Griffins Game #51 * Home Game #26 * AHL Game #797

Season Series: 3-2-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 53-26-5-3 All-Time Home Series: 26-11-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 27-15-1-1

Wild at Griffins
Sixth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena...The Griffins have won 10 of the past 13 meetings against Iowa with a plus-14 scoring margin...The Griffins are 20-12-2-1 (.614) overall since the 2020-21 season against the Wild and have a plus-one scoring margin (109-108)...Grand Rapids is 10-5-2-0 (.647) at home against Iowa since the 2020-21 season with a plus-three scoring margin (51-48)...The Griffins have won five of the last six meetings against Iowa at home with a plus-seven scoring margin (21-14)...The Wild are 7-16-2-0 on the road this season, while Grand Rapids is 13-10-1-1 at home...Iowa has lost seven of its last nine games (2-6-1-0) with a minus-14 scoring margin and the Griffins have won two of their past nine games (2-7-0-0) with a minus-17 scoring margin…The Wild are 2-7-1-0 in their last 10 games and the Griffins are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10...The Wild’s power play is the worst on the circuit at 13.9% and their penalty kill also ranks last in the AHL at 72.3%...Iowa places 29th with 2.68 goals per game and 31st with 3.66 goals allowed per contest…The Wild produce the fifth-most shots per game at 31.3 and allow 29.9 shots, which ranks 20th...Former Griffins head coach Ben Simon (2018-23) is an assistant coach for the Wild.

Last Time Out
Two goals and a shootout-winner from Ondrej Becher propelled the Griffins to a 5-4 shootout win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday in front of a sold out Van Andel Arena. The two-goal performance marked Becher’s first as a professional and his second multi-point game of the season. Rookie Nate Danielson scored his sixth goal of the year, extending his point streak to four (2-2—4), which tied his season high. Josiah Didier tallied his second of the campaign, while Austin Watson posted a two-point outing (0-2—2). Grand Rapids earned two power-play goals and finished 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Goaltender Ville Husso manned the net for the Griffins, saving 35 shots alongside two more in the shootout to secure his eighth win of the year (8-4-0). The Griffins improved to 22-1-0-1 when scoring at least three goals this season. 

This Date in Griffins History
2020: The San Antonio Rampage take advantage of their offensive bounces and 31 saves by Ville Husso to defeat the Griffins 2-1, sweeping the weekend set at Van Andel Arena with their second straight one-goal victory. 

Highs and Lows
After posting a four-game win streak (Jan. 18-29) and a six-game point streak (Jan. 15-29), the Griffins endured a season-high five-game losing skid from Jan. 31-Feb. 12, the team’s first five-game losing streak in regulation since Jan. 26-Feb. 4, 2022. Grand Rapids has now dropped seven of its last nine games from Jan. 31-Feb. 21. The Griffins are now in third place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. The Griffins were shut out in a franchise-record three straight games from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 and have averaged 1.89 goals in their last nine contests while allowing 3.78 tallies. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 22-1-0-1 mark (.938) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-18-3-0 (.250) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 4.00 goals per game in February but is still tied for sixth overall with 2.68 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling to third place in the division, Grand Rapids is now seventh in the Western Conference and 16th in the AHL with a 27-19-3-1 record and 58 points through 50 games. 

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 Wednesday against Lehigh Valley and collected an assist in the process. At the time of his injury, 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. 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. 

Out of the Ordinary 
It has been an unusual stretch of games for the Griffins since Jan. 31, as they have just two wins in their last nine contests. The special teams have been unlucky, as they are 3-for-35 on the power play (8.6%) and 23-for-32 on the penalty kill (71.9%) this month. The power play did score two goals on Friday against Lehigh Valley after scoring just once on the man-advantage in the previous nine games. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now T25th) and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 16th). Grand Rapids has also allowed 32 goals in eight games this month (4.00 per game) after allowing 23 goals in 11 outings in January (2.09). One thing that has improved is the Griffins’ shot count. They have outshot their opponent in seven of the last 10 games with an average of 31.3 shots. At the start of the month, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

Career Year
Dominik Shine has already set a career high with 36 points (11-25—36) in 47 games and is on pace to reach 53 (16-37—53) this season. Last Friday at Iowa, Shine collected his career-best 34th point with his career-high 23rd assist and is also six goals from tying his career high of 17 (2021-22). He has also notched career-high totals in power-play goals (4), game-winners (3), and multi-point outings (8). The 31-year-old also has 17 points (5-12—17) in his last 22 contests. Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-25—36) and assists (25), fourth in goals (11), and third in power-play goals (4). On Jan. 27, Shine signed his first NHL contract, a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings, and later that evening, he made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Shine, 31, became the oldest skater to make his NHL debut since defenseman Evgeny Medvedev did it with the Philadelphia Flyers at 33 on Oct. 8, 2015, and the oldest Red Wings player to make his NHL debut since center Vaclav Nedomansky did it at 33 on Nov. 18, 1977. Shine later bagged his first NHL point with an assist on Feb. 1 at Calgary and finished his call-up with one assist in four outings. 

Trouble at Home
The Griffins endured a season-high four-game losing skid at home from Jan. 31-Feb. 19, and have been outscored 21-8 in their last five home outings. Grand Rapids is 13-10-1-1 inside Van Andel Arena this year with an even scoring margin (69-69). The four-game skid marked the first time the Griffins dropped four straight at home since they lost six in a row from Jan. 15-Feb. 4, 2022. It was also the first four-game drought at home under second-year head coach Dan Watson. 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. 

Young Guns
Despite the rough stretch, Detroit Red Wings prospects Ondrej Becher, Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, Antti Tuomisto, and William Wallinder all have been productive. Danielson is on a season-high four-game point streak (2-2—5), while Becher collected his first AHL two-goal game on Friday and has three points (2-1—3) in his last four contests. Mazur, who was sidelined for 35 straight games from Oct. 19-Jan. 18, registered his first two-goal game of the season last Saturday and has four points (2-2—4) in his last four outings. Defenseman Tuomisto has four assists in the last six games and fellow blueliner Wallinder has three assists in his last six appearances. Becher was selected 80th overall by Detroit in 2024, Danielson selected ninth overall in 2023, Mazur picked 70th in 2021, Wallinder 32nd in 2020, and Tuomisto 35th in 2019.  

Leaders of the Clubhouse
Veteran leadership has led the way for the Griffins this season, as the average age of their top four scorers is 30. Dominik Shine paces the team in points with 36 (11-25—36), while Joe Snively (18-14—32) ranks second, Austin Watson (12-19—31) third, and Sheldon Dries rounds out the top four with 26 points (18-8—26). The four players are also the only ones to score at least 10 goals this season for Grand Rapids. Snively (2-1—3) and Shine (1-2—3) both have three points in their last four games (1-1—2). Combined, the players have 2,012 pro games under their belt with 936 points (446-490—936). 

Lock it Down 
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 sixth in the AHL with 2.68 goals allowed per contest and has averaged 2.89 goals against since the start of the calendar year. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.32 GAA and .915 save percentage through 28 games, Jack Campbell has a 2.34 GAA and a .910 save percentage in eight appearances, and Ville Husso possesses a 2.70 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 13 contests. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 72 goals in its last 28 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.57 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 72 goals in their last 27 regular-season road games (2.67 GA per game). 

Ups and Downs
After going 6-for-13 (46.2%) on the man-advantage in five games from Jan. 15-25, Grand Rapids failed to score on the power play in six straight outings from Jan. 29-Feb. 12 and are now 3-for-37 (8.1%) on the man-advantage in its last 10 games. However, the power play registered two goals on Friday against Lehigh Valley to break the drought. The power play has quickly fell into 25th place on the circuit at 16.9% (29-for-172) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 14-for-76 (18.4%, 17th) and its road power play is 15-for-96 (15.6%, T24th). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the 10th-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has also struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in six of the last nine games (19-for-29 on PK, 65.5%) and in 12 of its last 18 games (46-for-62 on PK, 74.2%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 19 of its last 30 outings (82-for-105 on PK, 78.1%). The penalty-kill ranks 16th at 82.2% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored six short-handed tallies, which is tied for 12th in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 16-4-2-1 and 9-13-1-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (16), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in points (16), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—Ninth in minutes played (1,654:37), tied for ninth in games played (28), seventh in GAA (2.32), tied for eighth in wins (15), seventh in save percentage (.915)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 10th among rookies in assists (20), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for 11th among rookies in power-play assists (7)
Josiah Didier—Tied for fourth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for eighth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for second in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), tied for ninth in penalty minutes (90), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones
Last Saturday at Iowa, Brogan Rafferty competed in his 100th game as a Griffin and Carter Mazur recorded his 50th point as a pro. 
Josiah Didier—Two games from 500 as a pro
Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, three goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—One game from 300 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)
Antti Tuomisto—One assist from 50 as a pro 
Austin Watson—One game from 800 as a pro 

Photo by Iowa Wild