Griffins Game #56 * Home Game #30 * AHL Game #896

Season Series: 2-3-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 60-41-9-11 All-Time Home Series: 37-13-5-5 All-Time Road Series: 23-28-4-6

IceHogs at Griffins
Sixth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena…Dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, Grand Rapids now has points in 16 of the last 22 games (13-6-2-1, 0.659) against the IceHogs...The Griffins are 22-16-6-6 (0.560) since the 2017-18 season against Rockford and have outscored the IceHogs 142-137. At home since 2017-18, Grand Rapids is 14-4-4-3 (0.700) against the IceHogs, having outscored Rockford 74-59...The Griffins have points in 13 of the previous 15 meetings against Rockford in West Michigan (8-2-2-3, 0.700)...Rockford comes into the contest with a 13-11-3-1 road record this season but have just one win in its last four games overall...Grand Rapids is 10-14-4-1 on home ice...The IceHogs are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 and the Griffins are 3-5-2-0 in their last 10...Rockford ranks 14th in the AHL with 174 goals scored while its 183 goals against place 23rd...Rockford is Grand Rapids’ fourth-most frequent opponent (Milwaukee 209, Chicago 190, Cleveland 123), as tonight’s game marks the 122nd meeting between the two franchises...Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13)...Rockford’s goaltender Arvid Soderblom is the brother of Griffins’ forward Elmer Soderblom.

Last Time Out
The Griffins’ late push was denied in a 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Monsters on Tuesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Matt Luff tallied the lone goal on a power play for Grand Rapids, sparking a late run in the final period where Grand Rapids outshot Cleveland 11-9, but the Griffins fell short after an empty-netter sealed the defeat. Luff’s goal was his sixth of the year and the third since returning from injury on Jan. 28. Simon Edvinsson also recorded an assist and now ranks fifth among rookie defenseman in points and assists (5-21-26).

Roster Shake Up
- March 3—F Alex Chiasson released from PTO by Grand Rapids and signed to a one-year contract by Detroit; G Alex Nedeljkovic recalled by Detroit; G John Lethemon released from AHL contract and signed to a one-year contract by Detroit; G John Lethemon reassigned to Grand Rapids by Detroit from Toledo
- March 5—G Alex Nedeljkovic reassigned by Detroit
- March 6—G John Lethemon reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) by Detroit from Grand Rapids; F Trenton Bliss recalled by Grand Rapids from Toledo

- March 9—F Kirill Tyutyayev recalled by Grand Rapids from Toledo (ECHL); D Steven Kampfer traded by Detroit to Arizona for future considerations

This Date in Griffins History
2015: The Griffins light the lamp in each period in a 3-2 win over Charlotte Checkers at Time Warner Cable Arena. With the win the Griffins extend their point streak to 16 games, equaling a franchise record set between 10/25/02-11/30/02. Grand Rapids sports a record of 13-0-3-0 during its current run compared to 11-0-3-2 during the 2002 streak.

Didn’t go as Planned
The Griffins have dropped a season-high four straight games, as the team tries to catch the Iowa Wild for the final playoff spot. Grand Rapids finished its five-game homestand last Saturday with a 1-2-2-0 record. The Griffins return this week with four games in six days, which includes three games in three days this weekend. Grand Rapids is in seventh in the division and is now 11 points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand (17 remaining) on fifth-place Iowa. Grand Rapids has points in 13 of its last 22 contests (9-9-3-1, 0.500). Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just 10 times through 26 games (11-10-3-2, 0.519).

Momma We Made It
On Thursday, Adam Erne became the 200th Griffins alum to compete in the NHL and on Saturday, Alex Chiasson became the 201th alum to play in the NHL. Since 1996, 201 Griffins players (25 goalies, 176 skaters) have gone on to play at least one game in the NHL. Some of the more accomplished members of the Griffins’ alumni class include 18 Stanley Cup champions, two members of the Triple Gold Club — Stanley Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, World Championship gold medalist — (Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula), one Calder Trophy winner (Moritz Seider), one Calder Trophy finalist (Jimmy Howard), and two Lady Byng winners (Pavol Demitra and Jiri Hudler).

Griffin Tenders
On Saturday, John Lethemon became the sixth goaltender to man the Griffins’ pipes this season, tying the franchise record for most goalies used that was set in 2005-06. That season, Jimmy Howard made his pro debut and was a stalwart for Grand Rapids, appearing in 38 games for the AHL’s regular season champions and earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team. Joey MacDonald (32), Drew MacIntyre (13) and Logan Koopmans (1) saw action along with Chris Osgood (3) and Manny Legace (1), who both came to the Griffins on conditioning stints from Detroit.

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 115 assists he now ranks seventh in franchise history, passing Jiri Hudler (114). Hirose is now seven assists from tying Nathan Paetsch for sixth all time. 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 32 helpers in 55 games this year. In addition, his 16 power-play assists this season are tied for 13th in the AHL. Hirose also leads the roster with 45 points (13-32—45) in 55 appearances.

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 has 10 points in his last nine games (4-6—10).

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 12-1-4-2 (0.789) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-4-0 in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 10-26-0-0 (0.278) 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 sixth, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—21 assists rank fifth among rookie defensemen, 26 points place fifth among rookie defensemen, five goals are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen
Albert Johansson—Five goals are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen
Joel L’Esperance—10 power-play goals are tied for seventh, 176 shots rank fifth

Milestones
Ben Simon coached in his 300th game as head coach for the Griffins on March 3, making him just the second coach in franchise history to reach 300 games. Joel L’Esperance recorded his 100th goal as a pro on Feb. 19 at Manitoba. Adam Erne eclipsed 50 assists in the AHL on Feb. 17 against the Cleveland Monsters.
Austin Czarnik—Two assists from 200 as a pro
Albert Johansson—One game from 200 as a pro
Joel L’Esperance—One goal from 100 in the AHL
Alex Nedeljkovic—Two wins from 100 in the AHL
Wyatt Newpower—Three games from 100 as a Griffin
Danny O’Regan—Five points from 300 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Two assists from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Donovan Sebrango—Two games from 150 as a pro
Dominik Shine—Two goals from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL, two points from 100 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Elmer Soderblom—Three games from 150 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins