Griffins Game #42 * Road Game #19 * AHL Game #666

Season Series: 3-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 2-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 38-15-4-2 All-Time Home Series: 18-6-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 20-9-1-0

Griffins at Wild
Fourth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Wells Fargo Arena…The Griffins are 20-11-4-2 overall in the last five years against the Wild and have outscored Iowa 118-116...Grand Rapids is 11-7-1-0 at Iowa since the 2016-17 season with a plus-one scoring margin (62-61)...The Griffins have points in the last five overall meetings (4-0-1-0) against the Wild and points in seven of the last eight outings against Iowa (6-1-1-0)...Iowa is 12-6-2-1 at home this season while Grand Rapids is 8-8-1-1 on the road...This contest will be the second of a four-game road trip for the Griffins...The Wild are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 contests...The Griffins’ season series at the Wild has been tight affairs over the last handful of seasons, as just two goals or less have separated the two teams in four of the last five campaigns...The last time the Griffins had a losing record against Iowa in Des Moines was in 2019-20 (0-2-1-0)...Iowa is tied for 13th in the power play at 19.9% while its penalty kill places second at 86%...2017 Calder Cup champions with the Griffins, Joe Hicketts (2016-21) and Dominic Turgeon (2016-21) are now with Iowa after signing deals with the Minnesota Wild in the offseason. Nate DiCasmirro (2005-06) is an assistant coach for Iowa...Taro Hirose (3-3—6), Jonatan Berggren (3-1—4) and Chase Pearson (1-3—4) pace the Griffins against the Wild...Marco Rossi (1-2—3) and Turner Ottenbreit (0-3—3) lead the way for Iowa against Grand Rapids.

Last Time Out
Jonatan Berggren netted the game-winner 16 seconds into overtime, as the Grand Rapids Griffins began their four-game road trip with a 4-3 victory over the Iowa Wild on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena. Berggren led the way for the Griffins with two goals in the contest while Taro Hirose (1-1—2) joined him with a multi-point outing. Calvin Pickard collected his first Griffins win since Jan. 18, mostly due to being recalled to the Detroit Red Wings. Head coach Ben Simon picked up his 100th win (100-83-18-11, 0.540) with Grand Rapids, becoming the sixth head coach in franchise history to reach the 100-win plateau. Luke Witkowski scored in consecutive contests for the first time this season. The Griffins now have points in five straight games against Iowa (4-0-1-0) and points in seven of the last eight meetings (6-1-1-0). Grand Rapids has now scored on the power play in three straight outings.

Roster Shake Up
- Feb. 7, 2022—F Matt Berry released from PTO
- Feb. 8, 2022—F Josh Dickinson and D Gordi Myer signed to PTOs; F Joe Veleno recalled by Detroit

Road Trip
The Griffins’ 13-game schedule for January featured eight home contests. In fact, the Griffins have played eight of their past 11 contests at Van Andel Arena. However, that will change in the coming weeks, as the team heads out on a four-game road trip and will be on foreign ice in five of its next six games. Grand Rapids is 8-8-1-1 away from West Michigan and 9-9-4-1 at home this season. The Griffins’ next home contest will be on Feb. 19 against Rockford.

This Date in Griffins History
2000: Karel Rachunek ties a franchise mark with four assists in a 6-3 rout of defending IHL champion Houston.

New Leader
Shawn Horcoff was named Red Wings assistant general manager and the fifth general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins on Feb. 4, 2022, after the departure of former GM Pat Verbeek, now the GM of the Anaheim Ducks. Horcoff will work alongside Steve Yzerman on all hockey operations matters for the Red Wings, in addition to being responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Griffins, including personnel decisions, contract negotiations and player movement. Horcoff, 43, spent six seasons as the Red Wings' director of player development - in addition to the last three seasons as assistant director of player personnel - after joining the Red Wings prior to the 2016-17 season following a 1,008-game NHL career.

Busy Bodies
The Griffins competed in 32 games over the first 99 days of the season between Oct. 15-Jan. 21. The calendar for Grand Rapids intensifies in the second half of the campaign, as the club is scheduled to play 43 contests over 96 days from Jan. 22-April 28. The Griffins are no stranger to a busy workload, as Grand Rapids played in 16 games in 30 days to conclude the 2020-21 season.

Keep it 100
Head coach Ben Simon became the sixth coach in franchise history to reach 100 wins with the Griffins with a 4-3 overtime victory over Iowa on Feb. 10. Simon joined Danton Cole (2002-05), Greg Ireland (2005-07), Curt Fraser (2008-12), Jeff Blashill (2012-15) and Todd Nelson (2015-18) as the only coaches to reach the 100-win mark in the regular season.

Going with the Flow
It has been a busy season thus far for head coach Ben Simon and Griffins general managers, as players on professional tryouts have been plentiful for the team this year. Ten PTO skaters have seen action so far this season and have totaled 101 games played; both numbers surpass any full season since Simon joined the team as an assistant coach in 2015-16. On average, 12.3% of Grand Rapids’ lineup has been tryout players.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-10-1-2 (0.233) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and the second-place Manitoba Moose. The Griffins picked up their second win against either club on Jan. 14 against Manitoba, marking their first victory against Chicago or the Moose since Nov. 12. However, Grand Rapids is 15-7-4-0 (0.654) against the rest of the AHL.

Beijing Bound
A record 15 former Griffins will represent eight different countries at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The group features four Calder Cup champions and all three goaltenders from the 2018-19 team that went 38-27-7-4 (0.572). Valtteri Filppula was selected to represent Finland for the second time, as he claimed a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Tomas Jurco (2012-14; 15-17) also received his second selection on to Team Slovakia, after playing for his home country in the 2014 Sochi Games while competing for the Griffins that season.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren completed a four-game point streak (0-5—5) from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which tied Kyle Criscuolo for the longest assist streak on the team this season. The Uppsala, Sweden, native registered a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland, which set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins’ rookie single-game record of five assists set by Chris Bala (1/10/02). Berggren’s 31 points (11-20—31) are tied for sixth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 20 assists and 11 goals both place eighth in the league among rookies.

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 24 helpers in the opening 40 games, which is a team high and tied for 11th in the league. Eleven assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 11th in the AHL. Hirose logged his second three-point night (2-1—3) of the season on Jan. 1 against Milwaukee, which tied a career-high for the forward. In that same game, he also tied a career-best two goals. The former Michigan State Spartan enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 32 points (9-23—32) this season pace the Griffins. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Murphy’s Law
Reigning AHL defenseman of the year Ryan Murphy has started to find a rhythm offensively for the Griffins. The nine-year pro ranks seventh on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 18 points (7-11—18) in 37 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his seven goals are tied for second. The Aurora, Ontario, native signed a one-year contract with Detroit on July 28, 2021 and is the midst of his inaugural season with the Griffins.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 546 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fifth 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 Backor (Pittsburgh Hornets 1945-54) for the No. 5 spot on Jan. 14 against Manitoba and is now 24 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 109 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard made his NHL season debut with Detroit on Jan. 26 in a relief role against Chicago, then made his first NHL start of the campaign on Jan. 28 at Pittsburgh. Against the Penguins, the netminder earned the game’s first star, logging 36 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory. The 10-year-pro ranks 15th in the AHL with a 2.56 goals against average while his 0.920 save percentage places seventh. Pickard has seen action in 30 of the 41 games this season, including 16 straight from Nov. 5-Dec. 22. The goaltender recorded his third assist of the season on Dec. 4 versus Rockford, which set a new AHL career high for assists in a season. Pickard recorded his first shutout of the year 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.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Jonatan Berggren—31 points (11-20—31) are tied for sixth among first-year players, 20 assists and 11 goals both place eighth among rookies
Taro Hirose—24 assists are tied for 11th, 11 power play assists are tied for 11th
Ryan Murphy—Seven goals are tied for second among blueliners
Wyatt Newpower—39 penalty minutes are tied for 10th among rookies
Calvin Pickard—2.56 goals against average ranks 15th, 0.920 save percentage places seventh, 14 wins are tied for fifth
Dominik Shine—100 penalty minutes rank second

Milestones
Head coach Ben Simon notched his 100th win with the Griffins on Feb. 10 with a 4-3 overtime victory at Iowa. He became the sixth coach in franchise history to reach the 100-win plateau. Other upcoming milestones include:
Kyle Criscuolo—Four assists from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, five assists from 100 in the AHL
Jon Martin—Three points from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Two points from 100 as a pro

Photo by Tim Garland/Wild