Home Cooking

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Fri., Dec. 2 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Sat., Dec. 3 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, 96.1 The Game at 7 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on Friday, WXSP-TV and AHLTV on Saturday

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Third and fourth of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 36-23-4-4 Overall, 19-9-1-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Noteworthy: The Griffins are 5-4-1-0 in the last 10 games against the Stars in West Michigan. A season ago, Grand Rapids finished with a 1-3-0-0 mark against Texas at Van Andel Arena.

Promotions: Seventh Annual Red Kettle Game on Friday. A Griffins Christmas Story with a Leg Lamp giveaway on Saturday.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Nov. 25 // GRIFFINS 3 vs. Manitoba 0 // 8-8-1-0 (17 pts., 0.500, 5th Central)
Sat., Nov. 26 // GRIFFINS 1 vs. Manitoba 4 // 8-9-1-0 (17 pts., 0.472, 5th Central)

Last Week’s Notes
Friday vs. Manitoba (3-0 W) - In the annual Teddy Bear Toss game, the Griffins shut out the Moose for a 3-0 victory at Van Andel Arena. It was Jussi Olkinuora’s (26 saves) first AHL shutout since Dec. 14, 2013, and the first for Grand Rapids since March 5, 2022 against the Iowa Wild. Pontus Andreasson continued his scoring run with a goal in the second stanza and has 11 points in his last nine outings (5-6–11). The Swede’s goal streak is tied for the team high with Dominik Shine’s three-game goal stretch from Oct. 23-30 and Jonatan Berggren’s from Oct. 30-Nov. 4. Chase Pearson made his season debut and bagged an assist on Andreasson’s goal. The Griffins collected 3,000+ teddy bears for the Billy Bear Hug Foundation, supporting kids in West Michigan. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. Manitoba (1-4 L) - The Griffins could not overcome the Moose's power-play unit in a 4-1 loss at Van Andel Arena. Pontus Andreasson extended his point streak to four games with an assist on Joel L’Esperance’s goal in the second period. L’Esperance has lit the lamp in back-to-back games and is now Grand Rapids’ leading goal scorer with eight tallies. Before allowing a goal with 4:05 to go in the second period, the Griffins and Jussi Olkinuora had held Manitoba scoreless for 95:55 dating to Friday’s matchup. In fact, Olkinuora made 48 consecutive saves – including 45 against Manitoba – dating to the third period of Grand Rapids’ 6-5 win at San Diego on Nov. 18. Recap | Highlights

Regaining Power: The Griffins’ power play has gotten off to a fast start this season, as the unit places eighth in the AHL with a conversion rate of 24.4%, which also ranks second the Central Division behind Milwaukee (6th, 25.5%). The power play faltered a bit last week, going 1-for-7 (14.3%), but the team is 7-for-22 on the man-advantage (31.8%) since Nov. 16. The power play scored four times on Nov. 18 at San Diego, one shy of tying a franchise record. The Griffins have not scored on the power play in just six games this season.

New Addition: On Saturday, Nov. 26, the Griffins signed NHL veteran Alex Chiasson (SHAY-sahn) to a professional tryout. The 32-year-old spent the past nine seasons in the National Hockey League with stints at the Dallas Stars (2012-14), Ottawa Senators (2014-16), Calgary Flames (2016-17), Washington Capitals (2017-18), Edmonton Oilers (2018-21) and the Vancouver Canucks (2021-22). Chiasson lifted the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018 when he bagged two points (1-1—2) in 16 playoff appearances. Through 631 NHL games, the Montreal, Quebec, native has 224 points (114-110—224) and 353 penalty minutes. Chiasson has also spent time in the AHL with the Texas Stars (2011-13), totaling 14 goals, 26 assists and 52 penalty minutes in 66 contests. Chiasson is yet to compete for any franchise this season and will look to make his Griffins debut this weekend.

Home Sweet Home: The Griffins are in the midst of a five-game home stand, their second-longest stretch this season. Grand Rapids split the home series against Manitoba last weekend and will finish the home stand with games against Texas and Iowa. The Griffins are 4-3-1-0 (0.563) this campaign at Van Andel Arena but have been outscored 29-25. In comparison, Grand Rapids is 4-6-0-0 (0.400) on foreign ice with a -14 scoring margin (44-30).

Pontus Pilot: After a slow start that saw him tally one point (0-1—1) in the first seven games, Pontus Andreasson has been among the driving forces of the Griffins’ offense of late. Andreasson is enjoying a four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Nov. 18-26 and has 12 points in the last 10 outings (5-7—12), including goals in three straight from Nov. 18-25. The Munkedal, Sweden, native bagged his first goal in North America on Nov. 11 against Toronto to conclude a three-point contest (2-1—3). In 2021-22 in the Swedish Hockey League, Andreasson finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting when he totaled 38 points (18-20—38) in 52 games. The 24-year-old signed a one-year contract with Detroit this past offseason.

Bobbing for Apples: Taro Hirose collected his first pro hat trick on Nov. 18 at San Diego, which included a career-high four points (3-1—4). 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. This season has a similar pace, as Hirose has totaled a team-leading 13 helpers in 18 games, which is tied for ninth in the league and his nine power-play assists are tied for fifth in the AHL. Hirose saw his five-game point streak (1-5—6) come to an end on Nov. 5 but has points in 12 of the 18 contests this season (5-13—18).

Jumping for Joel: Joel L’Esperance ranks second on the roster with 15 points (8-7—15) in 18 games, which includes a team-high eight goals. He saw his team-high five-game point streak (2-4—6) come to an end on Nov. 9 at Cleveland but has goals in consecutive games from Nov. 25-26. L’Esperance also has five points (3-2—5) in his last five appearances. The Brighton, Mich., native’s four power-play goals are tied for fourth in the AHL. L’Esperance signed a two-year contract with the Griffins this past offseason.

Take the Over: The Griffins averaged just 2.75 goals a game during the 2021-22 season while giving up 3.16. However, this campaign has been much different, as Grand Rapids is averaging 3.06 goals while conceding 4.06. Eleven of their 18 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with six of those contests having eight or more tallies. Last Friday’s game against Manitoba (3-0 W) was the Griffins first contest that saw fewer than five goals. The Griffins rank second to last on the circuit with 73 goals against while their 55 goals for are tied for 15th.

Hot Starts: It seems as though every franchise in the American Hockey League has had a promising start to the season. In fact, 24 of the 32 teams in the AHL are 0.500 or above entering the eighth week of play. In the Central Division, every team is above 0.500 except for the Griffins and the reigning Calder Cup champions, the Chicago Wolves (0.375). Six of eight teams in the Atlantic, eight of the 10 teams in the Pacific and five of the seven clubs in the North are above the 0.500 mark.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Pontus Andreasson—Five goal are tied for 10th among rookie, three power-play goals are tied for third among rookies, 13 points are tied for ninth among first-year players
Austin Czarnik—Four power-play goals are tied for 10th
Simon Edvinsson—Eight assists are tied for ninth among rookies
Cross Hanas—Seven goals are tied for fourth among rookies
Taro Hirose—Thirteen assists are tied for ninth, nine power-play assists are tied for fifth
Joel L’Esperance—Five power-play goals are tied for fourth

Milestones:
Joel L’Esperance skated in his 200th AHL game on Nov. 25 vs. Manitoba and bagged his 150th AHL point with a goal. Austin Czarnik recorded his 150th assist in the AHL on Nov. 19 at San Diego.
Taro Hirose—Four assists from 100 as a Griffin and in the AHL, four points from 150 as a pro, two games from 200 as a pro
Jared McIsaac—Two games from 100 as a Griffin and in the AHL, one game from 100 as a pro
Chase Pearson—One game from 150 as a Griffin and in the AHL

Photo by Ross Bonander/Stars