Griffins Game #35 * Home Game #20 * AHL Game #584

Season Series: 5-2-1-0 Home Series: 3-1-1-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 107-70-7-8-8 All-Time Home Series: 57-34-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 50-36-5-5-5

Admirals at Griffins
Ninth of 12 meetings overall, sixth of six at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 22-11-2-1 in the last five seasons against Milwaukee...Grand Rapids is 10-8-1-0 in the last 19 overall against the Admirals, including points in six of the last seven (5-1-1-0) outings…Dating back to the 2015-16 season, the Griffins are 16-10-2-1 against Milwaukee at Van Andel Arena with a +16 scoring margin (85-69)…The Admirals come into the contest with a 4-4-0-2 record in their past 10 contests and possess a 9-11-0-2 ledger on the road this year...The Griffins are 8-6-4-1 on home ice this season...Five of the eight match ups this season have been decided by three or more goals, with an average of 7.25 goals scored in each contest...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 201th meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 107 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee ranks fifth in the league with a power play conversion rate of 22.3% while the Griffins come in at 30th at 13.7%. The Admirals’ penalty kill is tied for 14th in the AHL at 81.5%, and Grand Rapids ranks 23rd at 78.4%...Kyle Criscuolo (2-6—8) and Taro Hirose (3-5—8) lead the Griffins against Milwaukee...Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4).

Last Time Out
Toronto scored with 1:55 remaining in regulation and then found a game-winner 38 seconds into overtime to defeat the Griffins 4-3 at Van Andel Arena. This was the first meeting between the two clubs since Nov. 9, 2019, when Toronto beat Grand Rapids 5-2 in West Michigan. Dennis Yan notched a tally, giving him goals in consecutive games for the first time this season. Turner Elson tied Kyle Criscuolo for the most goals on the roster with 12 with his power play score. Gemel Smith recorded his first point as a Griffin with a helper. The Griffins now have points in 10 of the last 12 contests (6-2-3-1). Elson (1-1—2) and Jared McIsaac (1-1—2) notched multi-point outings while Luke Witkowski recorded his 50th point in the AHL. Four the last five Griffins home games have gone past regulation.

Winning Resolution
The Griffins have gotten off to a strong start to ring in 2022, as the team has 13 points (5-2-2-1) in the opening 10 games of the new year. The 13 points in 10 games this month have surpassed the Griffins’ point total in October (7 GP, 5 pts.), December (7 GP, 7 pts.) and November (10 GP, 12pts.). The Griffins enjoyed a six-game point streak from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which was the longest since an identical 4-0-2-0 run from March 3-26, 2021. Grand Rapids now has points in 10 of its last 12 games (6-2-3-1).

This Date in Griffins History
2014: The Red Wings assign NHL veteran Mikael Samuelsson to Grand Rapids. He would eventually go scoreless in two appearances with the Griffins, marking his first AHL stint since the 2001-02 season.

Busy Bodies
The Griffins have competed in 32 games over the first 99 days of the season between Oct. 15-Jan. 21. The calendar for Grand Rapids intensifies in the second half of the campaign, as the club is scheduled to play 43 contests over 96 days from Jan. 22-April 28. The Griffins are no stranger to a busy workload, as Grand Rapids played in 16 games in 30 days to conclude the 2020-21 season.

Welcome Home, Abby
Veteran left wing Justin Abdelkader signed a professional tryout on Jan. 21 with the Griffins and made his season debut on Jan. 22 against Milwaukee. The 14-year-pro competed with the Griffins for two seasons from 2008-10 before moving on to the Detroit Red Wings, where he ultimately played parts of 13 seasons. The Muskegon, Mich., native became the first West Michigan native to suit up for Grand Rapids when he made his AHL debut on Oct. 11, 2008. Abdelkader skated in 109 games for the Griffins and totaled 76 points (35-41—76) and 188 penalty minutes, earning AHL All-Rookie Team honors during the 2008-09 season when he logged 52 points (24-28—52) in 76 contests. Abdelkader earned a full-time roster spot with Detroit in the 2010-11 season and concluded his NHL career with 739 games, 252 points (106-146—252) and 608 penalty minutes. The left winger wore the “A” on his Red Wings jersey from 2016-20 while also captaining Team USA at two World Championships (2014, 2021).

Beijing Bound
At least 11 former Griffins will represent six different countries at the 2022 Winter Olympics. All three goaltenders from the 2018-19 team that went 38-27-7-4 (0.572) will be headed to Beijing. Valtteri Filppula was selected to represent Finland for the second time, as he claimed a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Tomas Jurco (2012-14; 15-17) also received his second selection on to Team Slovakia after playing for his home country in the 2014 Sochi Games, while competing for the Griffins that season.

Going with the Flow
It has been a busy season thus far for head coach Ben Simon and general manager Pat Verbeek, as players on professional tryouts have been plentiful for the Griffins this year. Ten PTO skaters have seen action so far this season and have totaled 81 games played; both numbers surpass any full season since Simon joined the team as an assistant coach in 2015-16. On average, 11.9% of Grand Rapids’ lineup has been tryout players, yet the team sits in third place in the Central Division with a 0.544 winning percentage through Jan. 24.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-9-1-2 (0.250) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and second-place Manitoba Moose. The Griffins picked up their first win against either club since Nov. 12 on Jan. 14. However, Grand Rapids is 13-3-4-0 (0.750) against the rest of the AHL.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren completed a four-game point streak (0-5—5) from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which tied Kyle Criscuolo for the longest assist streak on the team this season. The Uppsala, Sweden, native registered a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland, which set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins’ rookie single-game record of five assists set by Chris Bala (1/10/02). The Swede has points (1-10—11) in seven of the last nine contests. The former second-round draft pick is tied for 17th among league rookies with eight goals. Berggren’s 27 points (8-19—27) are tied for fifth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 539 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fifth 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 Backor (Pittsburgh Hornets 1945-54) for the No. 5 spot on Jan. 14 against Manitoba and is now 31 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 116 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

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 21 helpers in the opening 33 games, which is a team high and tied for 10th in the league. Ten assists have come on the power play, which is tied for eighth in the AHL. Hirose logged his second three-point night (2-1—3) of the season on Jan. 1 against Milwaukee, which tied a career high for the forward. In that same game, he also tied a career-best two goals. The former Michigan State Spartan enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 30 points (9-21—30) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 16th in the league. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Murphy’s Law
Reigning AHL defenseman of the year Ryan Murphy has started to find a rhythm offensively for the Griffins. The nine-year pro is sixth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 17 points (6-11—17) in 32 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his point total is tied for 20th while six goals are tied for fourth. The Aurora, Ontario, native signed a one-year contract with Detroit on July 28, 2021 and is the midst of his inaugural season with the Griffins.

Cris-COOL-o
After being sidelined in the first four games due to an injury, center Kyle Criscuolo has made up for his lost time with 25 points (12-13—25) in 25 contests. The Harvard University graduate logged a two-game point streak (1-1—2) from Oct. 30-31 and surpassed that mark with a 10-game point streak (7-11—18) from Nov. 20-Jan. 5, which set a new career high for the forward. His point streak was the 17th-longest in Griffins history. Most recently, Riley Barber had a nine-game point streak from Feb. 5-March 11, 2021 that was the longest to ever start a Griffins season or career. Criscuolo’s 10-game streak also tied for the ninth-longest scoring run in Grand Rapids history and the longest since Matt Puempel’s 11-game tear from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019. The sixth-year pro is third on the roster with 25 points while his 12 goals are tied for the team lead. Criscuolo made his NHL season debut with Detroit on Dec. 1 against Seattle, marking his first NHL game since March 5, 2018. Criscuolo then collected his first career NHL point on an assist against New Jersey on Dec. 18.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in 14 of his 27 appearances this season. The 10-year-pro currently ranks seventh in the AHL with a 2.40 goals against average while his 0.927 save percentage places third. The netminder made his sixth straight start on Nov. 28 and 10th consecutive appearance, both personal highs as a Griffin. In fact, Pickard has seen action in 27 of the 34 games this season, including 16 straight from Nov. 5-Dec. 22. Pickard made his 12th consecutive start on Dec. 22, which set a new career high for the goaltender and was only halfway to Joey MacDonald’s franchise record of 24, set during the 2004-05 season. The goaltender recorded his third assist of the season on Dec. 4 versus Rockford, which set a new AHL career high for assists in a season. Pickard recorded his first shutout of the year 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.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Five power play goals are tied for 11th
Jonatan Berggren—Eight goals are tied for 17th among league rookies, 27 points (8-19—27) are tied for fifth among first-year players
Taro Hirose—21 assists are tied for 10th, 10 power play assists are tied for eighth
Ryan Murphy—Six goals are tied for fourth among blueliners
Wyatt Newpower—39 penalty minutes are tied for fifth among rookies
Calvin Pickard—2.40 goals against average ranks seventh, 0.927 save percentage places third, 1602 minutes leads the league and 13 wins are tied for second
Dominik Shine—81 penalty minutes rank second

Milestones
Matt Berry collected his first goal as a Griffin on Jan. 22 against Milwaukee while forwards Justin Abdelkader and Gemel Smith each made their season debuts. Luke Witkowski recorded his 50th AHL point on Jan. 24 versus Toronto and Smith earned his first point as a Griffin. Other upcoming milestones include:
Ben Simon—Two wins from 100 as Griffins head coach
Kyle Criscuolo—Five assists from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, six assists from 100 in the AHL
Turner Elson—Two games from 450 as a pro
Taro Hirose—Three games from 100 as a Griffin
Jon Martin—Four points from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Four goals from 50 as a pro
Gemel Smith—Three assists from 100 in the AHL

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins