This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Wed., Dec. 28 // 8 p.m. EST // BMO Center

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

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Away. Third of eight meetings overall, second of four at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 58-40-9-11 Overall, 22-27-4-6 Away

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins have scored just two goals in their previous two meeting against the IceHogs this season, having been outscored 9-2.

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Fri., Dec. 30 // 7 p.m. EST // Panther Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Milwaukee Admirals // Sat., Dec. 31 // 6 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. EST on Friday, 96.1 The Game at 6 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV (FREE) on Friday, WXSP-TV and AHLTV on Saturday

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

All-Time Series: 108-74-7-8-8 Overall, 50-39-5-5-5 Away, 58-35-2-3-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Milwaukee’s rookie goaltender Yaroslav Askarov was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. Askarov made his AHL debut on Oct. 19 against the Griffins, falling 3-2.

Promotion: 25th Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Captain Morgan on Saturday

Last Week’s Results
Thu., Dec. 22 // GRIFFINS 8 at Chicago 7 (OT) // 11-14-1-0 (23 pts., 0.442, 6th Central)

Last Week’s Notes
Thursday at Chicago (8-7 OTW) - After trailing by four goals entering the second frame, the Griffins completed a stunning comeback to defeat the Wolves in an 8-7 overtime thriller at Allstate Arena. Seven goals were the second-most allowed by the Griffins in a win, trailing only a 10-8 victory over Chicago on Nov. 27, 2010. In his return to Grand Rapids after a stint with the Detroit Red Wings, Austin Czarnik tallied four points (1-3–4) as well as the overtime winner. Steven Kampfer (0-4–4) also recorded a four-point night followed by Danny O’Regan with three points (2-1—3) in his Griffins debut. Kampfer’s four assists were the most from a Griffins skater this season. The Griffins improved to 4-0-1-0 in overtime games this campaign and 7-0-1-0 in contests decided by one goal. Recap | Highlights

Welcome to the Team: On Monday Dec. 19, the Detroit Red Wings traded forward Givani Smith to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Michael Del Zotto. The Red Wings subsequently traded Del Zotto to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Danny O’Regan, whom they assigned to Grand Rapids. During his Griffins debut on Dec. 22, O’Regan bagged three points (2-1—3) in an 8-7 overtime victory at Chicago. O’Regan came to Grand Rapids with 18 points (3-15—18) in 27 games with the San Diego Gulls. Throughout 362 AHL games, the Berlin, Germany, native has 276 points (101-175—276) and 124 penalty minutes. The 28-year-old was named the AHL Rookie of the Year in 2016-17 when he amassed 58 points (23-25—58) in 63 games with the San Jose Barracuda. O’Regan was selected with the 138th overall pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Welcomed Offensive Production: Wednesday Dec. 7, veteran Alex Chiasson made his Griffins debut against the Iowa Wild, collecting two helpers. Chiasson followed that performance with another two points (1-1—2) on Friday at Springfield. Through five games, the 10-year pro has seven points (4-3—7) and a plus-two rating. Chiasson has secured two points in three of the five contests. Through parts of 10 seasons in the NHL, Chiasson has 224 points (114-110—224) and 353 penalty minutes in 631 games. The Griffins signed the Montreal, Quebec, native to a professional tryout on Nov. 26.

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 7-0-1-0 (0.938) in games decided by one goal and 4-0-1-0 (0.900) in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins are just 4-14-0-0 (0.286) 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.

The Last Czar: Veteran forward Austin Czarnik has been a major boost to the Griffins lineup, totaling 18 points (7-11—18) in just 13 games. Czarnik has at least one point in 10 of the 13 contests and at least two points in four outings. 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.

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 3-for-19 on the man-advantage in its last five outings and have just six power-play goals in its last 10 contests (6-for-47, 12.8%). However, the Griffins did score three power-play tallies in their last game at Chicago (3-for-5, 60%). The Griffins place 13th in the AHL on the power play with a conversion rate of 20.5%.

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 3.08 goals this season while conceding 4.15. Fifteen of its 26 games so far have had seven or more total goals scored, with 10 of those contests having eight or more tallies. The Griffins are tied for 28th on the circuit with 108 goals against while their 80 goals for place 21st in the AHL.

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 20 helpers in 26 games, which is tied for ninth on the circuit. In addition, his 12 power-play assists are tied for seventh in the AHL. Hirose collected his first pro hat trick on Nov. 18 at San Diego, which concluded his career-high four-point (3-1—4) night. Hirose has points in 17 of the 26 contests this season (7-20—27).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Pontus Andreasson—Four power-play goals are tied for fifth among rookies
Austin Czarnik—Three game-winning goals are tied for third
Taro Hirose—20 assists are tied for ninth, 12 power-play assists are tied for seventh
Joel L’Esperance—Seven power-play goals are tied for fifth

Milestones:
Steven Kampfer bagged his 200th pro points on Dec. 22 at Chicago while Danny O’Regan joined him with his 100th AHL goal. Pontus Andreasson also skated in his 250th pro game on Dec. 22.
Simon Edvinsson—Three games from 100 as a pro
Taro Hirose—One game from 150 as a Griffin and in the AHL
Steven Kampfer—One assist from 100 in the AHL
Joel L’Esperance—Four goals from 100 as a pro
Dominik Shine—Two assists from 50 as a pro, as a Griffins and in the AHL
Ben Simon—One game from 400 as a pro head coach

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins