This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Fri., Dec. 6 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves // Sat., Dec. 7 // 8 p.m. EST // Allstate Arena
GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves // Sun., Dec. 8 // 4 p.m. EST // Allstate Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, 7:45 p.m. EST on Saturday, and 3:45 p.m. EST on Sunday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Home, 0-1-0-0 Away. Third, fourth and fifth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena, second and third of four at Allstate Arena

All-Time Series: 102-87-2-8-5 Overall, 50-38-2-6-4 Home, 52-49-0-2-1 Away

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Griffins will play their second consecutive weekend of three games in three days. Grand Rapids is a combined 5-1-0-0 during its two previous weekends of 3-in-3s with its only loss coming against Chicago. The Griffins have never played a 3-in-3 against one single opponent but have played Chicago in three straight games from April 22-28, 2022 (0-3-0-0). 

Keep The Good Times Rolling: With a 14-5-1-0 record and 29 points through 20 games, the Griffins rank first in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference and tied for third in the AHL. This marks the first time that Grand Rapids has been atop the division in December or later since the 2018-19 season, when it held a share of first place as late as March 8. When Dec. 1 dawned last season, the Griffins were tied for fourth place with a 6-8-1-1 record. 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 12 of the 20 contests and have scored an average of 3.15 goals per game (T13th). 

He Shoots, He Scores: Through the first 10 games of the season, the Griffins scored more than two goals just three times and averaged 2.20 goals per game, which ranked 29th in the AHL as of Nov. 4. Since then, Grand Rapids has scored at least four goals in seven of the last 10 contests, averaging 4.10 goals per game. The Griffins are now tied for 13th on the circuit with 3.15 goals per outing while placing third in goals against per game (2.40). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 11-0-0-0.

Busy Bodies: The Griffins will play their second consecutive weekend of three games in three days. Grand Rapids is a combined 5-1-0-0 during its two previous weekends of 3-in-3s with its only loss coming against Chicago. With all three games coming against the Wolves this week, this will mark the first time in franchise history that the Griffins will play a 3-in-3 against one opponent. The Griffins went 3-0-0-0 in their first 3-in-3 from Oct. 25-27, defeating Springfield and Lehigh Valley (twice). This was the first time since April 5-7, 2002 that Grand Rapids went undefeated while playing three games in three days. 

Nate the Great: 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 is now on a team-high four-game point streak (1-4—5) and has nine points (2-7—9) in his last eight contests. 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.

No Ordinary Joe: Newcomer Joe Snively enjoyed team-high four-game goal streak from Nov. 13-22 and has 10 points (7-3—10) in his last 10 outings. Snively ranks second on the roster in both points (8-8—16) and goals (8) through 20 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. 

Regain Power: The Griffins’ power play struggled out of the gate but has now converted six of its last 14 opportunities on the man-advantage (42.9%) and has scored a power-play goal in four straight games. The power play ranks 16th on the circuit at 18.8% (12-for-64). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids’ home power play is 5-for-26 (19.2%, 12th) and its road power play is 7-for-38 (18.4%, T12th). The Griffins’ penalty kill is tied for first in the AHL at 90.8% and their four short-handed goals are tied for third. 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. 

Veteran Presence: Veteran Sheldon Dries (413), Dominik Shine (442), and Austin Watson (770) bring a combined 1,625 games worth of experience to the Griffins’ locker room. The trio has also produced a lot of the scoring for the team this season. Watson has three points in his last four games  (2-1—3), Shine has four in his last two (2-2—4), and Dries with three points (1-2—3) in his last two outings. With a combined 41 points, the trio is responsible for 25.6% of the total offense produced by the Griffins this year.

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 14 games of his season, showing a 9-4-1 mark with one shutout, a 2.21 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage. The 22-year-old ranks among the league leaders in minutes played (816:02, 3rd), shutouts (T5th), GAA (8th), wins (3rd), and save percentage (T7th). Ville Husso has also gotten off to a fast start with the Griffins, as he has a 4-0-0 ledger with one shutout to go along with a 1.58 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage in five appearances. Through six career games with Grand Rapids, Husso has a 5-0-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.29 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. Jack Campbell joined the goaltending room on Nov. 18 when he was assigned by the Red Wings. Campbell, the 11th overall pick by Dallas in 2010, has appeared in 438 games since 2011-12 and possesses a 229-141-47 ledger with 32 shutouts to go along with a 2.67 goals-against average. Last season, the 32-year-old showed an 18-13-1 record, a 2.63 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 33 games with the Bakersfield Condors. Husso was recalled by Detroit last Wednesday and Cossa was recalled on Monday on emergency conditions. Carter Gylander has been reassigned from Toledo to Grand Rapids by Detroit.

Give Me Some Fin: Finnish prospect defensemen Antti Tuomisto and Eemil Viro have excelled this season and it’s starting to show in the box score. Tuomisto posted a career-high three assists on Nov. 24 against the Iowa Wild and now has five points (1-4—5) in his last four outings. Viro, not known for his offensive production, logged assists in back-to-back appearances from Nov. 29-30. Viro was selected 70th overall by Detroit in 2020 while Tuomisto was the Red Wings’ 35th overall pick in 2019. 

Let’s Show Some Love to the Defense: The Griffins rank third in the AHL with just 2.40 goals allowed per game, as the 48 goals surrendered are tied for fifth in the AHL. For comparison, Grand Rapids ceded 66 goals in the opening 20 games last year and 83 in 2022-23. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 24 goals in its last 13 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (1.85 GA per game).

Shoot Your Shot: On Nov. 15 against Chicago, the Griffins outshot their opponent for the first time in the opening 14 games of the season and have now outshot their opponent just three times in the first 20 contests. The Griffins have averaged 24.0 shots per game, which ranks last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots five times and has exceeded 30 shots three times. On the flip side, the Griffins’ opponents have averaged 30.1 shots per game (20th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots seven times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 195-125 compared to being outshot 197-189 in the second and 200-161 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 9-2-1-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and a 9-3-1-0 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 11-1-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and 12-1-1-0 when either tied or leading after the first period. When the roles are reversed, the Griffins are just 3-4-0-0, and they are 1-4-0-0 when trailing after two periods. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Sebastian Cossa—Third in minutes played (816:02), tied for fifth in shutouts (1), eighth in GAA (2.21), third in wins (9), and tied for seventh in save percentage (.925)
Nate Danielson—Tied for first in short-handed assists (2), tied for eighth among rookies in assists (10), tied for 11th among rookies in points (13)
Alex Doucet—Tied for second in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
William Lagesson—Tied for 10th among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+9)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for first in game-winners (4)
Austin Watson—First in major penalties (6)

Milestones:
On Sunday, Tory Dello collected his 50th pro point with his first goal as a Griffin and last Saturday, Elmer Soderblom competed in his 100th game as a Griffin and in the AHL.  
Tory Dello—One game from 200 in the AHL and as a pro 
Alex Doucet—One point from 50 as a pro
William Lagesson—One game from 350 as a pro
Joe Snively—One point from 200 as a pro
Elmer Soderblom—Three points from 100 as a pro 
Eemil Viro—One game from 100 as a Griffin, three games from 250 as a pro
Austin Watson—Four points from 150 in the AHL

Photo by Ross Dettman/Wolves