Griffins Game #75 * Road Game #37 * AHL Game #445

Season Series: 1-9-1-0 Home Series: 0-5-1-0 Road Series: 1-4-0-0
All-Time Series: 91-80-2-7-3 All-Time Home Series: 44-38-2-5-2 All-Time Road Series: 47-42-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Twelfth of 12 meetings overall, sixth of six at Allstate Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 183 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 204)…The Griffins possess a 20-31-1-1 (0.396) record against Chicago over the last five years...Since the 2017-18 season, the Griffins are 7-14-0-1 (0.341) against the Wolves on foreign ice and have been outscored 81-56...The last time Grand Rapids was above 0.500 at Chicago was in the 2019-20 season when it went 3-1-0-0...On March 13, Grand Rapids snapped its nine-game winless streak against Chicago (0-8-1-0), dating back to the 2020-21 campaign...Grand Rapids’ penalty kill comes in at 74.8% (30th) while Chicago ranks fifth at 82.9%. In addition, the power play for Chicago places 13th (19.6%) while the Griffins are tied for 28th (16.4%)...The Wolves come into the contest with a 7-3-0-0 record in their past 10 games and a 24-7-3-3 home ledger...The Griffins are 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 outings and possess a 15-18-2-1 mark on the road...Chicago’s Andrew Poturalski has been Grand Rapids’ nemesis this season, as the forward has 24 points (9-15—24) in 11 games...As part of his 11-year pro career, Griffins coach Ben Simon registered 87 points (37-50—87) in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of their first Calder Cup title in 2002.

Last Time Out
The Chicago Wolves’ power-play offense showed its dominance against the Griffins when it went 3-for-3 en route to a 6-2 victory on Sunday at Allstate Arena. Jonatan Berggren became the new leader on the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring list when he bagged his 60th point (20-40—60) of the campaign. Grand Rapids was eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs after Texas’ 2-1 win on Saturday over the Iowa Wild. With two assists in the contest, Berggren became the first rookie in franchise history to reach the 60-point plateau. In addition to having the rookie scoring title, Berggren’s 40 assists are the most by a Griffins rookie and 20 goals are tied for eighth-most. The Swede also pushed his point streak to a season-high nine games (5-10—15). Riley Barber extended his AHL-leading and career-high point streak to 15 games (14-7—21), scoring both goals for Grand Rapids.

Roster Shake Up
- April 19, 2022—F Brett McKenzie signed to a PTO; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit
- April 22, 2022—F Chase Pearson reassigned by Detroit; G David DeSander signed to a PTO
- April 23, 2022—F Riley Barber and F Taro Hirose recalled by Detroit; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit; G David DeSander released from PTO
- April 25, 2022—F Turner Elson signed by Detroit for the remainder of the 2021-22 season; F Brett McKenzie released from PTO
- April 26, 2022—F Riley Barber and F Kyle Criscuolo recalled by Detroit; F Max Humitz signed to a PTO; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2013: Tomas Jurco became just the fourth rookie in Griffins history to score two goals in a playoff game, as Grand Rapids rode a dominant first two periods to a 3-2 win over the Aeros in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at the Toyota Center and tied the series at one game apiece.

All Good Things Must End
The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 32-34-6-2 (0.486) mark and only two games remaining. The top five teams from the division will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye. The Griffins were eliminated from playoff contention when Texas defeated Iowa on April 23. Grand Rapids has appeared in the last seven Calder Cup Playoffs, dating back to the 2012-13 season when it lifted the cup for the first time. During this playoff stretch, the Griffins went 52-31-3-0 (0.598) and outscored their opponents 282-233. In addition, Grand Rapids went 12-5 in playoff series since 2013 with two Calder Cups. Excluding the NHL lockout season of 2004-05, and the 2019-21 COVID seasons, this is the first time since Grand Rapids’ inception that neither the Griffins nor the Red Wings have qualified for the playoffs. Sunday’s contest in Chicago was the first game the Griffins played after having been eliminated from playoff contention since April 15, 2012.

Rewrite the History Books
Jonatan Berggren on April 24 became the first rookie in Griffins history to record 60 points when he bagged two assists in the outing. With those two points, Berggren passed Teemu Pulkkinen (2013-14) for the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring title. Berggren has 22 points (6-16—22) in his last 16 games, including an active season-high nine-game point streak (5-10—15). The Uppsala, Sweden, native paces the Griffins and ranks third among rookies with his 60 points, while his 40 assists are second in the league among first-year players. Berggren is also second among rookies with seven game-winning goals. His 40 assists are the most by a rookie in a Griffins uniform while his 20 goals are tied for eighth among Griffin rookies. Berggren is on pace for 62 points, three more than the previous record held by Pulkkinen. Berggren is on track to become the first rookie to ever lead the Griffins in assists, and the third to pace the team in either points (Teemu Pulkkinen 59 in 2013-14, Gustav Nyquist 58 (tied) in 2011-12) or game-winning goals (Landon Ferraro 4 in 2011-12 and Petr Schastlivy 6 in 1999-00). His seven game-winning goals and three overtime goals are both franchise records for a rookie.

Welcome to the Barber Shop
Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in a career-high 15 straight games (14-7—21), including his third-ever hat trick on April 9 at Toronto. There have been only two longer point streaks in franchise history (Derek King 17, 2000-01; Donald MacLean 19, 2005-06). Barber’s 15-game streak is the longest in the AHL this season and the longest by a Griffin in more than 16 years, since MacLean’s franchise-record run. Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 29 points (16-13—29) in 24 games, including eight multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, native ranks third on the roster with 48 points (24-24—48) in 47 outings. Through 79 contests with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 82 points (44-38—82) and 46 penalty minutes.

Work Horse
Netminder Victor Brattstrom appeared in 14 consecutive games from March 22-April 20. His 14 straight appearances are tied for second all time among Griffins rookie goaltenders with Jimmy Howard (2005-06) and trailed only Jordan Pearce (2010-11, 26 GP). Brattstrom has a 3-1 record in his last four starts with a 2.50 goals against average and a 0.902 save percentage. Through 30 games this season, the Goteborg, Sweden, native shows a 10-15-3 mark with a 0.894 save percentage and a 3.30 goals against average. Brattstrom’s 30 games played are the fifth-most ever for a Griffins rookie goaltender and the most since Petr Mrazek made 42 appearances in 2012-13.

The Roaring 20s
Turner Elson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career on April 9. The ninth-year pro has had a career-high season on the offensive end, with a career-best 21 goals, 24 assists and 45 points so far. Elson, Riley Barber (24) and Jonatan Berggren (20) are the first three Griffins teammates with 20-plus goals each since Eric Tangradi (31), Matt Lorito (23), Matthew Ford (22), Matt Puempel (22) and Ben Street (21) in 2017-18. The alternate captain has turned it on as of late with 18 points (8-9—17) in his last 24 games. In comparison, Elson had just nine points (3-6—9) in the 24 contests before this run. On Monday, Elson signed with Detroit for the remainder of the 2021-22 NHL season.

Traffic Jam
The Griffins have won just three games in their last 11 contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 50-32. Grand Rapids has secured seven out of 16 points in its past eight outings away from home. Grand Rapids went on a season-high five-game road trip from March 19-27 and finished with a 1-3-1-0 mark. The Griffins are 15-18-2-1 (0.458) this season away from Van Andel Arena while they are 17-16-4-1 (0.513) at home. Grand Rapids will play both of its remaining games on foreign ice.

Stalled Engine
The Griffins have struggled out of the gate recently, allowing the first goal in 13 of their past 14 contests. The Griffins snapped an 11-game run on April 20 at Rockford. Grand Rapids has six wins in those 14 games, showing a 6-7-1-0 mark. During this run, Grand Rapids has not won a first period and has been outscored 18-6. Narrowing it down even more, Grand Rapids has been outscored 14-5 in the last eight first frames while it has outscored its opponents 11-9 in the past eight second periods. When scoring first, the Griffins are 20-8-2-1 (0.694) this season while they are 12-26-4-1 (0.337) when conceding the opening goal.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 578 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fourth 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 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds, 1952-62) for the No. 4 spot on April 6 against Cleveland and is now 30 games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 77 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—60 points (20-40—60) place third among first-year players, 40 assists are second among rookies, seven game-winning goals are second among rookies
Jared McIsaac—24 points are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen, 19 assists are tied for eighth among rookie defensemen
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for fourth among defensemen
Dominik Shine—141 penalty minutes are tied for second

Milestones
Riley Barber scored his 150th goal as a pro on April 24 at Chicago. Ben Simon collected his 200th win as a pro head coach on April 20 with a 5-3 victory over Rockford. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—One assist from 150 in the AHL and as a pro, one point from 300 as a pro and in the AHL
Kyle Criscuolo—One point from 100 as a Griffin
Jan Drozg—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro, two points from 250 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Three games from 150 in the AHL
Donovan Sebrango—One game from 100 as a pro

Photo by Ross Dettman/Wolves