Griffins Game #5 * Road Game #2 * AHL Game #78

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 1-0-1-0 All-Time Home Series: 0-0-1-0 All-Time Road Series: 1-0-0-0

Griffins at Thunderbirds
First of two meetings overall, first and only at the MassMutual Center…Tonight’s game marks the Griffins’ third overall meeting against Springfield and just their second trip to the MassMutual Center...Grand Rapids won the first-ever game in Springfield 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 9, 2022...Springfield rookie Dylan Peterson has four goals in five games, which is tied for seventh in the AHL and tied for first among first-year players...In addition to Peterson, rookie Dalibor Dvorsky also ranks tied for eighth among first-year players with four points (2-2—4)...Springfield netminder Colten Ellis ranks fourth in the AHL with 90 saves in three games...Thunderbirds’ defenseman Hunter Skinner ranks fourth among league’s blueliners with 12 penalty minutes...Springfield is tied for 22nd with a power-play rate of 10.5%, while the Griffins are tied for 26th at 7.1%...On the penalty kill, the Thunderbirds place 16th at 84.2% and Grand Rapids ranks fifth at 92.9%...Malcolm Subban competed in 31 games with Springfield last season and notched an 11-14-4 record with a 2.94 GAA and a .907 save percentage. 

Last Time Out
Amadeus Lombardi’s first two-goal game as a professional paved the way for a Griffins 2-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Saturday at Van Andel Arena to complete the weekend sweep. Grand Rapids is now undefeated in three games at home for the first time since the 2009-2010 season, when it won its first eight games at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins also improved to 3-1 overall for the first time since 2016-17, their most recent Calder Cup championship season. Sebastian Cossa turned away 29 shots but saw his home shutout streak this season come to an end after 103:31 minutes and the Griffins’ home shutout streak this campaign ended at 163:52. In the young season, Cossa has shown a 1.67 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage through three outings. 

This Date in Griffins History
2009: Behind captain Jamie Tardif’s second AHL hat trick, the Griffins finish off a perfect home-opening weekend and earn their first-ever sweep of a three-in-three at Van Andel Arena with a 6-1 thrashing of Abbotsford.

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense
The Griffins lead the AHL with just 1.25 goals allowed per game, as the five goals surrendered are the fewest in franchise history over the first four games of a season. They allowed their previous low of seven in both 2004-05 and 2001-02, and for comparison, ceded 12 goals in the opening four 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 3-1-0-0 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 three of the four contests but have scored an average of just 1.75 goals per game, fourth-worst on the circuit. 

Big Goose Egg 
The Griffins are one of two teams in the AHL that have logged two shutouts this season, as San Jose has 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 three outings this year, the 21-year-old has a 1.67 goals-against average and a .949 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 131 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 312-136-30-17 (.678) ledger during the regular season and a 56-38 (.596) mark over only six playoff campaigns. With the Griffins, Watson has a 40-24-8-4 (.605) mark overall and a 26-7-4-2 (.744) record at home. 

Championship or Bust 
Newcomer Joe Snively is on 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 seven prospects that they’ll look to for scoring in Nate Danielson, Alex Doucet, Cross Hanas, Marco Kasper, 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
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