Griffins Game #11 * Home Game #4 * AHL Game #147

Season Series: 3-0-1-0 Home Series: 0-0-1-0 Road Series: 3-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 51-35-8-10 All-Time Home Series: 32-11-4-4 All-Time Road Series: 19-24-4-6

IceHogs at Griffins

Fifth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins have earned points in all three home games (2-0-1-0) this season, plus three straight outings (2-0-1-0) and seven of their last eight games overall (6-1-1-0), as well as in each of their four clashes with Rockford (3-0-1-0). They'll play three times in five nights this week, marking their busiest stretch of the season so far...Grand Rapids has at least doubled Rockford’s goal (16-8) and shot (153-74) totals in the season series...The 13 shots allowed by the Griffins in their 3-1 win over the IceHogs on Feb. 18 were one more than Grand Rapids' franchise record for fewest allowed in a game…Prior to their 9-4 win at Rockford on March 3, the Griffins’ last nine-goal outing was a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. They came within two goals of matching of their team record, set in an 11-6 victory at – you guessed it – Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013…Prior to their 2-1 overtime loss on Saturday, the Griffins’ last 23 games had been decided in regulation, dating to a 4-3 overtime loss at home to Texas on Feb. 8, 2020…Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13)…Rockford head coach Derek King played in Grand Rapids from 1999-01 and 2002-04. He is the franchise’s all-time leading playoff scorer (16-25—41) and ranks fifth in regular season points (73-130—203).

Last Time Out

The Griffins nearly doubled-up the IceHogs in shots on Saturday as they looked to extend their series winning streak to four, but Dylan McLaughlin cashed in on a 2-on-1 break 2:14 into overtime to give the visitors a 2-1 win at Van Andel Arena. Rockford netminder Matt Tomkins was the story over the first two scoreless periods, keeping the IceHogs in the game despite the Griffins’ shot advantages of 14-5 in the first period and 30-10 through 40 minutes. The Griffins finally broke through Tomkins on shot No. 32 at 2:27 of the third, courtesy of Kyle Criscuolo, but the IceHogs used their only power play of the night to force the eventual overtime on a Matej Chalupa goal at the 7:25 mark. Tomkins earned his first win in seven appearances this season by making 42 saves, negating Grand Rapids’ 43-22 shot advantage.

Breeding Contempt

Tonight's contest is the final of the Griffins’ four straight games against the IceHogs. This marks just the third time in the Griffins' history that they're playing four consecutive regular season games against the same opponent. The Manitoba Moose were the foe on both prior occasions, in November 2006 and November 1997.

‘Til Tuesday

Excluding traditional New Year’s Eve games in 2019 and 2013 that happened to fall on Tuesdays, the Griffins tonight will host a game on the third day of the week for the first time since Nov. 11, 2008, when they defeated Houston by a 1-0 count in a matinee affair.

It’s a Start

The roar of a Griffins crowd was partially restored on Saturday when the team began welcoming 750 fans per home game, pursuant to the most recent order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Griffins 2021-22 season ticket members are being given the first opportunity to purchase tickets to home games during the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other fans can sign up for Griffins Nation, the team’s official email newsletter, to receive priority access to 2020-21 tickets whenever limited seats are made available for sale throughout the season.

This Date in Griffins History

2018: Adorned in West Michigan Whitecaps-inspired uniforms, the Griffins defeat Rockford 4-3 in overtime. Todd Nelson earns his 300th AHL victory, making him just the 20th head coach in the league’s 82-year history to reach that milestone.

Pick of the Litter

The Red Wings on Monday reassigned goaltender Calvin Pickard to the Grand Rapids Griffins from their taxi squad and reassigned right wing Evgeny Svechnikov and goaltender Kaden Fulcher to their taxi squad from the Griffins. Pickard has played in one game with Detroit this season, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a Feb. 3 relief stint against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Selected in the second round, 49th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, Pickard has appeared in 108 NHL games with the Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Detroit since debuting in 2014-15 and has posted a 32-52-9 record, a 3.00 goals against average, a 0.905 save percentage and four shutouts. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound netminder played in 33 games for Grand Rapids in 2019-20, showing a 17-12-4 record to go along with a 2.86 GAA, a 0.903 save percentage and three shutouts. A 2018 Calder Cup champion with the Toronto Marlies, Pickard has logged 233 games in the AHL since 2011-12 between the Lake Erie Monsters, San Antonio Rampage, Toronto, Tucson Roadrunners and Griffins, notching a 110-83-19 record, a 2.64 GAA, a 0.913 save percentage and 15 shutouts. Svechnikov has appeared in four games with the Wings this season, contributing two goals, two assists and two penalty minutes. In 24 career NHL games with Detroit since 2016-17, he has compiled eight points (4-4--8) and 12 PIM. The 24-year-old has skated in four games with the Griffins this season, picking up a goal, an assist and two PIM. In his fourth pro campaign, he returned to Grand Rapids in 2019-20 after missing the previous season due to a knee injury. In 186 games with the Griffins since 2015-16, Svechnikov has recorded 101 points (39-62--101) and 183 PIM, adding 14 points (6-8--14) and 24 PIM in 26 AHL Calder Cup Playoff games. As a first-year pro in 2016-17, Svechnikov registered a career-high 51 points (20-31-51) in 74 regular season games and helped the Griffins capture the 2017 Calder Cup championship. Fulcher, 22, has yet to make his 2020-21 season debut. A third-year pro, he was limited to two games during the 2019-20 campaign with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye due to injury. The netminder appeared in 30 games with the Walleye over his first two professional seasons, posting a 15-9-6 record, a 3.17 GAA, a 0.894 save percentage and one shutout. Fulcher made his NHL debut in relief duty during the Red Wings' season finale on April 6, 2019 against Buffalo, making nine saves on 11 shots on goal.

Millennium Griffins

The Griffins’ 3-1 victory at Rockford last Thursday marked the 1,000th regular season win (in 1,890 games) in the franchise’s 25 seasons of play. Grand Rapids now holds an all-time record of 1,000-686-27-62-116 (0.583).

Life of Riley

Before being held scoreless on Saturday, Riley Barber had compiled a nine-game point streak that was the longest ever to start a player's Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season. It was also the longest streak for a Griffin since Matt Puempel’s 11-game run from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019...Despite also having his team-high four-game goal streak snapped, Barber remains tied for second in the AHL with eight goals while his 13 points are tied for 12th. He also ranks among league leaders with seven power play points (T2nd) and five power play assists (T4th).

High Flyers

Dennis Cholowski is tied for seventh among AHL defensemen with eight points (3-5—8)…Kyle Criscuolo owns a four-game point streak (3-2—5) after scoring Grand Rapids’ lone goal on Saturday. He has goals in two straight and three of the last four contests, and he’s registered at least one point in eight of 10 games this season...Chase Pearson’s three-game point streak (0-4—4) ended on Saturday...Joe Hicketts has points in three of the last five contests (0-4—4)...Max Humitz (2-2—4) and Tyler Spezia (2-1—3) each points in consecutive games before being blanked on Saturday...Kevin Boyle had won three straight starts before suffering the overtime setback two on Saturday.

March Like a Lion

The Griffins posted a winning record for March during each of the previous 12 years – accumulating an 88-48-7-8 mark (0.632) from 2009 to 2020 – and are off to another good start this season at 2-0-1-0. Despite traditionally playing the majority of their games away from Van Andel Arena during March, they’ve managed at least a 0.500 road record for the month during each of those dozen years, going a combined 53-29-5-6 (0.629).

Offense Taken

The Griffins lead the AHL in shots per game (34.30) and rank 12th in goals per game (3.20). They’ve racked up at least 43 shots in two of their last three outings, including a season-high 49 on March 3 in Rockford.

Stingy D

The Griffins, who have allowed just one goal in regulation in six of their last eight games, rank seventh in the AHL in goals allowed per game (2.60)…The Griffins have been out-shot in only two of their first 10 games, and only once have they allowed 30 or more shots, a total that they have reached on eight occasions — including each of their last six outings. Grand Rapids ranks second in the AHL in shots allowed per game (24.00).

Taking Advantage

Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins are off to an even better start this season, currently sitting fourth in the league at 26.8% and first on the road at 33.3%. Although held scoreless in five opportunities over the last two games, Grand Rapids has scored at least one power play goal in seven of its 10 games thus far.

Milestones Within Reach

Kyle Criscuolo’s goal on Thursday in Rockford was the 50th of his AHL/pro career, and Dylan McIlrath appeared in his 200th game as a Griffin on Saturday against the IceHogs. Other upcoming milestones include:
Turner Elson — One game played for 200 as a Griffin
Brian Lashoff – Four assists for 100 as a pro
Gustav Lindstrom - Three points for 50 as a pro
Dominik Shine – Four points from 50 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career, two games played for 200 as a Griffin
Dominic Turgeon – Four points from 100 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career

We Miss You, Bob!

On Feb. 8, the beloved 21-year Voice of the Griffins, Bob Kaser, underwent successful heart surgery at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids to repair several blocked arteries. Released from the hospital on Feb. 14, his recovery at home is going well but he is expected to miss the better part of this 30-game shortened season. Everyone in Griffins Nation, the Griffins organization, the AHL, and the Michigan hockey community wishes Bob all the best in his recovery and a quick return to health. We can’t wait until he is back in the booth.

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins