Griffins Game #46 * Home Game #23 * AHL Game #750

Season Series: 1-3-0-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 59-41-9-11 All-Time Home Series: 36-13-5-5 All-Time Road Series: 23-28-4-6

IceHogs at Griffins
Fifth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…Dating back to the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, Grand Rapids now has points in 15 of the last 21 games (12-6-2-1, 0.643) against the IceHogs...The Griffins are 21-16-6-6 (0.551) since the 2017-18 season against Rockford and have outscored the IceHogs 137-133. At home since 2017-18, Grand Rapids is 13-4-4-3 (0.689) against the IceHogs, having outscored Rockford 69-55...The Griffins have points in 12 of the previous 14 meetings against Rockford in West Michigan (7-2-2-3, 0.679)...Rockford comes into the contest with a 10-8-3-1 road record this season and are enjoying a five-game point streak (3-0-1-2)...Grand Rapids is 8-11-2-1 on home ice...The IceHogs are 3-3-2-2 in their last 10 and the Griffins are 5-3-1-1 in their last 10...Rockford ranks 10th in the AHL with 150 goals scored while its 155 goals against are tied for 23rd...Rockford is Grand Rapids’ third-most frequent opponent (Milwaukee 209, Chicago 188), as tonight’s game marks the 121st meeting between the two franchises...Griffins head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13)...Rockford’s goaltender Arvid Soderblom is the brother of Griffins’ forward Elmer Soderblom.

Last Time Out
In front of a sellout crowd, the Griffins suffered a weekend series sweep to the Manitoba Moose in a 5-1 loss at Van Andel Arena on Saturday. Jakub Vrana’s opening-frame assist pushed his point streak to six games, the longest by a Griffin this season (4-4–8). The Prague, Czechia, native also has 10 points in his last nine outings (6-4–10). Austin Czarnik lit the lamp in the first period and has 10 points in as many outings (4-6–10). Saturday’s game was the third sellout crowd this season and the second consecutive Saturday sellout for the Griffins.

Roster Shake Up
- Feb. 2—F Filip Zadina assigned by Detroit on a conditioning loan
- Feb. 3—F Alex Chiasson re-signed to a PTO by Grand Rapids
- Feb. 5—F Filip Zadina and F Jonatan Berggren recalled by Detroit; F Adam Erne assigned by Detroit
- Feb. 9—D Seth Barton reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) from Grand Rapids by Detroit; D Donovan Sebrango reassigned to Grand Rapids from Toledo by Detroit
- Feb. 14—F Jakub Vrana recalled by Detroit

This Date in Griffins History
2008: Darren McCarty provides fans with one of the most memorable nights in Griffins history during his home debut by scoring a hat trick and earning the first four-point night of his 16-year career. After scoring 5:53 into the first period, 2:17 into the second and 2:45 into the third to ignite the throng of 10,062 into an ovation lasting nearly five minutes, he caps off his four-point evening with a helper on Grand Rapids’ final goal during a 6-3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters.

Tough Sledding
The Griffins saw their season-high four-game win streak come to an end this past weekend against the Manitoba Moose, dropping two straight. This pushed Grand Rapids further back in the standings and are now 11 points out of a playoff spot with 27 games remaining. However, Grand Rapids does have points in eight of its last 11 contests (6-3-1-1). Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just five times through 16 games (8-5-1-2, 0.594).

Keep Them Coming
Last Saturday, the Griffins posted their third sellout of the season and their second sellout in the last three home games. The capacity crowd of 10,834 was also the second straight Saturday sellout for Grand Rapids. The Griffins rank fifth in the AHL with an average attendance of 7,456 per game.

Vroom Vroom
After being held off the scoresheet in the first four games of his Griffins career, Jakub Vrana is starting to find the back of the net. Vrana is currently riding a six-game point streak (4-4—8) from Jan. 29-Feb. 11, which is the longest run by a Griffin this season. He recorded a season-high two goals on Feb. 4 at the Texas Stars. The veteran also has points in eight of his last nine appearances (6-4—10). Since being assigned to the Griffins on Dec. 28, Vrana has 11 points (6-5—11) in 17 games. Vrana was recalled by Detroit on Tuesday.

Starting to Find a Groove
After going 0-for-21 on the power play from Jan. 7-21, the Griffins are starting to find a rhythm on the man-advantage. Grand Rapids recorded a power-play goal in four straight games from Jan.31-Feb. 10 (5-for-12, 41.7%), which was the first four-game stretch of goals since Oct. 29-Nov. 4. However, the special teams faltered in its last contest on Saturday, as it went 0-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. Since Jan. 28, the Griffins are 6-for-22 (27.3%) on the man-advantage and now rank 22nd in the AHL with a conversion rate of 17.7%. The penalty kill has also been much improved, killing off 10 straight penalties in four games from Jan. 31-Feb. 10. The Griffins are 28-for-34 (82.4%) on the PK since Jan. 14 and place 27th on the circuit at 77.4%.

Alexander The Great
Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic has been a welcomed addition to the Griffins roster, as the goaltender was assigned by Detroit on Jan. 4. Nedeljkovic ‘s three-game win streak from Jan. 31-Feb. 4 tied for the longest run by a Griffins goaltender this campaign. Through 14 outings, Nedeljkovic has a 7-4-2 record with one shutout along with a 2.38 goals against average and a 0.922 save percentage. On Jan. 14, Nedeljkovic posted a 27-save shutout against the Chicago Wolves, his first in the AHL since Feb. 7, 2020 against Hartford (17 saves). On Jan. 11, Nedeljkovic recorded his fourth assist and fifth point of his AHL career, which was his first AHL point since Jan. 19, 2020.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig
The Griffins concluded their five-game road trip on Feb. 4 with a 4-1-0-0 (0.800) record, which included their 500th road win in franchise history on Feb. 4 at the Texas Stars (500-412-12-34-60). Grand Rapids also finished a stretch of seven out of eight games on the road from Jan. 16-Feb. 4 with a 5-1-1-1 (0.750) mark. The Griffins are now on a four-game home stand and will also play nine of their next 11 contests in friendly confines from Feb. 10-March 4. Grand Rapids is 8-11-2-1 (0.432) at home this season and 11-11-0-1 (0.500) on the road.

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 10-0-2-2 (0.857) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-2-0 (0.833) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 9-22-0-0 (0.290) 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 second, three short-handed goals are tied for first
Simon Edvinsson—15 assists are tied for sixth among rookie defensemen, 18 points are tied for seventh among rookie defensemen
Taro Hirose—14 power-play assists are tied for 11th
Joel L’Esperance—Eight power-play goals are tied for ninth, 147 shots rank sixth

Milestones
Brian Lashoff appeared in his 750th game as a pro on Feb. 3 at Texas and Jakub Vrana registered his 150th assist as a pro. Vrana skated in his 100th AHL game on Jan. 29 at Chicago and bagged his 300th pro point in the process (151-149—300). Austin Czarnik recorded his 300th pro point with an assist on Jan. 28 at Milwaukee.
Simon Edvinsson—Three points from 50 as a pro
Adam Erne—Two assists from 50 in the AHL, five assists from 100 as a pro
Albert Johansson—One assist from 50 as a pro
Steven Kampfer—Two assists from 150 as a pro
Joel L’Esperance—One goal from 100 as a pro
Alex Nedeljkovic—Four wins from 100 in the AHL
Chase Pearson—Two assists from 50 as a pro, in the AHL and as a Griffin
Dominik Shine—One assist from 50 as a pro, as a Griffin and in the AHL
Tyler Spezia—One game from 250 as a pro

Photo by Todd Reicher/IceHogs