Griffins Game #46 * Road Game #22 * AHL Game #730

Season Series: 4-1-0-0 Home Series: 3-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 56-37-9-11 All-Time Home Series: 36-12-5-5 All-Time Road Series: 20-25-4-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Sixth of eight meetings overall, second of four at BMO Harris Bank Center…Dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, Grand Rapids now has points in 12 of the last 14 games (9-2-2-1) against the IceHogs...The Griffins are 20-11-6-6 in the last five seasons against Rockford. On the road in the past five years, Grand Rapids is 7-8-2-3 against the IceHogs, being outscored 60-50...The Griffins are 4-1 in the past five meetings at Rockford...Rockford comes into the contest with a 10-10-2-0 home record this season while Grand Rapids is 9-10-1-1 on the road...The IceHogs are 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 games while the Griffins are 4-6-0-0 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 202, Chicago 179, Manitoba 115), as tonight’s game marks the 114th meeting between the two franchises...Both Grand Rapids’ (13.4%, 30th) and Rockford’s (18.1%, 22nd) power play percentage rank in the bottom half of the AHL. In addition, the penalty kill for Grand Rapids places near the bottom (77.2%, 26th) while the IceHogs come in at seventh (83.5%)...Ryan Murphy (2-5—7) leads the way for the Griffins against Rockford with seven points in five games with Jonatan Berggren (1-5—6) close behind...Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13).

Last Time Out
Five different Griffins scored to push Grand Rapids over the Rockford IceHogs 5-2 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids has notched points in 12 of its last 14 matchups against Rockford (9-2-2-1), dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season. Joe Veleno returned to West Michigan due to recall and continued his three-game point streak with Grand Rapids (2-3—5). Defenseman Ryan Murphy scored his 10^th goal of the season, extending his lead over all AHL blueliners in goals scored. Taro Hirose recorded his 12^th tally, tying for the team high with Kyle Criscuolo, Jonatan Berggren and Turner Elson. Murphy, Hirose and Luke Witkowski recorded multi-point outings. With the victory, the Griffins halted Rockford’s four-game unbeaten streak. Chase Pearson returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 24, due to an injury. Brian Lashoff played in his 550th game as a Griffin while Tyler Spezia skated in his 100th game in the AHL.

Roster Shake Up
- Feb. 12, 2022—D Dan Renouf reassigned by Detroit
- Feb. 18, 2022—F Erik Bradford released from PTO; F Joe Veleno reassigned by Detroit
- Feb. 19, 2022—D Gordi Myer released from PTO

This Date in Griffins History
2000: The Griffins blast a team-record 54 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over the Detroit Vipers.

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 17-9-4-0 (0.633) against the rest of the AHL.

New Leader
Shawn Horcoff was named Red Wings assistant general manager and the fifth general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins on Feb. 4, 2022, after the departure of former GM Pat Verbeek, now the GM of the Anaheim Ducks. Horcoff will work alongside Steve Yzerman on all hockey operations matters for the Red Wings, in addition to being responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Griffins, including personnel decisions, contract negotiations and player movement. Horcoff, 43, spent six seasons as the Red Wings' director of player development - in addition to the last three seasons as assistant director of player personnel - after joining the Red Wings prior to the 2016-17 season following a 1,008-game NHL career.

Keep it 100
Head coach Ben Simon became the sixth coach in franchise history to reach 100 wins with the Griffins with a 4-3 overtime victory over Iowa on Feb. 10. Simon joined Danton Cole (2002-05), Greg Ireland (2005-07), Curt Fraser (2008-12), Jeff Blashill (2012-15) and Todd Nelson (2015-18) as the only coaches to reach the 100-win mark in the regular season with the Griffins.

Work in Progress
Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins exceeded that mark in 2020-21 with a power play conversion rate of 21.5%, the fifth best on the circuit. The Griffins’ special teams have struggled this season after opening the campaign with high numbers. Despite converting on a power play in five of its last seven games, Grand Rapids still ranks 30th in the league at 13.4%. However, the power play has been much improved in the second half of the season, as the team has scored on 18.2% of its power plays (4-for-22). The penalty kill for the Griffins has also struggled a bit this season, killing off 77.2% of their penalties, which places 26th in the AHL.

Going with the Flow
It has been a busy season thus far for head coach Ben Simon and Griffins general managers, as players on professional tryouts have been plentiful for the team this year. Ten PTO skaters have seen action so far this season and have totaled 109 games played; both numbers surpass any full season since Simon joined the team as an assistant coach in 2015-16. On average, 12.1% of Grand Rapids’ lineup has been tryout players.

Beijing Bound
A record 15 former Griffins are representing eight different countries at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. With Slovakia defeating Sweden 4-0 for the bronze medal and Finland beating the Russian Olympic Committee 2-1 for the gold medal, a Griffins alum has now earned a medal in five straight Olympics. The group of former Griffins features four Calder Cup champions and all three goaltenders from the 2018-19 team that went 38-27-7-4 (0.572). Valtteri Filppula will earn his second Olympic medal for Finland, as he claimed a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Tomas Jurco (2012-14; 15-17) received his second selection on to Team Slovakia, after playing for his home country in the 2014 Sochi Games while competing for the Griffins that season.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren completed a four-game point streak (0-5—5) from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which tied Kyle Criscuolo for the longest assist streak on the team this season. The Uppsala, Sweden, native 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 34 points (12-22—34) are tied for seventh among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 22 assists ranks ninth among league rookies while his 12 goals are tied for ninth.

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 26 helpers in the opening 44 games, which is a team high and tied for 14th in the league. Twelve assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 11th 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 38 points (12-26—38) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 17th on the circuit. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

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 ranks fifth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 23 points (10-13—23) in 41 outings. Murphy is currently on a season-high four-game point streak (3-2—5) and has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his 10 goals rank 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.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 550 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 20 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 105 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—34 points (12-22—34) are tied for seventh among first-year players, 22 assists ranks ninth among rookies and 12 goals are tied for ninth among rookies
Taro Hirose—26 assists are tied for 14th, 12 power play assists are tied for 11th, 38 points (12-26—38) are tied for 17th
Ryan Murphy—10 goals ranks first among blueliners
Wyatt Newpower—48 penalty minutes places ninth among rookies
Calvin Pickard—2.51 goals against average ranks 12th, 0.921 save percentage places sixth, 16 wins are tied for third
Dominik Shine—100 penalty minutes rank second

Milestones
Brian Lashoff appeared in his 550th game with the Griffins and in the AHL on Feb. 19 against Rockford while Tyler Spezia skated in his 100th AHL contest. Also on Feb. 19, Ryan Murphy potted his 50th goal as a pro. Other upcoming milestones include:
Kyle Criscuolo—One assist from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, two assists from 100 in the AHL
Jon Martin—Two points from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—One point from 100 as a pro

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins