This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Fri., Feb. 2 // 8 p.m. EST // BMO Center

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 2-2-1-0 overall, 1-1-0-0 road. Sixth of 12 meetings overall, third of six at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 63-45-10-11 Overall, 24-30-4-6 Road

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins enter the contest riding a season-high five-game win streak, while the IceHogs are on a three-game losing skid. Grand Rapids sits in third place in the Central Division, seven points ahead of Rockford.

Keep the Vibes High: The Griffins are currently on a five-game win streak from Jan. 19-27, which tied their previous season-high from Dec. 27-Jan. 6. Grand Rapids is also on a season-best six-game road winning streak from Dec. 27-Jan. 20, which is the longest run on the road since Feb. 23-March 19, 2016. The Griffins have secured at least a point in 13 of their last 16 contests (11-3-2-0) and are now just two points out of second place in the Central Division. A win on Friday at Rockford would tie the franchise record of seven consecutive road wins, set twice before (Jan. 29-Feb. 28, 2015 and Oct. 16-Dec. 3, 2004). The Griffins are 10-2-1-0 since Christmas, marking the first time the team has won 10 out of 13 games since an 11-of-14 run from Nov. 3-Dec. 5, 2018 (11-2-0-1). Grand Rapids now has a pair of five-game winning streaks this season, the first time it had two runs of at least five games in the same season since 2015-16. Grand Rapids has points in 10 of its last 14 games (9-4-1-0) inside Van Andel Arena and has points in seven of its past eight road appearances (6-1-1-0). The Griffins have been solid at home with an 11-6-2-0 mark, outscoring their opponents 58-43. Grand Rapids has started to find a rhythm on the road, earning six straight victories, and holds an 8-9-2-1 record away from home and is being outscored 71-60. The Griffins are currently in a stretch of 12 home games in 15 contests that began on Jan. 24 and goes on until March 2.

Good Things Come in Threes: The Griffins mounted three straight, third-period comebacks from Jan. 19-24 and have four third-period comebacks in their last five outings. From Jan. 19-20 at Manitoba, the Griffins swept the Moose after trailing by three goals each game, while Grand Rapids staged another comeback last Wednesday versus Rockford by scoring three goals in the final frame. The Griffins then rallied from a one-goal deficit yet again last Saturday and registered three goals in the final frame to take a 6-4 victory over Belleville. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 53-33 in the third period this season, including a 15-0 margin in their last five games. Grand Rapids has also outshot their opponents 365-351 in the third.

Johnny Bravo: Jonatan Berggren posted back-to-back three-point nights last weekend and is on a season-high six-game point streak (5-5—10) from Jan. 13-27. Berggren also has 16 points (6-10—16) in his last 11 outings and 19 points (8-11—19) in his last 14 games from Dec. 15-Jan. 27. The 23-year-old leads the roster in points (13-21—34), assists (21) and goals (13) through 30 games this season. The Enkoping, Sweden, product became the seventh-fastest player to reach 100 points as a Griffin, doing so in just his 106th game on Jan. 26 against Belleville. Berggren has a combined 105 points (38-67—105) in 107 career AHL appearances from 2021-24, collecting an assist during his 100th game as a Griffin on Jan. 10 against Milwaukee. During his rookie season with the Griffins in 2021-22, Berggren broke Grand Rapids’ rookie single-season scoring record with 64 points (21-43—64) in 70 games, five more points than the previous record held by Teemu Pulkkinen (2013-14). The prospect has appeared in 76 games with the Red Wings throughout two seasons and has 33 points (17-16—33), including five points (2-3—5) in nine contests this campaign. Berggren was selected to participate in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU alongside fellow country man Simon Edvinsson.

Ville Good: With a 25-save shutout against Belleville on Jan. 26, Ville Husso became just the third goalie (Jimmy Howard in 2016-17; Alex Nedeljkovic in 2022-23) to earn a shutout during a conditioning stint with the Griffins and the first of those to do it in his Grand Rapids debut. Husso was the ninth goaltender to appear for the Griffins during a conditioning stint, joining Nedeljkovic (2022-23), Magnus Hellberg (2022-23), Jimmy Howard (2019-20; 2016-17), Jonas Gustavsson (2014-15; 2012-13), Manny Legace (2005-06), Chris Osgood (2005-06) and Curtis Joseph (2003-04). Husso competed in just one game during his conditioning stint and was recalled by Detroit on Jan. 27.

One-Two Punch: Goaltenders Sebastian Cossa and Michael Hutchinson have combined for points in 10 out of their last 12 contests (9-2-1) and have allowed an average of 2.33 goals per game during the run. Cossa is on a three-game win streak from Jan. 19-27 and has now won five of his last six contests, while going 6-2-1 in his last nine outings. Hutchinson tied a team-best three straight wins from Dec. 29-Jan. 6 and has points in five of his last seven appearances (4-1-1). Through 20 games, Hutchinson shows a 9-8-2 record with one shutout to go along with a 2.89 GAA and a .895 save percentage. Cossa has suited up for 19 outings this season and has a 9-7-3 ledger with a 2.75 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Cossa ranks sixth among rookies in goals against average and tied for fifth in save percentage. Combined, the netminding duo has a 2.82 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

The Last Czar: Austin Czarnik is on a season-high six-game point streak from Jan. 13-27 (3-5—8). Since returning to the Griffins from Detroit on Dec. 30, Czarnik has accumulated 13 points (3-10—13) in 11 games. The 31-year-old has made the most of his time in Grand Rapids, showing 20 points (6-14—20) in 20 appearances. Czarnik posted three assists on Dec. 31 against the Cleveland Monsters and logged five assists in three games from Dec. 9-Jan. 5. The Washington Township, Michigan, native signed a two-year deal with the Red Wings on July 7, 2022 and has since gone on to register 57 points (20-37—57) in 63 career games with the Griffins. Czarnik has 282 points (101-181—282) in 290 AHL games from 2014-18 and 2019-24, scoring his 100th AHL goal on Jan. 24 against Rockford. He has also suited up for 18 games with Detroit this season and has one assist, six penalty minutes and a minus-three rating. In total, Czarnik has 51 points (18-33—51) in 189 career NHL outings.

Oh, It’s You Again: The Griffins rank third in the Central Division with a 19-15-4-1 record and 43 points, seven points ahead of third place Rockford and just two points behind second place Texas. In the final 33 games of the regular season, Grand Rapids will compete against the Central Division 28 times, with its only games outside of the division coming against Cleveland (5). The Griffins have done well against their division rivals, as they are 13-9-2-0 (.583) with a plus-10 scoring margin against the Central Division. Grand Rapids is undefeated this season against Chicago (3-0-0-0) and Iowa (2-0-0-0), while it has collected just one win against Texas (1-4-1-0). Rockford will be the Griffins’ most frequent opponent down the stretch, as there are still six meetings between the two teams. Grand Rapids will also see a lot of Iowa (6) and Chicago (5) as the season progresses.

On The Come Up: The Griffins’ power play has been a strong unit this season, as it ranks eighth in the AHL with an overall conversion rate of 20.8%, while the road power play is tied for second at 24.2%. Grand Rapids has scored on the power play in nine of its last 13 games (11-for-42, 26.2%). Carter Mazur leads the team with five power-play goals, while Jonatan Berggren paces the squad with nine power-play assists. After allowing a power-play goal in a season-high five straight games from Dec. 19-31 (7-for-17, 41.2%), the Griffins have allowed just three power-play tallies in their last 10 outings (31-for-34, 91.2%). However, Grand Rapids still ranks 26^th in the AHL with a penalty kill rate of 78.7%. At home, the Griffins’ penalty kill ranks 10th in the league at 84.1%, while the road penalty kill ranks 32nd on the circuit at 74.0%.

Under Three is Key: Unsurprisingly, the Griffins have done well in games where they have scored four or more goals, going 15-1-1-0 (.912). Although, when scoring three goals or less the team is just 4-14-3-1 (.273). Grand Rapids has surpassed the four-goal mark in nine of its last 16 outings. On the flip side, Grand Rapids is just 5-12-4-1 (.341) when allowing at least three goals, compared to a 14-3-0-0 mark (.824) when allowing two goals or less. In their last 17 appearances, the Griffins have allowed three or more goals eight times and allowed just one goal in three straight contests from Dec. 31-Jan. 6.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Sebastian Cossa—2.75 GAA places sixth among rookie netminders, .907 save percentage is tied for fifth among rookie goaltenders
Simon Edvinsson—Six goals are tied for 13th among defensemen, two power-play goals are tied for 11th among defensemen, two game-winners are tied for fifth among defensemen
Carter Mazur—11 goals are tied for 13th among rookies, two game-winners are tied for ninth among rookies, five power-play goals are tied for seventh among rookies
Antti Tuomisto—Three goals are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen, two game-winners are tied for fifth among defensemen
William Wallinder—Three goals are tied for ninth among rookie defensemen

Milestones
On Jan. 26, Jonatan Berggren bagged his 100th point as a Griffin in just his 106th game, marking the seventh-fastest player to reach 100 points in franchise history. Tyler Spezia skated in his 300th pro game on Jan. 26 against Belleville.
Jonatan Berggren—Two points from 200 as a pro
Josiah Didier—Four penalty minutes from 500 as a pro
Simon Edvinsson—One point from 50 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Taro Hirose—Three goals from 50 as a Griffin
Nolan Stevens—Two goals from 50 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins