Sports stats



Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Battle Rivals Rockford and Chicago in Three-Game Week

April 2, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Zach Aston-Reese (right) vs. the Chicago Wolves
Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Zach Aston-Reese (right) vs. the Chicago Wolves
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (32-19-8-4) vs. Chicago Wolves (22-32-4-5) // Wed., April 3 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

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

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 3-1-0-1 overall, 2-0-0-1 home. Sixth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 99-85-2-8-5 Overall, 48-38-2-6-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: None

Noteworthy: The Griffins are in search of their 100th regular-season win over their rivals from Chicago. Grand Rapids has only reached the 100-win plateau against the Milwaukee Admirals.

GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs (32-23-5-2) // Fri., April 5 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Sat., April 6 // 8 p.m. EDT // BMO Center

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 7:45 p.m. EDT on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: 5-2-2-0 overall, 1-1-2-0 home, 4-1-0-0 road. Tenth and eleventh of 12 meetings overall, fifth of six at Van Andel Arena, sixth of six at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 66-45-11-11 Overall, 39-15-7-5 Home, 27-30-4-6 Road

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins are five points ahead of the IceHogs in the Central Division standings. If the Calder Cup Playoffs were to begin today, the second-seeded Griffins would have home-ice advantage against the third-seeded IceHogs.

The Promised Land: On Wednesday, the Griffins clinched their 18th playoff berth in 28 seasons with a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins return to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2019, ending a drought that included two postseasons (2020 and 2021) that were canceled due to COVID-19. This marks the team's earliest clinching date since 2017, when the AHL's eventual Calder Cup champions secured their spot on March 26. Clinching a spot with 25 days remaining in the regular season also marked the earliest the Griffins have clinched relative to the date of their finale since 2006, when the AHL's regular-season champions locked up their berth with 34 days to play. Exactly three months prior to clinching, the sixth-place Griffins were tied for the fourth-lowest points percentage in the AHL, bringing a 9-13-3-1 record (.423) into their first game after the Christmas break. They've since posted a 23-6-5-3 mark (.730), solidifying their hold on second place in the Central Division and becoming the fourth of now nine teams to secure a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Back to Our Old Self: After enduring a season-high five-game winless skid from March 2-12 (0-2-2-1), the Griffins have returned to form with points in four of their last five contests (3-1-1-0). The Griffins' active 17-game home point streak (12-0-3-2) is a new franchise record, beating out the previous mark of 16 games that was established from Jan. 9-Feb. 27, 2004 and is also longest run in the AHL this season. The Griffins saw their 18-game point streak (13-0-3-2 from Jan. 13-March 2) come to an end on March 4 in Cleveland, which was one game shy of tying the franchise record of 19 contests (Feb. 4-March 20, 2015 15-0-3-1) and is the second-longest run in the AHL this season. Grand Rapids' nine-game road point streak (8-0-0-1) from Dec. 27-Feb. 17 was their longest since an 11-game run (9-0-1-1) from Jan. 29-March 12, 2015 and is tied for the second longest in the AHL this season. The Griffins have secured at least a point in 33 of their last 40 contests (24-7-6-3). The Griffins are 23-6-5-3 (.730) since Christmas and have had a trio of winning streaks of five or more games in the same season for the first time since 2013-14. Grand Rapids has points in 23 of its last 27 games (18-4-3-2) inside Van Andel Arena and has points in 14 of its past 19 road appearances (10-5-3-1). The Griffins have been solid at home with a 20-6-4-2 mark, outscoring their opponents 101-73. Grand Rapids has battled on the road this season, earning points in 13 of its last 17 games to move to 12-13-4-2 away from home.

Records are Meant to be Broken: The Griffins have rewritten the record book in multiple categories this season. Now 11-0-6 since Jan. 19, Sebastian Cossa holds the franchise record for the longest point streak by a goaltender at 17 outings, beating Marc Lamothe's previous record of 15 games (9-0-4-2 (W-L-T-OTL)) set from Oct. 19-Nov. 30, 2002. Grand Rapids set a new franchise record with a point in its 17th straight home game on March 27, breaking a 16-game record that was established more than 20 years ago, from Jan. 9-Feb. 27, 2004. The home point run is the second franchise-record streak that the Griffins have tied in the last three months, piggybacking their seven-game road winning streak from Dec. 27, 2023-Feb. 2, 2024. The Griffins also rattled off an 18-game point streak from Jan. 13-March 2 (13-0-3-2), which was one game shy of tying the franchise record of 19 contests (Feb. 4-March 20, 2015 15-0-3-1). Finally, the Griffins have had a trio of winning streaks of five or more games in the same season for the first time since 2013-14.

Black Magic: As the regular season inches closer to its completion, the Griffins have clinched a playoff berth and a winning record, and they are in second place in the Central Division with a 32-19-8-4 record and 76 points with just nine games remaining. They now have a magic number of 28 to clinch the division, trailing Milwaukee's 10.

Sea Bass Fishing: Sebastian Cossa is on a franchise-record 17-game point streak from Jan. 19-March 30 (11-0-6), beating Marc Lamothe's previous record of 15-games (9-0-4-2 (W-L-T-OTL)) set from Oct. 19-Nov. 30, 2002. Since returning from the holiday break on Dec. 27, Cossa has a 13-1-6 ledger with a 2.07 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Prior to the holiday break, Cossa possessed a 4-6-3 record with a 3.18 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. The former 15th overall pick by the Red Wings in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft has allowed more than two goals just six times in his past 20 games. Cossa's 11-game home point streak (7-0-4, Jan. 24-March 27) is now two shy of tying the franchise record of 13, which is held by Jared Coreau (2015-16), Daniel Larsson (2008-09) and Mike Fountain (bridging the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons). Cossa is also on an eight-game road point streak (6-0-2) from Dec. 27-March 30), which is two shy of tying the record of 10 held by Jimmy Howard (2005-06). Through 33 contests, Cossa is 17-7-9 with one shutout to go along with a 2.51 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Cossa ranks fifth among rookie goaltenders in goals against average and tied for fourth in save percentage.

Straight to the Pros: On Saturday, Emmitt Finnie made his professional debut against the Milwaukee Admirals. The 18-year-old became just the 23rd player to make his Griffins debut the season after he was drafted. Finnie was selected with the 201st overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Of the players to make their debut the season after they were drafted, only Toni Dahlman (OTT: 286th in 2001) and Konstantin Gorovikov (OTT: 269th in 1999) were selected later than Finnie. Also, among all Red Wings draft picks who've played for Grand Rapids, only eight were chosen later than Finnie. Finnie recently completed his third season with the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL, totaling 59 points (19-40-59) in 62 games in 2023-24.

Johnny Bravo: Jonatan Berggren is on an active seven-game point streak (4-6-10) from Feb. 24-March 27 and has 24 points (12-12-24) in his last 20 games from Jan. 13-March 27. Berggren also has 30 points (13-17-30) in his last 25 outings and 33 points (15-18-33) in his last 28 contests from Dec. 15- March 27. The 23-year-old leads the roster in points (20-28-48), assists (28) and goals (20) through 44 appearances 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 119 points (45-74-119) in 121 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).

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics




Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Zach Aston-Reese (right) vs. the Chicago Wolves
Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Zach Aston-Reese (right) vs. the Chicago Wolves
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Grand Rapids Griffins Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central