Griffins Game #15 * Road Game #9 * AHL Game #208

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 114-83-7-9-8 All-Time Home Series: 62-39-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 52-44-5-6-5

Admirals at Griffins
Second of eight meetings overall, first of four at Panther Arena…The Griffins are one of only two teams to defeat the Admirals in regulation through 12 games...Grand Rapids is 12-15-2-0 (.448) 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 – 222nd meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 114 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee’s power play ranks seventh at 21.7%, and its penalty kill places fifth at 88.1%...Grand Rapids ranks 27th on the power play at 12.2% and fourth on the penalty kill at 89.6%...Milwaukee and Grand Rapids are tied for first with just 2.00 goals against per game...The Admirals rank eighth in goals scored per game (3.42), while the Griffins place 19th (2.93)...The Griffins and Admirals are the two bottom teams in the AHL for shots per game, as Grand Rapids ranks last at 24.0 and Milwaukee second-to-last at 25.4...Milwaukee head coach Karl Taylor enters his sixth season as head boss. Taylor has a 213-114-31-14 record (.633) 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 leads the AHL in points (5-13—18) and assists (13), while Reid Schaefer is tied for sixth in goals (8). 

Last Time Out
The Griffins secured their second consecutive five-goal game in a 5-1 win against the Chicago Wolves on Friday at Van Andel Arena, increasing their win streak to four. Austin Watson led the way with a three-point performance (1-2—3) for the Griffins’ third five-goal output in the last four contests. William Lagesson (1-1—2) and Elmer Soderblom (0-2—2) each posted two-point nights and rookie Nate Danielson had a goal and an assist to bring his point total to four in the last two outings (2-2—4). Amadeus Lombardi scored his team-high sixth goal of the year and Dominik Shine increased his assist streak to four (0-5—5). In his 100th professional game, goaltender Sebastian Cossa put up 21 saves to improve to a 7-3-1 record with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. Grand Rapids has 21 points through 14 games for the first time since 2005-06, tying for the second-best start in franchise history. The 28 goals allowed by the Griffins through 14 games are their fewest in franchise history, beating out their previous low of 29 in 2004-05. 

This Date in Griffins History
2001: Defenseman Travis Richards, Grand Rapids' all-time leader in games played, suits up for his 400th regular season contest in a Griffins uniform, becoming only the third active AHL player to reach that milestone with his current team. Grand Rapids loses 1-0 to Milwaukee.

Hot Start
Grand Rapids has 21 points through 14 games for the first time since 2005-06, tying for the second-best start in franchise history. In 29 seasons, this is the fourth Griffins team to win at least 10 of its first 14 games, and the first since 2009-10. 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 nine of the 14 contests but have scored an average of just 2.93 goals per game (19th). 

Road Warriors
The Griffins have played eight of their first 14 games this season in foreign territory. Grand Rapids has gone 5-2-1-0 in those games with a plus-four scoring margin (24-20). Grand Rapids went undefeated while playing three games in three days on the road from Oct. 25-27, a feat it has accomplished only once before (April 5-7, 2002). Last season, Grand Rapids went 1-6-0-1 in its first eight road games with a minus-14 scoring margin (17-31). 

Shoot Your Shot
Last night, the Griffins outshot their opponent for the first time in the opening 14 games of the season. The Griffins have averaged 24.0 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 twice. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents have averaged 30.4 shots per game (20th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots five times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 142-91 compared to being outshot 142-130 in the second and 138-111 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 7-1-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 7-1-1-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots. 

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 8-0-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and 9-0-1-0 when either tied or leading after the first period. When the roles are reversed, the Griffins are just 2-3-0-0, 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 6-3-0-0 when a game is decided by two goals or more.   

Power Outage
The Griffins’ power play has struggled out of the gate, as it ranks 27th on the circuit at 12.2% (6-for-49). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 2-for-18 (11.1%, 23rd) and its road power play is 4-for-31 (12.9%, T25th). However, the Griffins’ penalty kill ranks fourth in the AHL at 89.6% and their three short-handed goals are tied for fourth. Grand Rapids recorded two short-handed goals in 3:24 of game time on Thursday at Iowa, which equaled the number of short-handed tallies it had in 72 games last season. The last time the Griffins had scored two short-handed goals in a game was in a 5-3 win over Ontario on Feb. 5, 2022. With three short-handed goals through 13 games, Grand Rapids had already exceeded its short-handed goal count from last season of two. 

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense
The Griffins are tied for first in the AHL with just 2.00 goals allowed per game, as the 28 goals surrendered are the fewest in franchise history over the first 14 games of a season. For comparison, Grand Rapids ceded 48 goals in the opening 14 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 11 goals in its last nine regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (1.22 GA per game). 

Seabass Fishing
Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, is off to a strong start through the opening nine games of his season, showing a 7-3-1 mark with one shutout, a 1.89 goals-against average, and a .937 save percentage. The 21-year-old ranks among the league leaders in minutes played (633:54, 1st), shutouts (T5th), GAA (5th), wins (3rd), and save percentage (5th). Last season, Cossa set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak (13-0-6), and tied both the franchise record home and road point streaks of 13 home games (9-0-4) and 10 road contests (8-0-2). With a 35-save shutout in the season opener against Milwaukee, he became the first Griffins goalie to post an opening-night shutout in 26 years, since Ian Gordon made 33 saves in a 2-0 win over Kansas City on Oct. 9, 1998. 

More to Come
Ondrej Becher made his AHL debut on Nov. 3 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. 

Shine Bright 
On Wednesday, Dominik Shine secured his 150th point as a Griffin with an assist against Rockford, becoming just one of 14 Griffins to reach the milestone. Veteran Shine had four multi-point games this season through the first 12 games, tying his mark from last year in 65 contests (career-high 6 in 2021-22). He most recently posted two assists last Friday at Rockford and now has 10 points (3-7—10) in his last nine outings. Shine paces the squad with 13 points (4-9—13) in 14 games, while his four goals are tied for third and his nine assists are tied for first. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 151 points (65-86—151) and 488 penalty minutes in 436 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 nine points (4-5—9) in his last nine 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 is tied for second on the team with 11 points (6-5—11) and his six goals rank first on the roster. Through the opening 10 games, Lombardi matched his career high with five goals, as he lit the lamp five times in 70 contests last year. The Aurora, Ontario, native has 38 points (11-27—38), 16 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating through 86 career appearances.   

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for eighth among rookie defensemen in assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—First in minutes played (633:54), tied for fifth in shutouts (1), fifth in GAA (1.89), third in wins (7), and fifth in save percentage (.937)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for eighth in game-winners (2)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for second in game-winners (3)

Milestones
Last night, captain Josiah Didier skated in his 450th game in the AHL and goaltender Sebastian Cossa appeared in his 100th pro outing. On Wednesday, Dominik Shine collected his 150th point as a Griffin, in the AHL, and as a pro with an assist against Rockford, becoming just one of 14 Griffins to reach the milestone. 
Tory Dello—One point from 50 in the AHL and as a pro
Antti Tuomisto—Two points from 50 as a pro 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins