Griffins Game #56 * Road Game #29 * AHL Game #854

Season Series: 4-3-0-0 Home Series: 2-2-0-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 79-47-1-1-10 All-Time Home Series: 42-21-1-1-7 All-Time Road Series: 37-26-0-0-3

Griffins at Moose
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at the Canada Life Centre…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 35-23-0-3 (.598) against them, including a 16-12-0-1 (.569) ledger at Manitoba...The Griffins are 14-14-0-3 (.500) overall against Manitoba since the 2020-21 season with a minus-13 scoring margin (87-74)...On the road since 2020-21, Grand Rapids is 7-7-0-1 (.500) against the Moose with a minus-seven scoring margin (48-41)...Eleven of the last 15 meetings have been decided by just one goal, including six of the seven games this season...The Moose are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games and 7-17-0-1 at home this season compared to 12-13-1-1 on the road...Manitoba has won four of its last five games...The Griffins are 3-5-1-1 in their last 10 outings and 15-11-2-0 on the road...Grand Rapids has won just three of its last 14 games (3-9-1-1)...This is the 139th meeting between the two teams, which is the fifth-most encounters by any Grand Rapids opponent...Manitoba ranks last in goals scored per game at 2.29 and fifth-to-last in goals against per game (3.44)...The Griffins rank 28th with 2.78 goals per game and ninth with 2.80 goals against per outing...The Griffins rank 27th with 27.6 shots per game while the Moose place third-to-last at 26.8...Manitoba’s power play ranks 28th at 15.9% and its penalty kill places 20th at 81.1%...Manitoba’s Mark Liwiski ranks fifth among skaters and second among rookies with 113 penalty minutes...Former Griffin Drew MacIntyre (2004-06) is Manitoba’s goaltending coach. MacIntyre was a member of the Griffins’ 2005-06 squad that won the AHL’s regular-season championship, and he remains as Grand Rapids’ career playoff leader in GAA (1.62) and save percentage (.940). 

Last Time Out
The Griffins fell behind the Manitoba Moose 23 seconds into the game and failed to overcome the deficit, suffering a 5-2 loss on Tuesday at the Canada Life Centre. Rookie Shai Buium scored his first professional goal in the outing while Cross Hanas netted his eighth of the year. Carter Mazur earned an assist, extending his point streak to a team-high six games (4-3—7). Antti Tuomisto skated in his 100th contest as a Griffin. Grand Rapids fell to 5-20-4-1 when scoring less than three goals. On a positive note, the Griffins sported a 37-23 shot advantage and have outshot their opponent in eight of the last 12 games.  

This Date in Griffins History
2006: Donald MacLean nets his franchise-record 47th goal of the season in a 6-1 win over Rochester, eclipsing the standard set by Michel Picard during the inaugural 1996-97 season. 

Fight Your Way Through
During the month of February, the Griffins dropped eight of the 11 games (3-7-1-0), which saw them fall to third place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. However, the team now has points in four of its last six games (2-2-1-1) and are just three points out of first place in the division. The Griffins have averaged 2.21 goals in their last 14 contests while allowing 3.86 tallies. In the last six games, Grand Rapids has averaged 3.17 goals while allowing 4.00. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 23-1-0-1 mark (.940) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-20-4-1 (.250) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 3.13 goals per game since the start of the calendar year but is still ninth overall with 2.80 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling into third place in the division, Grand Rapids is now seventh in the Western Conference and tied for 16th in the AHL with a 28-21-4-2 record and 62 points through 55 games. 

Hot Stretch  
Carter Mazur, who was sidelined for 35 straight contests from Oct. 19-Jan. 18, has four goals in his last four outings and is on a team-best six-game point streak (4-3—7). He also has 10 points (6-4—10) in his last nine contests and 13 points (7-6—13) in 17 games since returning from his upper-body injury. In total, Mazur has 15 points (8-7—15) in 20 appearances with the Griffins this season. Last campaign, Mazur ranked second on the team in points (17-30—37) as a rookie before tying for second on the roster in points (3-5—8) during the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 70th overall pick by Detroit in 2021 spent two seasons at the University of Denver prior to turning pro and won two NCHC titles (2022, 2023) and became a NCAA champion in 2022, showing a combined 75 points (36-39—75) in 81 career games.  

He’s Back! 
After being sidelined for 28 consecutive games from Dec. 6-Feb. 15 due to rehabbing an upper-body injury, second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi returned to the ice on Feb. 19 against Lehigh Valley and collected an assist in the process. Lombardi enjoyed a season-high four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Feb. 23-March 1 and has six points (3-3—6) in seven games since returning from injury. At the time of his setback, Lombardi ranked third on the team in points (9-6—15) and first in goals (9) through 20 appearances. The 21-year-old also had four game-winners, which ranked first on the team and tied for first in the AHL as of Dec. 6. Currently, Lombardi ranks seventh on the roster with 21 points (12-9—21) and tied for third in goals (12). As a rookie last season, Lombardi produced 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 outings during the regular season before adding one goal in eight playoff games. The Aurora, Ontario, native was selected with the 113th pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022. 

A Month to Forget
It was an unusual stretch of games for the Griffins during February, as they had three wins in 11 contests (3-7-1-0). The special teams also struggled, as they went 4-for-45 on the power play (8.9%) and 30-for-40 on the penalty kill (75.0%) in February. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now 26th), and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 13th). Grand Rapids allowed 44 goals in 11 games in February (4.00 per game) after allowing 23 goals in 11 outings in January (2.09). One thing that improved was the Griffins’ shot count. They outshot their opponent in seven of the 11 games with an average of 31.7 shots. At the start of February, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

Nate The Great
Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023, tied his season high of a four-game point streak from Feb. 14-21 and now has six points (3-3—6) in his last nine games. He has had a promising rookie season with 28 points (7-21—28), 31 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating in 54 appearances. In addition to ranking fourth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in assists (21) and leads the league in short-handed assists (4). Prior to turning pro, the 20-year-old spent four seasons in the WHL with Brandon (2020-24) and Portland (2023-24), producing a combined 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 career games.   

He Brings the Boom
Rookie defenseman Shai Buium tied his season high of a three-game point streak from Feb. 23-26 (0-3—3) and now has five points (1-4—5) in his last seven appearances. Buium secured his first goal as a professional on Tuesday at Manitoba. Buium is second among the team’s blueliners with 20 points (1-19—20) in 51 games and is tied for fourth among all skaters on the roster with 19 assists. In addition to his team rankings, the 21-year-old is tied for fifth among AHL rookie defensemen in assists, tied for 11th in points, and tied for 11th in power-play assists (5). Buium spent three seasons at the University of Denver from 2021-23 prior to turning pro, winning two national titles and totaling a combined 75 points (14-61—75), 44 penalty minutes and a plus-61 rating in 120 games. The San Diego, California, native was selected 36th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021. 

A Few Loose Ends 
Despite allowing 4.00 goals per game in the month of February, the Griffins’ defense has been a bright spot for the team this season. Grand Rapids ranks ninth in the AHL with 2.80 goals allowed per contest but has averaged 3.13 goals against since the start of the calendar year. At the start of February, the Griffins ranked first in the AHL with 2.43 goals allowed per game. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.38 GAA and .913 save percentage through 31 games, and Jack Campbell has a 2.79 GAA and an .892 save percentage in 10 appearances. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed 78 goals in its last 30 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.60 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 86 goals in their last 30 regular-season road games (2.87 GA per game). 

Power Outage
Grand Rapids failed to score on the power play in six straight outings from Jan. 29-Feb. 12 and are now 6-for-60 (10.0%) on the man-advantage in its last 15 games. However, the power play has scored in three of the last four games (3-for-17, 17.6%) and is 5-for-29 in its last six outings (17.2%). The power play has quickly fallen into 26th place on the circuit at 16.4% (32-for-195) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 15-for-87 (17.2%, T20th) and its road power play is 17-for-108 (15.7%, 27th). The Griffins have given up eight short-handed goals, which is tied for the seventh-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 13-for-14 (92.9%) in its last four games but has allowed a power-play goal in eight of the previous 14 games (37-for-49 on PK, 75.6%) and in 14 of its last 23 outings (64-for-82 on PK, 78.0%). The Griffins rank 29th out of 32 teams with just 588 penalty minutes this season ahead of just Colorado (580), Hershey (560) and Coachella Valley (559). The penalty kill ranks 13th at 83.1% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored seven short-handed tallies, which is tied for eighth in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 17-5-2-2 and 9-14-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for fifth among rookie defensemen in assists (19), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in points (20), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Sixth in minutes played (1,840:33), tied for sixth in games played (31), tied for ninth in GAA (2.38), tied for eighth in wins (16), tied for 12th in save percentage (.913)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 10th among rookies in assists (21), first in short-handed assists (4), first among rookies in short-handed assists (4)
Josiah Didier—Tied for fifth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for third in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), 10th in penalty minutes (94)

Milestones
On Tuesday at Manitoba, Antti Tuomisto appeared in his 100th game as a Griffin.  
Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, two goals from 150 as a pro
Amadeus Lombardi—One game from 100 as a Griffin, two points from 50 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming the franchise record of 11 in a career, one goal from moving into a tie for ninth place in the franchise’s all-time goals scored list (Derek King, 73)
William Wallinder—Two games from 300 as a pro 

Photo by Manitoba Moose