Griffins Game #72 * Road Game #35 * AHL Game #1,082

Season Series: 5-2-0-0 Home Series: 3-1-0-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 57-38-9-11 All-Time Home Series: 36-12-5-5 All-Time Road Series: 21-26-4-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at BMO Harris Bank Center…Dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, Grand Rapids now has points in 13 of the last 16 games (10-3-2-1) against the IceHogs...The Griffins are 21-12-6-6 in the last five seasons against Rockford. On the road in the past five years, Grand Rapids is 8-9-2-3 against the IceHogs, being outscored 67-56...The Griffins are 5-2 in the past six meetings at Rockford...Rockford comes into the contest with a 17-13-2-0 home record this season while Grand Rapids is 14-17-2-1 on the road...The IceHogs are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games while the Griffins are 4-5-1-0 in their last 10...Prior to their 9-4 win at Rockford on March 3 last season, the Griffins’ last nine-goal outing was a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. They came within two goals of matching of their team record, set in an 11-6 victory at – you guessed it – Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013…Rockford is Grand Rapids’ fourth-most frequent opponent (Milwaukee 204, Chicago 181, Cleveland 117), as tonight’s game marks the 116th meeting between the two franchises...Both Grand Rapids’ (16.4%, 28th) and Rockford’s (17.9%, 24th) power play percentage rank in the bottom half of the AHL. In addition, the penalty kill for Grand Rapids places near the bottom (76.2%, 29th) while the IceHogs rank fifth (83.6%)...Tyler Spezia (4-4—8) leads the way for the Griffins against Rockford while Jonatan Berggren (2-5—7) and Ryan Murphy (2-5—7) are close behind…Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13).

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-2 courtesy of Nick Swaney’s four-point outing on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena. The Griffins dropped the final season meeting against the Wild and ended the series with a 5-3-0-0 record. Jonatan Berggren notched his 19th goal of the season, which tied him with Eric Himelfarb for the 10th most tallies for a Griffins rookie. Berggren also moved into a tie for third place with Glen Metropolit (1997-98) for the most points by a Griffins rookie in a single season with 55 (19-36—55). Taro Hirose recorded his 36th assist on the campaign, tying Berggren for the team lead. Kyle Criscuolo tallied his third goal in just as many games, which extended his point streak (3-2—5) to three outings. Since being reassigned by Detroit on April 12, Hirose has six points (1-5—6) in five games. Jan Drozg appeared in his 100th AHL game.

Roster Shake Up
- April 16, 2022—F Chase Pearson recalled by Detroit
- April 17, 2022—F Riley Barber recalled by Detroit; F Chase Pearson reassigned by Detroit
- April 18, 2022—F Chase Pearson recalled by Detroit; F Brett McKenzie released from PTO
- April 19, 2022—F Brett McKenzie signed to a PTO; F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2001: Grand Rapids opens the playoffs with a 5-1 win over Cleveland in the IHL Eastern Conference Semifinals, marking the first time ever that the Griffins win their first home game of the postseason.

Down to the Wire
The Griffins currently sit in seventh place in the Central Division standings with a 31-32-6-2 (0.493) mark and only five games remaining. The top five teams from the division will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye. The Griffins’ magic number over Iowa, which sits in the final playoff spot, is 14 points. The Griffins have the toughest remaining schedule in the division with a remaining opponent win percentage of 0.634, while Iowa has the second easiest remaining schedule at 0.534. Grand Rapids has appeared in the last seven Calder Cup Playoffs, dating back to the 2012-13 season when it lifted the cup for the first time.

Race to the Top
Jonatan Berggren on April 9 became just the sixth rookie in Griffins history to record 50 points, as he is tied for third on the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring list with 55 points (19-36—55) in 65 games. Berggren has logged two or more points in six of his last 13 games, with five goals and 12 helpers during the run. The Uppsala, Sweden, native paces the Griffins and is tied for fourth among rookies with his 55 points, while his 36 assists rank fourth. Berggren is second among rookies with seven game-winning goals. Berggren is on pace for 59 points, which would tie Teemu Pulkkinen (2013-14) for the Griffins’ rookie single-season scoring title. His 36 assists are also tied for the most by a rookie in a Griffins uniform while his 19 goals are tied for 10th among Griffin rookies.

Welcome to the Barber Shop
Riley Barber has been on a tear as of late, with points in a career-high 12 straight games (9-6—15), including his third-ever hat trick on April 9 at Toronto. There have been only three longer point streaks in franchise history (Jiri Hudler 14; Derek King 17; Donald MacLean 19). Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 23 points (11-12—23) in 21 games, including five multi-point outings. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native is tied for third on the roster with 42 points (19-23—42) in 44 games. Last season, Barber paced the Griffins with 34 points (20-14—34) in 32 contests and finished second in the league with 20 goals. Through 76 games with the Griffins, the 28-year-old veteran has 76 points (39-37—76) and 46 penalty minutes.

Stalled Engine
The Griffins have struggled out of the gate recently, allowing the first goal in 11 straight contests. Grand Rapids has five wins in those 11 games, showing a 5-5-1-0 mark. During this run, Grand Rapids has not won a first period and has been outscored 14-4. However, in the past 11 second periods the Griffins have a plus-four scoring margin (15-11). Narrowing it down even more, Grand Rapids has been outscored 10-3 in the last five first frames while it has outscored its opponents 9-3 in the past five second periods. When scoring first, the Griffins are 19-8-2-1 (0.683) this season while they are 12-24-4-1 (0.354) when conceding the opening goal.

The Roaring 20s
Turner Elson reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career on April 9. The ninth-year pro has had a career-high season on the offensive end, with a career-best 20 goals, 22 assists and 42 points so far. The alternate captain has turned it on as of late with 15 points (7-8—15) in his last 21 games. In comparison, Elson had just nine points (3-6—9) in the 21 contests before this run. Elson is tied for third on the roster with his 42 points (20-22—42).

Traffic Jam
The Griffins have won two games in their last nine contests away from West Michigan, having been outscored 41-25. Grand Rapids has secured five out of 12 points in its past six outings away from home. Grand Rapids went on a season-high five-game road trip from March 19-27 and finished with a 1-3-1-0 mark. The Griffins are 14-17-2-1 this season away from West Michigan while they are 17-15-4-1 at home. Grand Rapids will play four of its remaining five games on foreign ice.

Northern Exposure
The Griffins have fared well against opponents from the North Division, as they hold a 7-2-2-0 record (0.682) and have outscored their opponents 38-28. In comparison, Grand Rapids is 21-26-3-2 (0.452) against Central-Division foes and 3-4-1-0 (0.438) against teams from the Pacific. The Griffins’ final game of the campaign against North-Division teams will be during the season finale on April 30 at Cleveland.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 575 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fourth 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 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds, 1952-62) for the No. 4 spot on April 6 against Cleveland and is now 33 games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 80 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—55 points (19-36—55) is tied for fourth among first-year players, 36 assists rank fourth among rookies, seven game-winning goals are second among rookies
Jared McIsaac—24 points are tied for seventh among rookie defensemen, 19 assists are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen
Ryan Murphy—11 goals are tied for fourth among defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.58 goals against average ranks 14th, 0.918 save percentage places 10th, 21 wins are tied for sixth, 2534:30 minutes played places fourth
Dominik Shine—139 penalty minutes are tied for second

Milestones
Jan Drozg appeared in his 100th AHL game on April 19 at Iowa. Jon Martin skated in his 300th pro game on April 15 against Iowa. Victor Brattstrom and Jan Drozg each made their 150th appearance as a pro on April 10 at Toronto. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—Two assists from 150 in the AHL and as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—Two points from 100 as a Griffin
Jan Drozg—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Turner Elson—One goal from 100 as a pro
Taro Hirose—Three assists from 100 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three assists from 200 as a pro, two points from 250 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Two games from 150 as a pro, four games from 150 in the AHL
Ben Simon—One win from 200 as a pro head coach

Photo by Todd Reicher/IceHogs