Griffins Game #57 * Road Game #30 * AHL Game #873

Season Series: 3-3-0-0 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 104-89-2-8-5 All-Time Home Series: 51-39-2-6-4 All-Time Road Series: 53-50-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Allstate Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 208 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 226)…The Griffins have strung together back-to-back winning seasons against Chicago (2022-24: 10-5-1-2, .639) for the first time since 2015-17 (14-3-1-0, .806)...Grand Rapids has lost three of the last five games against Chicago (2-3-0-0)...Tonight’s game begins a season-high seven-game homestand for Chicago...The Wolves are 14-10-1-0 at home this season compared to 13-13-2-0 on the road...The Griffins are 16-11-2-0 on the road this season and have just four wins in their last 15 games overall (4-9-1-1)...Chicago is 3-6-1-0 in its last 10 games and Grand Rapids is 4-4-1-1 in its last 10...The Wolves are on a four-game winless skid (0-3-1-0)...Since the 2020-21 season, Grand Rapids is just 17-25-2-2 (.413) against the Wolves and has been outscored 165-125. Also since the 2020-21 season, the Griffins are 8-15-0-0 (.348) against the Wolves at Allstate Arena and have been outscored 91-60...The Wolves rank 26th in the AHL with a power-play percentage of 16.5%, while their penalty kill ranks 22nd at 80.3%...Chicago ranks 22nd on the circuit with 2.91 goals scored per game and 16th with 3.06 goals against per game...The Wolves place 13th in shots per game at 29.7 and sixth with 26.8 shots allowed…Chicago’s Ryan Suzuki ranks seventh in the AHL with 33 assists. Among first-year players, rookie Bradly Nadeau ranks second in goals (21) and tied for seventh in points (39) alongside teammate Scott Morrow, while fellow rookie Justin Robidas is tied for fourth in points (41). Robidas also ranks fifth in assists among rookies (28) and Morrow places sixth in assists (26). Wolves’ netminder Spencer Martin ranks seventh with a 2.34 GAA...Defenseman Tory Dello skated in 65 games with Chicago last season and logged 13 points (3-10—13)...Defenseman Brogan Rafferty hails from West Dundee, Illinois, which is about 45 minutes from Chicago. 

Last Time Out
Behind a shootout-winner and a regulation strike from Cross Hanas, the Griffins secured a 3-2 shootout victory over the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday at the Canada Life Centre. Hanas’ goal marked his ninth of the year and his third in the last five games. Joe Snively scored the other regulation tally, earning him his first-career 20-goal season and the team high in tallies. Snively has collected five points in the last five games (2-3—5) and Amadeus Lombardi skated in his 100th game as a Griffin. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa saved 32 shots, alongside three more in the shootout. Cossa improved to 17-10-5 on the year with a .914 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average. The Griffins improved to 6-2 in the shootout this season and finished the regular-season series with Manitoba with a 5-3-0-0 record, as seven of the eight games were decided by just one goal. 

This Date in Griffins History
2011: Jordan Pearce sinks the Rivermen with his first career shutout to give Grand Rapids a 3-0 win over Peoria at Carver Arena, extending the Griffins' winning streak to four games in their push toward the playoffs.

Nate The Great
Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023, tied his season high of a four-game point streak from Feb. 14-21 and now has seven points (3-4—7) in his last 10 games. He has had a promising rookie season with 29 points (7-22—29), 31 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 55 appearances. In addition to ranking fourth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson ranks 11th among AHL rookies in assists (22) and is tied for the league lead in short-handed assists (4). Prior to turning pro, the 20-year-old spent four seasons in the WHL with Brandon (2020-24) and Portland (2023-24), producing a combined 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 career games.   

Fight Your Way Through
During the month of February, the Griffins dropped eight of the 11 games (3-7-1-0), which saw them fall to third place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. However, the team now has points in five of its last seven games (3-2-1-1) and are just three points out of first place in the division. The Griffins have averaged 2.27 goals in their last 15 contests while allowing 3.73 tallies. In the last seven games, Grand Rapids has averaged 3.14 goals while allowing 3.71. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 24-1-0-1 mark (.942) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-20-4-1 (.250) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 3.08 goals per game since the start of the calendar year but is still tied for ninth overall with 2.79 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling into third place in the division, Grand Rapids is now tied for seventh in the Western Conference and tied for 15th in the AHL with a 29-21-4-2 record and 64 points through 56 games. 

No Ordinary Joe 
As the team deals with a cold stretch and loss of offensive production, Joe Snively has been a bright spot for the squad as of late. Snively registered a point in both meetings at Manitoba earlier this week and now has five points (2-3—5) in his last five games. With a tally on Wednesday, Snively secured his first-career 20-goal season, beating out his previous career high of 15 in 2021-22 with the Hershey Bears. In addition to his career-best 20 goals, the 29-year-old has also bagged a career-high seven power-play goals. Snively (20-17—37 in 56 GP) ranks among the team leaders in points (T1st), assists (6th), goals (1st), power-play goals (1st), and power-play assists (T4th). Snively is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, which would put him in rare 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. 

Criss-Cross Applesauce 
After being held without a goal in 21 straight games from Dec. 17-Feb. 15, Cross Hanas broke his drought on Feb. 25 at Texas and now has three goals in his last five games, which includes goals in back-to-back outings earlier this week at Manitoba. Through 50 appearances this season, the third-year pro has 15 points (9-6—15), 26 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating, tying his career-high mark of nine goals set during his rookie campaign in 2022-23. Hanas, selected with the 55th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2020, has 48 points (26-22—48) in 138 pro games with Grand Rapids. Prior to turning pro, the 23-year-old spent parts of four seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks from 2018-22, showing a combined 161 points (58-103—161) in 196 regular-season outings. 

Hot Stretch  
Carter Mazur, who was sidelined for 35 straight contests from Oct. 19-Jan. 18, has four goals in his last four outings and is on a team-best six-game point streak (4-3—7). He also has 10 points (6-4—10) in his last nine contests and 13 points (7-6—13) in 17 games since returning from his upper-body injury. In total, Mazur has 15 points (8-7—15) in 20 appearances with the Griffins this season. Last campaign, Mazur ranked second on the team in points (17-30—37) as a rookie before tying for second on the roster in points (3-5—8) during the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 70th overall pick by Detroit in 2021 spent two seasons at the University of Denver prior to turning pro and won two NCHC titles (2022, 2023) and became a NCAA champion in 2022, showing a combined 75 points (36-39—75) in 81 career games. Mazur was recalled by the Red Wings on Thursday and later that evening made his NHL debut against Utah, suffering an upper-body injury during his second shift. 

He’s Back! 
After being sidelined for 28 consecutive games from Dec. 6-Feb. 15 due to rehabbing an upper-body injury, second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi returned to the ice on Feb. 19 against Lehigh Valley and collected an assist in the process. Lombardi enjoyed a season-high four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Feb. 23-March 1 and has six points (3-3—6) in eight games since returning from injury. At the time of his setback, Lombardi ranked third on the team in points (9-6—15) and first in goals (9) through 20 appearances. The 21-year-old also had four game-winners, which ranked first on the team and tied for first in the AHL as of Dec. 6. Currently, Lombardi ranks seventh on the roster with 21 points (12-9—21) and tied for third in goals (12). As a rookie last season, Lombardi produced 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 outings during the regular season before adding one goal in eight playoff games. The Aurora, Ontario, native was selected with the 113th pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022. 

A Month to Forget
It was an unusual stretch of games for the Griffins during February, as they had three wins in 11 contests (3-7-1-0). The special teams also struggled, as they went 4-for-45 on the power play (8.9%) and 30-for-40 on the penalty kill (75.0%) in February. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now 27th), and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 12th). Grand Rapids allowed 44 goals in 11 games in February (4.00 per game) after allowing 23 goals in 11 outings in January (2.09). One thing that improved was the Griffins’ shot count. They outshot their opponent in seven of the 11 games with an average of 31.7 shots. At the start of February, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

He Brings the Boom
Rookie defenseman Shai Buium tied his season high of a three-game point streak from Feb. 23-26 (0-3—3) and now has five points (1-4—5) in his last eight appearances. Buium secured his first goal as a professional on Tuesday at Manitoba. Buium is second among the team’s blueliners with 20 points (1-19—20) in 52 games and is fifth among all skaters on the roster with 19 assists. In addition to his team rankings, the 21-year-old is seventh among AHL rookie defensemen in assists, 13th in points, and tied for 11th in power-play assists (5). Buium spent three seasons at the University of Denver from 2021-23 prior to turning pro, winning two national titles and totaling a combined 75 points (14-61—75), 44 penalty minutes and a plus-61 rating in 120 games. The San Diego, California, native was selected 36th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021. 

A Few Loose Ends 
Despite allowing 4.00 goals per game in the month of February, the Griffins’ defense has been a bright spot for the team this season. Grand Rapids is tied for ninth in the AHL with 2.79 goals allowed per contest but has averaged 3.08 goals against since the start of the calendar year. At the start of February, the Griffins ranked first in the AHL with 2.43 goals allowed per game. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.36 GAA and .914 save percentage through 32 games, and Jack Campbell has a 2.79 GAA and an .892 save percentage in 10 appearances. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed 78 goals in its last 30 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.60 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 88 goals in their last 31 regular-season road games (2.84 GA per game). 

Power Outage
Grand Rapids is 6-for-63 (9.5%) on the man-advantage in its last 16 games. However, the power play has scored in three of the last five games (3-for-20, 15.0%) and is 5-for-32 in its last seven outings (15.6%). The power play has quickly fallen into 27th place on the circuit at 16.2% (32-for-198) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 15-for-87 (17.2%, T21st) and its road power play is 17-for-111 (15.3%, 28th). The Griffins have given up eight short-handed goals, which is tied for the eighth most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 17-for-19 (89.5%) in its last five games but has allowed a power-play goal in nine of the previous 15 games (41-for-54 on PK, 75.9%) and in 15 of its last 24 outings (68-for-87 on PK, 78.2%). The Griffins rank 29th out of 32 teams with just 598 penalty minutes this season ahead of just Colorado (590), Hershey (580) and Coachella Valley (571). The penalty kill ranks 12th at 83.0% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored seven short-handed tallies, which is tied for 10th in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 17-5-2-2 and 10-14-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (19), 13th among rookie defensemen in points (20), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,905:33), tied for sixth in games played (32), ninth in GAA (2.36), eighth in wins (17), 11th in save percentage (.914)
Nate Danielson—11th among rookies in assists (22), tied for first in short-handed assists (4), first among rookies in short-handed assists (4)
Josiah Didier—Tied for fifth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for third in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), tied for 10th in penalty minutes (94)

Milestones
On Wednesday at Manitoba, Amadeus Lombardi appeared in his 100th game as a Griffin.  
Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, two goals from 150 as a pro
Amadeus Lombardi—Two points from 50 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming the franchise record of 11 in a career, one goal from moving into a tie for ninth place in the franchise’s all-time goals scored list (Derek King, 73)
William Wallinder—One game from 300 as a pro 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins