Griffins Game #16 * Road Game #10 * AHL Game #223

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 6-3-0-0 All-Time Home Series: 3-2-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 3-1-0-0

Griffins at Gulls
Fourth of four meetings overall, second of two at Pechanga Arena...Last night’s contest was the first meeting between the two franchises in San Diego since Dec. 17, 2020…Grand Rapids holds a 30-13-2-0-0 all-time record (0.711) against Anaheim’s AHL affiliates, including 22-10-2-0-0 against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, 2-0-0-0 against the Iowa Chops and 6-3-0-0 against San Diego…The Gulls are 1-5-0-0 at home while the Griffins are 4-5-0-0 on the road...San Diego averages 2.80 goals a game and concedes 3.33 tallies...The Griffins’ eight goals on Oct. 15 against San Diego tied for the fifth-highest scoring home game in franchise history...Through three games of the season series, the Griffins and Gulls have scored a combined 32 goals, or 10.7 goals per game...The Griffins are 16-18-2-3 (0.474) all-time against current Pacific-Division foes in the regular season, including 7-8-2-1 (0.472) on the road...Grand Rapids is 14-15-2-3 (0.485) against current California teams...This is the final game of the season for Grand Rapids against the Pacific Division...San Diego’s 4-2 win on Oct. 10, 2015 against Grand Rapids came during its AHL debut.

Last Time Out
Taro Hirose’s first hat trick as a pro led the Griffins to a 6-5 win over the San Diego Gulls at Pechanga Arena on Friday. The former Spartan had four points in the contest (3-1–4), as well as the game-winning goal with 1:29 left in the game. Hirose battled with the Gulls’ defense, but fought through the contact and flung the puck behind Lukas Dostal for the win. Grand Rapids converted four of seven power-play opportunities in the contest, including its first three. The Griffins won in a team effort, as Joel L’Esperance (0-2–2), Austin Czarnik (1-1–2), Albert Johansson (0-2–2) and Jared McIsaac (0-2–2) all recorded two points.

Roster Shake Up
- Nov. 5—F Austin Czarnik recalled by Detroit
- Nov. 7—D Seth Barton reassigned from Toledo by Detroit; F Austin Czarnik and F Matt Luff reassigned by Detroit
- Nov. 8—F Austin Czarnik and F Matt Luff recalled by Detroit
- Nov. 10—F Jonatan Berggren and F Givani Smith recalled by Detroit
- Nov. 11—F Givani Smith reassigned by Detroit; G John Lethemon assigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Nov. 12—F Trenton Bliss reassigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Nov. 13—F Trenton Bliss recalled by Grand Rapids
- Nov. 18—F Austin Czarnik reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2005: Griffins dig out of a 2-0 hole for the third straight game, tying a franchise record with five third-period goals in a 5-3 victory at Cleveland.

Grab the Confetti
The Griffins competed in its 1000th regular-season home contest (557-331-15-37-60) on Wednesday versus the Rockford IceHogs, falling 5-1. The franchise appeared in its 2000th regular-season game (1050-736-27-71-119) last Wednesday, Nov. 9 at Cleveland. The Griffins are also seven road wins away from 500 as a franchise (493-406-12-34-59).

Criss Cross Applesauce
Rookie Cross Hanas had himself quite the weekend from Nov. 11-12, compiling four points (2-2—4) in two games. Hanas played the role of hero on Nov. 11 against Toronto with an overtime winner to cap off his season-high three-point night (1-2—3). He returned the following day and tallied the game-tying goal with 10 seconds remaining to garner a point for the Griffins in a 3-2 overtime defeat. Hanas leads the team with seven goals, which also ranks second among rookies in the AHL, and his 12 points (7-5—12) are tied for fourth on the circuit among first-year players.

Pontus Pilate
After a slow start that saw him tally one point (0-1—1) in the first seven games, Pontus Andreasson has gotten things going on the offensive side of the ice. Andreasson has driven the Griffins’ offense as of late with a three-game point streak (2-3—5) from Nov. 9-12 and has eight points in the last seven outings (3-5—8). The Munkedal, Sweden, native bagged his first goal in North America on Nov. 11 against Toronto to conclude a three-point contest (2-1—3). In 2021-22 in the Swedish Hockey League, Andreasson finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting when he totaled 38 points (18-20—38) in 52 games. The 24-year-old signed a one-year contract with Detroit this past offseason.

Take the Over
The Griffins averaged just 2.75 goals a game during the 2021-22 season while giving up 3.16. However, this campaign has been much different, as Grand Rapids is averaging 3.33 goals while conceding 4.20. Ten of their 15 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with six of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins have not had a game that has seen fewer than five goals.

Hot Starts
It seems as though every franchise in the American Hockey League has had a promising start to the season. In fact, 26 of the 32 teams in the AHL are 0.500 or above entering Saturday. In the Central Division, every team is above 0.500 except for the reigning Calder Cup champions, the Chicago Wolves (0.458). Every team in the Atlantic and eight of the 10 teams in the Pacific are above the 0.500 mark. The odd division out is the North, where three of the seven teams are below 0.500.

Can We Skip the Second?
The Griffins have struggled in second periods during the month of November. Through eight games in November, Grand Rapids has been outscored 19-5 during the middle frame and have yet to win a second period this month. The last time the Griffins won a second period was on Oct. 30 when they came away with a 2-1 edge over the Texas Stars in period two. Despite outshooting its opponents 151-131 in the second period this season, Grand Rapids has been outscored 26-19.

Jumping for Joel
Joel L’Esperance saw his team-high five-game point streak (2-4—6) come to an end on Nov. 9 at Cleveland. However, L’Esperance still has 10 points (4-6—10) in his last 10 appearances. The Brighton, Mich., native is second on the roster with 13 points (6-7—13) in the first 15 games to begin his career in Grand Rapids. L’Esperance signed a two-year contract with the Griffins this past offseason.

Inching Closer to No. 200
Jonatan Berggren made his NHL debut with Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 10, becoming the 196th Griffins alumnus to compete in the NHL. On Sunday, Nov. 6, forward Austin Czarnik became the 195th Griffin to appear in the NHL when he made his Red Wings debut. Previously, Matt Luff became the 194th Griffin in the NHL when he made his season debut with Detroit on Thursday, Oct. 27 at the Boston Bruins.

Young Guns
Rookies Simon Edvinsson and Cross Hanas have made their presences known to begin their AHL careers. Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, is tied for sixth among first-year players with seven assists. With seven goals in 15 games, Hanas is second among rookies 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 AHL campaign in his career. This season has been no different, as Hirose has totaled a team-leading 12 helpers in 15 games, which is tied for fifth in the league and his nine power-play assists rank first in the AHL. Hirose tallied his first pro hat trick on Nov. 18 at San Diego during a four-point night and has points in 11 of the 15 contests this season.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Austin Czarnik—Four power-play goals are tied for fourth
Simon Edvinsson—Seven assists are tied for sixth among rookies
Cross Hanas—Seven goals are second among rookies, 12 points (7-5—12) are tied for fourth among first-year players
Taro Hirose—12 assists are tied fifth, nine power-play assists rank first
Donovan Sebrango—Three goals are tied for seventh among defensemen

Milestones
Austin Czarnik recorded his 150th assist in the AHL on Nov. 18 at San Diego during a 6-5 victory.
Joel L’Esperance—One point from 150 in the AHL