Iowa Caucus

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild (4-8-2-0) // Fri., March 26 // 8 p.m. // Wells Fargo Arena
GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Sat., March 27 // 7 p.m. // Wells Fargo Arena
Watch: AHLTV
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home, 0-0-0-0 Road. First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two in Des Moines
All-Time Series: 33-14-3-2 Overall, 16-6-2-2 Home, 17-8-1-0 Road
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: Iowa ranks 28th (last) in the AHL in goals allowed (4.29 pg) and 26th in goals scored (2.57 pg).

Recent Results
Tue., March 16 // Rockford IceHogs 2 at GRIFFINS 1 OT // 6-3-2-0 (14 pts., 3rd Central Division) Recap | Highlights
Fri., March 19 // Chicago Wolves at GRIFFINS - Postponed // Rescheduled for Tue., April 13
Sat., March 20 // GRIFFINS 5 at Cleveland Monsters 2 // 7-3-2-0 (16 pts., 2nd) Recap | Highlights
Tue., March 23 // Chicago Wolves at GRIFFINS - Postponed // Rescheduled for Mon., April 16

Keep It Rollin’

The Griffins have won three consecutive road games and have earned points in all five outings in March (3-0-2-0) and nine of their last 10 contests overall (7-1-2-0). They’ve also grabbed points in all four home games (2-0-2-0) this season.

When Last We Met

This weekend’s Friday-Saturday set at Iowa will mark Grand Rapids’ first two games against the Wild during this truncated season, with Iowa set to pay a return visit to Van Andel Arena on April 16-17. The Wild proved to be the Griffins’ final opponent in 2019-20, as they defeated Iowa 4-1 at home on March 11 before the AHL season was suspended and eventually canceled.

Last Time Out

Givani Smith and Chase Pearson enjoyed their first two-goal games of the campaign last Saturday to power the Griffins to a 5-2 at Cleveland, improving to 3-0 against the Monsters this season. Pat Nagle made 24 saves to earn his third series win, posting a 1.33 goals against average and a 0.947 save percentage in the three games. It marked Smith’s third two-goal game of his AHL career and Pearson’s second.

Let’s Try This Again

The Griffins over the last week experienced their first two schedule disruptions of the season, as their home games on Friday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 23 were both postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting Chicago. The contests have been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 13 and Monday, April 20, respectively, resulting in a seven-game homestand (April 10-28) that gives the Griffins their most regular season home games ever during the month. The previous high was five in 2015.

Pack Your Suitcase

Given the recent postponements of those home games against Chicago, Grand Rapids is in the midst of playing five consecutive games on the road. By the time they return to Van Andel Arena on April 10 to host Rockford, the Griffins to that point will have played 12 of their 16 games within unfriendly confines.

Another Rung Up The Ladder

Brian Lashoff’s 512 games played for the Griffins rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and rank ninth in league history among one-team players. Of the eight players ahead of him on that list, the most recent – and, coincidentally, the record-holder – last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). The next time Lashoff steps onto the ice, he’ll match the 513 games that No. 8-ranked Stan Smrke played for the Rochester Americans from 1957-67.

No Chance

The Griffins’ potent power play did not receive a single opportunity in Saturday’s 5-2 win at Cleveland, their first such game in more than five years (a 4-1 win at Texas on March 16, 2016). Grand Rapids had received at least one power play chance in 316 consecutive regular season games. Brian Lashoff is the only current Griffin who played in that game against the Stars. Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins are off to an even better start this season, currently sitting seventh in the league at 23.9% and first on the road at 33.3%. Although held scoreless in 10 opportunities over the last four games, Grand Rapids has scored at least one power play goal in seven of its 12 games thus far.

Choosing Cholo

Detroit last Friday reassigned defenseman Dennis Cholowski to their taxi squad from the Griffins. Cholowski, 23, has since played in his first two games of the season with the Red Wings, averaging 14:26 in ice time. The blueliner has contributed eight points (3-5—8) in 11 games with the Griffins this season and is currently tied for 13th among AHL defensemen in scoring.

Welcome to the Club

Earlier this week, the Griffins signed forward Albin Grewe and defenseman Patrick Holway to amateur tryouts. Grewe, who turned 20 on Monday, was Detroit’s fifth pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, selected in the third round (66th overall). Signed by the OHL's Saginaw Spirit last summer, he has been playing in his native Sweden for Djurgardens of the SHL while the OHL season has been delayed, contributing six points (3-3--6) and 29 penalty minutes in 39 games. He has totaled 73 games in the SHL over the last three seasons, scoring his first goal for Djurgardens in 2019-20. Born in Marsta, Sweden, the 6-0, 176-pound Grewe enjoyed his most prolific junior campaign in 2018-19 with Djurgardens' J20 SuperElit squad, totaling 34 points (13-21--34) and 102 PIM in 25 games. He also helped host Sweden win the gold medal at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship, marking his country's first-ever championship at that tournament. Holway, 24, was the fifth pick of the Red Wings in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, chosen 170th overall in the sixth round. He spent the last two seasons at Merrimack College and finished the 2020-21 campaign with nine points (3-6--9) and 22 penalty minutes in 18 appearances. The 6-5, 220-pound native of Cohasset, Mass., played his freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Maine. In all, Holway's collegiate career consisted of 101 games, during which he compiled 51 points (16-35--51) and 84 PIM.

Life of Riley

After scoring an empty-netter on Saturday in Cleveland, Riley Barber now has points in 10 of 12 games this season. He posted a nine-game point streak from Feb. 5-March 11 that was the longest ever to start a player's Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season. Barber is tied for second in the AHL with nine goals while his 14 points are tied for 16th. He also ranks among league leaders with seven power play points (T4th).

High Flyers

Following his two-goal game last Saturday, Chase Pearson now has points in five of the last six games (3-4—7)…In that contest, Givani Smith (2-0—2), Turner Elson (0-2—2) and Dominic Turgeon (0-2—2) each recorded his second two-point outing of the season.

March Like a Lion

The Griffins posted a winning record for March during each of the previous 12 years – accumulating an 88-48-7-8 mark (0.632) from 2009 to 2020 – and have clinched a 13th straight year with a 3-0-2-0 record with two games remaining. Despite traditionally playing the majority of their games away from Van Andel Arena during March, they’ve managed at least a 0.500 road record for the month during each of those dozen years, going a combined 53-29-5-6 (0.629).

Offense Taken

The Griffins lead the AHL in shots per game (35.50) and rank 14th in goals per game (3.17). They’ve racked up at least 43 shots in three of their last five outings, including a season-high 49 on March 3 in Rockford.

Stingy D

The Griffins, who have allowed just one goal in regulation in seven of their last 10 games, rank fifth in the AHL in goals allowed per game (2.50)…The Griffins have been out-shot in only two of their first 12 games, and only once have they allowed 30 or more shots, a total that they have reached on 10 occasions — including each of their last eight outings. Grand Rapids ranks second in the AHL in shots allowed per game (24.00).

200 Club

Dylan McIlrath appeared in his 200th game as a Griffin on March 13 against Rockford, Turner Elson hit the milestone on March 16 versus the IceHogs, and Dominik Shine did it last Saturday at Cleveland. Of the 531 players in Griffins history, 48 have now reached that total. Other upcoming milestones include:
Brian Lashoff – Three assists for 100 as a pro
Gustav Lindstrom - Two points for 50 as a pro
Dominik Shine – Three points from 50 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career
Dominic Turgeon – Two points from 100 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career

It’s a Start

The roar of a Griffins crowd was partially restored on March 13 when the team began welcoming 750 fans per home game, pursuant to the most recent order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Griffins 2021-22 season ticket members are being given the first opportunity to purchase tickets to home games during the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other fans can sign up for Griffins Nation, the team’s official email newsletter, to receive priority access to 2020-21 tickets whenever limited seats are made available for sale throughout the season.

We Miss You, Bob!

On Feb. 8, the beloved 21-year Voice of the Griffins, Bob Kaser, underwent successful heart surgery at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids to repair several blocked arteries. Released from the hospital on Feb. 14, his recovery at home is going well but he is expected to miss the better part of this 30-game shortened season. Everyone in Griffins Nation, the Griffins organization, the AHL, and the Michigan hockey community wishes Bob all the best in his recovery and a quick return to health. We can’t wait until he is back in the booth.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins