Griffins Game #58 * Road Game #27 * AHL Game #921

Season Series: 3-2-1-0 Home Series: 1-1-1-0 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 94-83-2-8-3 All-Time Home Series: 45-38-2-6-2 All-Time Road Series: 49-45-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Seventh of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at Allstate Arena…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 190 times in the regular season dating back to their IHL days, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 209)…The Griffins’ four-game point streak against Chicago from Dec. 22-Feb. 24 was their longest run against the Wolves since a five-game point streak from Nov. 21, 2015-Feb. 28, 2016...Sixteen total goals were scored between the two teams on Dec. 22 (8-7 OTW), which was Grand Rapids’ first 8-7 result in franchise history. Chicago’s seven goals were the second-most allowed by the Griffins in a win, trailing only a 10-8 victory over Chicago on Nov. 27, 2010...Since the 2020-21 season, Grand Rapids is just 7-19-2-0 (0.286) against the Wolves and has been outscored 114-66...The Griffins possess a 15-32-2-1 (0.330) overall record against Chicago since 2017-18 and have been outscored 192-130...Since the 2017-18 season, the Griffins are 9-16-0-1 (0.365) against the Wolves in Chicago and have been outscored 102-73...The last time Grand Rapids was above 0.500 at Allstate Arena was in the 2019-20 season when it went 3-1-0-0...The Wolves come into the contest with a 7-3-0-0 record in their past 10 games and have a 11-12-3-2 ledger at home...The Griffins are 3-4-2-1 in their last 10 outings and possess a 12-13-0-1 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 Griffins lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Cleveland Monsters in a 3-2 shootout defeat on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. Victor Brattstrom made 34 saves on 36 shots prior to suffering an injury with 23 seconds left in overtime, including seven saves in the extra session. Matt Luff extended his point streak to four games with a 5-on-3 goal in the second. Since returning from injury on Jan. 28, Luff has 14 points (4-10-14) in 19 outings. Danny O’Regan added two assists to the scoresheet, pushing him to 13 points in the last 11 games (4-9-13).

Roster Shake Up
- March 5—G Alex Nedeljkovic reassigned by Detroit
- March 6—G John Lethemon reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) by Detroit from Grand Rapids; F Trenton Bliss recalled by Grand Rapids from Toledo
- March 9—F Kirill Tyutyayev recalled by Grand Rapids from Toledo (ECHL); D Steven Kampfer traded by Detroit to Arizona for future considerations
- March 10—F Austin Czarnik recalled by Detroit
- March 11—F Drew Worrad recalled by Grand Rapids from Toledo (ECHL); F Lukas Craggs released from PTO by Grand Rapids
- March 12—G John Lethemon reassigned to Grand Rapids by Detroit from Toledo

This Date in Griffins History
1999: Kory Karlander nets his fourth shorthanded goal of the season, setting a new club record with a total that would tie for the league lead at season’s end.

Didn’t go as Planned
The Griffins halted their season-high four game winless streak on Friday, as the team tries to catch the Iowa Wild and the Rockford IceHogs for the final playoff spot. Grand Rapids finished its five-game homestand last Saturday with a 1-2-2-0 record. The Griffins return this week with four games in six days, which includes three games in three days this weekend. Grand Rapids is in seventh in the division and is now 10 points out of a playoff spot with 15 games remaining. Grand Rapids has points in 15 of its last 24 contests (10-9-3-2, 0.521). Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just 10 times through 28 games (12-10-3-3, 0.536).

Momma We Made It
On March 2, Adam Erne became the 200th Griffins alum to compete in the NHL and on March 4, Alex Chiasson became the 201th alum to play in the NHL. Since 1996, 201 Griffins players (25 goalies, 176 skaters) have gone on to play at least one game in the NHL. Some of the more accomplished members of the Griffins’ alumni class include 18 Stanley Cup champions, two members of the Triple Gold Club — Stanley Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, World Championship gold medalist — (Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula), one Calder Trophy winner (Moritz Seider), one Calder Trophy finalist (Jimmy Howard), and two Lady Byng winners (Pavol Demitra and Jiri Hudler).

Griffin Tenders
Last Saturday, John Lethemon became the sixth goaltender to man the Griffins’ pipes this season, tying the franchise record for most goalies used that was set in 2005-06. That season, Jimmy Howard made his pro debut and was a stalwart for Grand Rapids, appearing in 38 games for the AHL’s regular season champions and earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team. Joey MacDonald (32), Drew MacIntyre (13) and Logan Koopmans (1) saw action along with Chris Osgood (3) and Manny Legace (1), who both came to the Griffins on conditioning stints from Detroit.

Rewrite the Record Book
Taro Hirose has been known for his passing abilities throughout four seasons with the Griffins. The former Michigan State Spartan has continued to climb the Griffins’ all-time assist leaderboard, and with 117 assists he now ranks seventh in franchise history, passing Jiri Hudler (114). Hirose is now five assists from tying Nathan Paetsch for sixth all time. Hirose is as consistent as they come, as he has had at least 22 assists in each AHL campaign in his career. The Calgary, Alberta, native has totaled a team-leading 34 helpers in 57 games this year. In addition, his 17 power-play assists this season are tied for ninth in the AHL. Hirose also leads the roster with 47 points (13-34—47) in 57 appearances.

Danny Boy
Danny O’Regan is starting to find a rhythm with the Griffins after joining the team on Dec. 19. After exploding for three points (2-1—3) in his Griffins debut, O’Regan had just three points in his next 12 games from Dec. 28-Feb. 15. However, the German-born forward enjoyed a five-game point streak (2-5—7) from Feb. 24-March 4 and has 13 points in his last 11 games (4-9—13).

Just Keep it Close
The Griffins have had their ups and downs this season, but they have excelled at winning close games. In fact, Grand Rapids is 13-1-4-3 (0.786) in games decided by one goal and 5-0-4-0 in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 10-26-0-0 (0.278) 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.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Austin Czarnik—Five game-winning goals are tied for sixth, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—22 assists rank fifth among rookie defensemen, 27 points are tied for fifth among rookie defensemen, five goals are tied for seventh among rookie defensemen
Taro Hirose—17 power-play assists are tied for ninth
Albert Johansson—Five goals are tied for seventh among rookie defensemen
Joel L’Esperance—12 power-play goals are tied for third, 189 shots rank fourth

Milestones
Joel L’Esperance bagged his 100th AHL goal on March 10 against Rockford. Ben Simon coached in his 300th game as head coach for the Griffins on March 3, making him just the second coach in franchise history to reach 300 games.
Austin Czarnik—Two assists from 200 as a pro
Albert Johansson—One game from 200 as a pro
Alex Nedeljkovic—One win from 100 in the AHL
Wyatt Newpower—One game from 100 as a Griffin
Danny O’Regan—Two points from 300 as a pro
Chase Pearson—Two assists from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Donovan Sebrango—One game from 150 as a pro
Dominik Shine—Two goals from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL, two points from 100 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Elmer Soderblom—Two games from 150 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins