This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Fri., Nov. 22 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Sun., Nov. 24 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 3:45 p.m. on Sunday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Second and third of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 51-24-5-3 Overall, 25-10-4-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: Dating back to the start of last season, the Griffins have won eight of the last nine meetings against the Wild with a plus-14 scoring margin.     

Hot Start: With an 11-3-1-0 record, the Griffins have tied their second-best start in franchise history through 15 games, matching an 11-3-0-1 start in 2005-06 and nearly equaling an 11-2-2 start in 2000-01. In 29 seasons, this was the fourth Griffins team to win at least 10 of its first 14 games, and the first since 2009-10. The Griffins have won with defense, as they have allowed two goals or less in 10 of the 15 contests and have scored an average of 3.00 goals per game (T19th). 

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense: The Griffins rank first in the AHL with just 2.00 goals allowed per game, as the 30 goals surrendered are the second-fewest in franchise history over the first 15 games of a season (29 in 2004-05). For comparison, Grand Rapids ceded 51 goals in the opening 15 games last year and 63 in 2022-23. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 11 goals in its last nine regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (1.22 GA per game). 

One, Two Punch: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, is off to a strong start through the opening 11 games of his season, showing a 7-3-1 mark with one shutout, a 1.89 goals-against average, and a .937 save percentage. The 21-year-old ranks among the league leaders in minutes played (633:54, 3rd), shutouts (T5th), GAA (5th), wins (3rd), and save percentage (T4th). Ville Husso has also gotten off to a fast start with the Griffins, as he has a 3-0-0 ledger with one shutout to go along with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage in four appearances. Through five career games with Grand Rapids, Husso has a 4-0-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.13 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage. 

No Ordinary Joe: Newcomer Joe Snively is on a team-high three-game goal streak and has five points (4-1—5) in his last five outings. Snively is tied for second on the roster in both points (5-6—11) and goals (5) through 15 appearances. The Herndon, Virginia, native joined the Griffins after a historic run with the Hershey Bears the last two seasons. Snively won the last two Calder Cups with the Bears and showed a combined 33 points (6-27—33) in 40 games during the postseason with a 28-12 record in the past two playoffs. Snively also aided Hershey to a regular-season title last year with a 53-14-0-5 mark (111 pts., .771), the second-best regular-season record in AHL history and the most wins by an AHL team in a 72-game season. The 28-year-old is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, as only 11 players in league history have won three consecutive cups in the AHL and no one has achieved this feat since the 1978 season.   

Damn Daniel, Back At It Again: Rookie Nate Danielson, selected ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, had just two points (1-1—2) in his first eight games as a pro. However, he has found his footing and now has four points (1-3—4) in his last three contests and six points (1-5—6) in his last seven outings. The 20-year-old made his pro debut with Grand Rapids on May 20 at Milwaukee during the Calder Cup Playoffs and finished the postseason with two appearances. Prior to turning pro, Danielson spent four campaigns in the WHL and amassed 217 points (83-134—217) in 199 regular-season games.   

Alexander The Great: Alex Doucet is on a career-high three-game point streak (2-2—4) and has five points (3-2—5) in his last five contests. The rookie had just one point in the first eight games of the campaign, securing his first AHL assist on Oct. 25 at Springfield. He later bagged his first AHL goal on Nov. 7 at Iowa and his two short-handed goals on the year are tied for first among rookies and tied for second among all skaters. Last season, the 22-year-old showed 41 points (19-22—41) in 52 regular-season games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye in addition to suiting up for six games with Grand Rapids. 

Criss-Cross Applesauce: Third-year pro Cross Hanas has scored three goals and four points (3-1—4) in his last five games. Hanas enjoyed a three-game point streak (2-1—3) from Oct. 25-27 and scored goals in back-to-back outings from Oct. 26-27 for the first time since Nov. 11-12, 2022. An injury-riddled first year limited the forward to just 17 points (9-8—17) in 30 games in 2022-23, and then the 22-year-old struggled in his second year last season with 16 points (8-8—16) in 58 appearances. Through 15 outings this campaign, Hanas has seven points (5-2—7), 10 penalty minutes and a plus-three rating. Hanas was selected with the 55th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Shoot Your Shot: Last Friday against Chicago, the Griffins outshot their opponent for the first time in the opening 14 games of the season. The Griffins have averaged 24.0 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots three times and has exceeded 30 shots just twice. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents have averaged 30.5 shots per game (T19th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots five times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 149-98 compared to being outshot 156-134 in the second and 149-124 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has an 8-1-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and an 8-1-1-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots.

If You Ain’t First, You’re Last: Starting the game off on the right foot has been imperative for the Griffins early this season. Grand Rapids is 9-0-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and 10-0-1-0 when either tied or leading after the first period. When the roles are reversed, the Griffins are just 2-3-0-0, and they are 0-3-0-0 when trailing after two periods.

Power Outage: The Griffins’ power play has struggled out of the gate, as it is tied for 23rd on the circuit at 15.1% (8-for-53). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 2-for-18 (11.1%, 26th) and its road power play is 6-for-35 (17.1%, 18th). However, the Griffins’ penalty kill ranks third in the AHL at 88.7% and their four short-handed goals are tied for second. Grand Rapids recorded two short-handed goals in 3:24 of game time on Nov. 7 at Iowa, which equaled the number of short-handed tallies it had in 72 games last season. The last time the Griffins had scored two short-handed goals in a game was in a 5-3 win over Ontario on Feb. 5, 2022. With three short-handed goals through the first 13 games, Grand Rapids had already exceeded its short-handed goal count from last season of two.

Shine Bright: On Nov. 13 against Rockford, Dominik Shine secured his 150th point as a Griffin with an assist, becoming just one of 14 Griffins to reach the milestone. Veteran Shine had four multi-point games this season through the first 12 games, tying his mark from last year in 65 contests (career-high 6 in 2021-22). He recently posted two assists on Nov. 8 at Rockford and now has 10 points (3-7—10) in his last 10 outings. Shine paces the squad with 13 points (4-9—13) in 15 games, while his nine assists are tied for first. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 151 points (65-86—151) and 488 penalty minutes in 437 appearances. In the Griffins’ all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, eighth in penalty minutes, tied for 10th in overtime goals (2), and tied for fourth in unassisted goals (8). Last year, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (23), points (33) and plus-minus rating (+8).

Loaded Ammo: Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi has found a rhythm offensively, as he has nine points (4-5—9) in his last 10 games. The 21-year-old logged his first two-goal game as a pro on Oct. 19 against Manitoba and later registered a career-high three points (2-1—3) on Oct. 26 at Lehigh Valley. Lombardi is tied for second on the team with 11 points (6-5—11) and his six goals rank first on the roster. Through the opening 10 games, Lombardi matched his career high with five goals, as he lit the lamp five times in 70 contests last year. The Aurora, Ontario, native has 38 points (11-27—38), 16 penalty minutes and a plus-five rating through 87 career appearances.   

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium—Tied for ninth among rookie defensemen in assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—Third in minutes played (633:54), tied for fifth in shutouts (1), fifth in GAA (1.98), third in wins (7), and tied for fourth in save percentage (.937)
Nate Danielson—Tied for first in short-handed assists (2), tied for 10th among rookies in assists (6)
Josiah Didier—Tied for ninth among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+8)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for ninth in game-winners (2)
William Lagesson—Tied for fourth in plus-minus rating (+10), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+10)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for second in game-winners (3)
Brogan Rafferty—Tied for ninth among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+8)
Austin Watson—Tied for first in major penalties (5)

Milestones:
Last Friday, captain Josiah Didier skated in his 450th game in the AHL and goaltender Sebastian Cossa appeared in his 100th pro outing. 
Tory Dello—One point from 50 in the AHL and as a pro
Alex Doucet—Three points from 50 as a pro
Antti Tuomisto—Two points from 50 as a pro 
Austin Watson—Two games from 250 in the AHL

Photo by Iowa Wild