Griffins Game #29 * Road Game #14 * AHL Game #496

Season Series: 0-4-1-0 Home Series: 0-3-1-0 Road Series: 0-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 90-75-2-7-3 All-Time Home Series: 44-35-2-5-2 All-Time Road Series: 46-40-0-3-1

Griffins at Wolves
Sixth of 12 meetings overall, second of six at Allstate Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 177 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 199)…The Griffins went 3-7-0-0 against the Wolves a season ago and possess a 19-26-1-1 record against Chicago over the last five years...In the past five seasons, the Griffins are 10-12-0-1 against the Wolves on away ice and are being outscored 77-71...Grand Rapids has held a winning record at Chicago twice in the past five campaigns (2019-20, 2016-17)...Grand Rapids is winless in the last six games against Chicago and has been outscored 26-8...Both Grand Rapids’ (77.6%, 27th) and Chicago’s (80%, 23rd) penalty kill percentage rank in the bottom half of the AHL. In addition, the power play for each franchise (Griffins 13.2%, 29th; Wolves 17.7%, 20th) also places near the bottom of the circuit…Chicago (21-9-1-2, 45 pts, 0.682) won the Central Division in 2020-21 during the shortened, no-playoffs season...The Wolves come into the contest with a 9-1-0-0 record in their past 10 games and a 9-3-1-1 home record...The Griffins are 6-2-2-0 in their last 10 outings and possess a 6-5-1-1 road record...Kyle Criscuolo paces the Griffins against Chicago with five points (2-3—5) in four games while Riley Barber (2-1—3) and Taro Hirose (0-3—3) are close behind...Chicago’s Andrew Poturalski has been Grand Rapids’ nemesis this season, as the forward has 13 points (6-7—13) in five 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
Trey Fix-Wolansky’s overtime goal pushed the Cleveland Monsters over Grand Rapids 2-1 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena during Heroes vs. Villains Night presented by Marathon. Although the Griffins’ four-game win streak came to an end, their point streak extended to six games (4-0-2-0). Despite the loss, goaltender Victor Brattstrom recorded a season-high 34 saves. Taro Hirose continued his four-game scoring streak (3-3—6) with an assist. After seeing his 10-game point streak come to a close on Jan. 7 against Iowa, Kyle Criscuolo registered the lone goal for the Griffins. Wyatt Newpower recorded his 50^th game as a pro.

Roster Shakeup
· Jan. 11, 2022—Detroit reassigned defenseman Luke Witkowski to the Griffins from its taxi squad.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 1-8-1-1 (0.182) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 12-2-3-0 (0.794) against the rest of the AHL.

Winning Resolution
The Griffins have gotten off to a strong start to ring in 2022, as the team has seven points (3-0-1-0) in the opening four games of the new year. Grand Rapids has outscored its opponents 15-7 in January and has scored an average of 3.75 goals per game while allowing just 1.75. The seven points in four games this month have already surpassed the Griffins’ point total in October (7 GP, 5 pts.) and tied their December count (7 GP, 7 pts.). The active six-game point streak is 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 58 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 0.554 winning percentage through Jan. 11.

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 15-4 over the opening 20 minutes of its last 10 games. The Griffins are 11-4-2-0 (0.706) this season when scoring first and 10-2-0-0 (0.833) when leading after the opening frame. Almost half of Grand Rapids’ goals (34, 40%) have come during the first period.

This Date in Griffins History
2019: Carter Camper’s four assists – all on the power play – are the most by a Griffin in more than four years, driving Grand Rapids to a 5-2 win over Belleville.

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 18 helpers in the opening 27 games, which is a team high and tied for eighth in the league. Eight assists have come on the power play, which is tied for ninth 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 is in the midst of a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 25 points (7-18—25) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 16th in the league. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren is currently enjoying a four-game points streak (0-5—5) from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which ties 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 14th among league rookies with seven goals. His 21 points (7-14—21) are tied for seventh among first-year players on the circuit and rank third on the Griffins’ roster.

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 tied for sixth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 15 points (5-10—15) in 28 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his point total is tied for 18th while five goals are tied for fifth. 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 22 points (10-12—22) in 20 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.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 533 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 Roger DeJordy (Hershey Bears 1962-70) for the No. 6 spot on Jan. 7 against Iowa and is now one game away from tying No. 5 Pete Backor (Pittsburgh Hornets 1945-54). Lashoff is still 122 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in 13 of his 23 appearances this season. The 10-year-pro currently ranks 10th in the AHL with a 2.34 goals against average while his 0.930 save percentage places third. 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 23 of the 28 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 sixth
Jonatan Berggren—Seven goals are tied for 14th among league rookies, 21 points (7-14—21) are tied for seventh among first-year players
Taro Hirose—18 assists are tied for eighth, eight power play assists are tied for ninth
Ryan Murphy—Five goals are tied for fifth among blueliners, 15 points (5-10—15) are tied for 18th among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—39 penalty minutes are third among rookies and tied for 12th among league defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.34 goals against average ranks 10th, 0.930 save percentage places third, 1358 minutes and 701 saves both lead the league
Dominik Shine—58 penalty minutes ranks sixth
Luke Witkowski—47 penalty minutes are tied for third among league blueliners

Milestones
Turner Elson scored his 50th goal as a Griffin on Jan. 5 versus Milwaukee. Other upcoming milestones include:
Ben Simon–Two games from 200 as the head coach of the Griffins
Erik Bradford—One point from 300 as a pro
Turner Elson—One assist from 100 in the AHL, one point from 200 as a pro
Brian Lashoff—One assist from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Five goals from 50 as a pro
Dan Renouf—Two games from 300 in the AHL
Dominik Shine—Six points from 100 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—One point from 50 in the AHL

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins