Griffins Game #38 * Home Game #20 * AHL Game #605

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 1-0-0-0 All-Time Home Series: 0-0-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 1-0-0-0

Thunderbirds at Griffins
Second of two meetings overall, first of one at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids won the first-ever meeting against a team from Springfield, winning 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 9...This will be the first-ever meeting between the two franchises in West Michigan and just the second overall contest...The Griffins are 52-44-7-3 (0.538) all time against previous St. Louis Blues affiliates (Peoria 21-26-5-2; San Antonio 7-7-0-1; Chicago 23-11-2-0; Springfield 1-0-0-0)...Grand Rapids is 8-9-1-1 at home this season...Springfield is 8-8-0-1 on the road this season and are 5-5-0-0 in its last 10 games overall...Springfield’s power play ranks 10th on the circuit at 21.5% and its penalty kill places fifth in the AHL at 84.1%...2017 Calder Cup champion with the Griffins, Martin Frk (2013-17; 18-19) is featured on the Thunderbirds roster and has 34 points (12-22—34) in 34 games...Holland, Mich., native and former Griffin Luke Witkowski (2021-22) has three assists in 28 games with Springfield.

Last Time Out
Rapid-fire scoring in the first period propelled the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 5-2 victory over the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday at the BMO Center. Grand Rapids opened the game with four goals in 3:58 of play. Nine Griffins tallied points in that timeframe, including two from Austin Czarnik who finished the game with three points (2-1–3). Jakub Vrana scored the fourth of the night, his first in a Grand Rapids uniform while his teammate Wyatt Newpower recorded his first goal of the season. Alex Nedeljkovic continued his stellar performance in net, as he posted 35 saves on 37 shots in the victory. In addition to scoring goals in the contest, Vrana notched his 500th pro game while Danny O’Regan skated in his 400th pro contest.

Roster Shake Up
- Jan. 8—F Elmer Soderblom reassigned by Detroit
- Jan. 10—F Kirill Tyutyayev reassigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Jan. 13—D Donovan Sebrango reassigned to Toledo by Detroit; F Drew Worrad reassigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- 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

This Date in Griffins History
2004: Griffins complete a six-game home stand, the second-longest in franchise history, without a regulation loss (4-0-2-0), skating to a 4-2 win over Cleveland. Michel Picard records the 1,000th point of his 15-year professional career with his third assist of the game, and Dave Van Drunen breaks Travis Richards’ team record by appearing in his 127th consecutive regular season game.

Finding His Stride
Rookie Cross Hanas is off to a positive start to his professional career with 15 points (8-7—15) in 25 games. The 21-year-old posted 12 points (7-5—12) during his first 15 appearances, which included a three-point outing on Nov. 11 against the Toronto Marlies. Hanas suffered an upper-body injury in late November that kept him sidelined until Jan. 4, missing 12 games. After failing to find the scoresheet in his first three games back from injury, Hanas now has three points (1-2—3) in his last five contests, including the game-winner in a 1-0 decision against Chicago on Jan. 14.

On the Move
On 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. 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.

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 was assigned to Grand Rapids on a regular loan. Through seven outings, Nedeljkovic has a 4-2-1 record along with a 2.26 goals against average and a 0.925 save percentage. Last Saturday, 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. The only other season in Grand Rapids history during which two NHL goalies (Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg) played for the Griffins on conditioning stints was 2005-06, when both Chris Osgood (3 GP, 2-1, 3.34 GAA, 0.882%) and Manny Legace (1 GP, 1-0, 2.00 GAA, 0.909%) donned the Griffins’ wings instead of Detroit’s.

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 in its last game against Rockford on Wednesday and finished with a 5-2 victory. The Griffins have tallied a combined 11 goals in the past six contests (1.83 goals per game). Grand Rapids ranks 30th out of 32 AHL teams with 101 goals scored this campaign (2.73 goals per game).

On the Road Again
Last week, 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 8-9-1-1 in West Michigan this season. The Griffins will now play seven out of their next eight games on the road, which began with a 2-1 shootout defeat at the Iowa Wild on Jan. 16. Grand Rapids holds a 7-10-0-1 ledger on foreign ice this season and are just four wins away from 500 on the road in franchise history.

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 full AHL campaign in his career. He has already surpassed 22 assists this season, as Hirose has totaled a team-leading 24 helpers in 37 games, which ranks 14th on the circuit. In addition, his 13 power-play assists are tied for ninth in the AHL. Hirose has points in 23 of the 37 contests this season (9-24—33).

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 8-0-1-2 (0.864) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-1-0 (0.900) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 7-19-0-0 (0.269) 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.

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 5-for-54 (9.3%) on the man-advantage in its last 16 outings and have just eight power-play goals in its last 21 contests (8-for-82, 9.8%). Grand Rapids has been held off the scoresheet on the power play in six straight games (0-for-18). The Griffins are tied for 24th in the AHL on the power play with a conversion rate of 17.2%.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for eighth among rookies
Austin Czarnik—Five game-winning goals are tied for second
Taro Hirose—24 assists rank 14th, 13 power-play assists are tied for ninth
Joel L’Esperance—Eight power-play goals are tied for fifth

Milestones
Multiple Griffins hit milestones on Jan. 18 against the Rockford IceHogs, including Alex Chiasson (50th AHL point), Austin Czarnik (250th AHL point), Danny O’Regan (400th pro game) and Jakub Vrana (500th pro game).
Seth Barton—One game from 50 as a pro
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 Griffins and in the AHL
Jakub Vrana—One goal from 150 as a pro, two assists from 150 as a pro

Photo by Springfield Thunderbirds