Rule of Three

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Fri., March 4 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Sat., March 5 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday

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

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Fifth and sixth of eight meetings overall, second and third of four at Van Andel Arena.

All-Time Series: 38-16-4-2 Overall, 18-6-3-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has points in six of the last eight meetings overall (5-2-1-0) against Iowa and is 3-1-0-0 this season.

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Sun., March 6 // 6 p.m. EST // Panther Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 5:35 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 5-4-1-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Road. Eleventh of 12 meetings overall, fifth of sixth at Panther Arena.

All-Time Series: 107-72-7-8-8 Overall, 50-37-5-5-5 Road

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: The Griffins have been shut out in the last two games against Milwaukee. After starting the season series 5-1-1-0, Grand Rapids has dropped the past three contests against the Admirals, having been outscored 14-2.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Feb. 23 // GRIFFINS 2 at Cleveland 1 (OT) // 21-19-5-2 (49 pts., 0.521, 5th Central Division)
Fri., Feb. 25 // GRIFFINS 0 vs. Bakersfield 2 // 21-20-5-2 (49 pts., 0.510, 5th Central Division)
Sat., Feb. 26 // GRIFFINS 4 vs. Bakersfield 3 (SO) // 22-20-5-2 (51 pts., 0.520, 5th Central Division)

Last Week’s Notes
Wednesday at Cleveland (2-1 OTW) - Captain Brian Lashoff’s overtime winner propelled the Griffins past the Monsters 2-1 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The victory gave the Griffins their third straight win overall along with points in four consecutive contests against the Monsters (3-0-1-0). Chase Pearson scored the Griffins’ lone regulation goal with Jared McIsaac recording the helper, which extended his point streak to three games (1-2—3). Taro Hirose assisted on the game-winner, extending his point streak to three games (1—3—4). Calvin Pickard recorded 33 saves in the win, giving the netminder his second consecutive victory. Pickard recorded his fourth assist of the season in the contest while also surpassing the 2,000-minute mark.Grand Rapids is now 10-3-1-0 against Cleveland over the past two seasons. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Bakersfield (0-2 L) - The Condors shut out Grand Rapids 2-0 in their first meeting at Van Andel Arena since April 16, 2016. Grand Rapids was held scoreless for the sixth time this season. Calvin Pickard recorded 35 saves in the defeat. The Griffins dropped to 1-4-0-0 all-time against the Condors. Grand Rapids’ win streak came to a halt at three games, just one shy of tying the season-high mark. Bakersfield’s netminder Stuart Skinner notched his third shutout of the season, moving him into a tie for second in the AHL. Kyle Criscuolo appeared in his 300th game as a pro. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. Bakersfield (4-3 SOW) - Ryan Murphy’s shootout goal lifted the Griffins over the Condors 4-3 at Van Andel Arena. The victory marked the first shootout win for the Griffins since Jan. 22, 2020, when they defeated the Iowa Wild 4-3. Patrick Curry notched his first goal of the season in the second period. Calvin Pickard continued to dominate, as he notched 34 saves and his third win in his last four appearances. In the last four games, Pickard has a 0.950 save percentage, stopping 131 of 138 shots. Jonatan Berggren’s game-tying goal crowned him the new team leader in tallies with 14. The Griffins notched their first-ever home victory over the Condors and improved to 2-4-0-0 all-time against Bakersfield. Luke Witkowski skated in his 300th game in the AHL while Jon Martin tied a career-high with two points (0-2—2). Recap | Highlights

Welcome Back, March: The Griffins have had a remarkable stretch of success during the month of March throughout their 25 seasons. Grand Rapids has earned a winning record in March for 13 straight years, in large part by going 0.500 or better on the road during each of those months and despite playing 62% of its games on the road. All time, the Griffins have only had a losing March record three times in 25 years. The last time Grand Rapids suffered a losing record in March was back in 2008. Things that were also happening in March of 2008: Jimmy Howard was playing his third of four full seasons in Grand Rapids; Ben Simon was an alternate captain for the Springfield Falcons, 2.5 years from starting his coaching career; Donovan Sebrango was six years old; President George W. Bush was serving his final year in the White House; and the Red Wings were three months from winning their most recent Stanley Cup.

Home, Sweet Home: The Griffins will have a lot of action in West Michigan during the first three weeks of March. Six of Grand Rapids’ first eight games of the month will be played at Van Andel Arena before closing out March with a five-game road trip. The Griffins went 4-2-1-1 during an identical stretch of games in January. The Griffins will play half of their remaining 12 home contests in the first three weeks of March. Grand Rapids is 11-10-4-1 on home ice this season while it is 11-10-1-1 on the road.

Rollercoaster Ride: After beginning the season series with a 5-1-1-0 record, the Griffins have dropped the past three games against Milwaukee. In fact, Grand Rapids has been shut out in consecutive meetings with the Admirals and has been outscored 14-2 over the last three clashes. Before this three-game skid, the Griffins were 8-1-1-0 (0.850) against the Admirals in the prior 10 contests with a plus-12 scoring margin (38-26). Milwaukee is Grand Rapids’ most frequent opponent with the 203rd all-time meeting coming on Sunday. The Griffins are 107-72-7-8-8 (0.587) all-time against the Admirals.

Huffin’ and Puffin’: So far this season, the Griffins are 2-10-1-2 (0.233) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and the second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 20-10-4-0 (0.647) against the rest of the AHL.

Murphy’s Law: Reigning AHL defenseman of the year Ryan Murphy has started to find a rhythm offensively for the Griffins. The nine-year pro is tied for fifth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 23 points (10-13—23) in 45 outings. Murphy completed a season-high four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Feb. 11-19 and has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his 10 goals rank first. The Aurora, Ontario, native signed a one-year contract with Detroit on July 28, 2021 and is the midst of his inaugural season with the Griffins.

Jonny Apple Seed: Rookie Jonatan Berggren registered a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland, which set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins’ rookie single-game record of five assists set by Chris Bala (1/10/02). Berggren’s 36 points (14-22—36) are tied for sixth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 22 assists rank ninth among league rookies while his 14 goals are tied for eighth. Berggren is also tied for fourth in the league with five game-winning goals, which also places second among rookies. Berggren is on pace for 56 points, which would place third in franchise history among rookies. The Uppsala, Sweden, native is also on pace for 22 goals, which would place him in a tie for fourth place with Gustav Nyquist (2011-12) and Kevyn Adams (1996-97).

High-Flying Hirose: After leading the Griffins in assists a year ago with 23, Taro Hirose has picked off right where he left off as he has bagged 30 helpers in the opening 48 games, which is a team high and tied for eighth in the league. Fourteen assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 11th in the AHL. Hirose logged his second three-point night (2-1—3) of the season on Jan. 1 against Milwaukee, which tied a career-high for the forward. In that same game, he also tied a career-best two goals. The former Michigan State Spartan enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 42 points (12-30—42) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 17th on the circuit. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Calvin’s University: Goaltender Calvin Pickard has had a stellar season thus far, as he ranks near the top in multiple categories in the AHL. The 10-year-pro currently is tied for ninth in the AHL with a 2.43 goals against average while his 0.924 save percentage is tied for third. Pickard also ranks second with 2144:40 minutes played and is tied for fourth with 18 wins. Over the past four games, the Moncton, New Brunswick, native is 3-1 and has a 0.950 save percentage, stopping 131 of 138 shots. Pickard has also got it done on the offensive end with four assists on the season, which is two more than his previous career high. The netminder has been a work horse for the Griffins this season, appearing in 36 of the 49 games.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Jonatan Berggren—36 points (14-22—36) are tied for sixth among first-year players, 22 assists ranks ninth among rookies and 14 goals are tied for eighth among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for fourth in the league and place second among rookies
Taro Hirose—30 assists are tied for eighth, 14 power play assists are tied for 11th, 42 points (12-30—42) are tied for 17th
Ryan Murphy—10 goals ranks first among blueliners
Calvin Pickard—2.43 goals against average is tied for ninth, 0.924 save percentage is tied for third, 18 wins are tied for fourth, 2144:40 minutes played ranks second
Dominik Shine—100 penalty minutes rank fourth

Milestones: Jon Martin collected his 100th point as a pro on Feb. 26 against Bakersfield while Luke Witkowski skated in his 300th AHL game. Kyle Criscuolo appeared in his 300th game as a pro on Feb. 25 against Bakersfield. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jonatan Berggren—Four points from 100 as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—One assist from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, two assists from 100 in the AHL, one game from 150 as a Griffin
Taro Hirose—Three points from 100 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Brett McKenzie—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Ben Simon—Three games from 350 as a pro head coach

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins