Griffins Game #50 * Home Game #27 * AHL Game #820

Season Series: 3-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 2-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 46-23-5-3 All-Time Home Series: 22-10-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 24-13-1-1

Wild at Griffins
Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins are 15-11-4-1 (.565) overall since the 2019-20 season against the Wild but have been outscored by Iowa 102-93...Grand Rapids is 8-4-3-0 (.633) at home against Iowa since the 2019-20 season with an even scoring margin (44-44)...The Griffins have points in seven of the last 11 meetings (5-4-2-0, .545) against the Wild in Grand Rapids...The Wild are 8-14-3-1 on the road this season, while Grand Rapids is 16-6-3-1 at home...Iowa is 4-4-2-0 in its last 10 outings and is on a four-game losing skid (0-2-2-0)…The Griffins are 7-0-1-2 in their last 10 and are on a 16-game point streak overall, an 11-game point streak at home and a five-game winning streak overall...The Wild’s power play ranks 25th on the circuit at 16.6% and their penalty kill comes in at 72.4% (32nd)...Iowa ranks 31st out of 32 teams with an average of 2.44 goals scored per game and 28th with an average of 3.52 goals allowed per contest...Former Griffins head coach Ben Simon (2018-23) is now an assistant coach for the Wild.

Last Time Out
Simon Edvinsson collected the game-winner with six seconds remaining in overtime while the Griffins extended their point streak to 16 consecutive outings in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Iowa Wild at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday. Grand Rapids’ 16-game point streak (12-0-2-2) tied the second-longest in franchise history (Oct. 25-Nov. 30, 2002: 11-0-3-2), behind only the team-record 19-game run from Feb. 4-March 20, 2015 (15-0-3-1). The Griffins also extended their home point streak (8-0-2-1) to 11 games, which is their longest since a 15-game stretch at Van Andel Arena from Nov. 11, 2015-Jan. 17, 2016 (14-0-1-0). The Griffins' victory over Iowa marked the third time that they have posted three winning streaks of five or more games this season, a feat last achieved in 2013-14 when Grand Rapids logged a trio of seven-game winning streaks. Sebastian Cossa continued his point run, as he pushed his streak to nine games (7-0-2) with a .929 save percentage against the Wild.

Roster Shake Up
- Feb. 19—F Matt Luff assigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2012: The AHL names Chris Minard as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Month for February, making him the only player in franchise history to earn the honor. The left wing registered eight goals and five assists for 13 points and recorded a plus-seven rating in 10 games.

Keep the Good Times Rolling
The Griffins are on a 16-game point streak (12-0-2-2) from Jan. 13-Feb. 28, which is the second-longest run in the AHL this season and tied for the team’s second-longest in franchise history (Oct. 25-Nov. 39, 2002: 11-0-3-2), behind only the team-record 19-game run from Feb. 4-March 20, 2015 (15-0-3-1). The Griffins’ active 11-game home point streak (8-0-2-1) is the second-longest run in the AHL this season and the team’s first since the they earned a point in 15 straight games at Van Andel Arena from Nov. 11, 2015-Jan. 17, 2016 (14-0-1-0). Grand Rapids’ active nine-game road point streak (8-0-0-1) is their longest since an 11-game run (9-0-1-1) from Jan. 29-March 12, 2015 and is tied for the longest in the AHL this season. The Griffins have secured at least a point in 23 of their last 26 contests (18-3-3-2). The Griffins are 17-2-2-2 since Christmas and have had a trio of winning streaks of five or more games in the same season for the first time since 2013-14. Grand Rapids has points in 17 of its last 20 games (14-4-2-1) inside Van Andel Arena and has points in 10 of its past 11 road appearances (8-1-1-1). The Griffins have been solid at home with a 16-6-3-1 mark, outscoring their opponents 80-59. Grand Rapids found its rhythm on the road, earning points in nine straight games to move above the .500 mark away from home (10-9-2-2).

Historic Bout
On Sunday, the Griffins and Milwaukee Admirals made AHL history, as it was the first meeting between two teams riding point streaks of 14 games or more. Grand Rapids entered the night with points in 14 straight games and Milwaukee was on a 19-game winning streak, which was the second-longest run in AHL history. The Griffins came away victorious in a 4-2 win to extend their point streak to 15 outings (11-0-2-2), snapping the Admirals’ historic run. Sebastian Cossa finished with 37 saves and Marco Kasper was credited with the game-winner. The Griffins have not lost in regulation since a 2-0 setback on Jan. 12 against Rockford, while the Admirals’ defeat was their first since New Year’s Eve.

Sea Bass Fishing
Sebastian Cossa was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week on Monday when he posted a 2-0-0 record with one shutout to go along with a 1.00 GAA and a .970 save percentage from Feb. 21-25. Last Wednesday, the 21-year-old collected his first AHL shutout with 28 saves in a 1-0 victory over the Texas Stars, lifting Grand Rapids past Texas into second place in the Central Division and becoming just the third Griffins rookie to record a shutout over the last nine seasons. Cossa went on to stop 37 shots on Sunday, including 14 in the third period, to help the Griffins snap Milwaukee’s 19-game winning streak and extend Grand Rapids’ point streak to 15 games (11-0-2-2). Cossa won a team-high four straight games from Jan. 19-Feb. 2 and is currently on a nine-game point streak (7-0-2) from Jan. 19-Feb. 28. Since returning from the holiday break on Dec. 27, Cossa has a 9-1-2 ledger with a 2.08 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. The former 15^th overall pick by the Red Wings in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft has allowed more than two goals just three times in his past 12 games. Through 25 contests, Cossa is 13-7-5 with one shutout to go along with a 2.57 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Cossa ranks sixth among rookie goaltenders in goals against average and tied for fifth in save percentage.

Thou Shall Not Pass
The Griffins’ defense has been much improved since the holiday break, allowing an average of 2.22 goals per game from Dec. 27-Feb. 28 and 1.40 goals per game in their last five outings (Feb. 17-28). Prior to the holiday break, Grand Rapids allowed 3.31 goals per game from Oct. 13-Dec. 20. The Griffins have allowed a total of 137 goals through 49 games this season, which ranks second in the Central Division and tied for fifth in the AHL. Grand Rapids is also tied for seventh on the circuit with 2.80 goals against per game, which is second in the division trailing only Milwaukee (2.40). Netminders Sebastian Cossa (2.57) and Michael Hutchinson (2.72) each possess a goals against average below 3.00. Defensemen Wyatt Newpower (+9), Albert Johansson (+8), Simon Edvinsson (+6), Antti Tuomisto (+6), William Wallinder (+4) and Brogan Rafferty (+3) all have a positive plus-minus rating.

Clutch Hutch
Veteran goaltender Michael Hutchinson has been solid for the Griffins this year, posting a 12-8-3 mark with one shutout in 24 games to go along with a 2.72 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. The 33-year-old is on an active six-game point streak from Jan. 13-Feb. 24 (4-0-2) and has a .890 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average during the run. Since returning from the holiday break on Dec. 27, Hutchinson has accumulated a 7-1-2 record with a .905 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average. The Barrie, Ontario, native has an all-time AHL record of 118-79-23 with a 2.60 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Hutchinson has also appeared in 154 NHL contests, showing a 2.94 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

Johnny Bravo
Jonatan Berggren is on an active three-game point streak (1-3—4) from Feb. 24-28 and has 18 points (9-9—18) in his last 16 games from Jan. 13-Feb. 28. Berggren also has 24 points (10-14—24) in his last 21 outings and 27 points (12-15—27) in his last 24 contests from Dec. 15-Feb. 28. The 23-year-old leads the roster in points (17-25—42), assists (25) and goals (17) through 40 appearances this season. The Enkoping, Sweden, product became the seventh-fastest player to reach 100 points as a Griffin, doing so in just his 106th game on Jan. 26 against Belleville. Berggren has a combined 113 points (42-71—113) in 117 career AHL appearances from 2021-24, collecting an assist during his 100th game as a Griffin on Jan. 10 against Milwaukee. During his rookie season with the Griffins in 2021-22, Berggren broke Grand Rapids’ rookie single-season scoring record with 64 points (21-43—64) in 70 games, five more points than the previous record held by Teemu Pulkkinen (2013-14).

Pucks on Net
The Griffins have done well when outshooting their opponents this season with a 14-2-3-3 (.773) record compared to a 11-12-2-0 (.480) mark when they are being outshot. Grand Rapids is 16-4-2-3 (.740) when producing at least 30 shots and 16-7-4-1 (.661) when it keeps its opponents between 20-29 shots. The Griffins rank 16^th in the AHL with 29.9 shots per game, while they concede the sixth fewest in the league at 28.4. The Griffins are averaging 35.6 shots per game in their last eight outings, while giving up an average of 28.6.

Oh, It’s You Again
The Griffins are in second place in the Central Division with a 26-15-5-3 record and 60 points, 19 points clear of a playoff spot. In the final 23 games of the regular season, Grand Rapids will compete against the Central Division 20 times, with its only games outside of the division coming against Cleveland (3). The Griffins have done well against their division rivals, as they are 20-9-2-1 (.672) with a plus-19 scoring margin against the Central Division. Grand Rapids is undefeated this season against Chicago (3-0-0-0) and Iowa (3-0-0-0). Iowa, Rockford and Chicago will all be the Griffins’ most frequent opponents down the stretch, as there are still five meetings against each franchise.

Under Three is Key
Unsurprisingly, the Griffins have done well in games where they have scored four or more goals, going 18-1-1-0 (.925). Although, when scoring three goals or less the team is just 8-14-4-3 (.397). Grand Rapids has surpassed the four-goal mark in 12 of its last 26 outings. On the flip side, Grand Rapids is just 6-12-5-3 (.385) when allowing at least three goals, compared to a 20-3-0-0 mark (.870) when allowing two goals or less. In their last 26 appearances, the Griffins have allowed three or more goals 12 times.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Sebastian Cossa—2.57 GAA places sixth among rookie netminders, .912 save percentage is tied for fifth among rookie goaltenders
Simon Edvinsson—Eight goals are tied for 10th among defensemen, three game-winners are tied for fourth among defensemen
Carter Mazur—Five power-play goals are tied for 10th among rookies
Dominik Shine—Plus-14 rating is tied for 13th among forwards
Antti Tuomisto—Four goals are tied for eighth among rookie defensemen, one power-play goal is tied for seventh among rookie defensemen, two game-winners are tied for first among rookie defensemen, plus-six rating is tied for 10th among rookie defensemen
William Wallinder—Three goals are tied for 14th among rookie defensemen, plus-four rating is tied for 13th among rookie defensemen

Milestones
Austin Czarnik skated in his 300th game in the AHL on Wednesday against Iowa. Matt Luff appeared in his 200^th game in the AHL on Sunday. On Saturday, Dominik Shine competed in his 400th game as a Griffin.
Simon Edvinsson—Two games from 100 as a Griffin
Tim Gettinger—One game from 300 as a pro
Taro Hirose—Three goals from 50 as a Griffin
Elmer Soderblom—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—One assist from 50 as a Griffin
Antti Tuomisto—Two games from 100 as a pro
Dan Watson—Two wins from 300 as a head coach

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins