Griffins Game #10 * Home Game #3 * AHL Game #135

Season Series: 3-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 3-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 51-35-7-10 All-Time Home Series: 32-11-3-4 All-Time Road Series: 19-24-4-6

IceHogs at Griffins

Fourth of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins have won six of their last seven games and own two-game winning streaks both at home and on the road...After going 3-7-2-3 in 15 visits to Rockford from 2017-20, Grand Rapids is now 3-0 at the BMO Harris Bank Center this season...The Griffins have more than doubled Rockford’s goal (15-6) and shot (110-52) totals in the season series...The 13 shots allowed by the Griffins in their 3-1 win over the IceHogs on Feb. 18 were one more than Grand Rapids' franchise record for fewest allowed in a game…Prior to their 9-4 win at Rockford on March 3, the Griffins’ last nine-goal outing was a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. They came within two goals of matching of their team record, set in an 11-6 victory at – you guessed it – Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013...Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13)…Rockford head coach Derek King played in Grand Rapids from 1999-01 and 2002-04. He is the franchise’s all-time leading playoff scorer (16-25—41) and ranks fifth in regular season points (73-130—203).

Last Time Out

Pat Nagle’s 17 saves and a franchise-first for Riley Barber powered the Griffins to their 1,000th regular season victory on Thursday, a 3-1 triumph at Rockford. Barber scored the game’s first goal at 2:04 mark of the second period, giving him a nine-game point streak that is the longest ever to start a player's Griffins career as well as the longest from the start of a Griffins season. Grand Rapids broke the game open in the third on goals by Kyle Criscuolo and Brian Lashoff, before a double-deflection goal spoiled Nagle’s shutout bid with 3:41 remaining. Michael Krutil’s shot from the right side changed direction off both Lashoff and the skate of D.J. Busdeker before slipping past the netminder.

More on Barber

Barber’s nine-game point streak is tied for the 17th-longest in franchise history and is the longest for a Griffin since Matt Puempel’s 11-game run from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019...Having scored six goals during his four-game goal streak, Barber is now tied for second in the AHL with eight goals while his 13 points are tied for fifth. He also ranks among league leaders with seven power play points (T2nd) and five power play assists (T3rd).

Breeding Contempt

Tonight's contest is the third of the Griffins’ four straight games against the IceHogs, a run that will conclude here on Tuesday. This marks just the third time in the Griffins' history that they'll play four consecutive regular season games against the same opponent. The Manitoba Moose were the foe on both prior occasions, in November 2006 and November 1997.

It’s a Start

The roar of a Griffins crowd will be partially restored starting tonight when the team begins welcoming 750 fans per home game, pursuant to the most recent order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Griffins 2021-22 season ticket members are being given the first opportunity to purchase tickets to home games during the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other fans can sign up for Griffins Nation, the team’s official email newsletter, to receive priority access to 2020-21 tickets whenever limited seats are made available for sale throughout the season.

Welcome Back, Geno!

The Red Wings on Friday reassigned right wing Evgeny Svechnikov to the Griffins from their taxi squad. He appeared in four games with Detroit following his Feb. 16 reassignment to their taxi squad, contributing two goals, two assists and two penalty minutes — matching the goal and assist output from his first 20 career NHL games. Svechnikov has also skated in three games with the Griffins this season, picking up a goal, an assist and two PIM.

This Date in Griffins History

2003: Despite yielding a regular season team-record 53 shots and firing an all-time franchise-low 14 attempts of their own, the Griffins escape Houston with an improbable 2-1 win. Marc Lamothe’s 52 saves destroy a regular season franchise record, and his 24 saves during the third period alone set an overall team mark for most in a frame.

Millennium Griffins

The Griffins’ 3-1 victory at Rockford on Thursday marked the 1,000th regular season win (in 1,890 games) in the franchise’s 25 seasons of play. Grand Rapids holds an all-time record of 1,000-686-27-61-116 (0.583).

High Flyers

Despite being held scoreless in consecutive games, Dennis Cholowski is tied for fifth among AHL defensemen with eight points (3-5—8)…Kyle Criscuolo (2-2—4) and Chase Pearson (0-4—4) have each posted points in three straight games. Criscuolo’s six power play points (3-3—6) have him tied for fifth on the circuit…Joe Hicketts has points in three of the last four contests (0-4—4)...After joining Riley Barber by scoring a pair of goals apiece in the 9-4 win at Rockford on March 3, Max Humitz (2-2—4) and Tyler Spezia (2-1—3) each had an assist in Thursday’s 3-1 win to give them points in consecutive games...Kevin Boyle stands 3-1 on the season after winning each of his last three starts.

March Like a Lion

The Griffins posted a winning record for March during each of the previous 12 years – accumulating an 88-48-7-8 mark (0.632) from 2009 to 2020 – and are off to another good start this season thanks to consecutive wins in Rockford. Despite traditionally playing the majority of their games away from Van Andel Arena during March, they’ve managed at least a 0.500 road record for the month during each of those dozen years, going a combined 53-29-5-6 (0.629).

That Escalated Quickly

After combining with their opponents to score 26 goals over their first six games, the Griffins and their foes lit the lamp a total of 25 times in Grand Rapids’ games on March 3 (9-4 win at Rockford) and Feb. 28 (8-4 loss at Chicago). It marked the first time in Griffins history that they were involved in back-to-back games in which either team scored eight goals or more, and the combined offensive output was just one goal shy of their record for goals in consecutive games (26). During the 2012-13 season, Grand Rapids claimed an 11-6 win at Rockford on Jan. 19 before earning a 5-4 shootout win against Oklahoma City…Thanks to the recent offensive outburst, the Griffins now are seventh in the AHL in goals per game (3.44) and third in shots per game (33.33).

Stingy D

The Griffins, who have allowed just a single goal in five of their last seven games, rank seventh in the AHL in goals allowed per game (2.67)…The Griffins have been out shot in only two of their first nine games, and only once have they allowed 30 or more shots, a total that they have reached on seven occasions — including each of their last five outings. Grand Rapids ranks second in the AHL in shots allowed per game (24.22).

Party of One

By virtue of their league rankings in goals for (7th), goals against (7th), shots for (3rd) and shots against (2nd), the Griffins are the only AHL team to currently place among the top 10 in all four categories.

Taking Advantage

Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL’s power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins are off to an even better start this season, currently sitting fourth in the league at 29.7% and first on the road at 33.3%. Grand Rapids has scored at least one power play goal in seven of its nine games thus far and has converted five of 10 opportunities (50.0%) over its last three games.

Milestones Within Reach

Kyle Criscuolo’s goal on Thursday in Rockford was the 50th of his AHL/pro career. Other upcoming milestones include:
Turner Elson — Two games played for 200 as a Griffin
Brian Lashoff – Four assists for 100 as a pro
Gustav Lindstrom - Three points for 50 as a pro
Dylan McIlrath – One game played for 200 as a Griffin
Dominik Shine – Four points from 50 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career, three games played for 200 as a Griffin
Dominic Turgeon – Four points from 100 for his Griffins/AHL/pro career

We Miss You, Bob!

On Feb. 8, the beloved 21-year Voice of the Griffins, Bob Kaser, underwent successful heart surgery at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids to repair several blocked arteries. Released from the hospital on Feb. 14, his recovery at home is going well but he is expected to miss the better part of this 30-game shortened season. Everyone in Griffins Nation, the Griffins organization, the AHL, and the Michigan hockey community wishes Bob all the best in his recovery and a quick return to health. We can’t wait until he is back in the booth.

Photo by Todd Reicher/IceHogs