School's in Session

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Wed., Nov. 17 // 11 a.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 10:35 a.m.

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Overall, 0-2-0-0 Home. Third of 12 meetings overall, third of six at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 90-73-2-6-3 Overall, 44-34-2-4-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Griffins are winless in their past three games against Chicago, having been outscored 16-3. Despite being 11-22-0-1 against the Wolves in the past five seasons, Grand Rapids still holds a 90-73-2-6-3 overall record against Chicago.

GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Fri., Nov. 19 // 8 p.m. EST // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park
GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Sat., Nov. 20 // 8 p.m. EST // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

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

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: First and second of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

All-Time Series: 32-18-3-4 Overall, 14-12-2-1 Road

NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Noteworthy: This game will mark the first time the two teams will meet in Texas since Feb. 29, 2020 as the two franchises did not play each other a season ago. The last time the Griffins won at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park was on March 23, 2019, when Grand Rapids came away with a 3-2 victory.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Nov. 12 // GRIFFINS 2 vs. Manitoba Moose 0 // 5-4-0-1 (11 pts., 0.550, 3rd Central Division)
Sat., Nov. 13 // GRIFFINS 2 vs. Manitoba Moose 6 // 5-5-0-1 (11 pts., 0.500, 4th Central Division)

Last Week’s Notes
Friday vs. Manitoba (2-0 W) – Calvin Pickard’s first shutout of the year propelled Grand Rapids to a 2-0 victory over the Moose, marking the Griffins’ third win in just as many outings and fourth victory in the past five games. Pickard’s shutout was his fourth of his Griffins career, moving him into a tie for 10th place in franchise history. Jonatan Berggren (3-3—6), Riley Barber (4-4—8) and Taro Hirose (2-6—8) all extended their point streaks to five games. Patrick Curry made his season debut and Luke Witkowski skated in his 400th game as a pro. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. Manitoba (6-2 L) – The Griffins saw their three-game winning streak come to an end when they fell 6-2 against the Moose. Despite the loss, Riley Barber (4-5—9), Jonatan Berggren (3-4—7) and Taro Hirose (2-7—9) all extended their point streaks to six games. Turner Elson bagged a goal for the second straight contest and Kyle Criscuolo scored his second tally of the season. In his second game with the Griffins, D.J. King registered his first AHL point on an assist. Recap | Highlights

Calvin’s University: Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed one goal or less in five of his seven starts and has won four straight games. Pickard recorded his first shutout of the season and fourth as a Griffin on Nov. 12 against Manitoba, moving him into a tie for 10th place in franchise history with Jani Hurme, Martin Prusek, and Eddie Pasquale. The 10-year pro currently ranks sixth in the AHL with a 1.82 goals against average while his 0.941 save percentage places third. Twelve goals allowed through his first seven starts is Pickard’s best start since the 2017-18 season when he let in 14 tallies. Pickard played in just nine games in North America a season ago due to being assigned to Detroit’s taxi squad for much of the year. The Moncton, New Brunswick, native also spent some time with Vienna in the ICEHL last season, logging six games and a 1.96 goals against average.

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 11 helpers in just as many games, which is a team high and tied for second in the league. Seven assists have come on the power play, which is good for third in the AHL. Hirose is currently enjoying a six-game point streak (2-7—9) dating back to Oct. 30. Hirose’s 13 points (2-11—13) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for ninth in the league.

Return of Riley: Although it was a slow start to this year, Riley Barber is now in the midst of a six-game point streak (4-5—9). His 11 points (5-6—11) this season are second on the roster while his four power play goals are tied for first in the AHL. Barber led the Griffins in goals (20), points (34) and points per game (1.06) a season ago. His scoring pace equaled a 48-goal, 81-point clip in a regular 76-game AHL season. Barber also ranked second in the league for goals, just one shy of Cooper Marody (who played seven more games), and was named a Central Division AHL All-Star. Six game-winning goals tied a career best while his four-game goal streak from Feb. 26 through March 11 also matched a career high. The forward added seven multi-point outings out of 32, including a career-high four points (2-2—4) on May 7 against Chicago. Barber posted a nine-game point streak (8-5—13) 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.

Jonny On The Spot: Rookie Jonatan Berggren is currently enjoying a six-game point streak (3-4—7), dating back to Oct. 30. The Uppsala, Sweden, native bagged his first AHL goal and two-point (1-1—2) night on Oct. 30, which began a three-game goal scoring streak for the right winger. The former second-round draft choice is tied for 15th among league rookies with three goals while his seven points (3-5—8) are tied for 12th among first-year players.

Powerful Play: Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins exceeded that mark in 2020-21 with a power play conversion rate of 21.5%, the fifth best on the circuit. This season has been no different through 11 games as the power play is converting on 21.1% of its opportunities, which is 12th in the AHL.

Rarified Air: Brian Lashoff’s 524 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and seventh in league history among one-team players. Of the 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). Lashoff overtook Pete Kapusta (Providence Reds 1946-55) for the No. 7 spot on Oct. 27 against Chicago and is now seven games behind No. 6 Roger DeJordy (Hershey Bears 1962-70). Lashoff is still 131 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

Milestones: Defenseman Luke Witkowski appeared in his 400th game as a professional on Nov. 12 against Manitoba. Rookie Jonatan Berggren bagged an assist on the game-winning goal against the Moose on Nov. 12, which was his 50th helper as a pro. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—Five points from 50 as a Griffin
Turner Elson—Six assists from 100 in the AHL
Brian Lashoff—Three assists from 100 as a pro
Jon Martin—Two assists from 50 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Two assists from 50 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—Three points from 50 in the AHL, one assist from 50 as a pro

Under New Leadership: Pat Verbeek takes over as the new general manager of the Griffins, a position previously held by Ryan Martin. In addition to his new role in Grand Rapids, Verbeek retains his assistant general manager position with the Red Wings working under Detroit GM Steve Yzerman. Verbeek oversees all aspects of hockey operations for the AHL franchise, including player personnel decisions, player development, contract negotiations and player movement.

Simon Says: Ben Simon, 43, begins his fourth season as Grand Rapids’ head coach. A year ago, he guided the Griffins to a 16-12-3-1 record (36 points, 0.563) and a third-place finish in the Central Division. Simon has only coached in one full AHL season as head boss, as his second and third campaigns were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During his inaugural year at the helm in 2018-19, he became the eighth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench. Simon served as an assistant coach in Grand Rapids from 2015-18 under Todd Nelson and helped the franchise win its second Calder Cup in 2017. He is the fourth former Griffins assistant to then become the head coach. Appearing in 21 games and scoring nine points (4-5—9) with the Griffins in 2006-07 as part of an 11-year professional playing career, Simon is the third former Griffins player to serve as Grand Rapids’ head coach, joining Nelson and Danton Cole (2002-05).

Griffins in General: The Grand Rapids Griffins began the franchise’s 26th overall season of play, 21st as a member of the American Hockey League and 20th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 15, 2021 when they defeated the Rockford IceHogs, 6-1. This marked the first time the Griffins began their season at Van Andel Arena since 2017. Grand Rapids has competed in 1,917 games between the IHL and AHL and has amassed a 1,011-697-27-64-118 regular season record (0.575), to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins