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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

First-Place Griffins Enter Three-Game Week

December 30, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro (right) vs. the Cleveland Monsters
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro (right) vs. the Cleveland Monsters
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Mark Newman)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS vs. Cleveland Monsters // Tue., Dec. 31 // 6 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS at Cleveland Monsters // Thu., Jan. 2 // 7 p.m. // Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, and 6:45 p.m. on Thursday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Away, 1-0-0-0 Home. Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena, third of four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

All-Time Series: 75-40-9-13 Overall, 32-22-5-10 Away, 43-18-4-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: The Griffins are in a stretch of games that will see them play Cleveland three straight times, which began last Saturday in a 5-1 win at the Monsters.

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Sat., Jan. 4 // 7 p.m. EST // Panther Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Away. Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Panther Arena

All-Time Series: 116-84-7-9-8 Overall, 53-44-5-6-5 Away

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Milwaukee's Vinnie Hinostroza ranks first in the AHL in points (11-22-33) and assists (22) in 26 games. In net, the Admirals' Matthew Murray ranks sixth with a 2.04 goals-against average and third with a .935 save percentage in 14 outings.

Well Rested: The AHL's Holiday Break came at a good time for the Griffins, as they entered the break on a season-high three-game winless streak (0-1-2-0) and had dropped five of their last seven outings (2-3-2-0). In their first game back, the Griffins claimed a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Monsters. Grand Rapids remains in first place in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference, and tied for fourth in the AHL with an 18-9-3-0 record and 39 points through 30 games. When Dec. 30 dawned last season, the Griffins stood fourth place in the division with an 11-13-3-1 record. Grand Rapids has faired well against its division rivals with a 12-7-2-0 mark and has remained the top team in the division since Nov. 8.

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 have 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 12-7-2-0 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.

No Ordinary Joe: Joe Snively logged his third-career AHL hat trick last Saturday at the Cleveland Monsters, and now has eight points in his last seven games (5-3-8). Snively ranks first on the roster in points (13-11-24) and goals (13) through 30 appearances. His goal count is also tied for 10th in the AHL. The Herndon, Virginia, native has won the last two Calder Cups with the Hershey 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, secured his first three-point night (0-3-3) as a pro last Saturday at the Cleveland Monsters. Danielson ranks first on the roster with 16 assists, which is also tied for second among first-year players in the AHL. The 20-year-old made his pro debut with Grand Rapids on May 20 at Milwaukee during the Calder Cup Playoffs last year and finished the postseason with two appearances. Prior to turning pro, Danielson spent four campaigns in the WHL from 2020-24 and amassed 217 points (83-134-217) in 199 regular-season games.

Shine Bright: Veteran Dominik Shine is tied for second on the roster in points (8-15-23) and second in assists (15) in 30 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 four points (2-2-4) in his last five 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 (19-36-55) this season. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 161 points (69-92-161) and 509 penalty minutes in 452 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 third in unassisted goals (9).

Rollercoaster Ride: 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. Grand Rapids then averaged 4.10 goals per game from Nov. 7-Dec. 1 and went 8-2-0-0 during the run. However, the Griffins have struggled to find the back of the net as of late, with 2.60 goals per game in their last 10 outings since Dec. 6 and have gone 4-4-2-0 in those contests. The Griffins rank 19th on the circuit with 2.97 goals per outing, while tying for fourth in goals against per game (2.60). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 15-0-0-0 compared to 3-9-3-0 when scoring fewer than three goals.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

Shai Buium-Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (10), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in points (10), tied for sixth among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+6), tied for 11th among rookies in plus-minus rating (+6)

Sebastian Cossa-Fifth in minutes played (1,063:16), tied for fifth in games played (18), 10th in GAA (2.31), tied for fifth in wins (10), and ninth in save percentage (.919)

Nate Danielson-Tied for second in short-handed assists (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among rookies in assists (16), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play assists (6)

Alex Doucet-Tied for third in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)

Amadeus Lombardi-Tied for third in game-winners (4)

Joe Snively-Tied for 10th in goals (13)

Austin Watson-First in major penalties (7)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics




Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro (right) vs. the Cleveland Monsters
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro (right) vs. the Cleveland Monsters
(Mark Newman)		   

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