Griffins Continue Five-Game Homestand

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 Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Continue Five-Game Homestand

January 14, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins forward Gabriel Seger
Grand Rapids Griffins forward Gabriel Seger
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Mark Newman)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Wed., Jan. 15 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

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

All-Time Series: 103-89-2-8-5 Overall, 43-20-1-1-7 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Wolves went 10-2-1-0 from Dec. 1-Jan. 4 and are now in fourth place in the Central Division with a 17-13-2-0 record (.563). Since that run, Chicago has gone on to lose three straight contests entering this week, having allowed five goals in each game.

GRIFFINS vs. Cleveland Monsters // Fri., Jan. 17 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS vs. Cleveland Monsters // Sat., Jan. 18 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

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

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

Season Series: 4-1-0-0 Overall, 2-0-0-0 Home. Sixth and seventh of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 77-40-9-13 Overall, 44-18-4-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has points in 24 out of the last 30 games overall (17-6-4-3, .683) against Cleveland, and it is also 23-9-4-3 (.679) against the Monsters in the last five seasons.

Ups and Downs: The Griffins returned from the holiday break with a 3-0-0-0 record in their first three games but have since gone on to drop their last three outings, which is tied for the longest losing streak this season. The defense has been solid once again, allowing just 1.33 goals since the break. However, the offense has averaged just 2.33 goals per game since the break and just one goal per game in its last four outings. Grand Rapids is now tied for first place in the Central Division, tied for second in the Western Conference, and tied for sixth in the AHL with a 20-12-3-0 record and 43 points through 35 games. The Griffins are 12-10-2-0 against their division rivals and have had at least a share of the top spot in the division since Nov. 8.

Home Sweet Home: On Jan. 4, the Griffins finished a stretch of games that saw them play nine of 12 contests on the road from Dec. 7-Jan. 4 and showed a 6-4-2-0 record. Grand Rapids is now in a season-high five-game homestand that began last Friday and in a stretch that will see it play eight of its next 10 games inside Van Andel Arena from Jan. 10-Feb. 1. The Griffins are 9-6-1-0 at home this season but have won just one of their last six home outings (1-4-1-0). Under head coach Dan Watson, Grand Rapids is 32-13-5-2 (.683) inside Van Andel Arena.

Elm Tree: Elmer Soderblom, the tallest player in franchise history at 6-foot-8, registered two points (1-1-2) last Friday against Manitoba and now has five points in his last seven outings (2-3-5). During his two-point night last weekend, the 23-year-old bagged his 50th point as a Griffin (21-29-50) in his 115th outing with the team. Last year, Soderblom produced 29 points (13-16-29) in 61 contests before adding two points (1-1-2) in seven playoff games, making his Calder Cup Playoff debut on May 3, 2024 against Rockford. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native also appeared in 21 games with the Detroit Red Wings during his rookie season in 2022-23 and totaled eight points (5-3-8) in 21 games.

Shine Bright: Veteran Dominik Shine is tied for first on the roster in points (10-15-25) and third in assists (15) and goals (10) in 35 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 six points (4-2-6) in his last 10 contests. Last year, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (23), points (33) and plus-minus rating (+8) and is on pace to reach 52 points (21-31-52) this season. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 163 points (71-92-163) and 511 penalty minutes in 457 appearances. He is one goal shy of breaking into the top 10 for goals scored in franchise history. 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 first in unassisted goals (10).

Rollercoaster Ride: The Griffins ranked 29th in the AHL through the first 10 games with 2.20 goals per contest before showing 4.10 goals per game from Nov. 7-Dec. 1 and going 8-2-0-0 during the run. The Griffins then averaged just 2.33 goals per game from Dec. 6-22 and went 3-4-2-0 in those contests. Grand Rapids has now potted 14 goals across six games (2.33) since Dec. 28 with a 3-3-0-0 record and just one goal per game on average in its last four contests. The Griffins are tied for 23rd on the circuit with 2.80 goals per outing, while ranking first in goals against per game (2.43). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 16-0-0-0 compared to 4-12-3-0 when scoring fewer than three goals.

Lock it Down: The Griffins have allowed just 1.33 goals per game since returning from the holiday break and rank first overall with 2.43 goals allowed per game this season. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.34 goals-against average and .917 save percentage through 20 games, while Jack Campbell has logged a 1.82 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in five appearances. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 41 goals in its last 19 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.16 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 54 goals in their last 21 regular-season road games (2.57 GA per game).

Power Outage: The Griffins have been held without a power-play goal in four straight games (0-for-14) and have converted just three of their last 21 power-play opportunities (14.3%) during their last seven games. Grand Rapids had its best run when it scored a power-play goal in five straight games from Nov. 24-Dec. 6 (5-for-15, 33.3%). The power play is tied for 22nd on the circuit at 16.4% (20-for-122). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids' home power play is 8-for-49 (16.3%, 21st) and its road power play is 12-for-73 (16.4%, 18th). The Griffins have also given up five short-handed goals, which is tied for the seventh-most. The Griffins' penalty kill has also struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in three straight games (9-for-13 on PK, 69.2%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 10 of its last 15 outings (44-for-56 on PK, 78.6%). However, the penalty-kill unit remains one of the best in the league, as it ranks eighth at 85.1%. Grand Rapids has scored five short-handed tallies this season, which is tied for fifth in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 11-4-2-0 and 5-9-1-0 when they allow a power-play goal.





Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins forward Gabriel Seger
Grand Rapids Griffins forward Gabriel Seger

(Mark Newman)
  

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