Time to go on a Run

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Fri., Feb. 24 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home. Fifth of 10 meetings overall, second of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 94-82-2-7-3 Overall, 45-37-2-5-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Griffins are currently on a three-game win streak against Chicago, their first such run against the Wolves since Oct. 20-Nov. 28, 2018.

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GRIFFINS vs. Cleveland Monsters // Sat., Feb. 25 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV

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

All-Time Series: 69-36-6-10 Overall, 39-18-2-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: The Monsters exploded for a 6-2 victory against the Griffins last Friday, with Trey Fix-Wolansky leading the way with four assists. Fix-Wolansky has 53 points (21-22—53) in 41 games, which ranks seventh in the AHL.

Promotion: Hispanic Heritage Night presented by Consumers Energy

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Feb. 15 // GRIFFINS 5 vs. Rockford 4 // 20-22-2-2 (44 pts., 0.478, 6th Central)
Fri., Feb. 17 // GRIFFINS 2 vs. Cleveland 6 // 20-23-2-2 (44 pts., 0.468, 6th Central)
Sun., Feb. 19 // GRIFFINS 5 at Manitoba 4 (SO) // 21-23-2-2 (46 pts., 0.479, 6th Central)
Mon., Feb. 20 // GRIFFINS 1 at Manitoba 5 // 21-24-2-2 (46 pts., 0.469, 6th Central)

Last Week’s Notes
Wednesday vs. Rockford (5-4 W) - The Griffins’ offense put up five goals on the IceHogs to secure win No. 20 in a 5-4 contest at Van Andel Arena. Simon Edvinsson had a strong offensive output by providing a goal, three assists and a plus-five rating for his squad. The Swede ranks fifth in the AHL among rookie defenseman in points and leads all Griffins defenders (4-18–22). Alex Chiasson recorded two tallies, his first multi-goal outing since Dec. 22, 2022. Albert Johansson also provided two assists and a plus-four rating, while Alex Nedeljkovic made a season-high 38 saves on 42 shots. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Cleveland (2-6 L) - The Griffins concluded their four-game homestand with a 1-3 record after losing 6-2 to the Monsters at Van Andel Arena. Alex Chiasson had his second consecutive two-point outing, posting a goal and an assist to give him five points in his last four games. Adam Erne crossed the 50-assist milestone in the AHL. It marked the third assist in just four outings in a Grand Rapids uniform for the New Haven, Conn., native. Recap | Highlights

Sunday at Manitoba (5-4 SOW) - The Griffins won their fifth-consecutive road game in a 5-4 shootout victory over the Moose at the Canada Life Centre. Victor Brattstrom (SOW, 26 saves) made two stops in the shootout while Austin Czarnik and Elmer Soderblom scored to push the Griffins to victory. Brattstrom also chipped in an assist on the opening goal for Grand Rapids, his second of the year. Danny O’Regan earned the third star of the game, recording a goal and an assist. Tonight was O’Regan’s first multi-point outing since his Griffins debut on Dec. 22, 2022 against the Chicago Wolves (2-1–3). The Griffins’ five-game road winning streak marked their longest since a six-game stretch from Feb. 23-March 19, 2016. Recap | Highlights

Monday at Manitoba (1-5 L) - The Griffins’ five-game road win streak was snapped by the Moose in a 5-1 loss at the Canada Life Centre. After crossing the 100-goal milestone on Sunday, Joel L’Esperance found the back of the net again for his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Austin Czarnik and Matt Luff both made the scoresheet with an assist on L’Esperance’s goal. Manitoba’s netminder Oskari Salminen now has 102 saves in four games against Grand Rapids this season (0.962 SV%). Recap | Highlights

Immortalized Forever: Right wing Chris Neil had his No. 25 jersey retired on Friday by the Ottawa Senators, making him the first Griffins alum to have his number retired by an NHL franchise. Neil skated for the Griffins from 1999-2001, making his pro debut with the franchise and helping lead the team to the 2000 IHL Turner Cup Finals and two division titles. He totaled 24 goals and 55 points in 129 games with Grand Rapids, while his 655 penalty minutes stand fourth in team history. Neil went on to play for the Ottawa Senators from 2001-17, playing all of his 15 NHL seasons with the club. He is one of two players in NHL history with at least 1,000 games played and 2,500 penalty minutes to play his entire career with the same team. Neil ranks third in Senators history in games played (1,026) and first in penalty minutes (2,522).

Tough Sledding: The Griffins saw their five-game road winning streak come to an end Monday at Manitoba, which was their longest run since Feb. 23-March 19, 2016. From Jan. 21-Feb. 4, the Griffins allowed their opponent to score four or more goals just one time. However, since then Grand Rapids has allowed at least four goals in each of its last six outings, having been outscored 28-15. This has pushed Grand Rapids further from the postseason, as the Griffins are now seven points out of a playoff spot with 23 games remaining. Grand Rapids has points in 10 of its last 15 contests (8-5-1-1). Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just seven times through 20 games (10-7-1-2, 0.575).

Simon Says: Rookie Simon Edvinsson posted a season-high four points (1-3—4) and a plus-five rating last Wednesday in a 5-4 victory over the Rockford IceHogs. He followed that performance with an assist on Feb. 19 at Manitoba. The 6-foot-6 defenseman is tied for fourth among rookie defensemen with 19 assists and his 23 points are tied for fifth among first-year defensemen. Since the new year, Edvinsson has 13 points (3-10—13) in 19 games.

Chasing Chiasson: Veteran Alex Chiasson exploded for two goals on Feb. 15 against Rockford and returned on Feb. 17 with another two points (1-1—2). Chiasson’s three-game point streak (3-2—5) ended on Monday but he still has 10 points (3-7—10) in his last 13 outings. Through 26 games this season, the Montreal, Quebec, native has eight goals, 10 assists and a plus-three rating.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig: The Griffins concluded their four-game homestand on Friday with a 1-3-0-0 (0.250) record. After a pair of games in Manitoba, the Griffins now return to West Michigan for a five-game homestand and will play seven out of their next eight games at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids is 9-12-2-1 (0.438) at home this season and 12-12-0-1 (0.500) on the road.

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 12-0-2-2 (0.875) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-2-0 (0.833) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 9-24-0-0 (0.273) 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.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Austin Czarnik—Five game-winning goals are tied for second, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—19 assists are tied for fourth among rookie defensemen, 23 points are tied for fifth among rookie defensemen
Joel L’Esperance—Nine power-play goals are tied for sixth, 160 shots rank fourth

Milestones:
Joel L’Esperance recorded his 100th goal as a pro on Feb. 19 at Manitoba. Adam Erne eclipsed 50 assists in the AHL on Feb. 17 against the Cleveland Monsters. Simon Edvinsson recorded four points (1-3—4) on Feb. 15 and eclipsed 50 points as a pro. Albert Johansson notched his 50th assist as a pro on Feb. 15 against Rockford and Tyler Spezia skated in his 250th game as a pro.
Alex Chiasson—Four assists from 150 as a pro
Simon Edvinsson—Four assists from 50 as a pro
Adam Erne—Three assists from 100 as a pro
Taro Hirose—Four points from 150 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Steven Kampfer—Two assists from 150 as a pro
Joel L’Esperance—Four goals from 100 in the AHL
Alex Nedeljkovic—Three wins from 100 in the AHL|
Chase Pearson—Two assists from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Dominik Shine—One assist from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins