Griffins Game #12 * Road Game #8 * AHL Game #163

Season Series: 2-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 56-31-5-10 All-Time Home Series: 32-16-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 24-15-4-8

Griffins at Monsters

Third of eight meetings overall, second of four at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse…The Griffins have earned points in all four home games (2-0-2-0) this season, plus four straight outings (2-0-2-0) and eight of their last nine games overall (6-1-2-0). They’ve also won consecutive road games and both of their contests against Cleveland...The Griffins drew first blood in the series on Feb. 13 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, scoring the final three goals in a 3-1 triumph, before getting the best of the Monsters by a 2-1 count in overtime in their Van Andel Arena opener on Feb. 20, thanks to Dennis Cholowski’s game-winner…Pat Nagle earned both of those victories between the Griffins’ pipes, sporting a 0.99 GAA and a .960 save percentage...Cleveland boasts the AHL’s top power play both overall (34.6%) and at home (40.0%) while Grand Rapids has the league’s best road unit (33.3%)...Since being assigned by Columbus late last month, Matiss Kivlenieks has backstopped a three-game winning streak during which the Monsters dealt Chicago just its second regulation defeat of the season along with a shootout loss...Grand Rapids and Cleveland are Central Division foes for the first time since 2017-18, following the Monsters’ two-year foray into the North Division and Eastern Conference...These teams split a four-game series in 2019-20, with each winning and losing once on the other’s ice...Griffins head coach Ben Simon is a native of the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights.

Last Time(s) Out

On Tuesday, the Griffins played a game against Rockford that was almost a duplicate of their previous clash with the IceHogs last Saturday. Both games were 2-1 overtime wins for Rockford at Van Andel Arena, with the IceHogs rallying from a 1-0 deficit, Matt Tomkins making more than 40 saves to help his team survive a massive shot deficit, and Dylan McLaughlin securing the second point for the visitors by scoring in the extra session. On March 13, the Griffins out-shot Rockford 43-22, Tomkins made a career-high 42 saves, and McLaughlin scored 2:14 into overtime. On March 16, Grand Rapids held a 47-22 advantage in shots, Tomkins again set his career-best with 46 stops, and McLaughlin tallied 19 seconds into OT. In five meetings this season, the Griffins have out-shot the IceHogs by a whopping 200-96 margin.

Finally, Some New Faces to Face

The Griffins are coming off four straight games against Rockford that marked just the third time ever that they faced the same opponent in four consecutive regular season contests. The Manitoba Moose were the foe on both prior occasions, in November 2006 and November 1997...Grand Rapids was supposed to break the string by hosting Chicago last night, but the game was postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Wolves.

It’s a Start

The roar of a Griffins crowd was partially restored on March 13 when the team began welcoming 750 fans per home game, pursuant to the most recent order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Griffins 2021-22 season ticket members are being given the first opportunity to purchase tickets to home games during the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other fans can sign up for Griffins Nation, the team’s official email newsletter, to receive priority access to 2020-21 tickets whenever limited seats are made available for sale throughout the season.

This Date in Griffins History

2015: The Griffins extend their team-record point streak to 19 games (15-0-3-1) with a 3-1 win over Milwaukee before a sold-out Van Andel Arena.

Choosing Cholo

Detroit on Friday reassigned defenseman Dennis Cholowski to their taxi squad from the Griffins. Cholowski, 23, began the season on Detroit’s taxi squad before being assigned to the Griffins, where he has contributed eight points (3-5—8) in 11 games. He posted a four-game point streak from Feb. 18-28 and is currently tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in scoring. Over three seasons as a pro, Cholowski has totaled 67 games as a Griffin (6-27—33) and 88 more as a Red Wing (9-15—24). Last season, the 20th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft contributed eight points (2-6—8) in 36 games with the parent club and another 13 (3-10—13) in 30 contests with Grand Rapids.

Pick of the Litter

The Red Wings on Monday reassigned goaltender Calvin Pickard to the Griffins from their taxi squad and reassigned right wing Evgeny Svechnikov and goaltender Kaden Fulcher to their taxi squad from the Griffins. Pickard, who was subsequently recalled by Detroit yesterday, has played in one game with Detroit this season, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a Feb. 3 relief stint against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He stopped 20 of 22 shots in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Rockford, marking his first appearance as a Griffin in more than a year and his first full game in North America this season. Pickard played in 33 games for Grand Rapids in 2019-20, showing a 17-12-4 record to go along with a 2.86 GAA, a 0.903 save percentage and three shutouts.

Millennium Griffins

The Griffins’ 3-1 victory at Rockford on March 11 marked the 1,000th regular season win (in 1,890 games) in the franchise’s 25 seasons of play. Grand Rapids now holds an all-time record of 1,000-686-27-63-116 (0.583).

Life of Riley

Before being held scoreless in the last two games, Riley Barber had compiled a nine-game point streak that was the longest ever to start a player's Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season. It was also the longest streak for a Griffin since Matt Puempel’s 11-game run from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019...Despite also having his team-high four-game goal streak snapped last Saturday, Barber is tied for third in the AHL with eight goals while his 13 points are tied for 15th. He also ranks among league leaders with seven power play points (T3rd) and five power play assists (T4th).

High Flyers

Kyle Criscuolo had his four-game point streak (3-2—5) snapped on Tuesday, but he still has goals in two of the last three games and three of the last five contests, and he’s registered at least one point in eight of 11 games this season...Chase Pearson scored Grand Rapids’ lone goal on Tuesday and now has points in four of the last five games (1-4—5)...Kevin Boyle had won three straight starts before suffering the overtime setback to Rockford last Saturday.

March Like a Lion

The Griffins posted a winning record for March during each of the previous 12 years – accumulating an 88-48-7-8 mark (0.632) from 2009 to 2020 – and are off to another good start this season at 2-0-2-0. Despite traditionally playing the majority of their games away from Van Andel Arena during March, they’ve managed at least a 0.500 road record for the month during each of those dozen years, going a combined 53-29-5-6 (0.629).

Offense Taken

The Griffins lead the AHL in shots per game (35.45) and are tied for 15th in goals per game (3.00). They’ve racked up at least 43 shots in three of their last four outings, all against the IceHogs, including a season-high 49 on March 3 in Rockford.

Stingy D

The Griffins, who have allowed just one goal in regulation in seven of their last nine games, rank fifth in the AHL in goals allowed per game (2.55)…The Griffins have been out-shot in only two of their first 11 games, and only once have they allowed 30 or more shots, a total that they have reached on nine occasions — including each of their last seven outings. Grand Rapids ranks second in the AHL in shots allowed per game (23.82).

Taking Advantage

Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins are off to an even better start this season, currently sitting seventh in the league at 23.9% and first on the road at 33.3%. Although held scoreless in 10 opportunities over the last three games, Grand Rapids has scored at least one power play goal in seven of its 11 games thus far.

Another Rung Up The Ladder

Brian Lashoff’s 511 games played for the Griffins rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and rank ninth in league history among one-team players. Of the eight 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). Next for Lashoff to eclipse are the 513 games that Stan Smrke played for the Rochester Americans from 1957-67.

Milestones Within Reach

Dylan McIlrath appeared in his 200th game as a Griffin last Saturday against Rockford, Turner Elson hit the milestone on Tuesday versus the IceHogs, and Dominik Shine will do it the next time he steps on the ice. Other upcoming milestones include:
Brian Lashoff – Four assists for 100 as a pro
Gustav Lindstrom - Three points for 50 as a pro
Dominik Shine – Four points from 50 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career
Dominic Turgeon – Four points from 100 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career

We Miss You, Bob!

On Feb. 8, the beloved 21-year Voice of the Griffins, Bob Kaser, underwent successful heart surgery at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids to repair several blocked arteries. Released from the hospital on Feb. 14, his recovery at home is going well but he is expected to miss the better part of this 30-game shortened season. Everyone in Griffins Nation, the Griffins organization, the AHL, and the Michigan hockey community wishes Bob all the best in his recovery and a quick return to health. We can’t wait until he is back in the booth.

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins