Griffins Game #64 * Home Game #33 * AHL Game #1,031

Season Series: 3-4-0-0 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-3-0-0
All-Time Series: 104-90-2-8-5 All-Time Home Series: 51-39-2-6-4 All-Time Road Series: 53-51-0-2-1

Wolves at Griffins
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 209 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 228)…From 2022-24 (10-5-1-2, .639), the Griffins strung together back-to-back winning seasons against Chicago for the first time since 2015-17 (14-3-10, .806)...Grand Rapids has lost four of the last six games against Chicago (2-4-0-0)...Tonight’s game begins a season-high four-game road trip for Chicago, as it has just two remaining home games...The Wolves are 15-13-2-0 on the road this season compared to 17-15-2-0 at home...The Griffins are 15-13-2-2 at home this season and are on an active three-game losing skid at Van Andel Arena...Chicago is 4-5-1-0 in its last 10 games and Grand Rapids is 4-5-0-1 in its last 10...The Wolves are on a two-game winless skid (0-1-1-0) and the Griffins are on a three-game losing streak (0-3-0-0)...Since the 2020-21 season, Grand Rapids is just 17-26-2-2 (.404) against the Wolves and has been outscored 170-129. Also since the 2020-21 season, the Griffins are 9-10-2-2 (.478) against the Wolves at Van Andel Arena and have been outscored 74-65...The Wolves are tied for 22nd in the AHL with a power-play percentage of 17.3%, while their penalty kill ranks 17th at 82.3%...Chicago ranks 25th on the circuit with 2.84 goals scored per game and 20th with 3.14 goals against per game...The Wolves place 13th in shots per game at 29.7 and sixth with 27.2 shots allowed…Chicago’s Ryan Suzuki is tied for seventh in the AHL with 39 assists. Among first-year players, rookie Bradly Nadeau ranks first in goals (27) and third in points (49), while fellow rookie Justin Robidas is tied for fifth in points (47) and fifth in assists (31). Nadeau’s 27 goals are also tied for eighth among all skaters. Wolves’ netminder Spencer Martin is tied for seventh with a 2.30 GAA. Chicago’s Yanick Turcotte ranks first among active AHL skaters with 6.41 PIMs per game, as he has 109 PIMs in 17 appearances...Defenseman Brogan Rafferty hails from West Dundee, Illinois, which is about 45 minutes from Chicago. 

Last Time Out
In their meeting against the first-place Texas Stars last Wednesday at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins suffered a 4-0 shutout loss at the hands of former Griffin Magnus Hellberg (24 saves). A familiar skater returned to Grand Rapids’ lineup, as Emmitt Finnie graced the Griffins’ ice for the first time since last season after finishing his WHL season with Kamloops. Meanwhile, Tim Gettinger skated in his 100th game as a Griffin. In his third start of the season (1-2-0), goaltender Jan Bednar turned away 28 shots, maintaining a .919 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average.

This Date in Griffins History
2003: A perfect 34-save performance by Joey MacDonald results in a 2-0 win at Utah, the Griffins’ franchise-record fourth road shutout of the season. The Griffins earn the Western Conference regular-season title, set an AHL record with their 26th road win, tie a league standard with their 57th road point, and equal a franchise mark with their ninth shutout overall.

Lots to Play For
The Griffins and Wolves enter the game in a battle for the final first-round bye in the Central Division for the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the third-place Griffins are two points ahead of fourth-place Chicago with a game in hand. Tonight’s contest also marks the final meeting between the two franchises in the regular season. It’s been six years since the long-time rivals met during the final month (i.e. 31 days) of the regular season with both teams in playoff position. The last such clash was on March 29, 2019 at Van Andel Arena, when the second-place Griffins trailed the first-place Wolves by two points entering the game. Chicago won 4-3. It’s been 18 years since the two teams met in an April regular-season game as playoff contenders, so long ago that the Central Division didn’t exist and the rivals were members of different divisions (GR fourth in the North, CHI second in the West). The Wolves took a 5-3 win at Allstate Arena on April 7, 2007. 

Playoff Picture
The Griffins have clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs with nine games remaining. Grand Rapids currently holds the final first-round bye position in the Central Division and are two points ahead of fourth-place Chicago with a game in hand. Five teams make the playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye into the Central Division Semifinals.  

Win Some, Lose Some
After going on a three-game win streak from March 12-15, the Griffins have since dropped three straight from March 21-26, scoring just two total goals in the three contests. Grand Rapids finished March with a 4-5-0-1 mark and is now 7-12-1-1 (.381) since February after going 25-13-3-1 (.643) from Oct.-Jan. The Griffins are in a battle for the final first-round bye in the division, as they are two points ahead of fourth-place Chicago with a game in hand. In the past six games, the Griffins have held their opponents to just 2.33 goals but have scored only 1.67 goals on average. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 26-2-0-1 mark (.914) when reaching at least three goals and a 6-23-4-1 (.250) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 3.00 goals per game since the start of the calendar year but is still ninth overall with 2.78 goals allowed per game this season. 

The Lombardi Trophy 
Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi enjoyed a career-high four-game assist streak from March 8-15 (0-5—5) and now has points in five of the last seven outings (1-5—6). 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 12 points (4-8—12) in 15 outings, which includes two career-best four-game point streaks. Through 35 appearances, Lombardi has a career-high 27 points (13-14—27) 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 (T7th) and goals (4th). The 21-year-old was selected 113th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. 

Seabass Fishing 
Netminder Sebastian Cossa enjoyed a season-high six-game point streak (4-0-2) from Feb. 23-March 14 and has points in seven of his last nine appearances (5-2-2) from Feb. 14-March 21. Through 35 games this season, the 6-foot-7 goaltender has a 19-11-5 record with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021 by Detroit, ranks among the league leaders in games played (14th), minutes played (2070:16, 14th), GAA (11th), wins (T8th), and save percentage (T12th). As a rookie last year, he set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak overall from Jan. 19-April 5 (13-0-6). He also tied the franchise records for the longest home point streak (9-0-4, Jan. 24-April 5) and road point streak (8-0-2, Dec. 27-April 17). 

Droughts Come and Go 
The Griffins, who have struggled to put the puck in the net this season, are in another scoring drought, as they have just 0.67 goals on average in their last three games. In the previous four games from March 8-15, Grand Rapids averaged 3.00 goals per outing. 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 (27.0% of its games). Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 26-2-0-1 mark (.914) when reaching at least three goals and a 6-23-4-1 (.250) record when it fails to do so. 

Need Some Home Renovations 
The Griffins enjoyed a five-game point streak at home (3-0-1-1) from Feb. 21-March 14 but have since dropped the past three home outings with a minus-eight scoring margin (10-2). Grand Rapids is 15-13-2-2 inside Van Andel Arena this year with a minus-eight scoring margin (88-80). 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. Grand Rapids is in a stretch that will see it play seven of eight games at Van Andel Arena, running from March 12-April 4. Two of the remaining four home games of the regular season will be against first-place Texas. 

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. 

Lock it Down
The Griffins’ defense has allowed just 2.33 goals per game in its last six outings and 2.63 goals in its previous eight contests. Grand Rapids allowed 2.90 goals per game in the month of March and have now allowed 3.00 goals since the start of the calendar year. The Griffins are still ninth in the AHL with 2.78. At the start of February, the Griffins ranked first in the AHL with 2.43 goals allowed per game. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.38 GAA and .913 save percentage through 35 games, and Jack Campbell has a 3.01 GAA and an .882 save percentage in 11 appearances. 

Power Struggle
The Griffins exploded for a season-high three power-play goals on March 15 at Rockford (3-for-6) and are now 4-for-12 (33.3%) on the man-advantage in their last four games. The power play has also scored in six of the last 12 games (8-for-43, 18.6%) and is 10-for-55 in its last 14 outings (18.2%). However, Grand Rapids is 11-for-86 (12.8%) on the man-advantage in its last 23 games. The power play has quickly fallen into a tie for 26th place on the circuit at 16.7% (37-for-221) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 17-for-101 (16.8%, 25th) and its road power play is 20-for-120 (16.7%, T23rd). The Griffins have given up nine short-handed goals, which is tied for the ninth most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 29-for-34 (85.3%) in its last 12 games and 9-for-10 in the last four contests. The team has allowed a power-play goal in 12 of the previous 22 games (53-for-69 on PK, 76.8%) and in 18 of its last 31 outings (80-for-102 on PK, 78.4%). The Griffins have the fewest penalty minutes in the AHL this season at 635, 39 minutes less than Coachella Valley and Hershey (674). The penalty kill ranks 12th at 82.8% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. The Griffins are 19-6-2-2 when scoring on the power play and 12-15-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Shai Buium—Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (21), 12th among rookie defensemen in points (23), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in power-play goals (2), tied for ninth among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (7), tied for 13th among rookie defensemen in shots (72)
Sebastian Cossa—14th in minutes played (2,070:16), 14th in games played (35), 11th in GAA (2.38), tied for eighth in wins (19), tied for 12th in save percentage (.913)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 13th among rookies in assists (23), 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 eighth in game-winners (6)
x Austin Watson—Tied for first in major penalties (10) 

Milestones
On March 26 vs. Texas, Tim Gettinger skated in his 100th game as a Griffin. 
Jack Campbell—One game from 450 as a pro 
Sheldon Dries—One goal from 150 as a pro 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins