Griffins Game #54 * Home Game #27 * AHL Game #828

Season Series: 3-2-1-0 Home Series: 1-1-1-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 53-26-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 26-11-5-2 All-Time Road Series: 27-15-1-1

Wild at Griffins
Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena...The Griffins have won 10 of the past 14 meetings against Iowa with a plus-13 scoring margin...The Griffins are 20-12-3-1 (.611) overall since the 2020-21 season against the Wild and have an even scoring margin (111-111)...Grand Rapids is 10-5-3-0 (.639) at home against Iowa since the 2020-21 season with a plus-two scoring margin (53-51)...The Griffins have won five of the last seven meetings against Iowa at home with a plus-six scoring margin (23-17)...The Wild are 9-16-2-0 on the road this season, while Grand Rapids is 13-10-2-1 at home...The Wild are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 games and the Griffins are 3-6-1-0 in their last 10...Iowa is on a three-game win streak...The Wild’s power play is the worst on the circuit at 14.1% and their penalty kill also ranks last in the AHL at 72.9%...Iowa places 28th with 2.79 goals per game and 31st with 3.64 goals allowed per contest…The Wild produce the fifth-most shots per game at 31.4 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
Despite taking an early 2-1 lead, the Griffins fell 5-2 to the Texas Stars on Wednesday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, surrendering four unanswered goals. Carter Mazur collected a short-handed tally, extending his point streak to four (2-2—4). Mazur has accumulated seven points in his last seven games (4-3—7). Amadeus Lombardi found the back of the net for his fifth point in the last five (3-2—5), also increasing his point streak to three (2-2—4). Shai Buium also secured a three-game assist streak (0-3—3) and Joe Snively earned an assist in his 300th professional game. Former Texas Star Jack Campbell saved 21 shots between the pipes for Grand Rapids.

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, returning to form after missing the season’s first 36 games due to a concussion. 

No Need to Panic
After posting a four-game win streak (Jan. 18-29) and a six-game point streak (Jan. 15-29), the Griffins struggled in the month of February, which included a season-high five-game losing skid (Jan. 31-Feb. 12) and just three wins in 11 games (3-7-1-0). However, the team now has points in four of its last seven games (3-3-1-0) and are just two points out of first place in the division. The Griffins are tied for second place in the Central Division after being in first place or a tie for first from Nov. 8-Feb. 7. The Griffins have averaged 2.25 goals in their last 12 contests while allowing 3.83 tallies. The team has scored at least five goals in two of their last four games. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 23-1-0-1 mark (.940) when reaching at least three goals and a 5-19-4-0 (.250) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, allowed 4.00 goals per game in February but is still eighth overall with 2.75 goals allowed per game this season. In addition to falling into a tie for second place in the division, Grand Rapids is now tied for sixth in the Western Conference and tied for 14th in the AHL with a 28-20-4-1 record and 61 points through 53 games. 

Getting Settled In
Carter Mazur was sidelined for 35 straight contests from Oct. 19-Jan. 18 and now has seven points (4-3—7) in his last seven outings and 10 points (5-5—10) in 15 games since returning from his upper-body injury. Mazur is on a season-high four-game point streak (2-2—4) and has 12 points (6-6—12) in 18 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.  

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 last Wednesday against Lehigh Valley and collected an assist in the process. Last Sunday, he scored his first goal since returning and now has five points (3-2—5) in five games, which includes an active three-game point streak (3-1—4). 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. Currently, Lombardi ranks seventh on the roster with 20 points (12-8—20) 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. The power play did score two goals last Friday against Lehigh Valley and is 3-for-18 (16.7%) in its last four games. At the start of February, the power play was ranked 10th (now 26th), and the penalty kill sat in seventh place (now 14th). 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 did improve was the Griffins’ shot count. They outshot their opponent in seven of the 11 games with an average of 31.7 shots, which includes at least 40 shots in two of the last five games. At the start of February, Grand Rapids was averaging just 26.1 shots per contest.   

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 six points (3-3—6) in his last seven games. He has had a promising rookie season with 28 points (7-21—28), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-one rating in 52 appearances. In addition to ranking fourth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in assists (21) and first 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.   

A Season to Remember
Dominik Shine has already set a career high with 36 points (11-25—36) in 50 games and is on pace to reach 50 (15-35—50) this season. On Feb. 14 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). Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-25—36) and assists (25), fifth 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. 

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 ranks eighth in the AHL with 2.75 goals allowed per contest and has averaged 3.05 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 2.40 GAA and .912 save percentage through 30 games, and Jack Campbell has a 2.54 GAA and a .903 save percentage in nine appearances. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 75 goals in its last 29 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.59 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 81 goals in their last 29 regular-season road games (2.79 GA per game). 

Trouble at Home
The Griffins endured a season-high four-game losing skid at home from Jan. 31-Feb. 19, and have been outscored 24-10 in their last six home outings (1-4-1-0). Grand Rapids is 13-10-2-1 inside Van Andel Arena this year with a minus-one scoring margin (72-71). 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.  

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 4-for-49 (8.2%) on the man-advantage in its last 13 games. However, the power play registered two goals last Friday against Lehigh Valley and is 3-for-18 (16.7%) in its last four games. The power play has quickly fallen into 26th place on the circuit at 16.3% (30-for-184) 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-82 (17.1%, 21st) and its road power play is 16-for-102 (15.7%, 26th). The Griffins have given up seven short-handed goals, which is tied for the eighth-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has also struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in seven of the last 12 games (29-for-40 on PK, 72.5%) and in 13 of its last 21 games (56-for-73 on PK, 76.7%). The penalty kill ranks 14th at 82.8% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored seven short-handed tallies, which is tied for eighth in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 17-4-2-1 and 9-13-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for fourth among rookie defensemen in assists (19), tied for 12th among rookie defensemen in points (19), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,776:07), tied for sixth in games played (30), tied for ninth in GAA (2.40), tied for eighth in wins (16), tied for 12th in save percentage (.912)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 10th among rookies in assists (21), first in short-handed assists (4), first among rookies in short-handed assists (4)
Josiah Didier—Tied for fourth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for 10th in short-handed goals (2), tied for second among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
x Sheldon Dries—Tied for second in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10), tied for eighth in penalty minutes (92), tied for 10th in short-handed goals (2) 

Milestones 
On Wednesday at Texas, Joe Snively competed in his 300th game as a professional.  
x Sheldon Dries—One assist from 100 in the AHL, two goals from 150 as a pro
Brogan Rafferty—One game from 300 in the AHL
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)

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins