almost half of Grand Rapids’ goals (27, 44%) have come during the first period.

Spartan Store
Matt Berry became the 20th former Michigan State Spartan to play for Grand Rapids, extending that program’s lead as the most productive at developing future Griffins (including teammate Taro Hirose). Michigan (13, including current assistant coach Mike Knuble), Notre Dame (11, including current head coach Ben Simon), and Miami (10, including Riley Barber) are in double-digits as well. Wisconsin comes in fifth with nine Griffins alumni, before the first non-Midwest school makes an appearance as part of a three-way tie at six (8): Maine (Chase Pearson and Dan Renouf), Northern Michigan (Dominik Shine), and Ferris State. A six-school tie for ninth (7) includes Western Michigan (Luke Witkowski) and UMass-Lowell (Seth Barton).

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 17 points (9-8—17) in 15 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 seven-game point streak (7-7—14) from Nov. 20-Dec. 6, which is a new career high for the forward. He posted back-to-back three-point (1-2—3) nights against Milwaukee and Chicago on Nov. 24 and 26. Criscuolo’s three-game goal streak (Nov. 20-26, Dec. 3-6) 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 second on the roster with 17 points while his nine goals pace the team and are tied for ninth 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 and returned to Detroit on Dec. 7.

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 10 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 four games, registering one assist and two penalty minutes.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in nine of his 18 appearances this season. The 10-year pro currently places 11th in the AHL with a 2.44 goals against average while his 0.928 save percentage is tied for fourth. 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 18 of the 21 games this season, including 14 straight. 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. 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 sixth among league rookies with seven goals while his 16 points (7-9—16) are tied for sixth among first-year players.

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 15 helpers in the opening 21 games, which is a team high and tied for fifth 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 19 points (4-15—19) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 10th on the circuit.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 529 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 two games behind No. 6 Roger DeJordy (Hershey Bears 1962-70). Lashoff is still 126 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

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 15 points (6-9—15) this season are 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.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Four power play goals are tied for third
Jonatan Berggren—Seven goals are tied for sixth among league rookies, 16 points (7-9—16) are tied for sixth among first-year players
Kyle Criscuolo—Nine goals are tied for 10th
Taro Hirose—19 points (4-15—19) are tied for 10th, 15 assists are tied for fifth, 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 10th among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—32 penalty minutes are third among rookies and tied for ninth among league defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.44 goals against average ranks 11th, 0.928 save percentage is tied for fourth
Dominik Shine—56 penalty minutes are tied for second
Luke Witkowski—43 penalty minutes are third among league blueliners

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—One point from 50 as a Griffin
Turner Elson—Three assists from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 50 as a Griffin
Brian Lashoff—Two 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 Jonathan Kozub/Moose