Griffins Game #23 * Road Game #12 * AHL Game #334

Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 103-88-2-8-5 All-Time Home Series: 50-39-2-6-4 All-Time Road Series: 53-49-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Allstate Arena…This weekend marks the first time in franchise history that the Griffins will play a 3-in-3 against one opponent...Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 206 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 222)…The Griffins have strung together back-to-back winning seasons against Chicago (10-5-1-2, .639) for the first time since 2015-17 (14-3-1-0, .806)...The Wolves 2-6-1-0 at home compared to 6-3-1-0 on the road this year...The Griffins are 7-3-1-0 on the road this season...Since the 2020-21 season, Grand Rapids is just 16-24-2-2 (.409) against the Wolves and has been outscored 161-119. Also since the 2020-21 season, the Griffins are 8-14-0-0 (.364) against the Wolves in Chicago and have been outscored 89-59...The Wolves rank 31st in the AHL with a power-play percentage of 10.6%, while their penalty kill ranks 28th at 77.1%...Chicago ranks 29th on the circuit with 2.58 goals scored per game and 16th with 3.00 goals against per game...The Wolves allow the second-fewest shots per game in the AHL at 25.5 and produce the 12th best shot rate at 30.0. 

Last Time Out
Elmer Soderblom lit the lamp in overtime to give the Griffins a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday at Allstate Arena. Soderblom (1-1—2), Sheldon Dries (1-1—2) and Dominik Shine (0-2—2) all tallied two-point outings alongside Brogan Rafferty (1-1—2) who returned from injury. Austin Watson extended his point streak to three (2-1—3) when he found the back of the net and Tim Gettinger scored his first goal of the year. Carter Gylander improved to 2-1-0 in the campaign and saved 23 shots. 

This Date in Griffins History
2002: In a first-of-its-kind event, every Griffins player and coach takes turns skating with fans for one hour each, around the clock, as part of “The Great Skate.” Held outdoors at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, the event raises $12,000 for the Griffins Youth Foundation.

Keep The Good Times Rolling 
With a 15-6-1-0 record and 31 points through 22 games, the Griffins rank first in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference and fifth in the AHL. This marks the first time that Grand Rapids has been atop the division in December or later since the 2018-19 season, when it held a share of first place as late as March 8. When Dec. 1 dawned last season, the Griffins were tied for fourth place with a 6-8-1-1 record. In 29 seasons, this was the fourth Griffins team to win at least 10 of its first 14 games, and the first since 2009-10. The Griffins have won with defense, as they have allowed two goals or less in 12 of the 22 contests and have scored an average of 3.14 goals per game (13th). 

Busy Bodies
The Griffins will finish their second consecutive weekend of three games in three days. Grand Rapids is a combined 5-1-0-0 during its two previous weekends of 3-in-3s with its only loss coming against Chicago. With all three games coming against the Wolves this week, this marks the first time in franchise history that the Griffins will play a 3-in-3 against one opponent. Grand Rapids played three straight games against Chicago from April 22-28, 2022 (0-3-0-0). The Griffins went 3-0-0-0 in their first 3-in-3 from Oct. 25-27, defeating Springfield and Lehigh Valley (twice). This was the first time since April 5-7, 2002 that Grand Rapids went undefeated while playing three games in three days. 

He Shoots, He Scores
Through the first 10 games of the season, the Griffins scored more than two goals just three times and averaged 2.20 goals per game, which ranked 29th in the AHL as of Nov. 4. Since then, Grand Rapids has scored at least four goals in eight of the last 12 contests, averaging 3.92 goals per game. The Griffins are 13th on the circuit with 3.14 goals per outing while placing second in goals against per game (2.50). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 12-0-0-0. 

Damn Daniel, Back At It Again
Rookie Nate Danielson, selected ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, had just two points (1-1—2) in his first eight games as a pro. However, he enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak (1-4—5) from Nov. 24-Dec. 1 and has nine points (2-7—9) in his last 10 contests. The 20-year-old made his pro debut with Grand Rapids on May 20 at Milwaukee during the Calder Cup Playoffs and finished the postseason with two appearances. Prior to turning pro, Danielson spent four campaigns in the WHL and amassed 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 regular-season games. 

No Ordinary Joe
Newcomer Joe Snively enjoyed team-high four-game goal streak from Nov. 13-22 and has 10 points (7-3—10) in his last 12 outings. Snively is tied for second on the roster in both points (8-8—16) and goals (8) through 22 appearances. The Herndon, Virginia, native joined the Griffins after a historic run with the Hershey Bears the last two seasons. Snively won the last two Calder Cups with the Bears and showed a combined 33 points (6-27—33) in 40 games during the postseason with a 28-12 record in the past two playoffs. Snively also aided Hershey to a regular-season title last year 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 28-year-old is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, as only 11 players in league history have won three consecutive cups in the AHL and no one has achieved this feat since the 1978 season.   

Regain Power
The Griffins’ power play struggled out of the gate but has now converted seven of its last 22 opportunities on the man-advantage (31.8%) and has scored a power-play goal in five of the last six games. The power play ranks 15th on the circuit at 18.1% (13-for-72). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 6-for-30 (20.0%, 11th) and its road power play is 7-for-42 (16.7%, T18th). The Griffins’ penalty kill ranks second in the AHL at 89.5% and their four short-handed goals are tied for third. Grand Rapids recorded two short-handed goals in 3:24 of game time on Nov. 7 at Iowa, which equaled the number of short-handed tallies it had in 72 games last season. The last time the Griffins had scored two short-handed goals in a game was in a 5-3 win over Ontario on Feb. 5, 2022. 

Veteran Presence
Sheldon Dries (415), Dominik Shine (444), Joe Snively (269) and Austin Watson (772) bring a combined 1,900 games worth of experience to the Griffins’ locker room. The group has also produced a lot of the scoring for the team this season. Watson has five points in his last six games  (4-1—5), Shine has six in his last four (2-4—6), Snively with four points in his last four games (2-2—4), and Dries with five points (2-3—5) in his last four outings. With a combined 63 points, the foursome is responsible for 35.6% of the total offense produced by the Griffins this year. 

Give Me Some Fin
Finnish prospect defensemen Antti Tuomisto and Eemil Viro have excelled this season and it’s starting to show in the box score. Tuomisto posted a career-high three assists on Nov. 24 against the Iowa Wild and now has five points (1-4—5) in his last four outings. Viro, not known for his offensive production, logged assists in back-to-back appearances from Nov. 29-30. Viro was selected 70th overall by Detroit in 2020 while Tuomisto was the Red Wings’ 35th overall pick in 2019. 

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense
The Griffins rank second in the AHL with just 2.50 goals allowed per game, as the 55 goals surrendered are tied for sixth in the AHL. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 27 goals in its last 14 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (1.93 GA per game). 

One, Two Punch 
Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, is off to a strong start through the opening 14 games of his season, showing a 9-4-1 mark with one shutout, a 2.21 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage. The 22-year-old ranks among the league leaders in minutes played (816:02, 4th), shutouts (T7th), GAA (7th), wins (3rd), and save percentage (7th). Ville Husso has also gotten off to a fast start with the Griffins, as he has a 4-0-0 ledger with one shutout to go along with a 1.58 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage in five appearances. Through six career games with Grand Rapids, Husso has a 5-0-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.29 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. Jack Campbell joined the goaltending room on Nov. 18 when he was assigned by the Red Wings and made his Griffins debut on Dec. 6 against Chicago, collecting 29 saves in a 3-1 defeat. Campbell, the 11th overall pick by Dallas in 2010, has appeared in 438 games since 2011-12 and possesses a 229-141-47 ledger with 32 shutouts to go along with a 2.67 goals-against average. Last season, the 32-year-old showed an 18-13-1 record, a 2.63 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 33 games with the Bakersfield Condors. Husso was recalled by Detroit last Wednesday and Cossa was recalled on Monday on emergency conditions. Carter Gylander has been reassigned from Toledo to Grand Rapids by Detroit. The Griffins’ goalie room currently consists of Campbell and Gylander. 

Shoot Your Shot
On Nov. 15 against Chicago, the Griffins outshot their opponent for the first time in the opening 14 games of the season and have now outshot their opponent just four times in the first 22 contests. The Griffins have averaged 24.8 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots five times and has exceeded 30 shots four times. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents have averaged 30.1 shots per game (20th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots eight times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 210-149 compared to being outshot 215-206 in the second and 225-179 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 9-3-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 9-4-1-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots. 

If You Ain’t First, You’re Last
Starting the game off on the right foot has been imperative for the Griffins early this season. Grand Rapids is 11-1-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and 13-1-1-0 when either tied or leading after the first period. When the Griffins allow the first goal they are 4-5-0-0, and 2-5-0-0 when trailing after two periods. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Sebastian Cossa—Fourth in minutes played (816:02), tied for seventh in shutouts (1), seventh in GAA (2.21), third in wins (9), and seventh in save percentage (.925)
Nate Danielson—Tied for first in short-handed assists (2), tied for ninth among rookies in assists (10)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
William Lagesson—Tied for fifth among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+11), tied for seventh among all skaters in plus-minus rating (+11)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for first in game-winners (4)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (6) 

Milestones
On Friday, Tory Dello competed in his 200th game as a pro, Eemil Viro skated in his 100th game as a Griffin, and William Lagesson suited up for his 350th game as a pro.   
Alex Doucet—One point from 50 as a pro
Joe Snively—One point from 200 as a pro
Elmer Soderblom—One point from 100 as a pro 
Eemil Viro—One game from 250 as a pro
Austin Watson—Two points from 150 in the AHL 

Photo by Richie Guzior/Wolves