This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Fri., Jan. 10 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Sat., Jan. 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena  

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 2-0-0-0 Overall, 2-0-0-0 Home. Third and fourth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 77-44-1-1-10 Overall, 42-19-1-1-7 Home 

NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets  

Noteworthy: The Moose rank second-to-last in the AHL with 2.24 goals scored per game and third-to-last with 3.79 goals against per game. With an 8-19-1-1 record and 18 points entering the week, Manitoba ranks last in the Central Division and tied for last in the AHL. 

Top Dawg: Since returning from the holiday break, the Griffins are 3-1-0-0 with a plus-eight scoring margin and have averaged just one goal against in each contest. On Jan. 2, the Griffins claimed a 1-0 shootout victory over Cleveland behind 31 saves by Ville Husso. This marked the Griffins’ second 1-0 shootout victory on the road in franchise history and the first in more than a quarter-century (April 18, 1999). Grand Rapids remains in first place in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference, and fifth in the AHL with a 20-10-3-0 record and 43 points through 33 games. Grand Rapids has fared well against its division rivals with a 12-8-2-0 mark and has remained the top team in the division since Nov. 8. 

Home Sweet Home: Last Saturday, the Griffins finished a stretch of games that saw them play nine of 12 contests on the road from Dec. 7-Jan. 4 and showed a 6-4-2-0 record. Grand Rapids now enters a season-high five-game homestand and will play eight of its next 10 games inside Van Andel Arena. The Griffins are 9-4-1-0 at home this season but have won just one of their last four home outings (1-2-1-0). Under head coach Dan Watson, Grand Rapids is 32-11-5-2 (.710) inside Van Andel Arena with an average of 2.28 goals against per game and 3.06 goals scored per outing. 

Shine Bright: Veteran Dominik Shine is tied for first on the roster in points (10-15—25) and third in assists (15) and goals (10) in 33 games. Shine collected his sixth multi-point game of the season on Dec. 7 at Chicago (0-2—2), which tied for his career-high mark set in 2021-22, and now has six points (4-2—6) in his last eight contests. Last year, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (23), points (33) and plus-minus rating (+8) and is on pace to reach 55 points (22-33—55) this season. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 163 points (71-92—163) and 511 penalty minutes in 455 appearances. In the Griffins’ all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, sixth in penalty minutes, tied for 10th in overtime goals (2), and tied for first in unassisted goals (10). 

Rollercoaster Ride: The Griffins ranked 29th in the AHL through the first 10 games with 2.20 goals per contest before showing 4.10 goals per game from Nov. 7-Dec. 1 and going 8-2-0-0 during the run. The Griffins then averaged just 2.33 goals per game from Dec. 6-22 and went 3-4-2-0 in those contests. Grand Rapids has now potted 12 goals across four games since Dec. 28 with a 3-1-0-0 record. The Griffins rank 21st on the circuit with 2.91 goals per outing, while ranking second in goals against per game (2.45). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 16-0-0-0 compared to 4-10-3-0 when scoring fewer than three goals.

Austin Powers: Veteran Austin Watson enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak from Dec. 1-8 (2-2—4) and has secured a point in 11 of the past 16 games (7-7—14). Watson is tied for first on the roster with 25 points (9-16—25) in 31 games and tied for the team lead in assists (16) and power-play goals (4). The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native has spent the majority of his career in the NHL, showing 118 points (60-58—118) in 518 appearances. At the AHL level, Watson possesses 157 points (82-75—157) in 265 outings, as he had spent his entire AHL career with Milwaukee before this season.

Lock it Down: Despite allowing 2.92 goals per game in the month of December, the Griffins remain one of the top defensive teams in the AHL, as they place second with 2.45 goals against per game and have allowed on average just one goal in their past four games. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 37 goals in its last 17 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.18 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 54 goals in their last 21 regular-season road games (2.57 GA per game).

Battle for Power: The Griffins have converted on three of their last 13 power-play opportunities (23.1%) during their last five games. Grand Rapids had its best run when it scored a power-play goal in five straight games from Nov. 24-Dec. 6 (5-for-15, 33.3%). The power play is tied for 13th on the circuit at 17.5% (20-for-114). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 8-for-41 (19.5%, 15th) and its road power play is 12-for-73 (16.4%, T18th). The Griffins have also given up five short-handed goals, which is tied for the sixth-most. The Griffins’ penalty kill has gone 16-for-19 (84.2%) in their last five games and, overall, ranks fourth in the AHL at 86.7%. Grand Rapids scored its fifth short-handed tally last Saturday at Milwaukee, which is tied for fourth on the circuit. Grand Rapids has surrendered a power-play goal in eight of its last 13 outings (39-for-48 on PK, 81.3%). When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 11-4-2-0 and 5-7-1-0 when they allow a power-play goal.

Holy Goalies: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, has been the go-to netminder for the Griffins this season, as he has a 10-6-3 mark with a 2.30 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 19 games. Cossa ranks among the AHL leaders in minutes played (1,120:42, 7th), games played (T8th), GAA (11th) wins (T7th), and save percentage (T9th). The 22-year-old collected his first NHL victory during his debut on Dec. 9 at the Buffalo Sabres with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and two stops in the shootout. Cossa became the first netminder in NHL history to win his debut via a shootout in a relief effort. Veteran Jack Campbell made his Griffins debut on Dec. 6 against the Chicago Wolves and later bagged his first win as a Griffin on Dec. 17 at Texas behind 20 saves in a 4-2 decision. Through four games with Grand Rapids, Campbell is 2-2-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Campbell has 442 pro games under his belt with a 2.67 GAA and 231 wins since 2011-12, splitting time between the NHL (176 GP), AHL (239 GP) and ECHL (27 GP). Ville Husso has a 6-1-0 ledger with two shutouts to go along with a 1.86 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in eight appearances with the Griffins this season. Through nine career games with Grand Rapids, Husso has a 7-1-0 record with three shutouts, a 1.64 goals-against average, and a .942 save percentage. Husso has seen action in 418 pro games with a 172-122-58 ledger and a 2.69 goals-against average, which includes a 57-55-20 mark in the AHL with a 2.63 goals-against average. 

The Watson Supercomputer: Dan Watson has been named the coach for the Central Division in the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, to be held Feb. 2-3 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California. The Griffins clinched the top spot in the division through the end of play on Dec. 31 with an 18-9-3-0 record and 39 points, meriting Watson’s selection. The Griffins have gone 12-8-2-0 against their division rivals this season and have remained the top team since Nov. 8. Watson became the first Griffins coach to achieve the honor since Todd Nelson in 2017 and the fourth head coach in franchise history to coach in an all-star game, joining Nelson, Jeff Blashill (2014), and Bruce Cassidy (2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). This will mark Watson’s third all-star appearance, as he was chosen to coach in the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2017 and 2022 with the Toledo Walleye. Rosters for each division will be released at a later date. 

Pucks On Net: The Griffins have outshot their opponent nine times in the first 33 contests. Grand Rapids has held a shot advantage in its last two games, a feat its only done three times this season (Dec. 7-8; Nov. 24-29). The Griffins average 25.3 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots six times and has exceeded 30 shots eight times. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents average 28.8 shots per game (15th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots 15 times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 292-239 compared to being outshot 315-295 in the second and 321-284 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 12-5-2-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and an 11-5-2-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—Tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in assists (10), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+6)
Sebastian Cossa—Seventh in minutes played (1,120:42), tied for eighth in games played (19), 11th in GAA (2.30), tied for seventh in wins (10), and tied for ninth in save percentage (.918)
Nate Danielson—Tied for second in short-handed assists (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed assists (2), tied for third among rookies in assists (16), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play assists (6)
Josiah Didier—Tied for 13th among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+11)
Alex Doucet—Tied for fourth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
x William Lagesson—Tied for 10th in plus-minus rating (+13), tied for eighth among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+13)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for fourth in game-winners (4)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (8) 

Milestones:
Alex Doucet earned his 50th point as a pro on New Year’s Eve with a two-point night (1-1—2) against Cleveland.
Sheldon Dries—Three assists from 100 in the AHL, two points from 250 as a pro 
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming the franchise record of 11 in a career
Joe Snively—Four points from 200 in the AHL
Elmer Soderblom—Two assists from 50 as a pro, two points from 50 as a Griffin and in the AHL 
Antti Tuomisto—One game from 150 as a pro 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins