Griffins Game #52 * Road Game #24 * AHL Game #817

Season Series: 5-4-1-0 Home Series: 3-2-1-0 Road Series: 2-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 107-72-7-8-8 All-Time Home Series: 57-35-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 50-37-5-5-5

Griffins at Admirals
Eleventh of 12 meetings overall, fifth of six at Panther Arena…Grand Rapids is 22-12-2-1 in the last five seasons against Milwaukee...Grand Rapids is 10-10-1-0 in the last 21 overall against the Admirals, including points in six of the last nine (5-3-1-0) outings…After beginning the season series 5-1-1-0, Grand Rapids has dropped the past three contests against the Admirals, having been outscored 14-2...Milwaukee has shut out the Griffins in the past two meetings...Dating back to the 2015-16 season, the Griffins are 15-10-0-0 against Milwaukee at Panther Arena with a plus-six scoring margin (85-79)…The Admirals come into the contest with a 6-2-2-0 record in their past 10 contests and possess a 11-10-3-0 ledger at home this year...The Griffins are 11-10-1-1 on foreign ice this season...Six of the 10 match ups this season have been decided by three or more goals, with an average of 6.40 goals scored in each contest...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 203rd meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 107 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee ranks third in the league with a power play conversion rate of 23.4% while the Griffins come in at 30th at 13.5%. The Admirals’ penalty kill places 18th in the AHL at 80.1%, and Grand Rapids ranks 28th at 76.7%...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
The Griffins defeated the Iowa Wild 3-0 courtesy of Victor Brattstrom’s first AHL shutout on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins have now recorded points in nine of the last 11 home contests versus the Wild (5-2-3-1). Brattstrom recorded 35 saves and his first-ever victory against the Wild. In his Grand Rapids debut, Alexis D’Aoust notched an empty netter on a power play and an assist for a multi-point game (1-1—2). Riley Barber received his first point since Jan.1 in his second game back from rehabbing an injury that kept him out for nearly two months. Grand Rapids has notched points in six of its last eight games against Iowa (5-2-1-0). Grand Rapids went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play.

Roster Shake Up
- March 2, 2022—F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit
- March 4, 2022—F Alexis D’Aoust signed to a PTO

Rollercoaster Ride
After beginning the season series with a 5-1-1-0 record, the Griffins have dropped the past three games against Milwaukee. In fact, Grand Rapids has been shut out in consecutive meetings with the Admirals and has been outscored 14-2 over the last three clashes. Before this three-game skid, the Griffins were 8-1-1-0 (0.850) against the Admirals in the prior 10 contests with a plus-12 scoring margin (38-26). Milwaukee is Grand Rapids’ most frequent opponent with the 203rd all-time meeting coming on Sunday. The Griffins are 107-72-7-8-8 (0.587) all-time against the Admirals.

This Date in Griffins History
2002: The Griffins experience their first-ever scoreless tie at Houston, giving them consecutive shutouts for the first time in their history and setting a franchise mark with nine on the season.

Welcome Back, March
The Griffins have had a remarkable stretch of success during the month of March throughout their 25 seasons. Grand Rapids has earned a winning record in March for 13 straight years, in large part by going 0.500 or better on the road during each of those months and despite playing 62% of its games on the road. All time, the Griffins have only had a losing March record three times in 25 years. The last time Grand Rapids suffered a losing record in March was back in 2008. Things that were also happening in March of 2008: Jimmy Howard was playing his third of four full seasons in Grand Rapids; Ben Simon was an alternate captain for the Springfield Falcons, 2.5 years from starting his coaching career; Donovan Sebrango was six years old; President George W. Bush was serving his final year in the White House; and the Red Wings were three months from winning their most recent Stanley Cup.

Home, Sweet Home
The Griffins will have a lot of action in West Michigan during the first three weeks of March. Six of Grand Rapids’ first eight games of the month will be played at Van Andel Arena before closing out March with a season-long five-game road trip. The Griffins went 4-2-1-1 during an identical stretch of games in January. The Griffins will play half of their remaining 12 homes contests in the first three weeks of March. Grand Rapids is 12-11-4-1 on home ice this season while it is 11-10-1-1 on the road.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-10-1-2 (0.233) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and the second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 21-11-4-0 (0.639) against the rest of the AHL.

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 tied for fifth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 23 points (10-13—23) in 47 outings. Murphy completed a season-high four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Feb. 11-19 and has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his 10 goals are tied for first. 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.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren 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). Berggren’s 37 points (14-23—37) ranks eighth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 23 assists rank ninth among league rookies while his 14 goals are tied for ninth. Berggren is also tied for fifth in the league with five game-winning goals, which also places second among rookies. Berggren is on pace for 55 points, which would place him in a tie for third in franchise history among rookies. The Uppsala, Sweden, native is also on pace for 21 goals, which would place him in a tie for sixth place with Josh Langfeld (2001-02) and Chris Bala (2001-02).

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 30 helpers in the opening 50 games, which is a team high and places 10th in the league. Fourteen assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 13th 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 42 points (12-30—42) this season pace the Griffins. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard has had a stellar season thus far, as he ranks near the top in multiple categories in the AHL. The 10-year-pro currently ranks 12th in the AHL with a 2.45 goals against average while his 0.923 save percentage is tied for third in the league. Pickard also ranks second with 2202:30 minutes played and is tied for fifth with 18 wins. Pickard has got it done on the offensive end as well with four assists on the season, which is two more than his previous career high. The netminder has been a work horse for the Griffins this season, appearing in 37 of the 51 games.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 555 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 15 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 100 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Jonatan Berggren—37 points (14-23—37) ranks eighth among first-year players, 23 assists ranks ninth among rookies and 14 goals are tied for eighth among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for fifth in the league and place second among rookies
Taro Hirose—30 assists places 10th, 14 power play assists are tied for 13th
Ryan Murphy—10 goals are tied for first among blueliners
Calvin Pickard—2.45 goals against average ranks 12th, 0.923 save percentage is tied for third, 18 wins are tied for fifth, 2202:30 minutes played places second
Dominik Shine—100 penalty minutes rank fourth

Milestones
Jon Martin collected his 100th point as a pro on Feb. 26 against Bakersfield while Luke Witkowski skated in his 300th AHL game. Kyle Criscuolo appeared in his 300th game as a pro on Feb. 25 against Bakersfield. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jonatan Berggren—Three points from 100 as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—One assist from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, two assists from 100 in the AHL, one game from 150 as a Griffin
Taro Hirose—Two points from 100 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Brett McKenzie—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Ben Simon—One game from 350 as a pro head coach

Photo by Milwaukee Admirals