This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS (32-22-4-2) vs. Rockford IceHogs (25-27-5-1) // Fri., March 21 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs // Sat., March 22 // 8 p.m. // Van Andel Arena 

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey on Friday and WXSP-TV and AHLTV on FloHockey on Saturday

Season Series: 4-2-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Home. Seventh and eighth of 12 meetings overall, fourth and fifth of six at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 71-49-11-11 Overall, 42-18-6-5 Home

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins are on a four-game win streak against Rockford with a plus-10 scoring margin (16-6). This week’s games will be the second and third of three straight against the IceHogs. Grand Rapids will see Rockford six times in the remaining 12 games of the regular season.      

Getting Back Into Form: The Griffins have won three straight and have points in eight of their last 11 games (6-3-1-1) after going 3-7-1-0 in the month of February. The last time Grand Rapids won at least three in a row was Jan. 19-29 when it strung together four straight victories. The Griffins are now one point behind second-place Texas and two points back of first-place Milwaukee. In the last 11 games, Grand Rapids has averaged 3.09 goals while allowing 3.18. However, in the past three games, the Griffins have held their opponents to just 1.33 goals. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 26-2-0-1 mark (.914) when reaching at least three goals and a 6-20-4-1 (.274) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 2.97 goals per game since the start of the calendar year but is still ninth overall with 2.75 goals allowed per game this season. 

Playoff Picture: The Griffins enter the week with a magic number of six points to clinch a playoff berth. Grand Rapids is currently in third place in the division and is just one point out of second place and two points behind first. Five teams make the playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye into the Central Division semifinals. 

Home Cooking: The Griffins are on a five-game point streak at home (3-0-1-1). Grand Rapids is 15-10-2-2 inside Van Andel Arena this year with an even scoring margin (78-78). Last season, the team finished with a 23-7-4-2 mark at home with a plus-31 scoring margin (111-80), which included a franchise-record 19-game home point streak (14-0-3-2) from Jan. 13-April 5. Grand Rapids is in a stretch that will see it play seven of eight games at Van Andel Arena, running from March 12-April 4.

The Watson Supercomputer: Veteran Austin Watson is on a four-game goal streak from March 8-15, which is tied for his career high in the AHL. Watson is also on a season-high five-game point streak from March 5-15 (4-2—6). The 33-year-old has 37 points (16-21—37) in 56 appearances, which includes AHL career-high marks in plus-minus rating (+9), penalty minutes (94), power-play goals (7), and short-handed goals (2). He ranks among the team leaders in points (T2nd), assists (4th), goals (3rd), plus-minus (3rd), penalty minutes (1st), and power-play goals (T1st). Throughout 807 pro games (518 in NHL), Watson has 296 points (149-138—296) and 890 penalty minutes. 

Making History: Netminder Jan Bednar made history last Saturday at Rockford, becoming the ninth rookie goaltender in franchise history to win their debut. The 22-year-old collected 14 saves during his first AHL appearance last Saturday in a 3-1 victory over the IceHogs. Bednar has seen action in 33 games in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye this season, showing a 21-8-4 record with three shutouts to go along with a 2.33 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Below is a list of the nine rookie goalies to win their debuts with the Griffins.

The Lombardi Trophy: Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is on a career-high four-game assist streak from March 8-15 (0-5—5). Lombardi was sidelined for 28 games due to rehabbing an upper-body injury from Dec. 6-Feb. 15. Since his return, the Aurora, Ontario, native has 11 points (3-8—11) in 12 outings, which includes two career-best four-game point streaks. Through 32 appearances, Lombardi has 26 points (12-14—26) after showing 26 points (5-21—26) in 70 games as a rookie last season. The 21-year-old was selected 113th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Nate The Great: Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023, tied his season high of a four-game point streak from Feb. 14-21 and now has 10 points (5-5—10) in his last 14 games. He has had a promising rookie season with 32 points (9-23—32), 33 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 59 appearances. In addition to ranking fourth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 11th among AHL rookies in assists (23) and is tied for the league lead in short-handed assists (4). Prior to turning pro, the 20-year-old spent four seasons in the WHL with Brandon (2020-24) and Portland (2023-24), producing a combined 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 career games.   

Seabass Fishing: Netminder Sebastian Cossa is on a season-high six-game point streak (4-0-2) and has points in seven of his last eight appearances (5-1-2) from Feb. 14-March 14. Through 34 games this season, the 6-foot-7 goaltender has a 19-10-5 record with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021 by Detroit, ranks among the league leaders in games played (T5th), minutes played (2030:16, 6th), GAA (7th), wins (T7th), and save percentage (T6th). As a rookie last year, he set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak overall from Jan. 19-April 5 (13-0-6). He also tied the franchise records for the longest home point streak (9-0-4, Jan. 24-April 5) and road point streak (8-0-2, Dec. 27-April 17). 

Winning Skills: The Griffins are 7-2 during shootouts this season, as the seven wins are tied for the league lead with Ontario (7-1). The last time Grand Rapids won at least seven games in the skills competition was back in 2006-07 (8-5), and it has not had a winning season in a shootout since 2018-19 (6-4). The Griffins are 125-129 all time during the shootout. Cross Hanas (2-for-2), Ondrej Becher (1-for-2) and Nate Danielson (3-for-6) lead the way for Grand Rapids. In net, Sebastian Cossa is 17-for-22 (77.3%) this season and 31-for-40 (77.5%) all time as a Griffin in the shootout, which ranks fifth in franchise history.

Shoot Your Shot: The Griffins have outshot their opponent in 13 of the last 17 games since Feb. 7. In the first 43 contests, Grand Rapids outshot its opponent just 12 times. Since Feb. 7, the Griffins have averaged 31.5 shots per game after showing 25.9 shots per game in the first 43 games. In the two outings last weekend against Milwaukee and Rockford, Grand Rapids held its opponents to 18 and 15 shots for an average of 16.5 shots. Rockford’s 15 shots last Saturday tied for the fewest by a Griffins opponent this season and threatened the team’s franchise record of 12 allowed (10/13/01 vs. HER and 3/31/00 at HOU). 

Lock it Down: The Griffins’ defense has allowed just 1.33 goals per game in their last three outings and 2.20 goals in their previous five contests. Grand Rapids uncharacteristically allowed 4.00 goals per game in the month of February after allowing just 2.09 goals per outing in January. The Griffins rank ninth in the AHL with 2.75 goals allowed per contest but has averaged 2.97 goals against since the start of the calendar year. At the start of February, the Griffins ranked first in the AHL with 2.43 goals allowed per game. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.31 GAA and .915 save percentage through 34 games, Jack Campbell has a 3.01 GAA and an .882 save percentage in 11 appearances, and Jan Bednar possesses a 1.00 GAA and a .933 save percentage in one game.

Power Struggle: The Griffins exploded for a season-high three power-play goals on Saturday at Rockford (3-for-6). The power play has scored in five of the last nine games (7-for-37, 18.9%) and is 9-for-49 in its last 11 outings (18.4%). However, Grand Rapids is still 10-for-80 (12.5%) on the man-advantage in its last 20 games. The power play has quickly fallen into 26th place on the circuit at 16.7% (36-for-215) after being ranked 10th at the beginning of February (18.7%). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 16-for-95 (16.8%, 25th) and its road power play is 20-for-120 (16.7%, T20th). The Griffins have given up eight short-handed goals, which is tied for the eighth most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 24-for-28 (85.7%) in its last nine games but has allowed a power-play goal in 11 of the previous 19 games (48-for-63 on PK, 76.2%) and in 17 of its last 28 outings (75-for-96 on PK, 78.1%). The Griffins have the second-fewest penalty minutes this season at 618 ahead of just Coachella Valley (617). The penalty kill ranks 13th at 82.8% after starting the month of February in seventh place at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored seven short-handed tallies, which is tied for 12th in the AHL. The Griffins are 19-5-2-2 when scoring on the power play and 12-14-2-1 when they allow a power-play goal.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—Tied for fifth among rookie defensemen in assists (20), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in points (22), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in power-play goals (2), tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (6), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in shots (65)
Sebastian Cossa—Sixth in minutes played (2,030:16), tied for fifth in games played (34), seventh in GAA (2.31), tied for seventh in wins (19), tied for sixth in save percentage (.915)
Nate Danielson—Tied for 11th among rookies in assists (23), tied for first in short-handed assists (4), first among rookies in short-handed assists (4), 14th among rookies in shots (111)
Josiah Didier—Tied for fifth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second among rookies in short-handed goals (2) 
Sheldon Dries—Tied for sixth in game-winners (6)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (10)

Milestones:
On March 8 at Chicago, William Wallinder competed in his 300th pro game and Sheldon Dries registered his 100th assist in the AHL.   
Jack Campbell—One game from 450 as a pro 
Sheldon Dries—One goal from 150 as a pro, one game from 450 as a pro
x Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming the franchise record of 11 in a career, one goal from moving into a tie for ninth place in the franchise’s all-time goals scored list (Derek King, 73) 
Austin Watson—One goal from 150 as a pro, four points from 300 as a pro

Photo by Jenna Spanola/IceHogs