Griffins Game #33 * Road Game #19 * AHL Game #485

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 116-84-7-9-8 All-Time Home Series: 63-40-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 53-44-5-6-5

Griffins at Admirals
Fifth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 14-16-2-0 (.469) against Milwaukee since the 2020-21 campaign...Dating back to the 2020-21 season, the Griffins are 4-9-1-0 (.321) against the Admirals in Milwaukee...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent – 225th meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 116 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee is 4-5-0-1 in its last 10 games and 7-4-0-1 at home...The Griffins are 5-3-2-0 in their last 10 games and 11-5-2-0 on the road...Grand Rapids is on a five-game point streak on the road since Dec. 14 (4-0-1-0) and a four-game point streak overall (3-0-1-0)...Milwaukee’s power play ranks 17th at 17.4%, and its penalty kill ranks seventh at 86.0%...Grand Rapids ranks 12th on the power play at 18.0% and third on the penalty kill at 87.0%...Milwaukee is tied for eighth in the AHL with 2.66 goals allowed per game and 22nd in goals scored per game (2.90)...The Griffins and Admirals are two of the bottom four teams in the AHL for shots per game, as Grand Rapids ranks last at 25.3 and Milwaukee fourth-to-last at 26.1...Milwaukee head coach Karl Taylor enters his sixth season as head boss. Taylor has a 219-121-32-16 record (.626) with the Admirals that includes two division titles and three 40-plus win seasons, in addition to never finishing worse than third place in the Central Division...Austin Watson spent nine seasons within Nashville’s organization and logged 132 points (73-59—132) in 234 games with the Admirals...Milwaukee’s Vinnie Hinostroza ranks third the AHL in points (11-22—33) while tying for second in assists (22).

Last Time Out
In a 1-0 shootout victory for the Griffins on Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, goaltender Ville Husso saved 31 shots, shutting out the Cleveland Monsters while Joe Snively scored the shootout-winner. The win marked the Griffins' second 1-0 shootout victory on the road in franchise history and their first in more than a quarter-century, as their previous win came on April 18, 1999, when Neil Little posted 22 saves at Detroit. Husso increased his record to 6-1-0 with his second shutout of the season, improving to a .935 save percentage and a 1.86 goals-against average. Snively's shootout-winner gave the Griffins' their fourth shootout victory of the year. Grand Rapids is undefeated in the shootout this season (4-0). The Griffins' penalty kill denied all power-play scoring attempts (3-for-3, 100%), as Grand Rapids collected its 20th win. In three straight games against the Monsters, Grand Rapids earned wins in all three while outscoring Cleveland 11-2. 

This Date in Griffins History
2017: Thanks to two-goal, three-point nights by both Ben Street and Tomas Nosek, Grand Rapids prevails 6-5 over Iowa to improve to 21-8-1-2 and reclaim the top spot in the Western Conference. 

Well Rested
The AHL’s Holiday Break came at a good time for the Griffins, as they entered the break on a season-high three-game winless streak (0-1-2-0) and had dropped five of their last seven outings (2-3-2-0). Since returning from the break, the Griffins have claimed three straight victories over the Cleveland Monsters, outscoring them 11-2. Grand Rapids remains in first place in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference, and tied for second in the AHL with a 20-9-3-0 record and 43 points through 32 games. When Dec. 30 dawned last season, the Griffins stood fourth place in the division with an 11-13-3-1 record. Grand Rapids has faired well against its division rivals with a 12-7-2-0 mark and has remained the top team in the division since Nov. 8. 

The Watson Supercomputer
Dan Watson has been named the coach for the Central Division in the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, to be held Feb. 2-3 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California. The Griffins clinched the top spot in the division through the end of play on Dec. 31 with an 18-9-3-0 record and 39 points, meriting Watson’s selection. The Griffins have gone 12-7-2-0 against their division rivals this season and have remained the top team since Nov. 8. Watson became the first Griffins coach to achieve the honor since Todd Nelson in 2017 and the fourth head coach in franchise history to coach in an all-star game, joining Nelson, Jeff Blashill (2014), and Bruce Cassidy (2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). This will mark Watson’s third all-star appearance, as he was chosen to coach in the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2017 and 2022 with the Toledo Walleye.

No Ordinary Joe
Joe Snively logged his third-career AHL hat trick last Saturday at the Cleveland Monsters, and now has eight points in his last nine games (5-3—8). Snively is tied for second on the roster in points (13-11—24) and first in goals (13) through 32 appearances. His goal count is also tied for 13th in the AHL. The Herndon, Virginia, native has won the last two Calder Cups with the Hershey Bears and showed a combined 33 points (6-27—33) in 40 games during the postseason with a 28-12 record in the past two playoffs. Snively also aided Hershey to a regular-season title last year with a 53-14-0-5 mark (111 pts., .771), the second-best regular-season record in AHL history and the most wins by an AHL team in a 72-game season. The 29-year-old is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, as only 11 players in league history have won three consecutive cups in the AHL and no one has achieved this feat since the 1978 season. 

Road Trip
The Griffins concluded their season-high six-game road trip on Dec. 18 at the Texas Stars and finished the stretch of games with a 3-2-1-0 mark. Grand Rapids has hit the pavement once again, as tonight it will finish a stretch that saw it play nine of 12 games on the road, which began on Dec. 7 at Chicago. The Griffins are on a five-game point streak on the road since Dec. 14 (4-0-1-0) and are 11-5-2-0 (.667) in foreign territory overall with 24 points, which is tied for second in the AHL on the road. Through the first 18 road games last season, Grand Rapids sported a 6-9-2-1 record (.416). 

Damn Daniel, Back At It Again
Rookie Nate Danielson, selected ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, secured his first three-point night (0-3—3) as a pro last Saturday at the Cleveland Monsters. Danielson is tied for first on the roster with 16 assists, which is also tied for second among first-year players in the AHL. The 20-year-old made his pro debut with Grand Rapids on May 20 at Milwaukee during the Calder Cup Playoffs last year 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 is tied for second on the roster in points (9-15—24) and third in assists (15) in 32 games. Shine collected his sixth multi-point game of the season on Dec. 7 at Chicago (0-2—2), which tied for his career-high mark set in 2021-22, and now has five points (3-2—5) in his last seven contests. Last year, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (23), points (33) and plus-minus rating (+8) and is on pace to reach 54 points (20-34—54) this season. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 162 points (70-92—162) and 509 penalty minutes in 455 appearances. In the Griffins’ all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, sixth in penalty minutes, tied for 10th in overtime goals (2), and tied for third in unassisted goals (9). 

Rollercoaster Ride
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. Grand Rapids then averaged 4.10 goals per game from Nov. 7-Dec. 1 and went 8-2-0-0 during the run. The Griffins then scored 2.33 goals per game from Dec. 6-22 and went 3-4-2-0 in those contests. Grand Rapids has now potted 11 goals across three games since Dec. 28 (3.67 GF) with a 3-0-0-0 record. The Griffins are tied for 16th on the circuit with 2.97 goals per outing, while ranking second in goals against per game (2.47). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 16-0-0-0 compared to 4-9-3-0 when scoring fewer than three goals. 

Austin Powers
Veteran Austin Watson enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak from Dec. 1-8 (2-2—4), and has secured a point in 11 of the past 15 games (7-7—14). Watson ranks first on the roster with 25 points (9-16—25) in 30 games and is tied for the team lead in assists (16) and power-play goals (4). 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 157 points (82-75—157) in 264 outings, as he had spent his entire AHL career with Milwaukee before this season. 

Lock it Down
Through the months of October and November, the Griffins averaged 2.32 goals against per game, which ranked first in the AHL. In the month of December, Grand Rapids allowed 2.92 goals per game. The Griffins remain one of the top defensive teams in the AHL, as they place second with 2.47 goals against per game. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 37 goals in its last 17 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.18 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 52 goals in their last 20 regular-season road games (2.60 GA per game). 

Battle for Power
The Griffins scored a power-play goal in five straight games from Nov. 24-Dec. 6 (5-for-15, 33.3%) and have now converted on seven of their past 41 man-advantages (17.1%) since Dec. 7. The power play ranks 12th on the circuit at 18.0% (20-for-111). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 8-for-41 (19.5%, 14th) and its road power play is 12-for-70 (17.1%, 18th). The Griffins have also given up the five short-handed goals, which is tied for the sixth-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill ranks third in the AHL at 87.0% and their four short-handed goals are tied for sixth. Grand Rapids has surrendered a power-play goal in seven of its last 12 outings (35-for-43 on PK, 81.4%).   

Holy Goalies 
Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, has been the go-to netminder for the Griffins this season, as he has a 10-5-3 mark with a 2.31 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 18 games. Cossa ranks among the AHL leaders in minutes played (1,063:16, 7th), games played (T7th), GAA (10th) wins (T6th), and save percentage (T7th). The 22-year-old collected his first NHL victory during his debut on Dec. 9 at the Buffalo Sabres with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and two stops in the shootout. Cossa became the first netminder in NHL history to win his debut via a shootout in a relief effort. Veteran Jack Campbell was assigned to Grand Rapids on Nov. 18 and made his Griffins debut on Dec. 6 against the Chicago Wolves. He later bagged his first win as a Griffin on Dec. 17 at Texas behind 20 saves in a 4-2 victory. Through four games with Grand Rapids, Campbell is 2-2-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Campbell has 442 pro games under his belt with a 2.67 GAA and 231 wins since 2011-12, splitting time between the NHL (176 GP), AHL (239 GP) and ECHL (27 GP). Ville Husso was reassigned to the Griffins by Detroit on Dec. 19. Husso has a 6-1-0 ledger with two shutouts to go along with a 1.86 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in eight appearances with the Griffins this season. Through nine career games with Grand Rapids, Husso has a 7-1-0 record with three shutouts, a 1.64 goals-against average, and a .942 save percentage. 

Keep It Close
The Griffins have excelled at winning close games, as they are 8-1-3-0 when a game is decided by one goal. Grand Rapids is 12-8-0-0 when the contest is decided by two or more tallies. The eight wins in one-goal games are tied for seventh in the AHL. The Griffins have struggled in overtime thus far with a 1-3 mark compared to a 4-0 ledger in a shootout. When leading or tied after the first period, Grand Rapids is 18-2-2-0 compared to 3-7-1-0 when trailing after the first. 

Shoot Your Shot
The Griffins have outshot their opponent just eight times in the first 32 contests, with three of those eight coming against Chicago. The Griffins average 25.3 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots six times and has exceeded 30 shots eight times. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents average 29.1 shots per game (16th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots 14 times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 286-233 compared to being outshot 307-287 in the second and 315-270 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 12-4-2-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 11-5-2-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for ninth among rookie defensemen in assists (10), tied for 14th among rookie defensemen in points (10), tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+6)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,063:16), tied for seventh in games played (18), 10th in GAA (2.31), tied for sixth in wins (10), and tied for seventh in save percentage (.919)
Nate Danielson—Tied for second in short-handed assists (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among rookies in assists (16), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play assists (6)
Alex Doucet—Tied for fourth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for fourth in game-winners (4)
Joe Snively—Tied for 13th in goals (13)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (8) 

Milestones
Alex Doucet earned his 50th point as a pro on New Year’s Eve with a two-point night (1-1—2) against Cleveland. Last Saturday, Joe Snively bagged his third-career hat trick during his 250th AHL game at Cleveland. 
Sheldon Dries—Three assists from 100 in the AHL, two points from 250 as a pro 
Joe Snively—Four points from 200 in the AHL
Elmer Soderblom—Two assists from 50 as a pro, two points from 50 as a Griffin and in the AHL 

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins