Griffins Game #6 * Road Game #3 * AHL Game #88

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 8-5-1-0 All-Time Home Series: 4-2-1-0 All-Time Road Series: 4-3-0-0

Griffins at Phantoms
First of four meetings overall, first of two at the PPL Center…Tonight’s game marks the Griffins’ first-ever meeting against a team from Lehigh Valley. This is also the first meeting with the Phantoms’ franchise since 2008-09, when the team played in Philadelphia...Lehigh Valley ranks third with a power-play rate of 27.8%, while the Griffins place 26th at 10.5%...On the penalty kill, the Phantoms rank 25th at 78.9% and Grand Rapids ranks fourth at 94.1%...Lehigh Valley ranks first in the AHL with an average of 38.8 shots per game and seventh with 26.3 shots allowed per game…The Phantoms are averaging 2.50 goals per game (T22nd) and 3.50 goals against per game (22nd)...Defenseman Hunter McDonald is tied for 10th among rookies with eight penalty minutes. 

Last Time Out
Behind Nate Danielson’s first professional goal and Gabriel Seger’s first AHL goal, the Griffins earned their initial road win of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Thunderbirds on Friday at the MassMutual Center during their second-ever trip to Springfield. Grand Rapids improved to 4-1-0-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, its most recent Calder Cup championship season. The Griffins have surrendered six goals over the first five games, which are the fewest in team history, beating out the previous low of seven during the 2004-05 season. Through five outings, Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL with just 1.20 goals allowed per game. Ville Husso turned away 10 shots but saw his shutout streak end at 126:13, which was the longest shutout streak ever to begin a Griffins career. Husso exited the contest 6:16 into the second period and Sebastian Cossa collected the victory with 21 saves on 21 shots. 

This Date in Griffins History
2002: Michel Picard’s two goals and one assist give him 250 points as a Griffin and power the club to a 6-2 win at Syracuse.

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense
The Griffins lead the AHL with just 1.20 goals allowed per game, as the six goals surrendered are the fewest in franchise history over the first five games of a season. They allowed their previous low of seven in 2004-05, and for comparison, ceded 15 goals in the opening five games last year. Grand Rapids has allowed just one goal inside Van Andel Arena, which is the fewest over a three-game home stretch since it posted three straight shutouts from Dec. 30, 2006 to Jan. 10, 2007. The Griffins have surrendered one goal over a span of three home games for just the fifth time in team history and the first since Feb. 13-20, 2004. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just four goals in its last six regular-season games at Van Andel Arena. 

Fast Out of the Gate
The Griffins are 4-1-0-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, the team’s most recent Calder Cup championship season. Grand Rapids is also 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 one goal or less in four of the five contests but have scored an average of just 1.80 goals per game, fourth-worst on the circuit.

Big Goose Egg 
The Griffins are one of three teams in the AHL that have logged two shutouts this season, as San Jose and Syracuse have also blanked its opponent twice. This is the first time in franchise history that the Griffins showed shutouts in their first two home games. Sebastian Cossa recorded a 35-save shutout in the season opener on Oct. 11 against Milwaukee and Ville Husso enjoyed a 22-save shutout of Manitoba last Friday. Manitoba’s Tyson Empey broke the Griffins’ home shutout streak at 163:52 and Cossa’s home shutout run at 103:31 when he scored in Saturday’s contest. For comparison, the Griffins’ franchise-record home shutout streaks remain 204:39 (team) and 242:18 (individual, Joey MacDonald, 1/16/04-2/20/04). 

Back For More
Last season, Sebastian Cossa set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak (13-0-6), and tied both the franchise record home and road point streaks of 13 home games (9-0-4) and 10 road contests (8-0-2), respectively. Cossa continues to rewrite the record book, as he posted a 35-save shutout in the season opener on Oct. 11 against Milwaukee. He became the first Griffins goalie to post an opening-night shutout in 26 years, since Ian Gordon made 33 saves in a 2-0 win over Kansas City on Oct. 9, 1998. Through four outings this year, the 21-year-old has a 3-1-0 mark with a 1.41 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage. 

Ville Good
With a 22-save shutout in his AHL season debut last Friday, Ville Husso became the first goalie to record a shutout in each of his first two Griffins appearances, after making 25 saves in a 3-0 home win over Belleville on Jan. 26, 2024. It also marked the 10th time in Griffins history and the first since 2018 that a goalie has recorded shutouts in consecutive appearances. Throughout 132 AHL outings, Husso has a 52-54-16 mark with 12 shutouts to go along with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. 

The Watson Supercomputer
Dan Watson was named the 12th head coach in franchise history on June 14, 2023, and is in his second season at the helm. Last campaign, Watson became the ninth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench, joining Dave Allison (1996-97), Bruce Cassidy (2000-01), Danton Cole (2002-03), Greg Ireland (2005-06), Curt Fraser (2008-09), Jeff Blashill (2012-13), Todd Nelson (2015-16) and Ben Simon (2018-19). On April 27, 2024 in a 3-2 overtime victory at Rockford, he also joined seven other head coaches who won their first postseason game behind the Griffins’ bench. Watson became the eighth of the last nine Griffins head coaches to win his first playoff series, defeating the IceHogs 3-1 in the 2024 Central Division Semifinals. In his first year at the helm, Watson led the Griffins to a second-place finish in the Central Division with a 37-23-8-4 record and 86 points, the team’s best finish since the 2016-17 campaign. As a head coach, the Glencoe, Ontario, native possesses a 313-136-30-17 (.678) ledger during the regular season and a 56-38 (.596) mark over only six playoff campaigns. With the Griffins, Watson has a 41-24-8-4 (.610) mark overall and a 26-7-4-2 (.744) record at home. 

Championship or Bust 
Newcomer Joe Snively enjoyed a team-high three-game point streak (1-2—3) from Oct. 12-19. He joined the Griffins after a historic run with the Hershey Bears the last two seasons. Snively has won the last two Calder Cups with Hershey and has showed a combined 33 points (6-27—33) in 40 games during the postseason with a 28-12 record in the past two playoffs. In addition to winning the cup last year, Snively also aided the Bears to a regular-season title with a 53-14-0-5 mark (111 pts., .771), the second-best regular-season record in AHL history and the most wins by an AHL team in a 72-game season. The Fairfax, Va., native logged career-high numbers in 2023-24 in games played (69), assists (45), and points (59) to go with 14 goals. Throughout his six-year AHL career with Hershey, the 28-year-old amassed 172 points (58-114—172) and a plus-57 rating in 220 outings. Snively is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, which would put in rare AHL company, as only 11 players in league history have won three consecutive cups in the AHL and no one has reached this feat since the 1978 season.   
Restocked
The Griffins lost six players who totaled 81 goals for the team last season in Jonatan Berggren (24 goals), Joel L’Esperance (16), Zach Aston-Reese (12), Matt Luff (10), Austin Czarnik (10), and Taro Hirose (9). General manager Shawn Horcoff is hoping that free agent signings and an up-tick in play from top prospects can replace that lost production. Joe Snively joins the roster after recording a career-high 59 points and 14 goals with Hershey last season, Michigan native Sheldon Dries showed 29 goals in 55 games with Abbotsford, and Jakub Rychlovsky paced the Tipsport Extraliga in Czechia with 26 goals in 51 outings. The Griffins also have six prospects that they’ll look to for scoring in Nate Danielson, Alex Doucet, Cross Hanas, Carter Mazur, Amadeus Lombardi, and Elmer Soderblom. 

Roster Breakdown
Twenty players (forwards Nate Danielson, Alex Doucet, Sheldon Dries, Cross Hanas, Marco Kasper, Amadeus Lombardi, Carter Mazur, Jakub Rychlovsky, Joe Snively, Elmer Soderblom, and Austin Watson; defensemen Tory Dello, William Lagesson, Brogan Rafferty, Antti Tuomisto, Eemil Viro and William Wallinder; goaltenders Gage Alexander, Sebastian Cossa and Ville Husso) on the roster are under contract with the Red Wings, while six players (forwards Carson Bantle, Hunter Johannes, Gabriel Seger and Dominik Shine; defenseman Josiah Didier; and goaltender Malcolm Subban) are playing on a Griffins contract. Ten players are Red Wings draft picks (Cossa, Danielson, Hanas, Kasper, Lombardi, Mazur, Soderblom, Tuomisto, Viro, and Wallinder). 

Young Guns 
The Griffins have seven players who are considered rookies this season, including forwards Carson Bantle, Nate Danielson, Alex Doucet, Jakub Rychlovsky, and Gabriel Seger, defenseman Shai Buium, and goaltender Gage Alexander. 

Oldies but Goodies 
The Griffins’ roster features five veterans including forwards Sheldon Dries, Dominik Shine and Austin Watson, and defensemen Josiah Didier and William Lagesson. A player receives veteran status if he has competed in at least 261 games in the NHL, AHL or European elite leagues. Watson leads all veterans with 754 professional games played, while Didier (458) ranks second and Shine (425) places third. 

Pour Me A Draft
The Griffins’ roster is stocked with high-end draft picks from previous years. The roster features four former first rounders in Sebastian Cossa (15th overall in 2021), Nate Danielson (9th overall in 2023), Malcolm Subban (24th in 2012), and Austin Watson (18th in 2010). In addition, Grand Rapids is highlighted with four former second-round picks, including Shai Buium (36th in 2021), Cross Hanas (55th in 2020), Antti Tuomisto (35th in 2019), and William Wallinder (32nd in 2020). The Griffins’ roster also includes two third-round picks from Detroit in Carter Mazur (70th in 2021) and Eemil Viro (70th in 2020), and 19 draft picks total. 

Across the Atlantic We Go
The Detroit Red Wings have a rich tradition of possessing some of the top talent to come out of Sweden, such as Niklas Kronwall and Nicklas Lidstrom, and more recently Lucas Raymond. This year is no different, as the NHL franchise has sent down a handful of Swedes to the Griffins. In fact, four players are Swedish natives, including Gabriel Seger, William Lagesson, Elmer Soderblom and William Wallinder. Grand Rapids also features three Finnish players in Ville Husso, Antti Tuomisto and Eemil Viro, and one player hailing from Czechia in Jakub Rychlovsky. 

Milestones
Yesterday at Springfield, Nate Danielson scored his first professional goal, while Gabriel Seger collected his first AHL goal during his debut. Last Saturday against the Manitoba Moose, Sheldon Dries competed in his 400th game as a professional.
Tory Dello—Two points from 50 as a pro and in the AHL