Griffins Game #25 * Road Game #13 * AHL Game #440

Season Series: 3-1-1-0 Home Series: 2-0-1-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 105-69-7-8-8 All-Time Home Series: 56-33-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 49-36-5-5-5

Griffins at Admirals
Sixth of 12 meetings overall, third of six at Panther Arena…Grand Rapids is 20-10-2-1 in the last five seasons against Milwaukee...The Griffins and Admirals game on Oct. 16 was the first since the 2019-20 season due to Milwaukee opting out of the 2020-21 campaign...Grand Rapids is 8-7-1-0 in the last 16 overall against the Admirals…Dating back to the 2015-16 season, the Griffins are 17-9-0-0 against Milwaukee at Panther Arena with a +9 scoring margin (81-72)…The Admirals come into the contest with a 7-2-1-0 record in their past 10 outings and possess a 5-4-2-0 ledger at home this year...The Griffins are 5-5-1-1 on foreign ice this season...Three of the five match ups this season have been decided by three or more goals, with an average of 7.20 goals scored in each contest...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 198th meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 105 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee ranks tied for fourth in the league with a power play conversion rate of 22.2% while the Griffins place 29th at 14.6%. The Admirals’ penalty kill places 15th in the AHL at 81.6%, and Grand Rapids takes 29th at 75.0%...Rookie Jonatan Berggren (2-5—7) leads the Griffins against the Admirals while Kyle Criscuolo (2-3—5) and Riley Barber (2-3—5) are just two points behind...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
Overcoming a depleted roster that dressed only 14 skaters - four shy of a full lineup - due to COVID protocols, injuries and NHL callups, the Griffins gritted their way to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee on Friday in their 24th annual New Year’s Eve celebration at Van Andel Arena. Victor Brattstrom earned his first AHL win, stopping 29 of 33 Admirals shots, for a Grand Rapids team that played just its second game since Dec. 11 due to a string of recent postponements. Seth Barton and Josh Dickinson netted their first goals as Griffins, helping the home team improve to 12-10-1-1 all time on New Year’s Eve. Riley Barber recorded the game-winner on a power play goal at 12:52 in the third to give Grand Rapids the win. Jonatan Berggren (0-2—2), Brett McKenzie (0-2—2) and Dominik Shine (1-1—2) all posted multi-point outings. The 14 skaters that dressed for Grand Rapids tonight are believed to be the fewest the Griffins have ever started a game with. With the two first-period goals tonight, the Griffins have now outscored their opponents 10-2 in the opening frame of the last six games.

Roster Shake Up
· Dec. 26, 2021—Detroit recalled Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo, Dan Renouf, Luke Witkowski and Victor Brattstrom; The Griffins signed Josh Dickinson, Max Humitz and Gordi Myer to PTOs.
· Dec. 29, 2021—Red Wings reassigned Brattstrom and Witkowski
· Dec. 30, 2021—Detroit reassigned Barber
· Dec. 31, 2021—Red Wings reassigned Criscuolo and Renouf

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 1-8-1-1 (0.182) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 9-2-2-0 (0.769) against the rest of the AHL.

Fast Starts
On Dec. 4, the Griffins set a season high for goals in a period when they exploded for five tallies in the opening frame against Rockford. After rattling off three first-period goals against Cleveland on Dec. 6, Grand Rapids has now outscored its opponents 10-2 over the opening 20 minutes of its last six games. The Griffins are 9-4-1-0 (0.714) this season when scoring first and 8-2-0-0 (0.800) when leading after the opening frame. Almost half of Grand Rapids’ goals (29, 41.4%) have come during the first period.

World Traveler
On Dec. 12, defenseman Donovan Sebrango was selected to the 25-man roster for Team Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old represented his home country at the tournament that was cut short after two games. This marked the third time in the past four years a player has left the Griffins mid-season to compete in the World Junior Championship, after Filip Zadina represented the Czech Republic in 2019 and Joe Veleno (Canada) and Moritz Seider (Germany) competed at the event in 2020. Sebrango scored a goal in his World Junior debut on Dec. 26, as Team Canada defeated Czechia 6-3. The defenseman totaled one goal and a plus-two rating in two outings with Canada.

Leaders of the Pack
On Dec. 17, Paul Maurice resigned from the Winnipeg Jets. With that, three of the NHL’s five longest-tenured head coaches are Griffins alumni:
1. Jon Cooper – Tampa Bay – March 2013
2. Jeff Blashill – Detroit – June 2015 (Griffins head coach 2012-15; 2013 Calder Cup Champion; 2013-14 AHL Coach of the Year)
3. Mike Sullivan – Pittsburgh – Dec. 2015
4. Jared Bednar – Colorado – Aug. 2016 (Griffins defenseman 1998-99)
5. Bruce Cassidy – Boston – Feb. 2017 (Griffins head coach 2000-02; 2001-02 AHL Coach of the Year)

Spartan Store
Matt Berry became the 20th former Michigan State Spartan to play for Grand Rapids, extending that program’s lead as the most productive at developing future Griffins (including teammate Taro Hirose). Michigan (13, including current assistant coach Mike Knuble), Notre Dame (11, including current head coach Ben Simon), and Miami (10, including Riley Barber) are in double-digits as well. Wisconsin comes in fifth with nine Griffins alumni, before the first non-Midwest school makes an appearance as part of a three-way tie at six (8): Maine (Chase Pearson and Dan Renouf), Northern Michigan (Dominik Shine), and Ferris State. A six-school tie for ninth (7) includes Western Michigan (Luke Witkowski) and UMass-Lowell (Seth Barton).

Timmy Turner
Veteran Turner Elson surpassed his goal count (4) from the 2020-21 season, as he totaled his fifth goal of the campaign on Nov. 19. The Edmonton, Alberta, native began the campaign with a goal during the season opener but then was held scoreless in the next four outings. The nine-year pro has cranked it up as of late with an active four-game goal streak (Dec. 6-22), which is a new career high and the team’s longest goal streak of the season. In addition, the left winger is enjoying a season-high five-game (4-2—6) point streak from Dec. 4-22. Elson’s nine goals are tied with Kyle Criscuolo for the most on the roster while his 16 points (9-7—16) place fifth.

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 18 points (9-9—18) in 16 contests. The Harvard University graduate logged a two-game point streak (1-1—2) from Oct. 30-31 and surpassed that mark with an active eight-game point streak (7-8—15) from Nov. 20-Dec. 22, which is a new career high for the forward. He posted back-to-back three-point (1-2—3) nights against Milwaukee and Chicago on Nov. 24 and 26 and has five multi-point outings this year. Criscuolo’s four-game assist streak (Nov. 20-28) set a new season high for Grand Rapids. The sixth-year pro is third on the roster with 18 points while his nine goals are tied for the team. Criscuolo made his NHL season debut with Detroit on Dec. 1 against Seattle, marking his first NHL game since March 5, 2018. On Dec. 15, Criscuolo was recalled by the Red Wings for the third time in just as many weeks and collected his first NHL point on an assist against New Jersey on Dec. 18.

Return of Riley
On Dec. 18, Riley Barber became the Griffins’ 188th alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his season debut with Detroit against New Jersey. Although it was a slow start to this year, Barber rattled off a six-game point streak (4-5—9) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13 and is currently in the midst of a four-game stretch (3-1—4) from Dec. 6-31. His 17 points (8-9—17) this season are fourth on the roster while his five power play goals are tied for fourth in the AHL. Barber led the Griffins in goals (20), points (34) and points per game (1.06) a season ago. His scoring pace equaled a 48-goal, 81-point clip in a regular 76-game AHL season. Barber also ranked second in the league for goals, just one shy of Cooper Marody (who played seven more games), and was named a Central Division AHL All-Star. Six game-winning goals tied a career best while his four-game goal streak from Feb. 26 through March 11 also matched a career high. The forward added seven multi-point outings out of 32, including a career-high four points (2-2—4) on May 7 against Chicago. Barber posted a nine-game point streak (8-5—13) from Feb. 5-March 11 that was the longest ever to start a player’s Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season.

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 15 helpers in the opening 23 games, which is a team high and tied for 11th in the league. Eight assists have come on the power play, which is tied for seventh in the AHL. Hirose saw his season-best six-game point streak (2-7—9) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13 come to an end on Nov. 17 against Chicago. Hirose’s 19 points (4-15—19) 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.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 530 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and seventh 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 Kapusta (Providence Reds 1946-55) for the No. 7 spot on Oct. 27 against Chicago and is now one game behind No. 6 Roger DeJordy (Hershey Bears 1962-70). Lashoff is still 125 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in 10 of his 20 appearances this season. The 10-year pro currently ranks 10th in the AHL with a 2.44 goals against average while his 0.927 save percentage places fifth. 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 20 of the 24 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 is 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.

Jonny on the Spot
Rookie Jonatan Berggren saw his season-high six-game point streak (3-4—7 from Oct. 30-Nov. 13) come to a close on Nov. 17 against Chicago. The Uppsala, Sweden, native bagged his first AHL goal and two-point (1-1—2) night on Oct. 30, which began a three-game goal scoring streak for the right winger. The forward recorded his first two-goal night in the AHL on Nov. 20 at Texas. The former second-round draft choice notched his 50th pro assist on Nov. 12 against Manitoba and is tied for eighth among league rookies with seven goals while his 19 points (7-12—19) are tied for eighth among first-year players. Berggren is on pace to notch 58 points this season, which would be tied for second in franchise rookie-scoring history with Gustav Nyquist (22-36—58).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Five power play goals are tied for fourth
Jonatan Berggren—Seven goals are tied for eighth among league rookies, 19 points (7-12—19) are tied for eighth among first-year players
Taro Hirose—15 assists are tied for 11th, eight power play assists are tied for seventh
Ryan Murphy—Four goals are tied for ninth among blueliners, 14 points (4-10—14) are tied for 15th among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—37 penalty minutes are third among rookies and tied for ninth among league defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.44 goals against average ranks 10th, 0.927 save percentage places fifth, 1179 minutes and 608 saves both lead the league
Dominik Shine—58 penalty minutes are tied for fourth
Luke Witkowski—45 penalty minutes are fourth among league blueliners

Milestones
Riley Barber appeared in his 350th game as a pro on Dec. 31 against Milwaukee. Other upcoming milestones include:
Turner Elson—Two assists from 100 in the AHL, one goal from 50 as a Griffin, three points from 200 in the AHL
Brian Lashoff—Two assists from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—One game from 500 as a pro
Wyatt Newpower—Three games from 50 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—One point from 50 in the AHL

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins