Griffins Game #50 * Home Game #27 * AHL Game #792

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 38-16-4-2 All-Time Home Series: 18-6-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 20-10-1-0

Griffins vs. Wild
Fifth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins are 20-12-4-2 overall in the last five years against the Wild but have been outscored by Iowa 122-119...Grand Rapids is 9-4-3-2 (0.639) at home against Iowa since the 2016-17 season with a plus-one scoring margin (56-55)...The Griffins have points in five of the last six overall meetings (4-1-1-0) against the Wild...Grand Rapids has points in eight of the last nine games (4-1-3-1) against Iowa at Van Andel Arena...The Wild are 7-13-1-2 on the road this season while Grand Rapids is 11-10-4-1 at home...The Wild are 3-5-1-1 in their last 10 contests...The Griffins’ season home series against Iowa has been a tight affair over the last handful of seasons, as just three goals or less have separated the two teams in five of the last six campaigns...The last time the Griffins had a losing record against Iowa in West Michigan was in 2018-19 (0-1-1-1)...Iowa places 22nd in the power play at 18.9% while its penalty kill ranks second at 84.9%...This will be the Griffins third contest in their season-high four-game homestand...2017 Calder Cup champions with the Griffins, Joe Hicketts (2016-21) and Dominic Turgeon (2016-21) are now with Iowa after signing deals with the Minnesota Wild in the offseason. Nate DiCasmirro (2005-06) is an assistant coach for Iowa...Taro Hirose (3-3—6) leads the way against Iowa for Grand Rapids while Jonatan Berggren (3-1—4) and Chase Pearson (1-3—4) are close behind...Marco Rossi (3-2—5) paces the Wild against the Griffins.

Last Time Out
Ryan Murphy’s shootout goal lifted the Griffins over the Bakersfield Condors 4-3 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. The victory marked the first shootout win for the Griffins since Jan. 22, 2020, when they defeated the Iowa Wild 4-3. Patrick Curry notched his first goal of the season in the second period. Calvin Pickard continued to dominate, as he notched 34 saves and his third win in his last four appearances. In the last four games, Pickard has a 0.950 save percentage, stopping 131 of 138 shots. Jonatan Berggren’s game-tying goal crowned him the new team leader in tallies with 14. The Griffins notched their first-ever home victory over the Condors and improved to 2-4-0-0 all-time against Bakersfield. Luke Witkowski skated in his 300th game in the AHL while Jon Martin tied a career-high two points (0-2—2).

Roster Shake Up
- March 2, 2022—F Riley Barber reassigned by Detroit
- March 4, 2022—F Alexis D’Aoust signed to a PTO

This Date in Griffins History
2010: Brad May, a veteran of 1,041 games in the NHL, plays his first-ever AHL contest, as a member of the Griffins in a 4-3 loss at Peoria.

Home, Sweet Home
The Griffins will have a lot of action in West Michigan during the first three weeks of March. In addition to being in the midst of a season-high four-game homestand, six of Grand Rapids’ first eight games of the month will be played at Van Andel Arena before closing out March with a season-long five-game road trip. The Griffins went 4-2-1-1 during an identical stretch of games in January. The Griffins will play half of their remaining 12 homes contests in the first three weeks of March. Grand Rapids is 11-10-4-1 on home ice this season while it is 11-10-1-1 on the road.

Welcome Back, March
The Griffins have had a remarkable stretch of success during the month of March throughout their 25 seasons. Grand Rapids has earned a winning record in March for 13 straight years, in large part by going 0.500 or better on the road during each of those months and despite playing 62% of its games on the road. All time, the Griffins have only had a losing March record three times in 25 years. The last time Grand Rapids suffered a losing record in March was back in 2008. Things that were also happening in March of 2008: Jimmy Howard was playing his third of four full seasons in Grand Rapids; Ben Simon was an alternate captain for the Springfield Falcons, 2.5 years from starting his coaching career; Donovan Sebrango was six years old; President George W. Bush was serving his final year in the White House; and the Red Wings were three months from winning their most recent Stanley Cup.

Huffin’ and Puffin’
So far this season, the Griffins are 2-10-1-2 (0.233) against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves and the second-place Manitoba Moose. However, Grand Rapids is 20-10-4-0 (0.647) against the rest of the AHL.

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 tied for fifth on the roster and leads all Grand Rapids’ blueliners with 23 points (10-13—23) in 45 outings. Murphy completed a season-high four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Feb. 11-19 and has climbed up the defensemen leaderboard in the AHL, as his 10 goals rank first. 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.

Jonny Apple Seed
Rookie Jonatan Berggren registered a career-high four assists on Jan. 18 at Cleveland, which set a new single-game high for any Griffin this season. Berggren’s four helpers were one shy of tying the Griffins’ rookie single-game record of five assists set by Chris Bala (1/10/02). Berggren’s 36 points (14-22—36) are tied for sixth among first-year players on the circuit and rank second on the Griffins’ roster. His 22 assists rank ninth among league rookies while his 14 goals are tied for eighth. Berggren is also tied for fourth in the league with five game-winning goals, which also places second among rookies. Berggren is on pace for 56 points, which would place third in franchise history among rookies. The Uppsala, Sweden, native is also on pace for 22 goals, which would place him in a tie for fourth place with Gustav Nyquist (2011-12) and Kevyn Adams (1996-97).

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 30 helpers in the opening 48 games, which is a team high and places 10th in the league. Fourteen assists have come on the power play, which is tied for 12th 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 42 points (12-30—42) this season pace the Griffins and are tied for 18th on the circuit. He was recalled by Detroit on Dec. 15 and made his NHL season debut on Dec. 18 against the Devils.

Calvin’s University
Goaltender Calvin Pickard has had a stellar season thus far, as he ranks near the top in multiple categories in the AHL. The 10-year-pro currently ranks 11th in the AHL with a 2.43 goals against average while his 0.924 save percentage is tied for third. Pickard also ranks second with 2144:40 minutes played and places for fifth with 18 wins. Over the past four games, the Moncton, New Brunswick, native is 3-1 and has a 0.950 save percentage, stopping 131 of 138 shots. Pickard has also got it done on the offensive end with four assists on the season, which is two more than his previous career high. The netminder has been a work horse for the Griffins this season, appearing in 36 of the 49 games.

Rarified Air
Brian Lashoff’s 553 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 17 games behind No. 4 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds 1952-62). Lashoff is still 102 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Jonatan Berggren—36 points (14-22—36) are tied for sixth among first-year players, 22 assists ranks ninth among rookies and 14 goals are tied for eighth among rookies, five game-winning goals are tied for fourth in the league and place second among rookies
Taro Hirose—30 assists places 10th, 14 power play assists are tied for 12th, 42 points (12-30—42) are tied for 18th
Ryan Murphy—10 goals ranks first among blueliners
Calvin Pickard—2.43 goals against average ranks 11th, 0.924 save percentage is tied for third, 18 wins rank fifth, 2144:40 minutes played places second
Dominik Shine—100 penalty minutes rank fourth

Milestones
Jon Martin collected his 100th point as a pro on Feb. 26 against Bakersfield while Luke Witkowski skated in his 300th AHL game. Kyle Criscuolo appeared in his 300th game as a pro on Feb. 25 against Bakersfield. Other upcoming milestones include:
Jonatan Berggren—Four points from 100 as a pro
Kyle Criscuolo—One assist from 100 as a pro and 50 as a Griffin, two assists from 100 in the AHL, one game from 150 as a Griffin
Taro Hirose—Three points from 100 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Brett McKenzie—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Ben Simon—Three games from 350 as a pro head coach

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins