Griffins Game #53 * Home Game #29 * AHL Game #820

Season Series: 0-6-1-0 Home Series: 0-3-1-0 Road Series: 0-3-0-0
All-Time Series: 90-77-2-7-3 All-Time Home Series: 44-35-2-5-2 All-Time Road Series: 46-42-0-3-1

Griffins vs. Wolves
Eighth of 12 meetings overall, fifth of six at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 179 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 203)…The Griffins possess a 19-28-1-1 record against Chicago over the last five years...In the past five seasons, the Griffins are 5-11-1-0 against the Wolves on home ice and are being outscored 66-43...The last time Grand Rapids was above 0.500 against Chicago at home was in the 2016-17 season when it went 4-1-0-0...Grand Rapids is winless in the last eight games against Chicago and have been outscored 34-9, dating back to the 2020-21 campaign...This will be Chicago’s first trip to West Michigan since Nov. 26...Grand Rapids’ penalty kill comes in at 76.5% (28th) while Chicago ranks fourth at 84.0%. In addition, the power play for Chicago is tied for 12th (20.0%) while the Griffins place 30th (13.4%)...The Wolves come into the contest with a 6-2-0-2 record in their past 10 games and a 17-6-2-1 road ledger...The Griffins are 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 outings and possess a 12-11-4-1 home mark...Kyle Criscuolo paces the Griffins against Chicago with five points (2-3—5) in six outings…Chicago’s Andrew Poturalski has been Grand Rapids’ nemesis this season, as the forward has 17 points (7-10—17) in seven 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
Cole Schneider’s last-minute goal lifted the Milwaukee Admirals past the Griffins 3-2 at Panther Arena. The Griffins suffered their fourth consecutive defeat against the Admirals after beginning the season series with a 5-1-1-0 record. Riley Barber scored his first goal since returning from rehabbing an injury. Taro Hirose’s third-period score tied him with Jonatan Berggren for the team high in tallies with 14. Barber now has three points (1-2—3) in three games since his return and Hirose has now lit the lamp in consecutive games for the third time this season. Barber’s tally also halted Grand Rapids’ 180:05-minute scoring drought against the Admirals, dating back to the third period on Jan. 22. Ben Simon completed his 350th game as a pro head coach while Hirose notched his 100th point as a Griffin and in the AHL.

Roster Shake Up
- March 2, 2022—F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit
- March 4, 2022—F Alexis D’Aoust signed to a PTO

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-10-1-2 (0.233) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and the second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 21-12-4-0 (0.622) against the rest of the AHL.

Peaks and Valleys
Grand Rapids and Chicago have a storied history with each other, as the two franchises started competing against one another in 1996. Since then, each club has had its fair share of wins and losses. Chicago’s active eight-game win streak is the longest streak in series history. In fact, the Wolves have claimed 14 of the past 17 outings against the Griffins, dating back to the 2020-21 campaign. However, Grand Rapids went on a near identical 13-3 run from Oct. 14, 2016-Oct. 27, 2017 and held a nine-game point streak (8-0-1-0) against the Wolves from Feb. 15, 2015-April 8, 2016. Despite this cold stretch for Grand Rapids, it still holds a 90-77-2-7-3 overall record against Chicago.

This Date in Griffins History
2003: Thanks to losses by Rochester and Cincinnati, the idle Griffins claim the 2002-03 John Chick Trophy as champions of the Central Division. The division title marks their second straight as AHL members and fourth consecutive overall, dating back to the 1999-00 IHL campaign.

Welcome Back, March
The Griffins have had a remarkable stretch of success during the month of March throughout their 25 seasons. Grand Rapids has 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. All time, the Griffins have only had a losing March record three times in 25 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.

Home, Sweet Home
The Griffins will have a lot of action in West Michigan during the first three weeks of March. Six of Grand Rapids’ first eight games of the month will be played at Van Andel Arena before closing out March with a season-long five-game road trip. The Griffins went 4-2-1-1 during an identical stretch of games in January. The Griffins will play half of their remaining 12 homes contests in the first three weeks of March. Grand Rapids is 12-11-4-1 on home ice this season while it is 11-11-1-1 on the road.

Victory for Victor
Rookie goaltender Victor Brattstrom captured his first AHL shutout of his career on March 5 against Iowa. The Goteborg, Sweden, native recorded 35 saves en route to a 3-0 victory. After beginning the season with a 2-6-1-1 mark, Brattstrom has came away with wins in three of his last four starts. In his last four outings, the 24-year-old has a 0.919 save percentage and a 2.75 goals against average.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren registered a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland, which set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins’ rookie single-game record of five assists set by Chris Bala (1/10/02). Berggren’s 37 points (14-23—37) are tied for eighth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 23 assists rank ninth among league rookies while his 14 goals are tied for 11th. Berggren is also tied for fifth in the league with five game-winning goals, which also places second among rookies. Berggren is on pace for 54 points, which would place fourth in franchise-rookie history. The Uppsala, Sweden, native is also on pace for 21 goals, which would place him in a tie for sixth place with Josh Langfeld (2001-02) and Chris Bala (2001-02).

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 31 helpers in the opening 51 games, which is a team high and places 10th in the league. Fourteen assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 13th 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 enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 45 points (14-31—45) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 18th in the league. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard has had a stellar season thus far, as he ranks near the top in multiple categories in the AHL. The 10-year-pro currently ranks 12th in the AHL with a 2.47 goals against average while his 0.923 save percentage is tied for third in the league. Pickard also ranks second with 2261:46 minutes played and is tied for fifth with 18 wins. Pickard has got it done on the offensive end as well with four assists on the season, which is two more than his previous career high. The netminder has been a work horse for the Griffins this season, appearing in 38 of the 52 games.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 556 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 14 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 99 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—37 points (14-23—37) are tied for eighth among first-year players, 23 assists ranks ninth among rookies and 14 goals are tied for 11th among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for fifth in the league and place second among rookies
Taro Hirose—31 assists places 10th, 14 power play assists are tied for 13th, 45 points (14-31—45) are tied for 18th
Ryan Murphy—10 goals are tied for first among blueliners
Calvin Pickard—2.47 goals against average ranks 12th, 0.923 save percentage is tied for third, 18 wins are tied for fifth, 2261:46 minutes played places second
Dominik Shine—102 penalty minutes rank third

Milestones
Ben Simon completed his 350th game as a pro head coach on March 6 at Milwaukee while Taro Hirose bagged his 100th point (24-76—100) as a Griffin and in the AHL. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jonatan Berggren—Three points from 100 as a pro, two games from 150 as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—One assist from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, two assists from 100 in the AHL, one game from 150 as a Griffin
Turner Elson—Three games from 450 in the AHL
Brett McKenzie—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Dennis Yan—One game from 200 as a pro

Photo by Ross Dettman/Wolves