Griffins Game #64 * Home Game #34 * AHL Game #974

Season Series: 3-3-1-0 Home Series: 1-2-0-0 Road Series: 2-1-1-0
All-Time Series: 35-21-4-4 All-Time Home Series: 19-8-1-3 All-Time Road Series: 16-13-3-1

Griffins vs. Stars
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena...Grand Rapids has points in seven of the last nine games (6-2-1-0) against Texas at Van Andel Arena...In the past five seasons that the Stars and Griffins have met, Grand Rapids is 10-5-1-1 against Texas in West Michigan...Three of the seven games this season have gone to overtime and five out of the seven have been decided by one goal...The last time the Griffins were 0.500 or below against Texas at home was in the 2017-18 campaign when Grand Rapids finished with a 1-1-0-1 record...The home team has points in 10 of the past 14 clashes…Texas has the AHL’s best road power play at 26.5% and ranks sixth in the league in the overall power-play standings at 21.2%...Both penalty kills rank toward the bottom of the AHL with Texas coming in tied for 20th (79.7%) and the Griffins ranking T31st (75.5%)...Texas enters the contest riding a three-game win streak and are 7-2-1-0 in its last 10 contests...Grand Rapids is are 4-5-1-0 in its last 10 contests…At home, the Griffins are 14-14-4-1 while the Stars are 11-12-3-3 on foreign ice.

Last Time Out
The Texas Stars defeated the Griffins 2-1 courtesy of Michael Karow’s first professional goal during his debut on Friday at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids dropped to 3-3-1-0 against Texas this season with one meeting remaining. Riley Barber extended his point streak to five games (4-2—6) after notching the Griffins’ lone goal. Netminder Victor Brattstrom appeared in his career-high fifth straight contest. Trenton Bliss made his pro debut, becoming the seventh Michigan Tech Husky to play for the Griffins. Hayden Verbeek skated in his first game with the Griffins since Feb. 23, due to rehabbing an injury. The Griffins saw their season-high four-game streak of scoring on the power play come to a close. Grand Rapids has notched one win in the last seven games (1-5-1-0).

Roster Shake Up
- March 27, 2022—F Chase Pearson reassigned by Detroit
- March 29, 2022—G Victor Brattstrom recalled by Detroit
- March 30, 2022—F Hayden Verbeek recalled by Grand Rapids; F Trenton Bliss and F Drew Worrad signed by Grand Rapids
- March 31, 2022—F Alexis D’Aoust released from PTO; G Victor Brattstrom reassigned by Detroit

Traffic Jam
The Griffins concluded their season-high five-game road trip last week with a 1-3-1-0 record. It was not a kind trip for Grand Rapids, as it was outscored 25-13. However, after beginning the trip 0-3, the Griffins secured three out of four points in the final two outings. Grand Rapids went on a four-game trip earlier in the season and finished with a 2-2 mark. The Griffins are 13-14-2-1 this season away from West Michigan while they are 14-14-4-1 at home. Grand Rapids will play eight of its remaining 13 games on foreign ice.

This Date in Griffins History
2013: Francis Pare joins Michel Picard as the only players in franchise history to reach the century mark in career goals, tallying his 100th and 101st to lead Grand Rapids to a 5-1 win at Houston.

Not the Same March
The Griffins have had a remarkable stretch of success during the month of March throughout their 26 seasons. Grand Rapids earned a winning record in March for 13 straight years, in large part by going 0.500 or better on the road during each of those months and despite playing 62% of its games on the road. However, that streak ended this season, as the Griffins finished 5-7-1-0 this season in March. All time, the Griffins have only had a losing March record four times in 26 years. The last time Grand Rapids suffered a losing record in March was back in 2008. Things that were also happening in March of 2008: Jimmy Howard was playing his third of four full seasons in Grand Rapids; Ben Simon was an alternate captain for the Springfield Falcons, 2.5 years from starting his coaching career; Donovan Sebrango was six years old; President George W. Bush was serving his final year in the White House; and the Red Wings were three months from winning their most recent Stanley Cup.

Shine Bright
Dominik Shine is in the midst a career-high seven-game point streak (7-3—10) and has tallied a goal in six of his last seven outings. Before this run, the Detroit, native registered just one tally and four assists in his previous 28 games. Shine has scored in four straight games from March 22-27, which is a new career-high goal streak. The 28-year-old has set career-best numbers in goals (13), assists (14), points (27), penalty minutes (121) and shots (96) this campaign with 14 games remaining.

Welcome to the Barber Shop
Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in five straight games (4-2—6). Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 14 points (6-8—14) in as many games, including four multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native ranks fourth on the roster with 33 points (14-19—33) in 37 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 69 games with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 67 points (34-33—67) and 40 penalty minutes.

Race to the Top
Jonatan Berggren has cracked the Griffins’ top-10 rookie single-season scoring list, as he currently places eighth with 44 points (15-29—44) in 56 games. Berggren has logged two points in three of his last five games, with one goal and five helpers during the run. The Uppsala, Sweden, native places seventh among rookies with his 44 points, while his 29 assists are tied for fourth. Berggren is tied for third among rookies with five game-winning goals. Berggren is on pace for 53 points, which would place fourth in Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring history.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 567 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fifth 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 Backor (Pittsburgh Hornets 1945-54) for the No. 5 spot on Jan. 14 against Manitoba and is now three games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 88 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—44 points (15-29—44) rank seventh among first-year players, 29 assists are tied for fourth among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for third among rookies
Ryan Murphy—11 goals rank third among defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.58 goals against average ranks 13th, 0.918 save percentage ranks ninth, 21 wins place fifth, 2534:30 minutes played ranks second
Dominik Shine—121 penalty minutes rank third

Milestones
Riley Barber appeared in his 350th game in the AHL on March 26 at Bakersfield. Jon Martin skated in his 250th AHL game on March 25 at Bakersfield. Other upcoming milestones include:
Kyle Criscuolo—One game from 300 in the AHL
Jan Drozg—Three goals from 50 as a pro, two games from 150 as a pro
Turner Elson—Three goals from 100 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Four goals from 50 as a pro

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins