Griffins Game #12 * Road Game #8 * AHL Game #154

Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 67-49-11-11 All-Time Home Series: 40-18-6-5 All-Time Road Series: 27-31-5-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Third of 12 meetings overall, second of six at the BMO Center…The IceHogs are the only team that has beaten the Griffins twice in regulation through the first 11 games, as Rockford has taken two 4-1 victories...Grand Rapids has been outscored 8-2 by Rockford, but against all other opponents the Griffins have a plus-12 scoring margin (24-12)...The Griffins are 19-14-4-1 (.566) since the 2020-21 season against Rockford and have an even scoring margin (101-101). On the road since 2020-21, Grand Rapids is 11-8-0-0 (.580) against the IceHogs with an even scoring margin (54-54)...Rockford is Grand Rapids’ third-most frequent opponent (Milwaukee 221, Chicago 202), as tonight’s game marks the 139th meeting between the two franchises...The Griffins and IceHogs will meet 12 times this season, the most of any Griffins’ foe, with seven of those meetings coming in the final 13 games of the season...Rockford’s power play places 10th at 20.7% and its penalty kill ranks fourth at 91.3%...The Griffins rank 25th with a power play rate of 11.9%, while they are tied for ninth with a penalty kill of 86.8%...IceHogs’ Frank Nazar spent two seasons at the University of Michigan from 2022-24, showing 48 points (19-29—48) in 54 games...Rockford’s Artyom Levshunov was the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago and spent one season at Michigan State University in 2023-24 and logged 35 points (9-26—35) in 38 contests...In addition to Nazar (13th in 2022) and Levshunov (2nd in 2024), Kevin Korchinski (7th in 2022) is the third former first-round pick on the IceHogs’ roster. 

Last Time Out
Short-handed goals from Sheldon Dries and Alex Doucet led the way to a Griffins 5-2 win over the Iowa Wild on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena. The two short-handed goals in the 3:24 span tied the same number of short-handed tallies the Griffins had in 72 games last season. The last time the Griffins tallied two short-handed goals in a game was in a 5-3 win over Ontario on Feb. 5, 2022. Twenty-three goals allowed by Grand Rapids through 11 games are the second fewest in franchise history, as they allowed 20 in 2004-05. The Griffins’ five goals tied their season-high scoring output set on Oct. 26 at Lehigh Valley. Jakub Rychlovsky and Doucet both lit the lamp for their first AHL goals, while Ville Husso returned from rehabbing an injury and made 37 saves. Twelve different Griffins secured a point in the victory. 

This Date in Griffins History
2013: The first-place Griffins score four times in a 1:13 span of the second period on their way to a 6-1 victory at Hamilton. Grand Rapids improves to 7-0-1-1 away from Van Andel Arena, marking the best road start in franchise history. 

Hot Start
Despite having one win in their past four games, the Griffins are tied for their fourth-best start in franchise history with 15 points through 11 games. 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 six of the 11 contests but have scored an average of just 2.45 goals per game (26th). 

Shoot Your Shot 
The Griffins have been outshot in every game this season and have averaged 23.2 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 once. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents have averaged 31.5 shots per game (23rd in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots three times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 116-67 compared to being outshot 113-100 in the second and 112-83 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 5-1-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 6-1-1-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots. 

More to Come
Ondrej Becher made his AHL debut on Sunday 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. 

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

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense
The Griffins rank fourth in the AHL with just 2.09 goals allowed per game, as the 23 goals surrendered are the second fewest in franchise history over the first 11 games of a season (20 in 2004-05). For comparison, Grand Rapids ceded 36 goals in the opening 11 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 eight goals in its last seven regular-season games at Van Andel Arena. 

Shine Bright
Veteran Dominik Shine scored two goals last Wednesday at Hartford and now has six points (3-3—6) in his last six outings. Shine paces the squad with nine points (4-5—9) in 11 games, while his four goals rank second. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 147 points (65-82—147) and 488 penalty minutes in 433 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 six points (3-3—6) in his last six 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 ranks second on the team with eight points (5-3—8) and his five goals place 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 35 points (10-25—35), 14 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating through 83 career appearances.   

Win by Committee
During this hot start for the Griffins, the team has used three different netminders to fuel the success. Sebastian Cossa leads the way with a 4-3-1 record with one shutout to go along with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. Ville Husso has a 2-0-0 mark with one shutout in three games with a 1.23 GAA and a .958 save percentage. Rookie Carter Gylander made his AHL debut on Oct. 27 and earned a 4-3 shootout victory, making 33 saves and stopping all three shootout attempts by Lehigh Valley. Combined, the trio has a 1.99 GAA and a .935 save percentage through 11 outings.   

Milestones
Last Friday against Rockford, Dan Watson logged his 500th game as a pro head coach and Jakub Rychlovsky skated in his 300th pro contest. 
Tory Dello—One point from 50 in the AHL and as a pro
Cross Hanas—One game from 100 as a Griffin, in the AHL, and as a pro
Dominik Shine—Three points from 150 as a Griffin, in the AHL, and as a pro
Antti Tuomisto—Three points from 50 as a pro

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins