Griffins Game #25 * Road Game #13 * AHL Game #390

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 91-81-2-7-3 All-Time Home Series: 44-37-2-5-2 All-Time Road Series: 47-44-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
First of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Allstate Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 184 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 204)…Chicago blew through the Griffins a season ago on its way to winning the Calder Cup, compiling an 11-0-1-0 (0.958) ledger against its Central-Division foe...In the past two campaigns, Grand Rapids is just 4-17-1-0 (0.205) against the Wolves and has been outscored 90-44...The Griffins possess a 12-30-1-1 (0.295) overall record against Chicago over the last five years and have been outscored 168-108...Since the 2017-18 season, the Griffins are 7-15-0-1 (0.326) against the Wolves on foreign ice and have been outscored 87-59...The last time Grand Rapids was above 0.500 at Chicago was in the 2019-20 season when it went 3-1-0-0...The Wolves come into the contest with a 2-7-1-0 record in their past 10 games and a 1-8-2-0 home ledger...The Griffins are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 outings and possess a 5-7-0-0 mark on the road...As part of his 11-year pro career, Griffins coach Ben Simon registered 87 points (37-50—87) in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of their first Calder Cup title in 2002.

Last Time Out
The Grand Rapids Griffins dropped their second-consecutive game to the Hartford Wolf Pack in a 6-4 contest on Friday at Van Andel Arena. Kyle Criscuolo starred for the Griffins, recording a goal and an assist on Friday. Criscuolo has three goals in his last five contests and seven total points in his last 10 outings (3-4–7). Taro Hirose (1-1–2), Chase Pearson (0-2–2) and Joel L’Esperance (0-2–2) also all ended the night with two points in the loss. Alex Chiasson played in his 700th game as a pro and scored a goal in the second period. Tyler Spezia also suited up for his 150th game as a Griffin and in the AHL, recording an assist in the process.

Roster Shake Up
- Dec. 10—G Victor Brattstrom reassigned from Toledo by Detroit
- Dec. 11—G Magnus Hellberg recalled by Detroit
- Dec. 12—F Drew Worrad assigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Dec. 13—D Steven Kampfer recalled by Detroit
- Dec. 14—F Elmer Soderblom recalled by Detroit
- Dec. 15—D Eemil Viro reassigned from Toledo by Detroit
- Dec. 16—D Steven Kampfer reassigned by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
1996: Left wing Michel Picard tallies the first-ever hat trick in Griffins’ history, scoring three goals on just four shots, but Grand Rapids falls at Milwaukee, 6-4.

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 6-0-1-0 (0.929) in games decided by one goal. In comparison, the Griffins are just 4-13-0-0 (0.235) 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.

O Captain! My Captain!
Captain Brian Lashoff competed in his 600th game as a Griffin and in the AHL on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Hartford. Lashoff’s 601 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 seven games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 54 games away from breaking the Griffins’ all-time regular-season games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).

You Need to Be This Tall to Ride the Rollercoaster
On Friday Dec. 9, left wing Elmer Soderblom made his Griffins/AHL debut, becoming the tallest player to ever compete for Grand Rapids. At 6-foot-8, Soderblom edged out former 6-foot-6 players in Jared Coreau, Francois Leroux, Brad Norton, Michael Rasmussen, Dan Turple, Sebastian Cossa and Simon Edvinsson. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native has two goals in 13 games with Detroit this season but does not have a point through two games with the Griffins. Soderblom was selected with the 159th pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and is his rookie season in North America. He was recalled by the Red Wings on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Had to Get in Shape
Goaltender Magnus Hellberg saw his conditioning loan with the Griffins end on Sunday when he was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings. In terms of games played, Hellberg’s conditioning loan tied for the longest among the six DRW goalies and their eight GRG stints, while his save percentage was among the best. The Uppsala, Sweden, native went 2-2-0 with the Griffins along with a 2.50 goals against average and a 0.932 save percentage.

Welcomed Offensive Production
Last Wednesday, 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 three games, the 10th-year pro has five points (2-3—5) and a plus-one rating. 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.

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 16 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 18 helpers in 24 games and his 11 power-play assists are tied for sixth in the AHL. Hirose tied his single-game AHL high with three assists on Dec. 7 against Iowa. Hirose has points in 16 of the 24 contests this season (7-18—25).

Inching Closer to No. 200
On Dec. 14 at the Minnesota Wild, Magnus Hellberg (197th) and Elmer Soderblom (198th) became the 197th and 198th Griffins alumnus to compete in the NHL. Jonatan Berggren made his NHL debut with Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 10, becoming the 196th Griffin 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.

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 2.96 goals this season while conceding 4.00. Fourteen of its 24 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with nine of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins rank 30th on the circuit with 96 goals against while their 71 goals for are tied for 20th in the AHL.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for fourth among rookies
Taro Hirose—18 assists are tied for 11th, 11 power-play assists are tied for sixth
Joel L’Esperance—Six power-play goals are tied for seventh

Milestones
Alex Chiasson appeared in his 700th game as a pro on Dec. 16 against Hartford and scored a goal in the process. Tyler Spezia joined Chiasson with his 150th game as a Griffin and in the AHL.
Steven Kampfer—Two points from 200 as a pro
Joel L’Esperance—Five goals from 100 as a pro

Photo by Ross Dettman/Chicago Wolves