Griffins Game #47 * Home Game #24 * AHL Game #757

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 69-35-6-10 All-Time Home Series: 38-17-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 30-18-4-8

Monsters at Griffins
Third of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 15-4-1-0 (0.775) against Cleveland in the past two seasons and has points 10 out of the last 11 games overall (9-1-1-0, 0.864)...In the past five years, the Griffins are 25-8-2-1 (0.736) against Cleveland and have outscored them 126-90. On home ice during that span, Grand Rapids is 13-4-1-0 (0.750) against the Monsters with a +20 scoring margin (59-39)...The Griffins have points in six straight home games against Cleveland (5-0-1-0)...Cleveland comes into the contest with a three-game winning streak while the Griffins have won three of their last five...Cleveland’s power play is tied for sixth in the AHL at 22.8% but its penalty kill ranks 27th at 77.7%...The Monsters are 9-10-1-2 on the road and the Griffins are 9-11-2-1 at home...The Monsters are tied for the third-most frequent opponent of the Griffins, as this game marks the 121st meeting between the two franchises (Milwaukee 204, Chicago 184, Rockford 121)...Griffins head coach Ben Simon is a native of the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights...Defenseman Wyatt Newpower played for Cleveland during the 2020-21 season.

Last Time Out
The Griffins’ offense put up five goals on the Rockford IceHogs to secure win number 20 in a 5-4 contest on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena. Simon Edvinsson had a strong offensive output by providing a goal, three assists and a plus-five rating. The Swede ranks fifth in the AHL among rookie defenseman in points this season and leads all Griffin defenders (4-18–22). Fellow Swedish rookie Albert Johansson tied his season high of two points (0-2—2) and posted a plus-four rating. Alex Chiasson recorded two tallies, his first multi-goal outing since Dec. 22, 2022. Finally, netminder Alex Nedeljkovic posted a season-best 38 saves on 42 shots.

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
2003: Jason Williams sets a franchise record for goal-scoring proficiency in a 4-3 decision at Syracuse. His two goals give him 12 over the last nine games, surpassing the previous 11-goal efforts of both Kip Miller and Michel Picard.

Tough Sledding
The Griffins saw their season-high four-game win streak come to an end last weekend against the Manitoba Moose. This pushed Grand Rapids further back in the standings and are now nine points out of a playoff spot with 26 games remaining. However, Grand Rapids does have points in nine of its last 12 contests (7-3-1-1). Since the new year, Grand Rapids has lost in regulation just five times through 17 games (9-5-1-2, 0.618).

Immortalized Forever
Right wing Chris Neil will have his No. 25 jersey retired tonight by the Ottawa Senators, making him the first Griffins alum to have his number retired by an NHL franchise. Neil skated for the Griffins from 1999-2001, making his pro debut with the franchise and helping lead the team to the 2000 IHL Turner Cup Finals and two division titles. He totaled 24 goals and 55 points in 129 games with Grand Rapids, while his 655 penalty minutes stand fourth in team history. Neil went on to play for the Ottawa Senators from 2001-17, playing all of his 15 NHL seasons with the club. He is one of two players in NHL history with at least 1,000 games played and 2,500 penalty minutes to play his entire career with the same team. Neil ranks third in Senators history in games played (1,026) and first in penalty minutes (2,522).

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 7,338 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 last 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-26 (23.1%) on the man-advantage and are now tied for 24th in the AHL with a conversion rate of 17.4%. The penalty kill has also been much improved, killing off 10 straight penalties in four games from Jan. 31-Feb. 10. The Griffins are 33-for-39 (84.6%) on the PK since Jan. 14 and are tied for 25th on the circuit at 78.0%.

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 15 outings, Nedeljkovic has a 8-4-2 record with one shutout along with a 2.50 goals against average and a 0.920 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 9-11-2-1 (0.457) 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 11-0-2-2 (0.867) 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—18 assists are tied for fourth among rookie defensemen, 22 points rank fifth among rookie defensemen
Taro Hirose—14 power-play assists are tied for 11th
Joel L’Esperance—Eight power-play goals are tied for 10th, 149 shots rank sixth

Milestones
Simon Edvinsson recorded four points (1-3—4) on Feb. 15 and eclipsed 50 points as a pro. Albert Johansson notched his 50th assist as a pro on Feb. 15 against Rockford and Tyler Spezia skated in his 250th game as a pro.
Adam Erne—One assist from 50 in the AHL, four assists from 100 as a pro
Steven Kampfer—Two assists from 150 as a pro
Joel L’Esperance—One goal from 100 as a pro
Alex Nedeljkovic—Three 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

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins