Griffins Game #12 * Home Game #4 * AHL Game #160

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 34-34-4-2 All-Time Home Series: 19-15-2-1 All-Time Road Series: 15-19-2-1

Marlies at Griffins
Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins and Marlies had met for 11 consecutive seasons from 2005-16 before taking a three-year hiatus (2016-19)…The Griffins are 3-4-1-0 against Toronto since the 2019-20 season and have been outscored 29-26...Grand Rapids is 1-2-1-0 against Toronto at home since 2019-20 and have been outscored 14-12...Toronto is riding a six-game win streak with its last defeat coming against Grand Rapids on Oct. 23...The Marlies have scored 39 goals in 10 games while conceding 28...Last season, Bobby McMann placed fifth among rookie in goals scored with 24 while Alex Steeves ranked among the AHL’s rookie leaders in goals (23, T6th), assists (23, T17th) and points (46, 10th)...Ben Simon served as an assistant coach with the Marlies during the 2014-15 season (40-27-9-0 record).

Last Time Out
The Griffins lost their second consecutive game with a 5-2 defeat to the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday and ended their season-high eight-game road trip with a 3-5-0-0 mark. Steven Kampfer led the Griffins with his first tally of the season along with an assist on Donovan Sebrango’s opening goal. Taro Hirose notched his ninth assist of the year, moving him into a tie for seventh in the AHL. Victor Brattstrom recorded 17 saves and suffered his first loss of the campaign while defenseman Seth Barton made his AHL season debut. The contest marked the Griffins’ 2000th regular-season game.

Roster Shake Up
- Nov. 2—F Matt Luff recalled by Detroit; G Victor Brattstrom reassigned from Toledo by Detroit; G Sebastian Cossa reassigned to Toledo by Detroit
- Nov. 3—F Trenton Bliss recalled by Grand Rapids
- Nov. 5—F Austin Czarnik recalled by Detroit
- Nov. 7—D Seth Barton reassigned from Toledo by Detroit; F Austin Czarnik and F Matt Luff reassigned by Detroit
- Nov. 8—F Austin Czarnik and F Matt Luff recalled by Detroit
- Nov. 10—F Jonatan Berggren and F Givani Smith recalled by Detroit
- Nov. 11—F Givani Smith reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2000: With their record-tying sixth straight home win, a 4-2 triumph over Utah, the Griffins move to 11-1-1 on the season, giving them the best record of 136 pro hockey teams in North America.

Grab the Confetti
The Griffins franchise competed in its 2000th regular-season game on Wednesday at Cleveland, losing 5-2. The team will compete in its 1000th regular-season home contest on Wednesday, Nov. 16 versus the Rockford IceHogs. The Griffins are also eight road wins away from 500 as a franchise. Grand Rapids has an all-time record of 1048-736-27-70-119 throughout 27 seasons of pro hockey.

Congratulations are in Order
Chris Neil will become the first Griffin to have his jersey retired in the NHL when the Ottawa Senators raise his No. 25 to the rafters on Feb. 17. Neil played two seasons with the Griffins (1999-2001), racking up 55 points (24-31—55) and 655 penalty minutes in 129 games. His 655 PIM are the fourth-most in franchise history and his 354 PIM in 2000-01 stand as the third-highest single-season total for a Griffin. His 1,026 NHL games played after making his Griffins debut are the third-most all time, behind only longtime Ottawa teammate Jason Spezza (1,248) and Valtteri Filppula (1,056). Neil retired Dec. 14, 2017, after playing all 15 of his NHL seasons with Ottawa. He ranks third in Senators history in games played (1,026) and first in penalty minutes (2,522), and he is one of two players in NHL history with at least 1,000 games and 2,500 penalty minutes to play his entire career with the same team (Ken Daneyko, New Jersey Devils; 1,283 games, 2,516 penalty minutes).

Power Struggle
The Griffins’ power play has gotten off to a fast start, scoring at least one goal on the man-advantage in seven of the 11 games thus far. After finishing 28th in the AHL last season with a 16.7% power-play rate, Grand Rapids now sits in seventh place with a conversion rate of 23.1%. The Griffins are tied for third with 52 power-play opportunities, while their 12 goals are tied for third. It has not been the same story on the other end of the ice, as the team is 23rd on the penalty kill at 76.4%. Grand Rapids has endured seven penalties in five of its 11 games, including three straight from Nov. 3-5. The Griffins have been shorthanded 55 times this season, which ranks third on the circuit. They have also given up four shorthanded goals, which places first in the league.

Road Trip!
Grand Rapids finished its season-high eight-game road trip with a 3-5-0-0 record. Grand Rapids finished below 0.500 on a road trip of six or more games for the first time since 2008-09. During the seven such road trips in the interim, the Griffins compiled a 26-13-1-5 record (0.644). The eight-game journey was the longest in franchise history during the first two months of a season, beating out a five-game trip in November of 2017.

Back and Forth We Go
After beginning the campaign with a 2-1-0-0 mark, the Griffins have gone on to trade wins and losses in the seven of the next eight contests. Grand Rapids has dropped every opening game of a two-game weekend series this season but has gone on to win the following night. The Griffins will host the Toronto Marlies for a two-game series this weekend.

Getting Revved Up
After suffering an injury in the season opener on Oct. 14 that kept him sidelined for the next four games, Jonatan Berggren has returned to action and has seven points (4-3—7) in the previous six outings. The former second-round selection tied his AHL game-high of two goals on Nov. 3 at Iowa and followed that performance with three points (1-2—3) on Nov. 4 at Iowa, which included an overtime penalty-shot winner. A year ago, the Enkoping, Sweden, native broke the Griffins’ single-season rookie scoring record with 64 points (21-43—64) in 70 outings. Berggren was recalled by Detroit on Thursday and made his NHL debut that same night against the New York Rangers, becoming the 196th Griffin to compete in the NHL.

Jumping for Joel
Joel L’Esperance saw his team-high five-game point streak (2-4—6) come to an end on Wednesday, which included a season-high two points on Nov. 3 at Iowa (0-2—2). The Brighton, Mich., native ranks third on the roster with nine points (4-5—9) in the first 11 games to begin his career in Grand Rapids and his three power-play goals are tied for sixth in the AHL. L’Esperance signed a two-year contract with the Griffins this past offseason.

Inching Closer to No. 200
Jonatan Berggren made his NHL debut with Detroit on Nov. 10, becoming the 196th Griffins to compete in the NHL. On Sunday, Nov. 6, forward Austin Czarnik became the 195th Griffin to appear in the NHL when he made his Red Wings debut. Czarnik totaled 12:45 of ice time and two shots in the 3-2 overtime win at the New York Rangers. Previously, Matt Luff became the 194th Griffin in the NHL when he made his season debut with Detroit on Oct. 27 at the Boston Bruins.

Young Guns
Rookies Simon Edvinsson and Cross Hanas have made their presences known to begin their AHL careers. Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, is tied for 11th among first-year players with eight points (1-7—8), while his seven helpers are tied for second. With five goals in 11 games, Hanas is tied for second among rookies in the AHL and tied for first on the roster.

Bobbing for Apples
Taro Hirose has been known for his passing abilities throughout four seasons with the Griffins. In fact, the former Michigan State Spartan has had at least 22 assists in each AHL campaign in his career. This season has been no different, as Hirose has totaled a team-leading nine helpers in 11 games, which is tied for seventh in the league and his six power-play assists are tied for fourth in the AHL. Hirose saw his five-game point streak (1-5—6) come to an end on Nov. 5 but has points in eight of the 11 contests this season.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Austin Czarnik—Three power-play goals are tied for sixth
Simon Edvinsson—Eight points are tied for 11th among rookies, seven assists are tied for second among rookies
Cross Hanas—Five goals are tied for second among rookies
Taro Hirose—Nine assists are tied for seventh, six power-play assists are tied for fourth
Joel L’Esperance—Three power-play goals are tied for sixth
Donovan Sebrango—Three goals are tied for third among defensemen

Milestones
Joel L’Esperance tallied his 150th point as a pro with an assist on Nov. 5 at Rockford.
Austin Czarnik—One assist from 150 in the AHL
Joel L’Esperance—Five assists from 150 in the AHL
Dominik Shine—One game from 300 as a Griffin, in the AHL and as a pro
Givani Smith—One point from 50 in the AHL and as a Griffin
Tyler Spezia—Four goals from 50 as a pro
Eemil Viro—One game from 150 as a pro