Griffins Game #23 * Road Game #12 * AHL Game #352

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 1-1-0-0 All-Time Home Series: 1-0-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 0-1-0-0

Griffins at Wolf Pack
First of two meetings overall, first of one at the XL Center…This will be the first trip to Hartford for Grand Rapids since Jan. 2, 2009 (3-1 L), two months and 27 days before captain Brian Lashoff made his debut for the Griffins...The Griffins are 1-1-0-0 all time against the Wolf Pack and have never won in Hartford...Grand Rapids is 5-6-0-0 on the road this season and enter the contest with wins in two straight games overall…Hartford is 4-3-0-4 on home ice this season and are just 2-7-1-0 on the road...The Wolf Pack are 2-6-0-2 in their last 10 games overall...Hartford’s power play is tied for 28th on the circuit at 14.6% and its penalty kill is tied for 13th in the AHL at 81.9%...Longtime Griffin Turner Elson (2017-22) signed with the New York Rangers this past offseason and is featured on the Wolf Pack’s roster. Through 294 games as a Griffin, Elson amassed 144 points (61-83—144) and 228 penalty minutes...Blake Hillman is also on the Hartford’s roster and competed in 15 games with Grand Rapids from 2019-20 and 2021-22.

Last Time Out
Late-game heroics from Alex Chiasson and Jared McIsaac lifted the Grand Rapids Griffins over the Springfield Thunderbirds in a 2-1 overtime victory on Friday at MassMutual Arena. After being held scoreless for the first 56:55 of play, Chiasson buried the game-tying goal by stuffing in the puck during a scrum in the crease. Just 56 seconds into the overtime period, McIsaac skated into the Springfield zone from center ice and rifled in a shot from the left circle behind Joel Hofer to secure a victory. Magnus Hellberg shined once again between the pipes for Grand Rapids, recording 21 saves on the night. In three starts, Hellberg has recorded 95 saves and has a 0.941 save percentage.

Roster Shake Up
- Nov. 26—F Alex Chiasson signed to a PTO by Grand Rapids
- Nov. 29—F Trenton Bliss recalled by Grand Rapids
- Dec. 1—G Magnus Hellberg assigned by Detroit on a conditioning loan; F Austin Czarnik recalled by Detroit
- Dec. 2—D Donovan Sebrango and D Eemil Viro reassigned to Toledo by Detroit
- Dec. 6—F Lukas Craggs and F Gordie Green signed to PTOs by Grand Rapids; F Kirill Tyutyayev reassigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Dec. 9—F Elmer Soderblom assigned by Detroit; G Victor Brattstrom reassigned from Grand Rapids to Toledo by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2010: Rookie Tyler Beskorowany’s 44 saves earn him his first AHL victory and enable Texas to withstand Grand Rapids’ furious rally and near 2-to-1 shot advantage, as the Stars hold on for a 4-3 win over the Griffins at Van Andel Arena.

O Captain! My Captain!
Captain Brian Lashoff is one game away from 600 as a Griffin, as his 599 games played for the Griffins rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fourth 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 Paul Larivee (Providence Reds, 1952-62) for the No. 4 spot on April 6, 2022 against Cleveland and is now nine games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 56 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time regular-season games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

New Additions
On Friday, Dec. 9, Detroit assigned forward Elmer Soderblom to the Griffins and he became the tallest player (6-8) to suit up for Grand Rapids when he made his AHL debut later that evening at Springfield. On Tuesday, Dec. 6, Grand Rapids signed Toledo Walleye (ECHL) forwards Lukas Craggs and Gordie Green to professional tryouts and both made their Griffins debut on Dec. 7 against Iowa. Craggs has 12 points (5-7—12) in 55 AHL career games with Milwaukee (2019-20), Chicago (2020-21), Rochester (2021-22) and Grand Rapids (2022-23) while Green has notched two points (1-1—2) in 16 AHL appearances with Toronto and the Griffins. On Nov. 26, the Griffins signed NHL veteran Alex Chiasson (SHAY-sahn) to a professional tryout, making his Griffins debut on Dec. 7 versus Iowa. The 32-year-old spent 10 seasons in the National Hockey League and recorded 224 points (114-110—224) and 353 penalty minutes. On Dec. 1, the Detroit Red Wings assigned goaltender Magnus Hellberg to the Griffins on a conditioning loan. On Dec. 2, Hellberg became the fifth Red Wings goalie to make his Griffins debut during a conditioning stint, joining Curtis Joseph (2003-04), Chris Osgood (2005-06), Manny Legace (2005-06) and Jonas Gustavsson (2012-13).

Problems at Home
The Griffins wrapped up their five-game home stand on Wednesday against the Iowa Wild, their second-longest home stretch this season. Grand Rapids went 2-3-0-0 during the stretch of games. The Griffins are 5-5-1-0 (0.500) this campaign at Van Andel Arena but have been outscored 41-35. In comparison, Grand Rapids is 5-6-0-0 (0.455) on foreign ice with a -13 scoring margin (45-32).

Pontus Pilot
After a slow start that saw him tally one point (0-1—1) in the first seven games, Pontus Andreasson has been among the driving forces of the Griffins’ offense of late. Andreasson enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-2—5) from Nov. 18-26 and has 14 points in the last 14 outings (7-7—14). 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.

Bobbing for Apples
Taro 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 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 17 helpers in 22 games and his 11 power-play assists rank sixth in the AHL. Hirose tied his single-game AHL high with three assists on Dec. 7 against Iowa. Hirose saw his five-game point streak (1-5—6) come to an end on Nov. 5 but has points in 15 of the 22 contests this season (6-17—23).

Welcome Back
After missing the first 16 games of the season due to personal reasons, Chase Pearson has stormed back onto the scene with four assists and a plus-three rating in his first six outings of the campaign. Through 153 AHL games, the fourth-year pro has 68 points (25-43—68) and 41 penalty minutes. Pearson was selected with the 140th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and made his NHL debut on March 24, 2022 against the New York Islanders.

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 3.05 goals this season while conceding 3.91. Thirteen of its 22 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with eight of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins rank third to last on the circuit with 86 goals against while their 67 goals for are tied for 17th in the AHL.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Pontus Andreasson—15 points are tied for 12th among rookies, seven goals are tied for eighth among first-year players, four power-play goals are tied for second among rookies
Cross Hanas—Seven goals are tied for eighth among rookies
Taro Hirose—17 assists ranks 10th, 11 power-play assists rank sixth
Joel L’Esperance—Six power-play goals are tied for fifth

Milestones
Taro Hirose notched 100th assist as a Griffin and in the AHL on Dec. 9 at Springfield and he tallied his 150th pro point on Dec. 7 against Iowa when he tallied three helpers. Hirose recorded a goal in his 200th game as a pro while Jared McIsaac joined him in his 100th game as a Griffin and in the AHL on Dec. 3 against Texas.
Alex Chiasson—One game from 700 as a pro
Brian Lashoff—One game from 600 as a Griffin and in the AHL

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins