Griffins Begin Five-Game Homestand

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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Begin Five-Game Homestand

March 18, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins center Nate Danielson vs. the Rockford IceHogs
Grand Rapids Griffins center Nate Danielson vs. the Rockford IceHogs
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Jenna Spanola/IceHogs)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (32-22-4-2) vs. Rockford IceHogs (25-27-5-1) // Fri., March 21 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs // Sat., March 22 // 8 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey on Friday and WXSP-TV and AHLTV on FloHockey on Saturday

Season Series: 4-2-0-0 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Home. Seventh and eighth of 12 meetings overall, fourth and fifth of six at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 71-49-11-11 Overall, 42-18-6-5 Home

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins are on a four-game win streak against Rockford with a plus-10 scoring margin (16-6). This week's games will be the second and third of three straight against the IceHogs. Grand Rapids will see Rockford six times in the remaining 12 games of the regular season.

Getting Back Into Form: The Griffins have won three straight and have points in eight of their last 11 games (6-3-1-1) after going 3-7-1-0 in the month of February. The last time Grand Rapids won at least three in a row was Jan. 19-29 when it strung together four straight victories. The Griffins are now one point behind second-place Texas and two points back of first-place Milwaukee. In the last 11 games, Grand Rapids has averaged 3.09 goals while allowing 3.18. However, in the past three games, the Griffins have held their opponents to just 1.33 goals. Scoring at least three goals has been key for Grand Rapids, as it has a 26-2-0-1 mark (.914) when reaching at least three goals and a 6-20-4-1 (.274) record when it fails to do so. The defense, a usual strong spot for the Griffins, has allowed 2.97 goals per game since the start of the calendar year but is still ninth overall with 2.75 goals allowed per game this season.

Playoff Picture: The Griffins enter the week with a magic number of six points to clinch a playoff berth. Grand Rapids is currently in third place in the division and is just one point out of second place and two points behind first. Five teams make the playoffs, with the top three receiving a first-round bye into the Central Division semifinals.

Home Cooking: The Griffins are on a five-game point streak at home (3-0-1-1). Grand Rapids is 15-10-2-2 inside Van Andel Arena this year with an even scoring margin (78-78). Last season, the team finished with a 23-7-4-2 mark at home with a plus-31 scoring margin (111-80), which included a franchise-record 19-game home point streak (14-0-3-2) from Jan. 13-April 5. Grand Rapids is in a stretch that will see it play seven of eight games at Van Andel Arena, running from March 12-April 4.

The Watson Supercomputer: Veteran Austin Watson is on a four-game goal streak from March 8-15, which is tied for his career high in the AHL. Watson is also on a season-high five-game point streak from March 5-15 (4-2-6). The 33-year-old has 37 points (16-21-37) in 56 appearances, which includes AHL career-high marks in plus-minus rating (+9), penalty minutes (94), power-play goals (7), and short-handed goals (2). He ranks among the team leaders in points (T2nd), assists (4th), goals (3rd), plus-minus (3rd), penalty minutes (1st), and power-play goals (T1st). Throughout 807 pro games (518 in NHL), Watson has 296 points (149-138-296) and 890 penalty minutes.

Making History: Netminder Jan Bednar made history last Saturday at Rockford, becoming the ninth rookie goaltender in franchise history to win their debut. The 22-year-old collected 14 saves during his first AHL appearance last Saturday in a 3-1 victory over the IceHogs. Bednar has seen action in 33 games in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye this season, showing a 21-8-4 record with three shutouts to go along with a 2.33 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Below is a list of the nine rookie goalies to win their debuts with the Griffins.

The Lombardi Trophy: Second-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is on a career-high four-game assist streak from March 8-15 (0-5-5). Lombardi was sidelined for 28 games due to rehabbing an upper-body injury from Dec. 6-Feb. 15. Since his return, the Aurora, Ontario, native has 11 points (3-8-11) in 12 outings, which includes two career-best four-game point streaks. Through 32 appearances, Lombardi has 26 points (12-14-26) after showing 26 points (5-21-26) in 70 games as a rookie last season. The 21-year-old was selected 113th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Nate The Great: Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick by Detroit in 2023, tied his season high of a four-game point streak from Feb. 14-21 and now has 10 points (5-5-10) in his last 14 games. He has had a promising rookie season with 32 points (9-23-32), 33 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 59 appearances. In addition to ranking fourth in points and second in assists on the team, Danielson is tied for 11th among AHL rookies in assists (23) and is tied for the league lead in short-handed assists (4). Prior to turning pro, the 20-year-old spent four seasons in the WHL with Brandon (2020-24) and Portland (2023-24), producing a combined 217 points (83-134-217) in 199 career games.

Seabass Fishing: Netminder Sebastian Cossa is on a season-high six-game point streak (4-0-2) and has points in seven of his last eight appearances (5-1-2) from Feb. 14-March 14. Through 34 games this season, the 6-foot-7 goaltender has a 19-10-5 record with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021 by Detroit, ranks among the league leaders in games played (T5th), minutes played (2030:16, 6th), GAA (7th), wins (T7th), and save percentage (T6th). As a rookie last year, he set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak overall from Jan. 19-April 5 (13-0-6). He also tied the franchise records for the longest home point streak (9-0-4, Jan. 24-April 5) and road point streak (8-0-2, Dec. 27-April 17).

Winning Skills: The Griffins are 7-2 during shootouts this season, as the seven wins are tied for the league lead with Ontario (7-1). The last time Grand Rapids won at least seven games in the skills competition was back in 2006-07 (8-5), and it has not had a winning season in a shootout since 2018-19 (6-4). The Griffins are 125-129 all time during the shootout. Cross Hanas (2-for-2), Ondrej Becher (1-for-2) and Nate Danielson (3-for-6) lead the way for Grand Rapids. In net, Sebastian Cossa is 17-for-22 (77.3%) this season and 31-for-40 (77.5%) all time as a Griffin in the shootout, which ranks fifth in franchise history.

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins center Nate Danielson vs. the Rockford IceHogs
Grand Rapids Griffins center Nate Danielson vs. the Rockford IceHogs
(Jenna Spanola/IceHogs)		   



American Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2025


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