Griffins Game #7 * Road Game #4 * AHL Game #97

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 9-5-1-0 All-Time Home Series: 4-2-1-0 All-Time Road Series: 5-3-0-0

Griffins at Phantoms
Second of four meetings overall, second of two at the PPL Center…Last night’s game marked the Griffins’ first-ever meeting against a team from Lehigh Valley. It was 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 26.3%, while the Griffins are tied for 18th at 16.0%...On the penalty kill, the Phantoms rank 25th at 76.0% and Grand Rapids ranks third at 94.4%...Lehigh Valley ranks first in the AHL with an average of 37.6 shots per game and tied for second with 25.4 shots allowed per game…The Phantoms are averaging 2.40 goals per game (22nd) and 3.80 goals against per game (25th)...Defenseman Hunter McDonald is tied for third among rookies with 15 penalty minutes. 

Last Time Out
Two goals and an assist from Amadeus Lombardi led the way to a season-high scoring output in the Griffins' 5-2 victory in their first-ever trip to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday at the PPL Center. The Griffins’ 5-1-0-0 record is tied for the best start in franchise history alongside the 2000-01 season. The eight goals allowed by Grand Rapids over the first six games are the fewest in franchise history, as their previous low came in 2004-05 when they allowed nine. In addition to Lombardi’s career-high three points, Dominik Shine matched his output with three of his own (1-2—3) and Joe Snively posted two assists. Cross Hanas and William Lagesson both scored their first goals of the year, while Tory Dello, Shai Buium, and Antti Tuomisto all tallied their first points of the campaign. 

This Date in Griffins History
2017: Matt Lorito returns from a three-game injury absence to register his first career hat trick and lift the Griffins to a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Chicago.

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense
The Griffins lead the AHL with just 1.33 goals allowed per game, as the eight goals surrendered are the fewest in franchise history over the first six games of a season. They allowed their previous low of nine in 2004-05, and for comparison, ceded 18 goals in the opening six 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 5-1-0-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign, and is tied for the best start in franchise history. 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 six contests but have scored an average of just 2.33 goals per game.

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 five outings this year, the 21-year-old has a 4-1-0 mark with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .954 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 314-136-30-17 (.679) ledger during the regular season and a 56-38 (.596) mark over only six playoff campaigns. With the Griffins, Watson has a 42-24-8-4 (.615) 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, 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, Carter Gylander, and Ville Husso) on the roster are under contract with the Red Wings, while five players (forwards Carson Bantle, Hunter Johannes, Gabriel Seger and Dominik Shine; and defenseman Josiah Didier) are playing on a Griffins contract. Ten players are Red Wings draft picks (Cossa, Danielson, Gylander, Hanas, Lombardi, Mazur, Soderblom, Tuomisto, Viro, and Wallinder). 

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

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 756 professional games played, while Didier (459) ranks second and Shine (427) places third. 

Pour Me A Draft
The Griffins’ roster is stocked with high-end draft picks from previous years. The roster features three former first rounders in Sebastian Cossa (15th overall in 2021), Nate Danielson (9th overall in 2023), 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—One point from 50 as a pro and in the AHL 

 Photo by Lehigh Valley