This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Colorado Eagles // Fri., Dec. 13 // 9:05 p.m. EST // Blue Arena
GRIFFINS at Colorado Eagles // Sat., Dec. 14 // 9:05 p.m. EST // Blue Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 8:45 p.m. EST on Friday and Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Blue Arena

All-Time Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 0-2-0-0 Away

NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche 

Noteworthy: This marks just the second season that the Griffins will play Colorado, as they met for the first-ever time on Oct. 13, 2023. Grand Rapids dropped both contests in Colorado last campaign with a minus-four scoring margin (8-4).  

Keep It Steady: Despite dropping three of their past five games, the Griffins still rank first in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference and fifth in the AHL with a 15-7-1-0 record and 31 points through 23 games. This marks the first time that Grand Rapids has been atop the division in December or later since the 2018-19 season, when it held a share of first place as late as March 8. When Dec. 1 dawned last season, the Griffins were tied for fourth place with a 6-8-1-1 record. The Griffins have won with defense, as they have allowed two goals or less in 13 of the 23 contests and have scored an average of 3.04 goals per game (16th). 

Road Trip: The Griffins are in the midst of a season-high six-game road trip that began last Saturday in Chicago. Grand Rapids is 1-1-0-0 in the first two games of the trip with two games against Colorado and Texas remaining. The Griffins are 7-4-1-0 in foreign territory this campaign, which is the seventh-best points percentage on the road in the AHL (.625). Through the first 12 road games last season, Grand Rapids sported a 2-8-1-1 record (.250). 

He Shoots, He Scores: Through the first 10 games of the season, the Griffins scored more than two goals just three times and averaged 2.20 goals per game, which ranked 29th in the AHL as of Nov. 4. Since then, Grand Rapids has scored at least four goals in eight of the last 13 contests, averaging 3.69 goals per game. However, the Griffins have been held to just one goal in two of the last three outings (2.33). The Griffins are 16th on the circuit with 3.04 goals per outing while placing second in goals against per game (2.48). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 12-0-0-0 compared to 3-7-1-0 when scoring fewer than three goals. 

Cossa Debut: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, made his NHL debut last night at the Buffalo Sabres, collecting a 6-5 shootout victory in a relief effort behind 12 saves and two stops in the shootout. The 22-year-old became the first goalie in NHL history to win his debut via a shootout in a relief effort. 

Power Surge: The Griffins’ power play has converted seven of its last 27 opportunities on the man-advantage (25.9%) and has scored a power-play goal in five of the last seven games. The power play ranks 18th on the circuit at 16.9% (13-for-77). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 6-for-30 (20.0%, 12th) and its road power play is 7-for-47 (14.9%, 24th). The Griffins’ penalty kill ranks third in the AHL at 88.6% and their four short-handed goals are tied for third.

Throw The Changeup: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, and Ville Husso (138 NHL games) are both on recall to the Red Wings after starting a combined 13-4-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage with the Griffins. The goaltending room now consists of veteran Jack Campbell and rookie Carter Gylander. Campbell made his Griffins debut last Friday against Chicago and has a 2.55 GAA and a .919 save percentage through two games. Campbell has 440 pro games under his belt with a 2.67 GAA and 229 wins since 2011-12. Gylander, the 191st pick by Detroit in 2019, made his AHL debut on Oct. 27 at Lehigh Valley (33 saves in 4-3 SOW) and has now seen action in three AHL contests with a 3.49 GAA and a .890 save percentage. With the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye this season, Gylander has a 5-1-2 ledger with a 2.35 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

Austin Powers: Veteran Austin Watson is on a team-high four-game point streak from Dec. 1-8 (2-2—4), which is three games short of his career best in the AHL. Watson ranks second on the roster with 17 points (6-11—17) in 22 games and his plus-nine rating is tied for seventh among forwards. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native has spent the majority of his career in the NHL, showing 118 points (60-58—118) in 518 appearances. At the AHL level, Watson possesses 149 points (79-70—149) in 256 outings, as he had spent his entire AHL career with Milwaukee before this season. 

Young Sheldon: Veteran Sheldon Dries has scored goals in the last two games and has six points (3-3—6) in his last five outings. The Macomb, Michigan, native is tied for first on the roster with nine goals in 20 games and is on pace for his second 30-plus goal campaign (35 in 2021-22). Dries is no stranger to West Michigan, as he spent four seasons at Western Michigan University from 2013-17 and totaled 84 points (44-40—84) in 148 contests, serving as captain for three campaigns. The 30-year-old has competed in 416 pro games with 243 points (138-105—243) and 217 points (122-95—217) in 294 AHL appearances. 

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 11-1-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and 13-1-1-0 when either tied or leading after the first period. The Griffins have scored the first goal 13 times, sixth-most in the AHL, and their 11 wins while scoring the first tally are tied for first on the circuit. When the Griffins allow the first goal they are 4-6-0-0, and 2-6-0-0 when trailing after two periods. 

Damn Daniel, Back At It Again: Rookie Nate Danielson, selected ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, had just two points (1-1—2) in his first eight games as a pro. However, he enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak (1-4—5) from Nov. 24-Dec. 1 and has 10 points (2-8—10) in his last 11 contests. His 11 assists in 23 games are tied for seventh among rookies while his 14 points are tied for 13th among first-year players. The 20-year-old made his pro debut with Grand Rapids on May 20 at Milwaukee during the Calder Cup Playoffs and finished the postseason with two appearances. Prior to turning pro, Danielson spent four campaigns in the WHL from 2020-24 and amassed 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 regular-season games. 

Shine Bright: Veteran Dominik Shine ranks first on the roster in both points (6-13—19) and assists (13) in 23 games. Shine collected his sixth multi-point game of the season last Saturday at Chicago (0-2—2), which is tied for his career-high mark set in 2021-22, and now has six points (2-4—6) in his last five contests. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 157 points (67-90—157) and 501 penalty minutes in 445 appearances. In the Griffins’ all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, seventh 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) and is on pace to reach 60 points (19-41—60) this season.

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense: The Griffins rank second in the AHL with 2.48 goals allowed per game, as the 57 goals surrendered rank eighth in the AHL. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 27 goals in its last 14 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (1.93 GA per game). 

Shoot Your Shot: The Griffins have outshot their opponent just five times in the first 23 contests, with three of those five coming against Chicago. The Griffins average 25.2 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots five times and has exceeded 30 shots five times. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents average 30.0 shots per game (20th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots eight times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 215-154 compared to being outshot 228-214 in the second and 237-190 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 9-3-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 9-5-1-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—10th among rookie defensemen in assists (7)
Sebastian Cossa—Fourth in minutes played (816:02), tied for seventh in shutouts (1), sixth in GAA (2.21), tied for third in wins (9), and seventh in save percentage (.925)
Nate Danielson—Tied for first in short-handed assists (2), tied for seventh among rookies in assists (11)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
William Lagesson—Tied for sixth among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+11), tied for eighth among all skaters in plus-minus rating (+11)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for first in game-winners (4)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (6)

Milestones:
Last Friday, Tory Dello competed in his 200th game as a pro, Eemil Viro skated in his 100th game as a Griffin, and William Lagesson suited up for his 350th game as a pro.   
Alex Doucet—One point from 50 as a pro
Tim Gettinger—Three games from 300 in the AHL
Joe Snively—One point from 200 as a pro
Elmer Soderblom—One point from 100 as a pro 
Austin Watson—One point from 150 in the AHL 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins