The Time is Now

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Cleveland Monsters // Wed., April 13 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 5-0-1-0 Overall, 2-0-1-0 Home. Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena.

All-Time Series: 66-34-6-10 Overall, 37-17-2-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: The Griffins are 12-3-1-0 (0.781) against the Monsters over the last two seasons, with points in all six contests this campaign (5-0-1-0).

GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Fri., April 15 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:35 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 4-2-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Home. Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena.

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

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: Iowa (29-27-4-4, 0.516) currently ranks fifth in the Central-Division standings, the final playoff spot for the division. The Griffins (29-31-6-2, 0.485) are in seventh place, with two of their next three games against the Wild.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., April 6 // GRIFFINS 2 vs. Cleveland 1 (SO) // 28-30-6-2 (64 pts., 0.485, 7th Central Division)
Sat., April 9 // GRIFFINS 7 at Toronto 5 // 29-30-6-2 (66pts., 0.493, 7th Central Division)
Sun., April 10 // GRIFFINS 1 at Toronto 4 // 29-31-6-2 (66pts., 0.485, 7th Central Division)

Last Week’s Notes
Wednesday vs. Cleveland (2-1 SOW) - Victor Brattstrom stole the show at Van Andel Arena when he tallied 35 saves in a 2-1, 12-round shootout victory over the Cleveland Monsters. Grand Rapids improved to 5-0-1-0 this season against the Monsters. Josh Dickinson recorded the shootout-winner while Jonatan Berggren bagged the game-tying tally in the second period. Riley Barber extended his point streak to eight games (5-4—9) with an assist. This was the longest shootout since a team-record 14-round 3-2 win against Manitoba on March 15, 2006. Drew Worrad and Samuel Dove-McFalls made their pro debuts. Recap | Highlights

Saturday at Toronto (7-5 W) - Riley Barber registered his first hat trick with the Griffins, as Grand Rapids took down the Toronto Marlies 7-5 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. After trailing 4-1 early in the second period, the Griffins rattled off six unanswered goals to claim the victory. This was Barber’s third-ever hat trick and the first for a Griffin since Matt Puempel lit the lamp three times on Jan. 5, 2020 at San Antonio. Barber also extended his point streak to nine games (8-4—12). Rookie Jonatan Berggren joined Barber with three points (0-3—3), which added to his team-high 49 points (16-33—49) this campaign. Drew Worrad bagged his first point as a pro during a two-assist night (0-2—2). In his first Griffins game since March 9 due to recall, Taro Hirose amassed two helpers. Kaden Fulcher relieved Brattstrom in net 48 seconds into the second period and logged his first win of the season in his second appearance, stopping eight of nine shots. Turner Elson registered his 20th goal of the season for the first time in his career. Butrus Ghafari recorded his first point as a Griffin with an assist. The Griffins scored four times on the power play, which marked a season high. This was the first meeting between the two clubs in Toronto since April 2, 2016 and the Griffins’ first win against the Marlies since Nov. 8, 2019. Recap | Highlights

Sunday at Toronto (1-4 L) - The Toronto Marlies used three first-period goals to propel themselves to a 4-1 victory against the Griffins at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. Grand Rapids dropped the fourth and final season meeting against Toronto, finishing with a 1-2-1-0 ledger. Riley Barber continued his hot streak by tallying his 19th goal of the campaign, which extended his point streak to 10 games (9-4—13). Barber’s 10-game point streak tied a career best, and tied Kyle Criscuolo for the team-high this season. Jonatan Berggren recorded his team-leading 34th helper of the season and stretched his scoring streak to three games (1-4—5). Victor Brattstrom and Jan Drozg each appeared in their 150th pro game. Grand Rapids went 1-for-2 on the power play and finished the two-game set against Toronto 5-for-8 on the man-advantage. Recap | Highlights

Patrick Curry Reassigned: The Griffins on Tuesday reassigned left wing Patrick Curry to the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). The second-year pro has three points (1-2—3) in 29 games with Grand Rapids this season. Curry also has four points (3-1—4) in two outings with the Walleye this campaign.

No Time to Waste: The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 29-31-6-2 (0.485) mark and only eight games remaining. The top five teams from the division will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye. The Griffins’ magic number over Iowa, which sits in the final playoff spot, is 21 points. The Griffins have the third-toughest remaining schedule in the division with a remaining opponent win percentage of 0.588, while Iowa has the second-easiest remaining schedule at 0.532. Grand Rapids has appeared in the last seven Calder Cup Playoffs, dating back to the 2012-13 season when it lifted the cup for the first time.

No. 192: Goaltender Harri Sateri became the 192nd Griffin to graduate to the NHL when he appeared in net during Arizona’s 5-1 loss to Vancouver on Thursday, April 7. Sateri manned the pipes for Grand Rapids during the 2018-19 season, posting a 22-11-5 mark, a 2.84 goals against average and a 0.899 save percentage in the regular season. The netminder went 2-3 in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs and recorded a 2.67 goals against average and a 0.911 save percentage.

Welcome to the Barber Shop: Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in a career-high 10 straight games (9-4—13), including his third-ever hat trick on April 9 at Toronto. There have been only eight longer point streaks in franchise history. Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 21 points (11-10—20) in 19 games, including five multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native ranks fourth on the roster with 40 points (19-21—40) in 42 games. Last season, Barber paced the Griffins with 34 points (20-14—34) in 32 contests and finished second in the league with 20 goals. Through 74 games with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 74 points (39-35—74) and 46 penalty minutes.

Race to the Top: Jonatan Berggren on Sunday became just the sixth rookie in Griffins history to record 50 points, as he ranks sixth in the Griffins’ top-10 rookie single-season scoring list with 50 points (16-34—50) in 62 games. Berggren has logged two or more points in four of his last 10 games, with two goals and 10 helpers during the run. The Uppsala, Sweden, native paces the Griffins and is tied for fifth among rookies with his 50 points, while his 34 assists rank fourth. Berggren places fourth among rookies with five game-winning goals. Berggren is on pace for 56 points, which would place third in Griffins rookie single-season scoring history.

Traffic Jam: The Griffins have won two games in their last eight contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 36-23. However, Grand Rapids has secured five out of 10 points in its past five outings away from home. Grand Rapids went on a season-high five-game road trip from March 19-27 and finished with a 1-3-1-0 mark. The Griffins are 14-16-2-1 this season away from West Michigan while they are 15-15-4-1 at home. Grand Rapids will play five of its remaining eight games on foreign ice.

Northern Exposure: The Griffins have fared well against opponents from the North Division, as they hold a 6-2-2-0 record (0.700) and have outscored their opponents 34-26. In comparison, Grand Rapids is 20-25-3-2 (0.450) against Central-Division foes and 3-4-1-0 (0.438) against teams from the Pacific. Two games remain on the schedule for the Griffins against clubs from the North Division, including this Wednesday against Cleveland.

The Roaring 20’s: Turner Elson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career on April 9. The ninth-year pro has had a career-high season on the offensive end, with a career-best 20 goals and 41 points so far. Elson has also tied his career-high assist total with 21. The alternate captain has turned it on as of late with 14 points (7-7—14) in his last 18 games. In comparison, Elson had just six points (2-4—6) in the 18 contests before this run. Elson ranks third on the roster with his 41 points (20-21—41).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Jonatan Berggren—50 points (16-34—50) are tied for fifth among first-year players, 34 assists rank fourth among rookies, five game-winning goals place fourth among rookies
Jared McIsaac—24 points are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen, 19 assists are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for third among defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.58 goals against average ranks 13th, 0.918 save percentage places ninth, 21 wins are tied for fifth, 2534:30 minutes played places fourth
Dominik Shine—125 penalty minutes are tied for fourth

Milestones:
Victor Brattsrom and Jan Drozg each made their 150th appearance as a pro on April 10 at Toronto. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jan Drozg—One game from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 50 as a pro
Turner Elson—One goal from 100 as a pro
Jon Martin—One game from 300 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro, two points from 250 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Four goals from 50 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins