Griffins Game #31 * Home Game #17 * AHL Game #521

Season Series: 2-4-0-1 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-3-0-1
All-Time Series: 67-37-1-1-8 All-Time Home Series: 37-15-1-1-5 All-Time Road Series: 30-22-0-0-3

Moose at Griffins
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 23-13-0-1 against them, including a 15-5-0-0 ledger in Grand Rapids…Grand Rapids has won five of the past seven meetings against the Moose at Van Andel Arena, dating back to the 2019-20 season...This is the 115th meeting between the two teams, which is the third most encounters by any Grand Rapids opponent...Manitoba is 6-2-1-1 in is last 10 games...On foreign ice this season, the Moose are 9-7-2-0 while the Griffins bolster an 8-5-3-0 ledger in West Michigan...The Moose rank fourth in the AHL with a penalty kill percentage of 85.7% while their power play is tied for 11th at 19.3%...The Griffins have managed to score just two goals or less in six of the seven meetings against Manitoba this season...Turner Elson (4-2—6) leads the Griffins against Manitoba...Calvin Pickard lives in Winnipeg during the offseason and forward Jon Martin was born there.

Last Time Out
Jonatan Berggren’s highlight-reel overtime goal powered the Griffins to a 3-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Friday at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins extended their home point streak to seven games (5-0-2-0). Grand Rapids has garnered points in seven of its last eight games (5-1-2-0) overall and broke a three-game losing streak against Manitoba. With his 11^th goal of the campaign, Kyle Criscuolo now leads the roster in tallies. Goaltender Victor Brattstrom now has points in three consecutive starts (2-0-1-0). Defenseman Dan Renouf skated in his 300th AHL game. Turner Elson recorded his 100th assist in the AHL, which also gave him 200 points as a pro. This was the Griffins first win after trailing after two periods (1-9-2-1).

Roster Shakeup
- Jan. 11, 2022—Detroit reassigned defenseman Luke Witkowski to the Griffins from its taxi squad.
- Jan. 13, 2022—Detroit recalled center Kyle Criscuolo from the Griffins.
- Jan. 14, 2022—Detroit reassigned center Kyle Criscuolo to the Griffins.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-9-1-1 (0.231) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and second-place Manitoba Moose. The Griffins picked up their first win against either club since Nov. 12 on Jan. 14. However, Grand Rapids is 12-2-3-0 (0.794) against the rest of the AHL.

Going with the Flow
It has been a busy season thus far for head coach Ben Simon and general manager Pat Verbeek, as players on professional tryouts have been plentiful for the Griffins this year. Nine PTO skaters have seen action so far this season and have totaled 65 games played; both numbers surpass any full season since Simon joined the team as an assistant coach in 2015-16. On average, 10.4% of Grand Rapids’ lineup has been tryout players, yet the team sits in fourth place in the Central Division with a 0.550 winning percentage through Jan. 14.

History Was Made
Last night’s contest against Manitoba marked the first Griffins game ever worked by a female official, as Kirsten Welsh was a linesperson. In addition, the NHL supervisor of officials for that game was Jay Sharrers, the NHL’s first black official who worked over 1,600 NHL games as a linesman and referee from 1990-2016.

Winning Resolution
The Griffins have gotten off to a strong start to ring in 2022, as the team has nine points (4-1-1-0) in the opening six games of the new year. Grand Rapids has outscored its opponents 18-13 in January and has scored an average of three goals per game while allowing just 2.17. The nine points in six games this month have already surpassed the Griffins’ point total in October (7 GP, 5 pts.) and December (7 GP, 7 pts.). The Griffins enjoyed a six-game point streak from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which was the longest since an identical 4-0-2-0 run from March 3-26, 2021.

Fast Starts
On Dec. 4, the Griffins set a season high for goals in a period when they exploded for five tallies in the opening frame against Rockford. Despite allowing three goals in the past two games in the opening frame, Grand Rapids has still outscored its opponents 15-7 over the opening 20 minutes of its last 12 games. The Griffins are 11-4-2-0 (0.706) this season when scoring first and 10-2-0-0 (0.833) when leading after the opening frame. The majority of Grand Rapids’ goals (34, 38.6%) have come during the first period.

This Date in Griffins History
2016: The Griffins extend their team-record home winning streak to 14 games with an incredible 1-0 overtime victory against Lake Erie. Nick Jensen’s slap shot with 2:52 left in OT passes through the net but play continues until overtime expires, when the referees review the video for several minutes before signaling a goal.

High-Flying Hirose
After leading the Griffins in assists a year ago with 23, Taro Hirose has picked off right where he left off as he has bagged 19 helpers in the opening 29 games, which is a team high and tied for seventh in the league. Eight assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 13th in the AHL. Hirose logged his second three-point night (2-1—3) of the season on Jan. 1 against Milwaukee, which tied a career high for the forward. In that same game, he also tied a career-best two goals. The former Michigan State Spartan enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-3—6) from Jan. 1-8. Hirose’s 26 points (7-19—26) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 14th in the league. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren completed a four-game point streak (0-5—5) from Dec. 22-Jan. 8, which tied Kyle Criscuolo for the longest assist streak on the team this season. The Uppsala, Sweden, native bagged his first AHL goal and two-point (1-1—2) night on Oct. 30, which began a three-game goal scoring streak for the right winger. The forward recorded his first two-goal night in North America on Nov. 20 at Texas. The former second-round draft choice notched his 50th pro assist on Nov. 12 against Manitoba and is tied for 13th among league rookies with eight goals. His 22 points (8-14—22) rank seventh among first-year players on the circuit and rank third on the Griffins’ roster.

Murphy’s Law
Reigning AHL defenseman of the year Ryan Murphy has started to find a rhythm offensively for the Griffins. The nine-year pro is sixth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 16 points (6-10—16) in 30 outings. Murphy has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his point total is tied for 15th while six goals are tied for second. The Aurora, Ontario, native signed a one-year contract with Detroit on July 28, 2021 and is the midst of his inaugural season with the Griffins.

Cris-COOL-o
After being sidelined in the first four games due to an injury, center Kyle Criscuolo has made up for his lost time with 24 points (11-13—24) in 22 contests. The Harvard University graduate logged a two-game point streak (1-1—2) from Oct. 30-31 and surpassed that mark with a 10-game point streak (7-11—18) from Nov. 20-Jan. 5, which set a new career high for the forward. His point streak was the 17th-longest in Griffins history. Most recently, Riley Barber had a nine-game point streak from Feb. 5-March 11, 2021 that was the longest to ever start a Griffins season or career. Criscuolo’s 10-game streak also tied for the ninth-longest scoring run in Grand Rapids history and the longest since Matt Puempel’s 11-game tear from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 535 games played for the Griffins ranks first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fifth in league history among one-team players. Of the players ahead of him on that list, the most recent – and, coincidentally, the record-holder – last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). Lashoff overtook Pete Backor (Pittsburgh Hornets 1945-54) for the No. 5 spot on Jan. 14 against Manitoba and is now 35 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 120 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is off to a fast start, as he has allowed two goals or less in 13 of his 24 appearances this season. The 10-year-pro currently ranks 10th in the AHL with a 2.37 goals against average while his 0.929 save percentage places fourth. The netminder made his sixth straight start on Nov. 28 and 10th consecutive appearance, both personal highs as a Griffin. In fact, Pickard has seen action in 23 of the 28 games this season, including 16 straight from Nov. 5-Dec. 22. Pickard made his 12th consecutive start on Dec. 22, which set a new career high for the goaltender and was only halfway to Joey MacDonald’s franchise record of 24, set during the 2004-05 season. The goaltender recorded his third assist of the season on Dec. 4 versus Rockford, which set a new AHL career high for assists in a season. Pickard recorded his first shutout of the year and fourth as a Griffin on Nov. 12 against Manitoba, moving him into a tie for 10th place in franchise history with Jani Hurme, Martin Prusek, and Eddie Pasquale.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Riley Barber—Five power play goals are tied for seventh
Jonatan Berggren—Eight goals are tied for 13th among league rookies, 22 points (8-14—22) ranks seventh among first-year players
Taro Hirose—19 assists are tied for seventh, eight power play assists are tied for 13th
Ryan Murphy—Six goals are tied for second among blueliners, 16 points (6-10—16) are tied for 15th among defensemen
Wyatt Newpower—39 penalty minutes are tied for third among rookies and tied for 12th among league defensemen
Calvin Pickard—2.37 goals against average ranks 10th, 0.929 save percentage places fourth, 1417 minutes and 731 saves both lead the league
Dominik Shine—75 penalty minutes rank second
Luke Witkowski—47 penalty minutes are sixth among league blueliners

Milestones
Head coach Ben Simon appeared in his 200th game as head boss for the Griffins on Jan. 12 at Chicago. Turner Elson recorded his 100th AHL assist and 200th pro point on Jan. 14 versus Manitoba. Dan Renouf skated in his 300th AHL contest on Jan. 14. Other upcoming milestones include:
Erik Bradford—One point from 300 as a pro
Brian Lashoff—One assist from 100 as a pro
Brett McKenzie—Three goals from 50 as a pro
Ryan Murphy—Four goals from 50 as a pro
Dominik Shine—Six points from 100 as a pro
Luke Witkowski—One point from 50 in the AHL

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins