Griffins Game #64 * Road Game #31 * AHL Game #1,000

Season Series: 3-4-1-1 Home Series: 1-3-1-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-1
All-Time Series: 43-22-5-3 All-Time Home Series: 21-10-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 22-12-1-1

Griffins at Wild
Tenth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Wells Fargo Arena…The Griffins are 19-18-5-1 (0.512) overall since the 2017-18 seasons against the Wild but have been outscored by Iowa 144-125...Grand Rapids is 10-9-1-1 (0.524) on the road against Iowa since the 2017-18 season with a minus-10 scoring margin (75-65)...The Griffins have points in 12 of the last 19 overall meetings (9-7-2-1, 0.553) against the Wild...The Wild are 12-13-2-4 at home this season while Grand Rapids is 15-14-0-1 on the road...Iowa is 7-2-0-1 in its last 10 outings and the Griffins are 5-3-1-1 in their last 10...The last time the Griffins were above 0.500 against the Wild in Iowa was in 2018-19 (2-1-0-0)...2017 Calder Cup champion with the Griffins, Joe Hicketts (2016-21) is in his final year of a two-year contract with the Minnesota Wild...Former Griffin Patrick Curry (2020-22) signed with the Iowa Wild this past offseason...Wild forward Mitchell Chaffee grew up 20 minutes north of Grand Rapids in Rockford, Mich., and played a season of youth hockey with the Michigan Nationals 18U AAA team located in Bryon Center, Mich., which is 10 miles south of Grand Rapids.

Last Time Out
The Griffins completed their second consecutive two-goal comeback on Friday when they defeated the Iowa Wild 4-3 in a shootout at Wells Fargo Arena. The Griffins trailed 3-1 late in the second period before Joel L’Esperance got them within one going into the third period. Pontus Andreasson’s heroics with just five seconds left pushed the game to an eventual shootout where Danny O’Regan and L’Esperance capped off the night for Grand Rapids. With three helpers, Taro Hirose tied Nathan Paetsch for sixth on the franchise’s all-time assist leaderboard with 122. L’Esperance added two points while O’Regan’s power-play tally gave him nine points (4-5—9) in his last eight outings. John Lethemon garnered his first victory as a Griffin, saving 21 of 24 shots during regulation and both shootout attempts from the Wild. Grand Rapids moved within eight points of the Rockford IceHogs for the final playoff spot with nine games remaining.

Roster Shake Up
- March 19—D Simon Edvinsson reassigned by Detroit
- March 20—D Simon Edvinsson recalled by Detroit
- March 21—F Matt Luff recalled by Detroit; D Simon Edvinsson reassigned by Detroit
- March 22—D Charlie Curti signed to a PTO by Grand Rapids; D Simon Edvinsson recalled by Detroit
- March 23—G Alex Nedeljkovic recalled by Detroit
- March 24—G Dylan St. Cyr signed to an ATO by Grand Rapids

This Date in Griffins History
2007: Just 55 seconds into the final frame, Ben Simon tallies the Griffins 22nd shorthanded goal of the season, setting a franchise record that previously dated back to the 1998-99 season. But the Griffins fell to the Marlies 5-3 as another franchise record was set for power plays against with Toronto being awarded 15.

Win Some, Lose Some
After enduring a season-high four-game winless streak from March 1-7, the Griffins battled back and enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-0-0-1) from March 10-16. However, Grand Rapids dropped two straight last weekend but still has points in seven of its last 10 games (5-3-1-1). The Griffins are sixth in the Central Division and are eight points out of a playoff spot with nine games remaining. Grand Rapids has points in 19 of its last 30 contests (14-11-3-2, 0.550). Since the new year, the Griffins have lost in regulation just 12 times through 34 games (16-12-3-3, 0.559).

History Was Made
On Wednesday, the Griffins exploded for six goals in the third period against the Chicago Wolves, which set a new regular-season home period franchise record. They had scored five on 13 previous occasions, most recently on Dec. 4, 2021 against Rockford (1st period). It took 1,027 regular-season home games and 3,081 regular-season home periods before the Griffins scored six goal in a frame. Grand Rapids trailed 2-0 entering the final stanza against the Wolves before completing the comeback and taking a 6-3 victory. The Griffins’ overall record for goals in a period is seven, set on Nov. 27, 2010 in the second period of a 10-8 win at Chicago.

Thank You, Fans
On Sunday, the Griffins hosted a sellout crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena, which included 221 dogs for the Jake Engel Memorial Dog Game. The capacity crowd was the fourth sellout of the season and the first non-Friday/Saturday sellout since Dec. 31, 2019 (Tuesday). Grand Rapids also sold out a Sunday game for the first time since March 31, 2019. The Griffins rank sixth in the AHL in average attendance at 7,427 this season.

Matty Ice
Matt Luff has been a welcome addition to the roster since returning from injury on Jan. 28. Since his return, Luff has 17 points in 23 games (5-12—17) and enjoyed a five-game point streak (2-4—6) from March 4-12, which was one game shy of tying his career high. Through 28 games with the Griffins, the Windsor, Ontario, native has 25 points (8-17—25) and six penalty minutes. Luff also appeared in seven games with Detroit this season, scoring one goal. He was recalled by the Red Wings on Tuesday.

Danny Boy
Danny O’Regan is starting to find a rhythm with the Griffins after joining the team on Dec. 19. After exploding for three points (2-1—3) in his Griffins debut, O’Regan had just three points in his next 12 games from Dec. 28-Feb. 15. However, the German-born forward enjoyed a five-game point streak (2-5—7) from Feb. 24-March 4 and now has nine points (4-5—9) in his last eight outings. O’Regan also has 19 points in his last 17 games (8-11—19).

Rewrite the Record Book
Taro Hirose has been known for his passing abilities throughout four seasons with the Griffins. The former Michigan State Spartan has continued to climb the Griffins’ all-time assist leaderboard, and with 122 assists he now is tied for sixth in franchise history with Nathan Paetsch. Hirose is as consistent as they come, as he has had at least 22 assists in each AHL campaign in his career. The Calgary, Alberta, native has totaled a team-leading 39 helpers in 63 games this year. In addition, his 20 power-play assists this season are tied for seventh in the AHL. Hirose also leads the roster with 54 points (15-39—54) in 63 appearances.

Just Keep it Close
The Griffins have had their ups and downs this season, but they have excelled at winning close games. In fact, Grand Rapids is 15-2-4-3 (0.771) in games decided by one goal and 6-0-4-0 in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 12-27-0-0 (0.308) in games decided by two or more tallies. In the 2021-22 season, the Griffins finished with a 13-7-6-2 (0.607) mark in games decided by one goal.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Austin Czarnik—Five game-winning goals are tied for eighth, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—22 assists are tied for fifth among rookie defensemen, 27 points are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen, five goals are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen
Taro Hirose—20 power-play assists are tied for seventh, 39 assists rank 10th
Albert Johansson—Five goals are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen
Joel L’Esperance—12 power-play goals are tied for third, 210 shots rank fourth

Milestones
Danny O’Regan notched his 300th pro point with a goal on March 16 at Cleveland, while Dominik Shine scored his 50th pro goal with the game-winner, which was also his 100th pro point. Alex Nedeljkovic collected his 100th AHL victory in a 3-1 win at Chicago on March 12. Wyatt Newpower appeared in his 100th game as a Griffin on March 12 and Donovan Sebrango suited up in his 150th pro game.
Chase Pearson—One assist from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Elmer Soderblom—Two games from 150 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Two goals from 50 as a pro

Photo by Tim Garland/Wild