Griffins Game #68 * Home Game #35 * AHL Game #1,082

Season Series: 2-2-2-0 Home Series: 0-1-1-0 Road Series: 2-1-1-0
All-Time Series: 44-31-7-5 All-Time Home Series: 23-13-2-4 All-Time Road Series: 21-18-5-1

Stars at Griffins
Seventh of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena...In the last five seasons since the 2020-21, the Griffins are 12-13-4-1 (.483) against Texas with a minus-17 scoring margin (100-83)...Also since 2020-21, Grand Rapids is 5-7-1-1 (.429) against the Stars at home and has been outscored 40-31...Texas is the fifth-highest scoring team in the AHL with 3.37 goals scored per game, while ranking 14th with 2.97 goals allowed...Texas ranks 10th in shots per game (30.2) and 15th with 28.5 shots allowed...Texas is 5-5-0-0 in its last 10 games and has lost four straight coming into tonight...The Stars are 22-11-0-0 on the road this season...The Griffins are 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 and 16-14-2-2 at home...The Stars’ penalty kill unit is tied for 16th at 82.1% and their power play places fifth at 21.2%...Texas’ Matej Blumel is tied for second in the AHL with 66 points and first with 38 goals...Texas’ rookie Justin Hryckowian ranks first among first-year players with 57 points (20-37—57), which is also tied for 11th among all skaters...Stars’ defenseman Kyle Capobianco is tied for sixth in the AHL with a plus-25 rating, seventh among defensemen with 45 points, and third among blueliners with 40 assists...Jack Campbell competed with the Texas Stars from 2011-16, making his pro debut on March 23, 2012 at Oklahoma City (1-3 L, 32 saves). He then made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars on Oct. 20, 2013 at Anaheim (3-6 L, 41 saves). With the Texas Stars, Campbell showed a 56-43-15 record during the regular season with a 2.79 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Campbell became a Calder Cup champion with the Stars in 2014, contributing with a 2-1 record, a 2.54 GAA and a .917 save percentage in four games...Sheldon Dries made his pro debut with the Stars on Oct. 6, 2017 at Chicago and totaled 30 points (19-11—30) in 70 games during his rookie season with the club...Cross Hanas is a native of Highland Village, Texas and played for the Dallas Stars Elite in the T1EHL from 2015-18 at the U13, U14 and U16 levels before joining the WHL.

Last Time Out
Despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, the Cleveland Monsters scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Griffins 4-3 on Wednesday at Rocket Arena. Sheldon Dries kicked off the scoring for Grand Rapids with his team-high 22nd goal of the season with helpers from Amadeus Lombardi and Dominik Shine. Lombardi’s assist extended his point streak to four (5-3—8) and Shine’s helper moved him into a tie for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time assist list alongside Cory Emmerton (107). Cleveland native Tim Gettinger continued to light it up, scoring his third goal in the last four games and increasing his point streak to a season-high four (3-1—4). Ondrej Becher earned his ninth tally of the year late in the third with an assist from Emmitt Finnie who extended his point streak to three (1-2—3). 

This Date in Griffins History
2002: Griffins head coach Bruce Cassidy is named the winner of the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's 2001-02 Coach of the Year. The Central Division champs ended with a 42-27-11-0 and finished in fourth place in the AHL. 

The Lombardi Trophy
Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi recorded three straight multi-point games for the first time in his career, securing seven points (5-2—7) in three outings last week. He scored at least one goal in each game, totaling five on just seven shots. Lombardi is on a four-game point streak (5-3—8) and also has six goals in the last six games (6-3—9). He enjoyed a career-high four-game assist streak from March 8-15 (0-5—5) and now has points in nine of the last 11 outings (6-8—14). Lombardi was sidelined for 28 games due to rehabbing an upper-body injury from Dec. 6-Feb. 15. Since his return, the Aurora, Ontario, native has 20 points (9-11—20) in 19 outings, which includes three career-best four-game point streaks. Through 39 appearances, Lombardi has a career-high 35 points (18-17—35) after showing 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 games as a rookie last season. Despite his limited games, Lombardi still ranks among the team leaders in points (6th), assists (7th) and goals (4th). The 21-year-old was selected 113th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. 

Playoff Picture
The Griffins have clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. With five games remaining, Grand Rapids is currently in a tie with Chicago for the final first-round bye position in the Central Division. Five teams make the playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye into the Central Division Semifinals. 

Goals, Goals, Goals 
The Griffins scored 18 goals in three games last week, which was highlighted by an eight-goal performance last Friday followed by seven goals last Saturday. In the previous three games before this outburst, Grand Rapids had scored just two totals goals (0.67 goals per game). The Griffins now have 21 goals in four games in April (5.25 goals per game) and in comparison, Grand Rapids scored 21 times in 10 games in March (2.10). The eight goals last Friday were the most since the team defeated Chicago 8-7 in overtime on Dec. 22, 2022. The only other time the Griffins scored at least seven goals in back-to-back games was Dec. 26-27, 1996 (7-0 W vs. DET, 8-3 W at FTW). The 15 goals last weekend were the most in a two-game span since the team bagged 16 goals from Jan. 19-23, 2013 (11-6 W at RFD, 5-4 SOW vs. OKC). Also, the 18 goals in three games last week were the most since 21 goals from Jan. 17-23, 2013 (5-3 W at CHA, 11-6 W at RFD, 5-4 SOW vs. OKC). The Griffins have gone on cold stretches where they struggle to score more than two goals a game, none more prevalent than being shut out in a franchise-record three consecutive contests from Jan. 31-Feb. 7. Grand Rapids has scored one goal or been shut out in 17 games this season (25.4% of its games). Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 28-4-0-1 mark (.864) when reaching at least three goals and a 6-23-4-1 (.250) record when it fails to do so. 

Welcome Back 
After missing the previous eight and four Griffins games, respectively, while on recall to Detroit, forwards Dominik Shine and Austin Watson returned to Grand Rapids’ lineup last weekend in a tie for second on the team in scoring. They paid immediate dividends, with Shine (2-3—5) and Watson (3-2—5) both showing five points in the two games. Watson extended his point streak to a career-high seven games (7-4—11 from March 5-April 5) and his goal streak to a career-best six games (7-3—10 from March 8-April 5), the latter marking the longest for a Griffin since Teemu Pulkkinen’s eight-game run from Dec. 19-Jan. 7, 2014 that tied Donald MacLean’s franchise record. Grand Rapids’ record without Shine this season is 4-7-0-0 and 1-6-2-0 without Watson. Shine has logged his first nine NHL games with the Red Wings this season, recording one assist and 15 penalty minutes, while Watson shows two goals and 17 PIM in eight appearances with the parent club. Watson was recalled by the Red Wings on Tuesday. 

Damn Daniel, Back At It Again
Rookie Nate Danielson registered three points in both games last weekend against the Rockford IceHogs (2-4—6). This marked the second and third times this season that the 20-year-old has produced three points in a game (0-3—3 on Dec. 28 at CLE). Last Friday versus Rockford, Danielson bagged his first two-goal game as a pro. He has totaled eight multi-point outings this season, including three assists on April 5 at Rockford and Dec. 28 at Cleveland. The ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023 has 38 points (11-27—38), 33 penalty minutes and a plus-five rating in his rookie campaign. He ranks among the team leaders in points (4th), assists (2nd), and goals (6th). Danielson also places among the AHL rookie leaders in assists (8th), points (T14th), and short-handed assists (4, 1st). 

Not Your Average Joe
Joe Snively registered five assists in two games last weekend and tied his single-game career-high three helpers on April 4 against Rockford. The five assists in two games marked a career high for most assists in a two-game span for Snively and the five points also tied his career-best two games (three previous times. MR: Oct. 28-29, 2023: 2-3—5). Snively has 44 points (20-24—44), 24 penalty minutes and a minus-five rating in 67 games with the Griffins. He has already notched a career-high 20 goals, beating his previous best of 15 in 2021-22 with Hershey. The 29-year-old ranks among the team leaders in points (1st), assists (T3rd), and goals (2nd). Throughout 287 AHL regular-season contests, Snively has 216 points (78-138—216) and a plus-52 rating, adding 33 points (6-27—33) in 43 playoff outings. 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. 

Timmy G
Veteran Tim Gettinger is on a season-high four-game point streak (3-1—4) and scored in consecutive games for the second time this season from April 2-4. Prior to this point streak, the 26-year-old had not scored a goal since Jan. 23 and had just one point (0-1—1) in 24 games from Jan. 25-March 26. Gettinger has 14 points (7-7—14) and 17 penalty minutes in 49 games with the Griffins this season, having missed the first 17 contests due to rehabbing a lower-body injury. Throughout 341 AHL appearances, Gettinger has 172 points (81-91—172) and 163 penalty minutes. 

Home Improvement 
The Griffins enjoyed a five-game point streak at home (3-0-1-1) from Feb. 21-March 14 but have since dropped four of the past five home outings with a minus-four scoring margin (17-13). However, the Griffins exploded for eight goals in an 8-3 victory over Rockford in their most recent home contest last Friday. Grand Rapids is 16-14-2-2 inside Van Andel Arena this year with a minus-four scoring margin (95-91). Last season, the team finished with a 23-7-4-2 mark at home with a plus-31 scoring margin (111-80), which included a franchise-record 19-game home point streak (14-0-3-2) from Jan. 13-April 5. The Griffins will play their final two regular-season home games against the Texas Stars, who are in second place in the Central Division. 

Power Surge 
The Griffins exploded for a season-high three power-play goals on March 15 at Rockford and are now 7-for-24 (29.2%) on the man-advantage in their last nine games, which includes a 3-for-9 mark (33.3%) in the last three games. The power play has also scored in eight of the last 17 games (11-for-55, 20.0%) and is 13-for-67 in its last 19 outings (19.4%). The power play has climbed into 24th place on the circuit at 17.2% (40-for-233) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 19-for-107 (17.8%, 19th) and its road power play is 21-for-126 (16.7%, T22nd). The Griffins have given up 10 short-handed goals, which is tied for the sixth most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 35-for-44 (79.5%) in its last 17 games and 15-for-20 (75.0%) in the last nine contests. The team has allowed a power-play goal in four straight games (6-for-10 on PK, 60.0%) and in 16 of the previous 27 games (59-for-79 on PK, 74.7%). The Griffins have the fewest penalty minutes in the AHL this season at 667, 37 minutes less than Hershey (704). The penalty kill ranks 19th at 81.7% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. The Griffins are 21-6-2-2 when scoring on the power play and 14-17-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

Batten Down the Hatches 
The Griffins’ defense has allowed 3.71 goals per game in its last seven games, which includes 4.00 goals per game in its last three outings. Grand Rapids allowed 2.90 goals per game in the month of March and have now allowed 3.11 goals since the start of the calendar year. The Griffins have dropped into a tie for 10th in the AHL with 2.85 goals allowed after starting February ranked first with 2.43 goals allowed. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.48 GAA and .909 save percentage through 38 games, and Jack Campbell has a 3.18 GAA and an .879 save percentage in 12 appearances. 

Winning Skills
The Griffins are 7-2 during shootouts this season, as the seven wins are tied for the league lead with Ontario (7-1). The last time Grand Rapids won at least seven games in the skills competition was back in 2006-07 (8-5), and it has not had a winning season in a shootout since 2018-19 (6-4). The Griffins are 125-129 all time during the shootout. Cross Hanas (2-for-2), Ondrej Becher (1-for-2) and Nate Danielson (3-for-6) lead the way for Grand Rapids. In net, Sebastian Cossa is 17-for-22 (77.3%) this season and 31-for-40 (77.5%) all time as a Griffin in the shootout, which ranks fifth in franchise history.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (22), 12th among rookie defensemen in points (24), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in power-play goals (2), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (8), 11th among rookie defensemen in shots (78)
Sebastian Cossa—10th in minutes played (2,245:39), tied for 11th in games played (38), 12th in GAA (2.48), 11th in wins (20), 15th in save percentage (.909)
Nate Danielson—Eighth among rookies in assists (27), tied for 14th among rookies in points (38), second in short-handed assists (4), first among rookies in short-handed assists (4)
Josiah Didier—Tied for seventh in short-handed assists (2), tied for third among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for third among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for 10th in game-winners (6)
Dominik Shine—Tied for seventh in short-handed assists (2)
x Austin Watson—Tied for first in major penalties (10), tied for seventh in short-handed goals (3) 

Milestones 
Jack Campbell secured a victory in his 450th pro game on April 5 at Rockford. 
Brogan Rafferty—Two points from 50 as a Griffin
Dominik Shine—One goal from moving into a tie for seventh place on the franchise’s all-time goals scored list (Landon Ferraro & Kip Miller 75), two assists from moving into a tie for ninth on the franchise’s all-time assist list (Tomas Tatar 109), one unassisted goal from claiming the franchise record of 11

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins