Griffins Game #69 * Home Game #36 * AHL Game #1,039

Season Series: 5-0-1-0 Home Series: 2-0-1-0 Road Series: 3-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 66-34-6-10 All-Time Home Series: 37-17-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 29-17-4-8

Griffins vs. Monsters
Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 12-3-1-0 against Cleveland in the past two seasons and has points in all six games this season (5-0-1-0)...In the past five years, the Griffins are 28-10-3-3 against Cleveland and have outscored them 146-115. On home ice during that span, Grand Rapids is 15-5-1-1 against the Monsters with a +20 scoring margin (72-52)...After finishing in second in the AHL a year ago with a 26.9% power play rating, Cleveland currently ranks 27th in the league with a conversion rate of 16.6%. The Monsters’ penalty kill is tied for 22nd with a kill percentage of 78.9%...Cleveland is winless in its last four games...The Monsters come into the outing with a 3-6-1-0 record in its last 10 contests and a 13-14-4-4 ledger on the road...The Monsters are the third-most frequent opponent of the Griffins, as this game marks the 117th 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
The Toronto Marlies used three first-period goals to propel themselves to a 4-1 victory against the Griffins on Sunday at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. Grand Rapids dropped the fourth and final season meeting against Toronto, finishing with a 1-2-1-0 ledger. Riley Barber continued his hot streak by tallying his 19th goal of the campaign, which extended his point streak to 10 games (9-4—13). Barber’s 10-game point streak tied a career best, and tied Kyle Criscuolo for the team-high this season. Jonatan Berggren recorded his team-leading 34th helper of the season and stretched his scoring streak to three games (1-4—5). Brattstrom and Jan Drozg each appeared in their 150th pro game. Grand Rapids went 1-for-2 on the power play and finished the two-game set against Toronto 5-for-8 on the man-advantage.

Roster Shake Up
- April 7, 2022—F Kyle Criscuolo reassigned by Detroit
- April 8, 2022—F Taro Hirose reassigned by Detroit
- April 12, 2022—F Patrick Curry reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) by Grand Rapids; F Taro Hirose recalled by Detroit; F Taro Hirose reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2002: In their first-ever AHL Calder Cup Playoff game, the Griffins take a 4-1 victory over Chicago in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Welcome to the Barber Shop
Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in a career-high 10 straight games (9-4—13), including his third-ever hat trick on April 9 at Toronto. There have been only eight longer point streaks in franchise history. Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 21 points (11-10—20) in 19 games, including five multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native ranks fourth on the roster with 40 points (19-21—40) in 42 games. Last season, Barber paced the Griffins with 34 points (20-14—34) in 32 contests and finished second in the league with 20 goals. Through 74 games with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 74 points (39-35—74) and 46 penalty minutes.

No Time to Waste
The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 29-31-6-2 (0.485) mark and only eight 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’ magic number over Iowa, which sits in the final playoff spot, is 21 points. The Griffins have the third-toughest remaining schedule in the division with a remaining opponent win percentage of 0.588, while Iowa has the second-easiest remaining schedule at 0.532. 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.

Race to the Top
Jonatan Berggren on Sunday became just the sixth rookie in Griffins history to record 50 points, as he ranks sixth in the Griffins’ top-10 rookie single-season scoring list with 50 points (16-34—50) in 62 games. Berggren has logged two or more points in four of his last 10 games, with two goals and 10 helpers during the run. The Uppsala, Sweden, native paces the Griffins and is tied for fifth among rookies with his 50 points, while his 34 assists rank fourth. Berggren places fourth among rookies with five game-winning goals. Berggren is on pace for 56 points, which would place third in Griffins rookie single-season scoring history.

Northern Exposure
The Griffins have fared well against opponents from the North Division, as they hold a 6-2-2-0 record (0.700) and have outscored their opponents 34-26. In comparison, Grand Rapids is 20-25-3-2 (0.450) against Central-Division foes and 3-4-1-0 (0.438) against teams from the Pacific. Two games remain on the schedule for the Griffins against clubs from the North Division, including this Wednesday against Cleveland.

Traffic Jam
The Griffins have won two games in their last eight contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 36-23. However, Grand Rapids has secured five out of 10 points in its past five 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 14-16-2-1 this season away from West Michigan while they are 15-15-4-1 at home. Grand Rapids will play five of its remaining eight games on foreign ice.

The Roaring 20’s
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 20 goals and 41 points so far. Elson has also tied his career-high assist total with 21. The alternate captain has turned it on as of late with 14 points (7-7—14) in his last 18 games. In comparison, Elson had just six points (2-4—6) in the 18 contests before this run. Elson ranks third on the roster with his 41 points (20-21—41).

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 572 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 36 games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 83 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—50 points (16-34—50) are tied for fifth among first-year players, 34 assists rank fourth among rookies, five game-winning goals place fourth among rookies
Jared McIsaac—24 points are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen, 19 assists are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for third among defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.58 goals against average ranks 13th, 0.918 save percentage places ninth, 21 wins are tied for fifth, 2534:30 minutes played places fourth
Dominik Shine—125 penalty minutes are tied for fourth

Milestones
Victor Brattsrom and Jan Drozg each made their 150th appearance as a pro on April 10 at Toronto. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jan Drozg—One game from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 50 as a pro
Turner Elson—One goal from 100 as a pro
Jon Martin—One game from 300 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro, two points from 250 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Four goals from 50 as a pro

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins