Griffins Game #40 * Road Game #20 * AHL Game #660

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 93-82-2-7-3 All-Time Home Series: 45-37-2-5-2 All-Time Road Series: 48-45-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Fourth of 10 meetings overall, third of five at Allstate Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 187 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 208)…Sixteen total goals were scored between the two teams the last time they met in Chicago on Dec. 22 (8-7 OTW), which was Grand Rapids’ first 8-7 result in franchise history. Chicago’s seven goals were the second-most allowed by the Griffins in a win, trailing only a 10-8 victory over Chicago on Nov. 27, 2010...The Griffins are on a two-game win streak against the Wolves for the first time since May 8-11, 2021, which spans 14 contests...Since the 2020-21 season, Grand Rapids is just 6-18-1-0 (0.260) against the Wolves and has been outscored 102-54...The Griffins possess a 14-31-1-1 (0.319) overall record against Chicago since 2017-18 and have been outscored 180-118...Since the 2017-18 season, the Griffins are 8-16-0-1 (0.340) against the Wolves on foreign ice and have been outscored 99-68...The last time Grand Rapids was above 0.500 in Chicago against the Wolves was in the 2019-20 season when it went 3-1-0-0...The Wolves come into the contest with a 5-5-0-0 record in their past 10 games and have a 7-9-3-1 home ledger...The Griffins are 4-3-1-2 in their last 10 outings and possess a 7-11-0-1 mark on the road...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
A late surge from the Grand Rapids Griffins fell short in a 4-2 loss against the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Matt Luff returned to the Grand Rapids lineup, tallying an assist in his first game since sustaining an injury with the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 8 and the first contest with the Griffins since Oct. 23. Simon Edvinsson lit the lamp in the third period, his second goal in a Grand Rapids uniform and his third point in the last four games. In his second game as a Griffin, Jasper Weatherby got on the scoresheet with a goal in the final stanza.

Roster Shake Up
- Jan. 15—F Drew Worrad recalled from Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Jan. 16—G Alex Nedeljkovic recalled by Detroit; G Alex Nedeljkovic assigned by Detroit
- Jan. 18—Detroit traded F Kyle Criscuolo to San Jose (NHL) for F Jasper Weatherby; F Patrick McGrath acquired by Grand Rapids from San Jose (AHL) for future considerations
- Jan. 24—F Matt Luff reassigned by Detroit
- Jan. 26—F Patrick McGrath assigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids; F Drew Worrad reassigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids

This Date in Griffins History
2015: Teemu Pulkkinen becomes the second player in team history to score three power-play goals in a game while Jared Coreau becomes the fourth goaltender to record multiple shutouts in his rookie season as the Griffins defeat Iowa Wild 6-0 at Wells Fargo Arena.

Everyone Gets a Point
The Griffins enjoyed a season-high four-game point streak (2-0-1-1) from Jan. 14-21. The run was halted by the Milwaukee Admirals last night in a 4-2 defeat. Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just three times through 10 games (4-3-1-2, 0.550). The Griffins jumped into a tie for sixth in the Central Division but are still 11 points out of a playoff spot.

On the Road Again
The Griffins wrapped up their season-high seven-game homestand that spanned from Dec. 31-Jan. 14. Grand Rapids finished with a 3-3-0-1 mark and are now 8-9-2-1 in West Michigan this season. The Griffins are now in the midst of a stretch of seven out of their next eight games on the road, which began on Jan. 16. Grand Rapids played its only home contest during the run last Saturday against Springfield, a 3-2 overtime defeat. Grand Rapids holds a 7-11-0-1 ledger on foreign ice this season and are just four wins away from 500 on the road in franchise history (496-412-12-34-60).

On the Move
Last Wednesday, the Detroit Red Wings traded forward Kyle Criscuolo to the San Jose Sharks for forward Jasper Weatherby. In addition, the Griffins acquired forward Patrick McGrath from the San Jose Barracuda for future considerations. Criscuolo appeared in 194 games with the Griffins and totaled 109 points (48-61—109) from 2015-17 and 2020-23, lifting the Calder Cup for Grand Rapids in 2017. Weatherby is in his second year as a pro and has 21 points (8-14—21) in 64 AHL games with San Jose from 2021-23. The 24-year-old played his college years at the University of North Dakota, capturing two NCHC titles from 2019-21. Weatherby made his Grand Rapids debut on Jan. 21 against Springfield and recorded an assist. McGrath comes to the Griffins with 302 pro games under his belt, amassing 25 points (11-14—25) and 1,127 penalty minutes. McGrath, 30, has appeared in five games with the Barracuda this season and has totaled 42 penalty minutes.

Vroom Vroom Vrana
After being held off the scoresheet in the first four games of his Griffins career, Jakub Vrana is starting to find the back of the net. He earned his first AHL point of the season on an assist against the Texas Stars on Jan. 6. Vrana had goals in consecutive games from Jan. 18-21 and has totaled three points (2-1—3) in 11 outings for Grand Rapids.

Power Struggle
After beginning the season with a 29.3% power-play conversion rate in the first nine games of the year, the Griffins have struggled as of late. Grand Rapids is 6-for-62 (9.7%) on the man-advantage in its last 18 outings and have just nine power-play goals in its last 23 contests (9-for-90, 10.0%). Grand Rapids was held off the scoresheet on the power play in seven straight games (0-for-21) from Jan. 7-21 but stopped that stretch when it tallied a power-play goal last night at Milwaukee. The Griffins rank 25th in the AHL on the power play with a conversion rate of 17.0%.

Chasing Chiasson
Veteran Alex Chiasson enjoyed a three-game assist streak (0-3—3) from Jan. 16-21 after not recording a point from Jan. 6-14. The Montreal, Quebec, native has 11 points (5-6—11) in 17 games since signing to a professional tryout by Grand Rapids on Nov. 26. Chiasson has appeared in 631 NHL games across 10 seasons and has amassed 224 points (114-110—224).

Few and Far Between
The Griffins have struggled to find the back of the net in recent games, as the team scored a combined two goals in three outings from Jan. 13-16. However, Grand Rapids exploded for four goals in the opening 3:58 of play on Wednesday against Rockford and finished with a 5-2 victory. The Griffins have tallied a combined 15 goals in the past eight contests (1.88 goals per game). Grand Rapids ranks last in the AHL with 105 goals scored this campaign (2.69 goals per game).

Just Keep it Close
The Griffins have had an up-and-down start to the season, but they have excelled at winning close games. In fact, Grand Rapids is 8-0-2-2 (0.833) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-2-0 (0.833) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 7-20-0-0 (0.259) 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.

Alexander The Great
Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic has been a welcomed addition to the Griffins roster, as the goaltender was assigned on a conditioning loan by Detroit on Jan. 4. After clearing waivers on Jan. 16, the netminder remained with Grand Rapids on a regular loan. Through nine outings, Nedeljkovic has a 4-3-2 record along with a 2.55 goals against average and a 0.917 save percentage. On Jan. 14, Nedeljkovic posted a 27-save shutout against the Chicago Wolves, his first in the AHL since Feb. 7, 2020 against Hartford (17 saves). On Jan. 11, Nedeljkovic recorded his fourth assist and fifth point of his AHL career, which was his first AHL point since Jan. 19, 2020.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for 11th among rookies
Austin Czarnik—Five game-winning goals are tied for second, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—13 assists rank sixth among rookie defensemen, 15 points are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen
Taro Hirose—13 power-play assists are tied for 11th
Joel L’Esperance—Eight power-play goals are tied for sixth, 130 shots are tied for fourth

Milestones
Austin Czarnik recorded his 300th pro point with an assist on Jan. 28 at Milwaukee. Jakub Vrana bagged his 150th goal as a professional on Jan. 21 against Springfield. Multiple Griffins hit milestones on Jan. 18 against the Rockford IceHogs, including Alex Chiasson (50th AHL point), Czarnik (250th AHL point), Danny O’Regan (400th pro game) and Vrana (500th pro game).
Joel L’Esperance—Two goals from 100 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Two assists from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Dominik Shine—One assist from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL
Jakub Vrana—One game from 100 in the AHL, two assists from 150 as a pro, two points from 300 as a pro

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins