Griffins Game #14 * Road Game #7 * AHL Game #211

Season Series: 1-0-0- Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 33-18-3-4 All-Time Home Series: 18-6-1-3 All-Time Road Series: 15-12-2-1

Griffins at Stars
Second of eight meetings overall, second of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park...Yesterday’s 5-4 overtime victory for Grand Rapids was the first meeting between the two franchises since Texas defeated Grand Rapids 4-2 on Feb. 29, 2020, due to the teams not competing against each other in the 2020-21 season...In the past five seasons against the Stars, the Griffins are 7-7-1-1 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park...The last time the Griffins were above .500 at Texas was in the 2015-16 campaign when Grand Rapids finished with a 2-0-0-0 record...The home team has points in all of the past eight clashes…The Griffins’ power play ranks in the middle of the pack at 19th (17.8%) while the Stars place near the bottom at 27th (15.0%). However, the roles are reversed on the penalty kill as Grand Rapids (30th, 74.0%) ranks toward the bottom and Texas (T10th, 83.6%) places in the upper half...Texas (17-18-3-0, 37 pts., 0.487, 5th) finished last season below .500 for the second straight year.

Last Time Out
The Griffins went into overtime for the second consecutive contest and came away with a 5-4 victory over Texas, marking their third straight road win. A three-goal opening frame got things rolling for Grand Rapids as it headed into the first intermission with a 3-1 lead. Dominik Shine, Taro Hirose and Brian Lashoff all found the back of the net in the first. The Stars went on to score three unanswered tallies before Tyler Spezia leveled things with 2:57 left in the middle period. After a scoreless third, Hirose hooked up with Turner Elson for the game-winning goal in overtime. Jon Martin bagged his 50th assist as a pro when he registered two helpers in the contest. Brett McKenzie has made the most of his professional tryout, as he has three points (1-2—3) in his first two games as a Griffin. Finally, Calvin Pickard earned his sixth victory of the campaign and now has won five of his last six starts.

Roster Shake Up
The Griffins on Tuesday signed left wing Max Humitz and center Brett McKenzie to professional tryouts. In addition, Grand Rapids released defenseman D.J. King from his PTO. Humitz returns to Grand Rapids after appearing in two games from Nov. 5-6, logging one assist. The second-year pro totaled five points (3-2—5) and two penalty minutes in eight games with the Griffins in 2020-21. McKenize has six previous AHL games to his name with Providence and Chicago. The fourth-year pro made his AHL debut with the Bruins on Feb. 17, 2019 and last played in the AHL on Oct. 11, 2019 with the Wolves before making his season debut with the Griffins on Nov. 17, where he scored Grand Rapids’ lone tally. Through 10 games this season with Toledo in the ECHL, the center has 10 points (5-5—10), including a three-point (2-1—3) night on Nov. 3 at Indy. Also on Tuesday, the Red Wings reassigned goaltender Victor Brattstrom to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and reassigned netminder Kaden Fulcher to the Griffins. Fulcher has appeared in six games this season with the Walleye and has posted a 3-2-0 record with a 1.77 goals against average and a 0.924 save percentage. His goals against average ranks fifth in the ECHL while his save percentage places eighth.

Not Your Average Joe
Center Joe Veleno was recalled by Detroit on Nov. 15 for the second time this season. The Kirkland, Quebec, native skated in four games for the Red Wings from Oct. 30-Nov. 6, totaling two points (1-1—2), four penalty minutes and a plus-two rating. On Thursday, Veleno notched his second NHL goal of the season with a tally at Vegas. The former first-round draft choice has suited up for 12 games in the NHL and has amassed four points (3-1—4) and eight penalty minutes. The third-year pro has appeared in seven contests with Grand Rapids this season and registered three goals. The center logged a season-high two goals on Oct. 16 at Milwaukee in a 7-3 defeat.

Fit for a King
Former Rockford IceHogs coach Derek King was named interim head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 6, joining 11 other former Griffins players or coaches currently behind an NHL bench. He is one of four Griffins alumni serving as a head coach in the NHL.

This Date in Griffins History
1995: West Michigan Hockey, Inc. announces that the IHL’s Grand Rapids entry will be called the Griffins, after a creature from Greek mythology that displayed the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. The team’s new logo – a Griffin aggressively positioned upon the team wordmark – is also revealed, as are the team’s colors of gold, silver, navy, red and green.

Not So Powerful Play
Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins exceeded that mark in 2020-21 with a power play conversion rate of 21.5%, the fifth best on the circuit. This season began just like the past years but the power play has stalled as of late, cashing in on just one of its last 17 opportunities (0.06%). Grand Rapids last took advantage of the extra skater on Nov. 5 at Iowa. Through 13 games the power play is converting on 17.8% of its opportunities, which is tied for 19th in the AHL.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in seven of his 10 appearances this season and has points in six straight games. Pickard recorded his first shutout of the season and fourth as a Griffin on Nov. 12 against Manitoba, moving him into a tie for 10th place in franchise history with Jani Hurme, Martin Prusek, and Eddie Pasquale. The 10-year pro currently ranks sixth in the AHL with a 2.06 goals against average while his 0.936 save percentage places fourth. Twenty goals allowed through his first 10 games is Pickard’s best start since the 2017-18 season when he let in 17 tallies. Pickard played in just nine games in North America a season ago due to being assigned to Detroit’s taxi squad for much of the year. The Moncton, New Brunswick, native also spent some time with Vienna in the ICEHL last season, logging six games and a 1.96 goals against average.

High-Flying Hirose
After leading the Griffins in assists a year ago with 23, Taro Hirose has picked off right where he left off as he has bagged 12 helpers in the opening 13 games, which is a team high and tied for second in the league. Seven assists have come on the power play, which is tied for third in the AHL. Hirose saw his six-game point streak (2-7—9) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13 come to an end on Wednesday against Chicago. Hirose’s 15 points (3-12—15) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for sixth in the league.

Jonny On The Spot
Rookie Jonatan Berggren saw his six-game point streak (3-4—7) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13 come to a close on Wednesday against Chicago. The Uppsala, Sweden, native bagged his first AHL goal and two-point (1-1—2) night on Oct. 30, which began a three-game goal scoring streak for the right winger. The former second-round draft choice notched his 50th pro assist on Nov. 12 against Manitoba and is tied for 20th among league rookies with three goals while his eight points (3-5—8) are tied for 15th among first-year players.

Return of Riley
Although it was a slow start to this year, Riley Barber rattled off a six-game point streak (4-5—9) from Oct. 30-Nov. 13. His 11 points (5-6—11) this season are second on the roster while his four power play goals are tied for first in the AHL. Barber led the Griffins in goals (20), points (34) and points per game (1.06) a season ago. His scoring pace equaled a 48-goal, 81-point clip in a regular 76-game AHL season. Barber also ranked second in the league for goals, just one shy of Cooper Marody (who played seven more games), and was named a Central Division AHL All-Star. Six game-winning goals tied a career best while his four-game goal streak from Feb. 26 through March 11 also matched a career high. The forward added seven multi-point outings out of 32, including a career-high four points (2-2—4) on May 7 against Chicago. Barber posted a nine-game point streak (8-5—13) from Feb. 5-March 11 that was the longest ever to start a player’s Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 526 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and seventh in league history among one-team players. Of the 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). Lashoff overtook Pete Kapusta (Providence Reds 1946-55) for the No. 7 spot on Oct. 27 against Chicago and is now five games behind No. 6 Roger DeJordy (Hershey Bears 1962-70). Lashoff is still 129 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Four power play goals are tied for first
Jonatan Berggren—Three goals are tied for 20th among league rookies, eight points (3-5—8) are tied for 15th among first-year players
Taro Hirose—15 points (3-12—15) are tied for sixth, 12 assists are tied for second, seven power play assists are tied for third
Ryan Murphy—Two goals are tied for 14th among blueliners
Wyatt Newpower—30 penalty minutes is fifth among defensemen and first among rookies
Calvin Pickard—2.06 goals against average ranks sixth, 0.936 save percentage is good for fourth
Luke Witkowski—32 penalty minutes are third among league blueliners

Milestones
Jon Martin picked up his 50th assist as a pro on Nov. 19 at Texas. Other upcoming milestones include:
Riley Barber—Five points from 50 as a Griffin
Turner Elson—Six assists from 100 in the AHL
Brian Lashoff—Three assists from 100 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—One assist from 50 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—Three points from 50 in the AHL, one assist from 50 as a pro

Photo by Andy Nietupski/TTL Sports Media