Griffins Game #28 * Road Game #16 * AHL Game #464

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 108-74-7-8-8 All-Time Home Series: 58-35-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 50-39-5-5-5

Griffins at Admirals
Second of eight meetings overall, first of four at Panther Arena…Grand Rapids is 16-13-1-1 in the last five seasons against Milwaukee...Dating back to the 2017-18 season, the Griffins are 13-7-0-0 against the Admirals in Milwaukee with a plus-three scoring margin (59-56)…Milwaukee’s penalty kill ranks in the top 10 at 83.1% (8th) while its power play ranks in the bottom third at 17.9% (25th)...Admirals’ rookie Luke Evangelista is tied for second among first-year players with 16 assists and his 20 points are tied for 7th among rookies...Milwaukee is 3-5-0-2 in its last 10 outings and have a 7-5-0-1 home ledger...The Griffins are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 and possess a 6-9-0-0 road mark...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 206th meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 108 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…After beginning the 2021-22 season series 5-1-1-0, Grand Rapids dropped the final five contests against the Admirals and finished 5-6-1-0...Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4).

Last Time Out
David Gust’s hat trick lifted the Rockford IceHogs to a 4-1 win over the Griffins on Wednesday at the BMO Center. Taro Hirose scored the lone goal for Grand Rapids in the second period. The former Spartan has 10 points in his last eight outings (3-7–10). Austin Czarnik recorded an assist on the tally and has five points in two games (1-4–5) with Grand Rapids since his reassignment from the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 20. Jakub Vrana played in the first game of his conditioning stint with the Griffins, firing 2 shots on net. Ben Simon recorded his 400th pro game as head coach and Hirose skated in his 150th game as a Griffin and in the AHL.

Roster Shake Up
- Dec. 18—F Gordie Green released from PTO; D Donovan Sebrango reassigned from Toledo by Detroit; F Kirill Tyutyayev and F Drew Worrad recalled by Grand Rapids
- Dec. 19—F Givani Smith traded by Detroit to Florida (NHL) for D Michael Del Zotto; D Michael Del Zotto traded by Detroit to Anaheim (NHL) for F Danny O’Regan; F Danny O’Regan assigned by Detroit
- Dec. 20—F Austin Czarnik reassigned by Detroit; G Sebastian Cossa reassigned from Toledo by Detroit
- Dec. 27—G Sebastian Cossa reassigned to Toledo by Detroit; F Trenton Bliss reassigned by Grand Rapids
- Dec. 28—F Jakub Vrana assigned by Detroit on a conditioning loan
- Dec. 29—F Cedric Lacroix assigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids

This Date in Griffins History
2013: In the first outdoor game in Griffins history, Luke Glendening scores twice to help the Griffins earn a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to Toronto in front of 20,337 fans at Comerica Park in Detroit.

Just Keep it Close
The Griffins have had an up-and-down start to the season, but they have excelled at winning close games. In fact, Grand Rapids is 7-0-1-0 (0.938) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-1-0 (0.900) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 4-15-0-0 (0.267) in games decided by two or more tallies. In the 2021-22 season, the Griffins finished with a 13-7-6-2 (0.607) mark in games decided by one goal.

Welcome to the Team
On Monday Dec. 19, the Detroit Red Wings traded forward Givani Smith to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Michael Del Zotto. The Red Wings subsequently traded Del Zotto to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Danny O’Regan, whom they assigned to Grand Rapids. During his Griffins debut on Dec. 22, O’Regan bagged three points (2-1—3) in an 8-7 overtime victory at Chicago. Throughout 363 AHL games, the Berlin, Germany, native has 276 points (101-175—276) and 124 penalty minutes. The 28-year-old was named the AHL Rookie of the Year in 2016-17 when he amassed 58 points (23-25—58) in 63 games with the San Jose Barracuda. On Wednesday, the Red Wings assigned forward Jakub Vrana to the Griffins on a conditioning loan. The veteran made his Griffins debut later that evening at the Rockford IceHogs, totaling two shots.

History was Made
On Thursday, Dec. 22, the Griffins pulled of a miraculous four-goal comeback and defeated the Chicago Wolves 8-7 in overtime. After trailing 6-2 after the first period, Grand Rapids roared back with two goals in the second and three in the third before Austin Czarnik tallied the game-winner just 16 seconds into overtime. This was the Griffins’ first four-goal comeback in franchise history. The Detroit Red Wings also notched a comeback for the ages on Wednesday, Dec. 28 when they too came back from a four-goal deficit. After spotting the Pittsburgh Penguins four goals in the opening stanza, the Red Wings stormed back with two goals in each of the final two periods. Defenseman Jake Walman played the role of hero 2:13 into overtime and Detroit skated away with a 5-4 victory. This was the largest comeback victory for Detroit since 1984 and just the fourth ever in franchise history.

Welcomed Offensive Production
Wednesday Dec. 7, veteran Alex Chiasson made his Griffins debut against the Iowa Wild, collecting two helpers. Chiasson followed that performance with another two points (1-1—2) on Friday at Springfield. Through six games, the 10-year pro has seven points (4-3—7) and a plus-two rating. Chiasson has secured two points in three of the six contests. Through parts of 10 seasons in the NHL, Chiasson has 224 points (114-110—224) and 353 penalty minutes in 631 games. The Griffins signed the Montreal, Quebec, native to a professional tryout on Nov. 26.

The Last Czar
Veteran forward Austin Czarnik has been a major boost to the Griffins lineup, totaling 19 points (7-12—19) in just 14 games. Czarnik has at least one point in 11 of the 14 contests and at least two points in four outings. He has also spent a decent amount of time with the Detroit Red Wings, amassing three points (2-1—3) in 12 appearances. The Washington Township, Mich., native was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week on Oct. 17 when he registered five points (3-2—5) in two games and became the first Griffins forward to win the award since Matt Lorito on Nov. 20, 2016.

Power Struggle
After beginning the season with a 29.3% power-play conversion rate in the first nine games of the year, the Griffins have struggled as of late. Grand Rapids is 3-for-23 on the man-advantage in its last six outings and have just six power-play goals in its last 11 contests (6-for-51, 11.8%). However, the Griffins did score three power-play tallies in their game on Dec. 22 at Chicago (3-for-5, 60%). The Griffins are tied for 18th in the AHL on the power play with a conversion rate of 19.8%.

Take the Over
The Griffins averaged just 2.75 goals a game during the 2021-22 season while giving up 3.16. However, Grand Rapids is averaging 3.00 goals this season while conceding 4.15. Fifteen of its 27 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with 10 of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins are tied for 28th on the circuit with 112 goals against while their 81 goals for are tied for 24th in the AHL.

Bobbing for Apples
Taro Hirose has been known for his passing abilities throughout four seasons with the Griffins. In fact, the former Michigan State Spartan has had at least 22 assists in each full AHL campaign in his career. This season has a similar pace, as Hirose has totaled a team-leading 20 helpers in 27 games, which is tied for 11th on the circuit. In addition, his 12 power-play assists are tied for seventh in the AHL. Hirose collected his first pro hat trick on Nov. 18 at San Diego, which concluded his career-high four-point (3-1—4) night. Hirose has points in 18 of the 27 contests this season (8-20—28).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for fifth among rookies
Austin Czarnik—Three game-winning goals are tied for fourth
Taro Hirose—20 assists are tied for 11th, 12 power-play assists are tied for seventh
Joel L’Esperance—Seven power-play goals are tied for fifth

Milestones
Taro Hirose scored a goal in his 150th game as a Griffin and in the AHL on Dec. 28 at Rockford while Ben Simon recorded his 400th pro game as a head coach.
Simon Edvinsson—Two games from 100 as a pro
Steven Kampfer—One assist from 100 in the AHL
Joel L’Esperance—Four goals from 100 as a pro
Dominik Shine—Two assists from 50 as a pro, as a Griffins and in the AHL

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins