Griffins Game #28 * Road Game #14 * AHL Game #359

Season Series: 2-6-0-0 Home Series: 2-2-0-0 Road Series: 0-4-0-0
All-Time Series: 89-70-2-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 44-31-2-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 45-39-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves

Ninth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five in Hoffman Estates…The Griffins and Wolves have split the first four clashes at Van Andel Arena, but Chicago has prevailed in all four meetings at the Triphahn Center Ice Arena...Any Chicago win tonight would eliminate Grand Rapids from contention for the Central Division title...The Griffins, who broke a season-high four-game winless skid with last night’s 5-4 victory over Chicago, are 2-6 against the Wolves and 11-4-3-1 versus all other teams...It took until their ninth home game of the season for the Griffins to suffer a regulation loss at home — becoming the last AHL team to do so — as Chicago skated to a 5-1 victory on April 26...It served as payback of sorts for Grand Rapids’ 4-1 home victory over the Wolves on Feb. 26, which snapped Chicago’s franchise-record seven-game winning streak to start the season...Prior to last night, the Griffins hadn’t scored more than three goals in seven straight games, dating to a 5-3 win over Cleveland on April 20...Both of Dylan McIlrath’s goals this season have come against Chicago...Anthony Richard has seven goals in eight games against the Griffins and four goals in 17 games against all other opponents...Although the Wolves’ primary affiliation is with the Carolina Hurricanes, their top three scorers are Nashville Predators prospects who in normal times would be playing for the rival Milwaukee Admirals: Phil Tomasino (12-14—26), Tommy Novak (5-21—26) and Tanner Jeannot (10-11—21)...Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 170 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 192)...The Griffins, who had surrendered only 11 goals over their first six games, lost 8-4 in Chicago on Feb. 28, allowing their most goals against in more than 10 years (a 10-8 win at Chicago on Nov. 27, 2010). It marked only the eighth time in 25 seasons that Grand Rapids yielded eight or more goals to the opposition…As part of his 11-year pro career, Griffins coach Ben Simon registered 87 points (37-50—87) in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of their first Calder Cup title in 2002.

Busy Bodies

After playing just 16 games overall and only four times at home during the first 70 days of this season – owing to both a light early schedule and six postponements since March 16 – the Griffins on April 16 began a stretch which has them scheduled to play their final 16 games and 12 home contests over a span of only 30 days. Updating those numbers, Grand Rapids will play its final five games over the next eight days.

Last Time Out

Riley Barber's second goal of the game with 12.1 seconds left on Friday completed four-point nights for him and Kyle Criscuolo and gave the Griffins a hard-fought 5-4 win over the Wolves at Van Andel Arena. Anthony Richard beat Kevin Boyle on a breakaway 3:18 into the game, but Barber answered at 7:54 with his 16th goal of the season. A hooking penalty on Barber late in the period opened the door for Phil Tomasino to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. The Griffins cashed in their third power play chance to forge another tie at 17:21 of the second period, when Criscuolo stood on the doorstep to tip home Jared McIsaac’s shot from the left point. Taro Hirose then fed Dylan McIlrath for a one-timer at the top of the right circle that blew past Warm 2:05 into the third to make it 3-2 in favor of the Griffins. Criscuolo gave Grand Rapids a two-goal cushion at 10:51 by whipping a shot from the left side, but Grand Rapids gave it right back thanks to penalty trouble. Dominik Bokk slammed the puck into the back door during a 5-on-3 at 13:36, and then just two seconds after the second penalty expired, David Cotton put a deflection past Boyle at 15:02.

Second Thoughts

The four-point performances by Riley Barber (2-2—4) and Kyle Criscuolo (2-2—4) last night were the second of each player’s career and the first by any Griffins players this season. Criscuolo accomplished it on Feb. 16, 2018 while playing for Rochester against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Barber did it on Jan. 30, 2016 against Syracuse as a rookie with Hershey.

Life of Riley

Riley Barber has registered points in five of the last six games (3-5—8) and in 21 of 27 contests this season. His 17 goals rank second in the league — four behind Bakersfield’s Cooper Marony, who has played in eight more games — his 30 points (17-13—30) tie for ninth and his 13 power play points tie for third. Barber’s projected numbers over a normal 76-game season would be 47 goals and 84 points; in franchise history, only Donald MacLean (56 during his MVP 2005-06 season) has scored more goals while only five players have registered as many points. He posted a nine-game point streak 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.

High-Flying Griffins

Chase Pearson logged his second two-goal game and fifth two-point outing of the season on Monday against Rockford. He has six points (2-4—6) in the last six games...Second on the Griffins in scoring with 23 points (5-18—23) in 24 games, Taro Hirose has points in four of five contests (1-4—5) and 10 of the last 13 games (2-9—11)…Turner Elson has an assist in seven of the last 11 games (1-7—8)...Kyle Criscuolo has points in three of his last four appearances (3-3—6).

This Date in Griffins History

2017: Mitch Callahan’s hat trick powers the Griffins to a 6-3 victory over Chicago, staking them to a 3-1 lead in the Central Division Finals. Eric Tangradi also enjoys a three-point night via assists while Kyle Criscuolo, Matt Lorito and Evgeny Svechnikov chip in a pair of points each, offsetting a two-goal effort by the Wolves’ Kenny Agostino, the AHL’s 2016-17 MVP.

Youth is Served

Last Thursday against Chicago, the Griffins had four rookie defensemen in their lineup – Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Tory Dello, Jared McIsaac and Donovan Sebrango – for the first time in more than four years, dating to a 5-1 win at Milwaukee on April 15, 2017 when five first-year blueliners took to the ice: Hicketts, Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Patrick McCarron and Dan Renouf. Grand Rapids again had four rookie D in the lineup during each of their last four games, with Patrick Holway taking the place of D’Astous.

A First Time for Everything

In last Saturday’s game in Rockford, Patrick Holway made his pro debut, Hayden Verbeek notched an assist in his Griffins debut, and Jared McIsaac recorded his first pro point with an assist.

Congrats Are in Order

Joe Veleno made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings on April 27 in their 1-0 shootout loss at Columbus, logging two shots and winning 57% (4 of 7) of his faceoffs in 14:59 of ice time. He became the 185th Griffins alum to play in the NHL, after recording 23 points (11-12—23) in 54 games with Grand Rapids last season. Veleno, who tallied his first NHL goal last night during a power play to begin a rally from a 0-2 deficit in Detroit’s 5-2 victory at Columbus, has now played five games with Detroit, totaling one goal, eight shots and four penalty minutes while winning 50% of his faceoffs.

Rarified Air

Brian Lashoff’s 513 games played for the Griffins rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and tie for eighth 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, who has been unfit to play the last 14 games, tied No. 8-ranked Stan Smrke (Rochester 1957-67) on March 26 and is now four games behind No. 7 Pete Kapusta (Providence Reds 1946-55).

Powerful Play

Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins have been nearly as good this season, currently sitting seventh in the league at 20.6% and second on the road at 28.6%. Their home power play, however, ranks 24th, having converted 13.2% of its chances.

Offense Taken

Prior to scoring five goals last night, the Griffins had been held to two goals in four straight games and had scored as many as three goals just once in their previous seven outings. They stand seventh in the AHL in shots per game (31.89) and are tied for 18th in goals per game (3.07).

For the Defense

Grand Rapids is 12th in the league in goals allowed per game (3.04)…The Griffins have been outshot in only eight of their first 27 games, but it’s happened in five of the last seven contests. Only five times have they allowed 30 or more shots, a total that they have reached on 16 occasions. Grand Rapids ranks fourth in the AHL in shots allowed per game (26.30).

Milestones

Wednesday’s contest against Cleveland marked the 300th Griffins/AHL game of Dominic Turgeon’s career. Upcoming player milestones include:

Turner Elson—Two points from 100 for his Griffins career

Joe Hicketts—Two assists from 100 for his Griffins/AHL career

Brian Lashoff – Three assists for 100 as a pro

It’s a Start

The roar of a Griffins crowd was partially restored on March 13 when the team began welcoming up to 750 fans per home game, pursuant to the most recent order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Griffins 2021-22 season ticket members are being given the first opportunity to purchase tickets to home games during the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other fans can sign up for Griffins Nation, the team’s official email newsletter, to receive priority access to 2020-21 tickets whenever limited seats are made available for sale throughout the season. On occasion, single-game tickets may also be purchased online at griffinshockey.com.

We Miss You, Bob!

On Feb. 8, the beloved 21-year Voice of the Griffins, Bob Kaser, underwent successful heart surgery at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids to repair several blocked arteries. Released from the hospital on Feb. 14, his recovery at home continues to go well. Everyone in Griffins Nation, the Griffins organization, the AHL, and the Michigan hockey community wishes Bob all the best in his recovery and a quick return to health. We can’t wait until he is back in the booth.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Wolves