Griffins and Wild to Caucus in Iowa this Weekend
March 24, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Brian Lashoff vs. the Iowa Wild
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Mark Newman/Griffins)
This Week's Games
GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild (4-8-2-0) // Fri., March 26 // 8 p.m. // Wells Fargo Arena
GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Sat., March 27 // 7 p.m. // Wells Fargo Arena
Watch: AHLTV
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home, 0-0-0-0 Road. First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two in Des Moines
All-Time Series: 33-14-3-2 Overall, 16-6-2-2 Home, 17-8-1-0 Road
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: Iowa ranks 28th (last) in the AHL in goals allowed (4.29 pg) and 26th in goals scored (2.57 pg).
Recent Results
Tue., March 16 // Rockford IceHogs 2 at GRIFFINS 1 OT // 6-3-2-0 (14 pts., 3rd Central Division) Recap | Highlights
Fri., March 19 // Chicago Wolves at GRIFFINS - Postponed // Rescheduled for Tue., April 13
Sat., March 20 // GRIFFINS 5 at Cleveland Monsters 2 // 7-3-2-0 (16 pts., 2nd) Recap | Highlights
Tue., March 23 // Chicago Wolves at GRIFFINS - Postponed // Rescheduled for Mon., April 16
Keep It Rollin'
The Griffins have won three consecutive road games and have earned points in all five outings in March (3-0-2-0) and nine of their last 10 contests overall (7-1-2-0). They've also grabbed points in all four home games (2-0-2-0) this season.
When Last We Met
This weekend's Friday-Saturday set at Iowa will mark Grand Rapids' first two games against the Wild during this truncated season, with Iowa set to pay a return visit to Van Andel Arena on April 16-17. The Wild proved to be the Griffins' final opponent in 2019-20, as they defeated Iowa 4-1 at home on March 11 before the AHL season was suspended and eventually canceled.
Last Time Out
Givani Smith and Chase Pearson enjoyed their first two-goal games of the campaign last Saturday to power the Griffins to a 5-2 at Cleveland, improving to 3-0 against the Monsters this season. Pat Nagle made 24 saves to earn his third series win, posting a 1.33 goals against average and a 0.947 save percentage in the three games. It marked Smith's third two-goal game of his AHL career and Pearson's second.
Let's Try This Again
The Griffins over the last week experienced their first two schedule disruptions of the season, as their home games on Friday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 23 were both postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting Chicago. The contests have been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 13 and Monday, April 20, respectively, resulting in a seven-game homestand (April 10-28) that gives the Griffins their most regular season home games ever during the month. The previous high was five in 2015.
Pack Your Suitcase
Given the recent postponements of those home games against Chicago, Grand Rapids is in the midst of playing five consecutive games on the road. By the time they return to Van Andel Arena on April 10 to host Rockford, the Griffins to that point will have played 12 of their 16 games within unfriendly confines.
Another Rung Up The Ladder
Brian Lashoff's 512 games played for the Griffins rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and rank ninth in league history among one-team players. Of the eight players ahead of him on that list, the most recent - and, coincidentally, the record-holder - last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). The next time Lashoff steps onto the ice, he'll match the 513 games that No. 8-ranked Stan Smrke played for the Rochester Americans from 1957-67.
No Chance
The Griffins' potent power play did not receive a single opportunity in Saturday's 5-2 win at Cleveland, their first such game in more than five years (a 4-1 win at Texas on March 16, 2016). Grand Rapids had received at least one power play chance in 316 consecutive regular season games. Brian Lashoff is the only current Griffin who played in that game against the Stars. Following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished sixth in the AHL's power play rankings at 20.9%, the Griffins are off to an even better start this season, currently sitting seventh in the league at 23.9% and first on the road at 33.3%. Although held scoreless in 10 opportunities over the last four games, Grand Rapids has scored at least one power play goal in seven of its 12 games thus far.
Images from this story
 Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Brian Lashoff vs. the Iowa Wild (Mark Newman/Griffins) |
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