Plugging Along
This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Wed., Jan. 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Fri., Jan. 13 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday
Watch: AHLTV on Wednesday and Friday
Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Fourth and fifth of 10 meetings overall, second and third of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 42-19-4-2 Overall, 21-7-3-2 Home
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: The Iowa Wild (5th, 34 pts.) come into the two-game set six points ahead of the Griffins (T6th, 28 pts.) in the Central Division standings with one additional game played over Grand Rapids. The top five teams in the division will qualify for the playoffs.
Promotions: Winning Wednesday presented by Michigan First Credit Union, Salute to Badges Night presented by Pro-Tech Heating & Cooling on Friday
GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Sat., Jan. 14 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7 p.m.
Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Third of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 92-82-2-7-3 Overall, 44-37-2-5-2 Home
NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes
Noteworthy: The Griffins have just four wins in their last 17 contests against the Chicago Wolves in West Michigan (4-12-1-0), including a 0-5-1-0 mark during the 2021-22 campaign. Grand Rapids enters the week tied with the Wolves for 6th place in Central Division with 28 points.
Promotion: Heroes vs. Villains Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union
Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 4 // GRIFFINS 3 vs. Cleveland 1 // 12-17-1-0 (25 pts., 0.417, 7th Central)
Fri., Jan. 6 // GRIFFINS 4 vs. Texas 2 // 13-17-1-0 (27 pts., 0.435, 6th Central)
Sat., Jan. 7 // GRIFFINS 2 vs. Texas 3 (SOL) // 13-17-1-1 (28 pts., 0.438, T6th Central)
Last Week’s Notes
Wednesday vs. Cleveland (3-1 W) - The Griffins ended their three-game losing skid in a 3-1 victory over the Monsters at Van Andel Arena courtesy of a 26-save performance by Alex Nedeljkovic in his Grand Rapids debut. Seven Griffins tallied points, including goals from Joel L’Esperance, Alex Chiasson and Dominik Shine as well as assists from Steven Kampfer, Simon Edvinsson, Taro Hirose and Austin Czarnik. Cross Hanas returned to the Griffins lineup after rehabbing an injury that kept him sidelined since Nov. 25. In his 300th AHL contest, Kampfer recorded his 100th AHL assist. Recap | Highlights
Friday vs. Texas (4-2 W) - The Griffins snapped the Stars’ 12-game point streak (10-0-2-0) with a 4-2 win at Van Andel Arena. Austin Czarnik recorded two goals, moving him into a tie with Pontus Andreasson for second place in goals scored by a Griffins skater this season. In his last six outings since returning to Grand Rapids, Czarnik has tallied eight points (3-5–8) while Andreasson has three points (2-1–3) in his last three contests after tallying the first goal of the game. Jakub Vrana recorded his first point as a Griffin with an assist. Alex Nedeljkovic added 33 saves, improving his save percentage to 0.952 in his first two games as a Griffin (59-62). Recap | Highlights
Saturday vs. Texas (2-3 SOL) - The Stars escaped with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Griffins despite a ferocious comeback by Grand Rapids in the final period at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids tallied two-late goals in the third from Drew Worrad and Taro Hirose to send the game into overtime and to push its point streak to three games. Hirose leads the Griffins in points this season (9-22—31) and is in a three-way tie for second in goals scored by a Griffin this season with Pontus Andreasson and Austin Czarnik. Alex Nedeljkovic started his third straight game in net for Grand Rapids, bagging 36 saves on 38 shots. The Griffins moved to 112-120 all time in shootouts when they suffered their first shootout defeat since Jan. 15, 2020 (1-2 SOL vs. MB). Recap | Highlights
Better Things to Come: Following a Calder Cup title in 2017, the Griffins stood at 10-15-1-3 (24 pts.) through 29 games in the 2017-18 season. That 2017-18 team ended the season on a 42-25-2-7 run and finished second in the Central Division, reaching the playoffs for the sixth consecutive campaign. This season through 29 outings, Grand Rapids sat at 11-17-1-0 (23 pts.). Since then, the team has rattled off a three-game point streak (2-0-0-1), an identical start the 2017-18 team had in games 30, 31 and 32 of their respective season that catapulted them into the postseason.
Alexander The Great: Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic has been a welcomed addition to the Griffins roster, as the goaltender enters his second and final week of his conditioning loan from the Detroit Red Wings. Through three outings, Nedeljkovic has a 2-0-1 record along with a 1.63 goals against average and a 0.950 save percentage. His save percentage ranks third all time among goaltenders on a conditioning loan with the Griffins behind only Curtis Joseph (2003-04, 0.952) and Jonas Gustavsson (2012-13, 0.963). 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.
The Last Czar: Veteran forward Austin Czarnik has been a major boost to the Griffins lineup, totaling 22 points (9-13—22) in just 19 games. Czarnik has at least one point in 13 of the 19 contests and at least two points in five outings. Czarnik added to his point total this past week, collecting three points (2-1—3) in as many games. He has also spent a decent amount of time with the Detroit Red Wings, amassing three points (2-1—3) in 12 appearances. The Washington Township, Mich., native was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week on Oct. 17 when he registered five points (3-2—5) in two games and became the first Griffins forward to win the award since Matt Lorito on Nov. 20, 2016.
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. This season has a similar pace, as Hirose has totaled a team-leading 22 helpers in 32 games, which is tied for 11th on the circuit. In addition, his 13 power-play assists are tied for sixth in the AHL. Hirose has points in 21 of the 32 contests this season (9-22—31).
Nothing Like Some Home Cooking: The Griffins are in the midst of a season-high seven-game homestand that began on Dec. 31 and will conclude on Jan. 14. Grand Rapids is currently 2-1-0-1 during the run with three games to play this week. The Griffins are 7-7-1-1 on home ice while they are 6-10-0-0 away from West Michigan.
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 7-0-1-1 (0.889) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-1-0 (0.900) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 6-17-0-0 (0.261) 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-38 on the man-advantage in its last 11 outings and have just eight power-play goals in its last 16 contests (8-for-66, 12.1%). The Griffins are tied for 17th in the AHL on the power play with a conversion rate of 19.1%.
Take the Over: The Griffins averaged just 2.75 goals a game during the 2021-22 season while giving up 3.16. However, Grand Rapids is averaging 2.88 goals this season while conceding 3.91. Fifteen of its 32 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with 10 of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins are tied for 28th on the circuit with 125 goals against while their 92 goals for are tied for 25th in the AHL.
AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for seventh among rookies
Austin Czarnik—Four game-winning goals are tied for fourth
Taro Hirose—22 assists are tied for 11th, 13 power-play assists are tied for sixth
Joel L’Esperance—Eight power-play goals are tied for third
Milestones:
Austin Czarnik appeared in his 400th pro game on Jan. 7 against the Texas Stars. Steven Kampfer bagged his 100th AHL assist in his 300th AHL game on Jan. 4 against Cleveland.
Joel L’Esperance—Two goals from 100 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One assist from 50 as a pro, as a Griffins and in the AHL
Tyler Spezia—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Jakub Vrana—Two goals from 150 as a pro, two assists from 150 as a pro
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins