GRIFFINS TRAVEL TO TORONTO FOR FRIDAY GAME AGAINST MARLIES

This Week’s Games
Fri., Oct. 30 GRIFFINS at Toronto Marlies 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Oct. 21 Charlotte Checkers 3 at GRIFFINS 4 1-4-0-0, 2 pts. (8th, Central Division)
Fri., Oct. 23 Charlotte Checkers 3 at GRIFFINS 1 1-5-0-0, 2 pts. (8th)

The Split: The Griffins split their Wednesday-Friday home set with the Charlotte Checkers last week, securing a 4-3 victory on Wednesday and a dropping a 3-1 decision to the visitors on Friday. On Wednesday, Jared Coreau backstopped the Griffins to their only victory so far this season behind a 37-save performance, while Martin Frk led the way in offense with the first two-goal game of his AHL career. After Phil Di Giuseppe put the Checkers on the board with 1:22 remaining in the first period, Grand Rapids scored three unanswered goals from Anthony Mantha, Jeff Hoggan and Frk. Charlotte refused to be put out though, as Brendan Woods made it a one-goal game at 4:36 of the third, but Frk restored Grand Rapids’ two-goal lead with his second of the night at 7:29. South Lyon, Mich., native David Wohlberg made things interesting at the end of the game by dumping the puck past Coreau with just seven seconds left on the clock, but the Griffins were able to hang on for the win. On Friday, once Brody Sutter opened the scoring for Charlotte with less than six minutes remaining in the first, the visitors were able to maintain their 1-0 lead for 27:04, before Brian Lashoff evened the game at 1:11 of the third period. The game remained knotted for nearly the duration of the third, until Grand Rapids earned a huge advantage with a five-on-three after concurrent penalties against Derek Ryan and Wohlberg. Unable to capitalize on their two-man advantage, the Griffins were eventually caught with too many men on the ice, which opened up the way for a Ryan power play goal, followed by a Wohlberg empty-netter to produce the final 3-1 margin.

Tip-A-Griffin Returns: The Griffins usually look for tips near the net, but tonight from 6-8 p.m., they’ll exchange their jerseys for aprons in an evening of serving appetizers, entrees and beverages to patrons at Uccello’s Ristorante, in the return of the team’s popular Tip-A-Griffin fundraiser. Griffins players, coaches and hockey staff will visit all five Uccello’s locations in West Michigan to serve and wait tables, with donations and raffle proceeds benefiting the Griffins Youth Foundation. In its previous eight editions, Tip-A-Griffin raised nearly $77,000 for various local charities. Each of the five locations will include raffle items and a visit from the team’s mascot, Griff. Raffle items include Griffins memorabilia, ticket packages, various gifts from sponsors, and specially-designed aprons that Griffins personnel will be wearing for the night, which will be signed and auctioned off at the end of the event. A full list of players and locations is available here (lineups subject to change).

Griffins Leaders: Defenseman Ryan Sproul leads the Griffins in scoring with five points (1-4—5) in six games, with left wing Eric Tangradi following behind in second with four points (1-3—4) in six games. Both Sproul and Tangradi are on two-game assist streaks. Center Louis-Marc Aubry has racked up 16 penalty minutes in his six games, the most on the team. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet leads the way in shots with 20 and left wing Anthony Mantha has the most of any forward with 18. Only two Griffins register positive ratings: Martin Frk and Tangradi, both at plus-one.

Playing Time: The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday reassigned right wing Zach Nastasiuk from the Grand Rapids Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. A native of Barrie, Ontario, Nastasiuk captained the Owen Sound Attack to a 35-24-2-7 record last season, registering 77 points (35-42—77), 34 PIM and a plus-nine rating in 64 games. In all, Nastasiuk amassed 187 points (90-97—187), 107 PIM and a plus-six rating in 256 career games with the Attack from 2011-15. Detroit’s second choice (48th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Nastasiuk has suited up in one game with Grand Rapids this season and went scoreless in four playoff games with the team during the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Cleary’s Debut: After being assigned to the Griffins on Oct. 8, right wing Daniel Cleary is expected to make his debut with Grand Rapids this Friday in Toronto. A 17-year veteran of the NHL with 938 games worth of NHL experience, Cleary has not played in the AHL since the 1999-00 season, when he racked up 74 points (22-52—74) and 108 penalty minutes in 58 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Sign of Things To Come?: The Griffins have posted only one win in their first six games this season. The team has started with a similar record only one other time in franchise history, during the 2012-13 season, when Grand Rapids went on to win its first-ever Calder Cup. It was Jeff Blashill’s first season at the helm of the Griffins, and his squad produced a 1-3-1-1 record through its first six matchups before winning nine of its next 10 outings.

Trigger Shy: Through six contests this season, the Griffins have yet to score the first goal in a game.

Frky’s Fire: Right wing Martin Frk led the way for the Griffins in their 4-3 win over Charlotte last Wednesday with a two-goal performance. Last season, Frk had a total of only six goals in 32 games for Grand Rapids, with his last goal scored on April 17, also versus Charlotte with former Griffin Drew MacIntyre in net.

Brennan Brewing: Toronto defenseman T.J. Brennan returns to the Marlies this season. A consistent thorn in the side of the Griffins, Brennan has accumulated 24 points (12-12—24) in 20 games against Grand Rapids since 2011-12, including the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs. His most potent season when facing the Griffins came during 2013-14, when he turned out five goals and four assists in four games during the season series, including a hat trick against Jared Coreau in the netminder’s AHL debut on Oct. 5, 2013 at Ricoh Coliseum. A look at Brennan’s offensive output against Grand Rapids by season:

Age Is Just A Number: Jeff Hoggan (2/1/78) and Daniel Cleary (12/18/78) are the two oldest players in the AHL. Only two other players currently in the league were born in the ‘70s: Iowa’s Ruslan Fedotenko (1/18/79) and Wilkes-Barre’s Tom Kostopoulos (1/24/79).

Fond Reunion: In all, 28 players from the 2015 Calder Cup Quarterfinals series between Toronto and Grand Rapids return to the teams’ rosters this season, including 14 skaters and two goaltenders from the Griffins and 11 skaters and one goalie from the Marlies. Alexey Marchenko (Detroit), Zach Nastasiuk (Toledo) and Marek Tvrdon (Toledo) also appeared in the series, but are currently in other locales. The Marlies' roster includes right wing Richard Panik, who was a member of the 2012-13 Syracuse Crunch team that the Griffins defeated in the Calder Cup Finals. Panik will recognize a handful of players from Grand Rapids’ Calder Cup-winning lineup still with the club: forwards Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Triston Grant and Jeff Hoggan; defensemen Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch; and goaltender Tom McCollum.

Marchy On: The Detroit Red Wings on Saturday recalled defenseman Alexey Marchenko from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Detroit’s ninth choice (205th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Marchenko spent 51 games with Grand Rapids last season and picked up 20 points (3-17—20), 26 penalty minutes and a plus-22 rating. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman also appeared in 13 regular season games with Detroit in 2014-15, tallying a goal and an assist, before eventually making both his NHL and AHL playoff debuts in the same season. After going scoreless in three games with the Wings during their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against Tampa Bay, Marchenko went on to register four assists in 11 games as Grand Rapids reached the Western Conference Finals versus Utica.

Walleye World: After dropping their first two games of the season, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye won both of their games last week, improving to a 2-1-0-1 record. On Wednesday, the Walleye defeated the Kalamazoo Wings by a score of 5-2, with both Alden Hirschfeld and Marek Tvrdon notching two goals in the contest. On Friday, Tvrdon opened the scoring for Toledo at 8:24 of the first period, before Josh Shalla added another goal 2:15 into the second. Despite a third-period goal by Evansville, the Walleye maintained their 2-1 lead until the buzzer for their second win in a row. The Walleye won’t open the home portion of their schedule until Nov. 7 against the Adirondack Thunder at The Huntington Center.

Scouting Report

Fri., Oct. 30 at Toronto Marlies (5-2-0-0) – Ricoh Coliseum – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 13-15-2-1 Road, 31-26-3-2 Overall. Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Ricoh Coliseum. NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs. Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe (1st season). Notes: The Griffins and Marlies last met in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs, where Grand Rapids made history by becoming just the 11th team in AHL history to come back to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2...Toronto’s head coach Sheldon Keefe is joined on the bench by associate coach Gord Dineen, who served as head coach last season. Dineen is now in his seventh season with the team after previously having served as either the head coach or an assistant coach at different points...Keefe is the older brother of former Griffin Adam Keefe (2006-08; 2010-11)...Center William Nylander sits atop the Marlies’ scoring leaders with three goals and three assists in six games. Nylander, 19, was the Maple Leafs’ first-round draft pick (8th overall) in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He picked up three assists in his playoff series against the Griffins last season...Defenseman T.J. Brennan returns to Toronto this season, notching five points (1-4—5) in six games already. Brennan has been particularly potent against the Griffins during his AHL career, earning 24 points (12-12—24) in 20 games played against Grand Rapids since 2011-12, including the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs...Griffins assistant coach Ben Simon served as an assistant for Toronto last season.

This Week’s Games
Fri., Oct. 30 GRIFFINS at Toronto Marlies 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Oct. 21 Charlotte Checkers 3 at GRIFFINS 4 1-4-0-0, 2 pts. (8th, Central Division)
Fri., Oct. 23 Charlotte Checkers 3 at GRIFFINS 1 1-5-0-0, 2 pts. (8th)

The Split: The Griffins split their Wednesday-Friday home set with the Charlotte Checkers last week, securing a 4-3 victory on Wednesday and a dropping a 3-1 decision to the visitors on Friday. On Wednesday, Jared Coreau backstopped the Griffins to their only victory so far this season behind a 37-save performance, while Martin Frk led the way in offense with the first two-goal game of his AHL career. After Phil Di Giuseppe put the Checkers on the board with 1:22 remaining in the first period, Grand Rapids scored three unanswered goals from Anthony Mantha, Jeff Hoggan and Frk. Charlotte refused to be put out though, as Brendan Woods made it a one-goal game at 4:36 of the third, but Frk restored Grand Rapids’ two-goal lead with his second of the night at 7:29. South Lyon, Mich., native David Wohlberg made things interesting at the end of the game by dumping the puck past Coreau with just seven seconds left on the clock, but the Griffins were able to hang on for the win. On Friday, once Brody Sutter opened the scoring for Charlotte with less than six minutes remaining in the first, the visitors were able to maintain their 1-0 lead for 27:04, before Brian Lashoff evened the game at 1:11 of the third period. The game remained knotted for nearly the duration of the third, until Grand Rapids earned a huge advantage with a five-on-three after concurrent penalties against Derek Ryan and Wohlberg. Unable to capitalize on their two-man advantage, the Griffins were eventually caught with too many men on the ice, which opened up the way for a Ryan power play goal, followed by a Wohlberg empty-netter to produce the final 3-1 margin.

Tip-A-Griffin Returns: The Griffins usually look for tips near the net, but tonight from 6-8 p.m., they’ll exchange their jerseys for aprons in an evening of serving appetizers, entrees and beverages to patrons at Uccello’s Ristorante, in the return of the team’s popular Tip-A-Griffin fundraiser. Griffins players, coaches and hockey staff will visit all five Uccello’s locations in West Michigan to serve and wait tables, with donations and raffle proceeds benefiting the Griffins Youth Foundation. In its previous eight editions, Tip-A-Griffin raised nearly $77,000 for various local charities. Each of the five locations will include raffle items and a visit from the team’s mascot, Griff. Raffle items include Griffins memorabilia, ticket packages, various gifts from sponsors, and specially-designed aprons that Griffins personnel will be wearing for the night, which will be signed and auctioned off at the end of the event. A full list of players and locations is available here (lineups subject to change).

Griffins Leaders: Defenseman Ryan Sproul leads the Griffins in scoring with five points (1-4—5) in six games, with left wing Eric Tangradi following behind in second with four points (1-3—4) in six games. Both Sproul and Tangradi are on two-game assist streaks. Center Louis-Marc Aubry has racked up 16 penalty minutes in his six games, the most on the team. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet leads the way in shots with 20 and left wing Anthony Mantha has the most of any forward with 18. Only two Griffins register positive ratings: Martin Frk and Tangradi, both at plus-one.

Playing Time: The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday reassigned right wing Zach Nastasiuk from the Grand Rapids Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. A native of Barrie, Ontario, Nastasiuk captained the Owen Sound Attack to a 35-24-2-7 record last season, registering 77 points (35-42—77), 34 PIM and a plus-nine rating in 64 games. In all, Nastasiuk amassed 187 points (90-97—187), 107 PIM and a plus-six rating in 256 career games with the Attack from 2011-15. Detroit’s second choice (48th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Nastasiuk has suited up in one game with Grand Rapids this season and went scoreless in four playoff games with the team during the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Cleary’s Debut: After being assigned to the Griffins on Oct. 8, right wing Daniel Cleary is expected to make his debut with Grand Rapids this Friday in Toronto. A 17-year veteran of the NHL with 938 games worth of NHL experience, Cleary has not played in the AHL since the 1999-00 season, when he racked up 74 points (22-52—74) and 108 penalty minutes in 58 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Sign of Things To Come?: The Griffins have posted only one win in their first six games this season. The team has started with a similar record only one other time in franchise history, during the 2012-13 season, when Grand Rapids went on to win its first-ever Calder Cup. It was Jeff Blashill’s first season at the helm of the Griffins, and his squad produced a 1-3-1-1 record through its first six matchups before winning nine of its next 10 outings.

Trigger Shy: Through six contests this season, the Griffins have yet to score the first goal in a game.

Frky’s Fire: Right wing Martin Frk led the way for the Griffins in their 4-3 win over Charlotte last Wednesday with a two-goal performance. Last season, Frk had a total of only six goals in 32 games for Grand Rapids, with his last goal scored on April 17, also versus Charlotte with former Griffin Drew MacIntyre in net.

Brennan Brewing: Toronto defenseman T.J. Brennan returns to the Marlies this season. A consistent thorn in the side of the Griffins, Brennan has accumulated 24 points (12-12—24) in 20 games against Grand Rapids since 2011-12, including the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs. His most potent season when facing the Griffins came during 2013-14, when he turned out five goals and four assists in four games during the season series, including a hat trick against Jared Coreau in the netminder’s AHL debut on Oct. 5, 2013 at Ricoh Coliseum. A look at Brennan’s offensive output against Grand Rapids by season:

Age Is Just A Number: Jeff Hoggan (2/1/78) and Daniel Cleary (12/18/78) are the two oldest players in the AHL. Only two other players currently in the league were born in the ‘70s: Iowa’s Ruslan Fedotenko (1/18/79) and Wilkes-Barre’s Tom Kostopoulos (1/24/79).

Fond Reunion: In all, 28 players from the 2015 Calder Cup Quarterfinals series between Toronto and Grand Rapids return to the teams’ rosters this season, including 14 skaters and two goaltenders from the Griffins and 11 skaters and one goalie from the Marlies. Alexey Marchenko (Detroit), Zach Nastasiuk (Toledo) and Marek Tvrdon (Toledo) also appeared in the series, but are currently in other locales. The Marlies' roster includes right wing Richard Panik, who was a member of the 2012-13 Syracuse Crunch team that the Griffins defeated in the Calder Cup Finals. Panik will recognize a handful of players from Grand Rapids’ Calder Cup-winning lineup still with the club: forwards Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Triston Grant and Jeff Hoggan; defensemen Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch; and goaltender Tom McCollum.

Marchy On: The Detroit Red Wings on Saturday recalled defenseman Alexey Marchenko from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Detroit’s ninth choice (205th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Marchenko spent 51 games with Grand Rapids last season and picked up 20 points (3-17—20), 26 penalty minutes and a plus-22 rating. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman also appeared in 13 regular season games with Detroit in 2014-15, tallying a goal and an assist, before eventually making both his NHL and AHL playoff debuts in the same season. After going scoreless in three games with the Wings during their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against Tampa Bay, Marchenko went on to register four assists in 11 games as Grand Rapids reached the Western Conference Finals versus Utica.

Walleye World: After dropping their first two games of the season, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye won both of their games last week, improving to a 2-1-0-1 record. On Wednesday, the Walleye defeated the Kalamazoo Wings by a score of 5-2, with both Alden Hirschfeld and Marek Tvrdon notching two goals in the contest. On Friday, Tvrdon opened the scoring for Toledo at 8:24 of the first period, before Josh Shalla added another goal 2:15 into the second. Despite a third-period goal by Evansville, the Walleye maintained their 2-1 lead until the buzzer for their second win in a row. The Walleye won’t open the home portion of their schedule until Nov. 7 against the Adirondack Thunder at The Huntington Center.

Scouting Report

Fri., Oct. 30 at Toronto Marlies (5-2-0-0) – Ricoh Coliseum – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 13-15-2-1 Road, 31-26-3-2 Overall. Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Ricoh Coliseum. NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs. Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe (1st season). Notes: The Griffins and Marlies last met in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs, where Grand Rapids made history by becoming just the 11th team in AHL history to come back to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2...Toronto’s head coach Sheldon Keefe is joined on the bench by associate coach Gord Dineen, who served as head coach last season. Dineen is now in his seventh season with the team after previously having served as either the head coach or an assistant coach at different points...Keefe is the older brother of former Griffin Adam Keefe (2006-08; 2010-11)...Center William Nylander sits atop the Marlies’ scoring leaders with three goals and three assists in six games. Nylander, 19, was the Maple Leafs’ first-round draft pick (8th overall) in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He picked up three assists in his playoff series against the Griffins last season...Defenseman T.J. Brennan returns to Toronto this season, notching five points (1-4—5) in six games already. Brennan has been particularly potent against the Griffins during his AHL career, earning 24 points (12-12—24) in 20 games played against Grand Rapids since 2011-12, including the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs...Griffins assistant coach Ben Simon served as an assistant for Toronto last season.