
Griffins Continue Six-Game Road Trip at Colorado
December 10, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
This Week's Games
GRIFFINS at Colorado Eagles // Fri., Dec. 13 // 9:05 p.m. EST // Blue Arena
GRIFFINS at Colorado Eagles // Sat., Dec. 14 // 9:05 p.m. EST // Blue Arena
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Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey
Season Series: First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Blue Arena
All-Time Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 0-2-0-0 Away
NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche
Noteworthy: This marks just the second season that the Griffins will play Colorado, as they met for the first-ever time on Oct. 13, 2023. Grand Rapids dropped both contests in Colorado last campaign with a minus-four scoring margin (8-4).
Keep It Steady: Despite dropping three of their past five games, the Griffins still rank first in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference and fifth in the AHL with a 15-7-1-0 record and 31 points through 23 games. This marks the first time that Grand Rapids has been atop the division in December or later since the 2018-19 season, when it held a share of first place as late as March 8. When Dec. 1 dawned last season, the Griffins were tied for fourth place with a 6-8-1-1 record. The Griffins have won with defense, as they have allowed two goals or less in 13 of the 23 contests and have scored an average of 3.04 goals per game (16th).
Road Trip: The Griffins are in the midst of a season-high six-game road trip that began last Saturday in Chicago. Grand Rapids is 1-1-0-0 in the first two games of the trip with two games against Colorado and Texas remaining. The Griffins are 7-4-1-0 in foreign territory this campaign, which is the seventh-best points percentage on the road in the AHL (.625). Through the first 12 road games last season, Grand Rapids sported a 2-8-1-1 record (.250).
Cossa Debut: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, made his NHL debut last night at the Buffalo Sabres, collecting a 6-5 shootout victory in a relief effort behind 12 saves and two stops in the shootout. The 22-year-old became the first goalie in NHL history to win his debut via a shootout in a relief effort.
He Shoots, He Scores: 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. Since then, Grand Rapids has scored at least four goals in eight of the last 13 contests, averaging 3.69 goals per game. However, the Griffins have been held to just one goal in two of the last three outings (2.33). The Griffins are 16th on the circuit with 3.04 goals per outing while placing second in goals against per game (2.48). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 12-0-0-0 compared to 3-7-1-0 when scoring fewer than three goals.
Power Surge: The Griffins' power play has converted seven of its last 27 opportunities on the man-advantage (25.9%) and has scored a power-play goal in five of the last seven games. The power play ranks 18th on the circuit at 16.9% (13-for-77). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids' home power play is 6-for-30 (20.0%, 12th) and its road power play is 7-for-47 (14.9%, 24th). The Griffins' penalty kill ranks third in the AHL at 88.6% and their four short-handed goals are tied for third.
Throw The Changeup: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, and Ville Husso (138 NHL games) are both on recall to the Red Wings after starting a combined 13-4-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage with the Griffins. The goaltending room now consists of veteran Jack Campbell and rookie Carter Gylander. Campbell made his Griffins debut last Friday against Chicago and has a 2.55 GAA and a .919 save percentage through two games. Campbell has 440 pro games under his belt with a 2.67 GAA and 229 wins since 2011-12. Gylander, the 191st pick by Detroit in 2019, made his AHL debut on Oct. 27 at Lehigh Valley (33 saves in 4-3 SOW) and has now seen action in three AHL contests with a 3.49 GAA and a .890 save percentage. With the ECHL's Toledo Walleye this season, Gylander has a 5-1-2 ledger with a 2.35 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
Austin Powers: Veteran Austin Watson is on a team-high four-game point streak from Dec. 1-8 (2-2-4), which is three games short of his career best in the AHL. Watson ranks second on the roster with 17 points (6-11-17) in 22 games and his plus-nine rating is tied for seventh among forwards. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native has spent the majority of his career in the NHL, showing 118 points (60-58-118) in 518 appearances. At the AHL level, Watson possesses 149 points (79-70-149) in 256 outings, as he had spent his entire AHL career with Milwaukee before this season.
Young Sheldon: Veteran Sheldon Dries has scored goals in the last two games and has six points (3-3-6) in his last five outings. The Macomb, Michigan, native is tied for first on the roster with nine goals in 20 games and is on pace for his second 30-plus goal campaign (35 in 2021-22). Dries is no stranger to West Michigan, as he spent four seasons at Western Michigan University from 2013-17 and totaled 84 points (44-40-84) in 148 contests, serving as captain for three campaigns. The 30-year-old has competed in 416 pro games with 243 points (138-105-243) and 217 points (122-95-217) in 294 AHL appearances.
Damn Daniel, Back At It Again: Rookie Nate Danielson, selected ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, had just two points (1-1-2) in his first eight games as a pro. However, he enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak (1-4-5) from Nov. 24-Dec. 1 and has 10 points (2-8-10) in his last 11 contests. His 11 assists in 23 games are tied for seventh among rookies while his 14 points are tied for 13th among first-year players. The 20-year-old made his pro debut with Grand Rapids on May 20 at Milwaukee during the Calder Cup Playoffs 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.
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![]() Grand Rapids Griffins face the Colorado Eagles (Nicolas Carrillo) |
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