Griffins Game #34 * Home Game #18 * AHL Game #544

Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 42-20-4-2 All-Time Home Series: 21-8-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 21-12-1-0

Wild at Griffins
Fifth of 10 meetings overall, third of five at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins are 18-16-4-0 overall since the 2017-18 seasons against the Wild but have been outscored by Iowa 126-115...Grand Rapids is 10-5-3-1 at home against Iowa since the 2017-18 season with a plus-one scoring margin (56-55)...The Griffins have points in nine of the last 11 meetings at the Van (7-2-2-0) against Iowa...The Griffins have points in nine of the last 14 overall meetings (8-5-1-0) against the Wild...The Wild are 10-5-1-0 on the road this season while Grand Rapids is 7-8-1-1 in West Michigan...Iowa is 5-5-0-0 in its last 10 outings and the Griffins are 3-6-0-1 in their last 10...The last time the Griffins had a losing record against Iowa in West Michigan was in 2018-19 (0-1-1-1)...2017 Calder Cup champion with the Griffins, Joe Hicketts (2016-21) is in his final year of a two-year contract with the Minnesota Wild...Former Griffin Patrick Curry (2020-22) signed with the Iowa Wild this past offseason...Wild forward Mitchell Chaffee grew up 20 minutes north of Grand Rapids in Rockford, Mich., and played a season of youth hockey with the Michigan Nationals 18U AAA team located in Bryon Center, Mich., which is 10 miles south of Grand Rapids.

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild put an end to the Griffins’ three-game point streak with a 5-2 win on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins led the Wild in the shot column with a 34-24 advantage despite the loss. Chase Pearson knotted the game at two a piece with his first goal of the 2022-23 campaign (1-8–9). In his first game since Dec. 31, 2022, Kyle Criscuolo lit the lamp for the fifth time this season with a crafty goal in the second stanza. Criscuolo has been scratched the last three games due to the AHL’s development rule. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic recorded his fourth assist of his AHL career in the contest, his first point since Jan. 19, 2020.

Roster Shake Up
- Dec. 28—F Jakub Vrana assigned by Detroit on a conditioning loan
- Dec. 29—F Cedric Lacroix assigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids
- Jan. 4—G Alex Nedeljkovic assigned by Detroit on a conditioning loan; F Jakub Vrana assigned by Detroit
- Jan. 8—F Elmer Soderblom reassigned by Detroit
- Jan. 10—F Kirill Tyutyayev reassigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids

This Date in Griffins History
2001: Derek King improves his team-record point streak to 17 games, the longest in the IHL since 1996-97, in a 4-2 loss to Chicago.

Better Things to Come
Following a Calder Cup title in 2017, the Griffins stood at 10-15-1-3 (24 pts.) through 29 games in the 2017-18 season. That 2017-18 team ended the season on a 42-25-2-7 run and finished second in the Central Division, reaching the playoffs for the sixth consecutive campaign. This season through 29 outings, Grand Rapids sat at 11-17-1-0 (23 pts.). The team rattled off a three-game point streak (2-0-0-1) to begin 2023, an identical start the 2017-18 team had in games 30, 31 and 32 of their respective season that catapulted them into the postseason.

Alexander the Great
Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic has been a welcomed addition to the Griffins roster, as the goaltender enters his second and final week of his conditioning loan from the Detroit Red Wings. Through four outings, Nedeljkovic has a 2-1-1 record along with a 2.45 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage. His save percentage ranks sixth all time among goaltenders on a conditioning loan with the Griffins. 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. The only other season in Grand Rapids history during which two NHL goalies (Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg) played for the Griffins on conditioning stints was 2005-06, when both Chris Osgood (3 GP, 2-1, 3.34 GAA, 0.882%) and Manny Legace (1 GP, 1-0, 2.00 GAA, 0.909%) donned the Griffins’ wings instead of Detroit’s.

Nothing Like Some Home Cooking
The Griffins are in the midst of a season-high seven-game homestand that began on Dec. 31 and will conclude on Jan. 14. Grand Rapids is currently 2-2-0-1 during the run with two games yet to play this week. The Griffins are 7-8-1-1 on home ice while they are 6-10-0-0 away from West Michigan.

The Last Czar
Veteran forward Austin Czarnik has been a major boost to the Griffins lineup, totaling 22 points (9-13—22) in just 20 games. Czarnik has at least one point in 13 of the 20 contests and at least two points in five outings. Czarnik added to his point total this past week, collecting three points (2-1—3) in as many games. He has also spent a decent amount of time with the Detroit Red Wings, amassing three points (2-1—3) in 12 appearances. The Washington Township, Mich., native was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week on Oct. 17 when he registered five points (3-2—5) in two games and became the first Griffins forward to win the award since Matt Lorito on Nov. 20, 2016.

Bobbing for Apples
Taro 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 22 helpers in 33 games, which is tied for 13th on the circuit. In addition, his 13 power-play assists are tied for sixth in the AHL. Hirose has points in 21 of the 33 contests this season (9-22—31).

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 7-0-1-1 (0.889) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-1-0 (0.900) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 6-18-0-0 (0.250) 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.

Power Struggle
After beginning the season with a 29.3% power-play conversion rate in the first nine games of the year, the Griffins have struggled as of late. Grand Rapids is 5-for-40 (12.5%) on the man-advantage in its last 12 outings and have just eight power-play goals in its last 17 contests (8-for-68, 11.8%). The Griffins are tied for 19th in the AHL on the power play with a conversion rate of 18.9%.

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 2.85 goals this season while conceding 3.94. Sixteen of its 33 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with 10 of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins place third-to-last on the circuit with 130 goals against while their 94 goals for are tied for 27th in the AHL.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for seventh among rookies
Austin Czarnik—Four game-winning goals are tied for fourth
Taro Hirose—22 assists are tied for 13th, 13 power-play assists are tied for sixth
Joel L’Esperance—Eight power-play goals are tied for third

Milestones
Austin Czarnik appeared in his 400th pro game on Jan. 7 against the Texas Stars. Steven Kampfer bagged his 100th AHL assist in his 300th AHL game on Jan. 4 against Cleveland.
Alex Chiasson—Two points from 50 in the AHL
Joel L’Esperance—Two goals from 100 as a pro, one game from 250 as a pro
Wyatt Newpower—One game from 100 as a pro
Danny O’Regan—Two games from 400 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One assist from 50 as a pro, as a Griffins and in the AHL
Tyler Spezia—Two goals from 50 as a pro
Jakub Vrana—Two goals from 150 as a pro, two assists from 150 as a pro, three games from 500 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins