This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Thu., Nov. 7 // 11:30 a.m. EST // Wells Fargo Arena 

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 11:15 a.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Wells Fargo Arena

All-Time Series: 50-24-5-3 Overall, 25-14-1-1 Away

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild 

Noteworthy: The Griffins finished 7-1-0-0 last year against Iowa, their second-best series record since the Wild joined the AHL in 2013-14.   

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Fri., Nov. 8 // 8 p.m. EST // BMO Center

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Away. Third of 12 meetings overall, second of six at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 67-49-11-11 Overall, 27-31-5-6 Away 

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks 

Noteworthy: Two of the three regulation losses for the Griffins this season have been against Rockford. The Griffins have been outscored by the IceHogs 8-2, but against all other opponents Grand Rapids has a plus-seven scoring margin (20-13). 

Hot Start: Despite being on a three-game winless skid, the Griffins are tied for their fifth-best start in franchise history with 13 points through 10 games. Grand Rapids set a franchise record with 12 points (6-1-0-0) through the first seven games, beating its previous high of 11 in 2008-09 (4-0-2-1) and in 2000-01 (5-1-1). Grand Rapids went undefeated while playing three games in three days from Oct. 25-27, a feat it has accomplished only once before (April 5-7, 2002). The Griffins hadn’t swept a 3-in-3 in any venues since Dec. 29-31, 2017. Grand Rapids also began the year 3-0-0-0 at home for the first time since 2009-10, when it won its first eight games at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins have won with defense, as they have allowed two goals or less in five of the 10 contests but have scored an average of just 2.20 goals per game (29th). 

Shoot Your Shot: The Griffins have been outshot in every game this season and have averaged 23.4 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots three times and has exceeded 30 shots just once. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents have averaged 30.7 shots per game (21st in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots three times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 104-58 compared to being outshot 97-91 in the second and 101-81 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 4-1-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 5-1-1-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots. 

More to Come: Ondrej Becher made his AHL debut on Sunday against the Cleveland Monsters, becoming just the 25th player to make his Griffins debut the season after he was drafted. Selected with the 80th pick by Detroit in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the 20-year-old also became the eighth player to make his debut during the first month of the following season and just the fifth Red Wings pick to do so, joining Donovan Sebrango, Moritz Seider, Tomas Tatar, and Filip Zadina. In two seasons in the WHL from 2022-24, Becher recorded 134 points (48-86—134) and a plus-69 rating in 121 appearances. He also suited up for his home country of Czechia at the 2024 World Junior Championship, showing 10 points (3-7—10) in seven outings en route to claiming a bronze medal. Prior to coming to North America in 2022, Becher spent parts of two seasons in the Czechia2 league, Czechia’s second tier of pro hockey, and contributed three points (2-1—3) in 19 outings. 

If You Ain’t First, You’re Last: Starting the game off on the right foot has been imperative for the Griffins early this season. Grand Rapids is 5-0-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and when either tied or leading after the first period. When the roles are reversed, the Griffins are just 1-3-0-0, and they are 0-3-0-0 when trailing after two periods. One-goal games have been kind to Grand Rapids, as it is 4-0-1-0 compared to 2-3-0-0 when a game is decided by two goals or more.  

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense: The Griffins rank third in the AHL with just 2.10 goals allowed per game, as the 21 goals surrendered are the second fewest in franchise history over the first 10 games of a season (18 in 2004-05). For comparison, Grand Rapids ceded 34 goals in the opening 10 games last year. Grand Rapids allowed just one goal inside Van Andel Arena in the first three games, which was the fewest over a three-game home stretch since it posted three straight shutouts from Dec. 30, 2006 to Jan. 10, 2007. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just eight goals in its last seven regular-season games at Van Andel Arena.

Shine Bright: Veteran Dominik Shine scored two goals last Wednesday at Hartford and now has five points (3-2—5) in his last five outings. Shine paces the squad with eight points (4-4—8) in 10 games, while his four goals rank second. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 146 points (65-81—146) and 488 penalty minutes in 432 appearances. In the Griffins’ all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, eighth in penalty minutes, tied for 10th in overtime goals (2), and tied for fourth in unassisted goals (8). Last year, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (23), points (33) and plus-minus rating (+8).

Loaded Ammo: Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi has found a rhythm offensively, as he has five points (3-2—5) in his last five games. The 21-year-old logged his first two-goal game as a pro on Oct. 19 against Manitoba and later registered a career-high three points (2-1—3) on Oct. 26 at Lehigh Valley. Lombardi ranks second on the team with seven points (5-2—7) and his five goals place first on the roster. Through 10 games, Lombardi has already matched his career high with five goals, as he lit the lamp five times in 70 contests last year. The Aurora, Ontario, native has 34 points (10-24—34), 14 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating through 82 career appearances.  

Win by Committee: During this hot start for the Griffins, the team has used three different netminders to fuel the success. Sebastian Cossa leads the way with a 4-3-1 record with one shutout to go along with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. Ville Husso has a 1-0-0 mark with one shutout in two games with a 0.70 GAA and a .970 save percentage. Rookie Carter Gylander made his AHL debut last Sunday and earned a 4-3 shootout victory, making 33 saves and stopping all three shootout attempts by Lehigh Valley. Combined, the trio has a 2.08 GAA and a .931 save percentage through 10 outings.  

Milestones:
Last Friday against Rockford, Dan Watson logged his 500th game as a pro head coach and Jakub Rychlovsky skated in his 300th pro contest. 
Tory Dello—One point from 50 in the AHL and as a pro
Cross Hanas—Two games from 100 as a Griffin, in the AHL, and as a pro
Dominik Shine—Four points from 150 as a Griffin, in the AHL, and as a pro
Antti Tuomisto—Three points from 50 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins