Griffins Enter Three-Game Homestand Before All-Star Break

Sports stats



AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Enter Three-Game Homestand Before All-Star Break

January 28, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Shai Buium (right) vs. the Rockford IceHogs
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Shai Buium (right) vs. the Rockford IceHogs
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs // Wed., Jan. 29 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

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

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Home. Fifth of 12 meetings overall, third of six at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 69-49-11-11 Overall, 41-18-6-5 Home

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: Rockford's Cole Guttman is tied for third in the AHL with 38 points (18-20-38) in 39 games. Seven of the final 13 contests of the season for the Griffins will be against the IceHogs.

GRIFFINS vs. Colorado Eagles // Fri., Jan. 31 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS vs. Colorado Eagles // Sat., Feb. 1 // 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: 1-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Third and fourth of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 3-3-0-0 Overall, 2-0-0-0 Home

NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche

Noteworthy: This will mark just the third time that the Eagles will pay a visit to Van Andel Arena. Last season, Colorado and Grand Rapids met for the first-ever time on Oct. 13 at Van Andel Arena with the Griffins claiming a 3-2 victory. The Griffins have a plus-four scoring margin against the Eagles at home (8-4).

Hot Run: The Griffins have won four of their last five games and are currently on a five-game point streak from Jan. 15-25 (4-0-0-1). During the run, Grand Rapids has averaged four goals per game while giving up 2.80 tallies. In the four games before the point streak from Jan. 4-11, the Griffins averaged just one goal per game with a 1-3-0-0 mark. The defense has been solid once again, allowing just two goals per game since the break. The offense has averaged 3.09 goals per game since the break and at least four tallies in four of the last five outings. Grand Rapids remains in first place in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference, and tied for fourth in the AHL with a 24-12-3-1 record and 52 points through 40 games. The Griffins are 15-10-2-0 against their division rivals with a plus-six scoring margin and have held at least a share of the top spot in the division since Nov. 8.

Career Year: Dominik Shine is just one point from tying his career best of 33 points and is on pace to reach 58 (20-38-58) this season. The veteran is also two assists from tying his career high of 23 (2023-24) and six goals from tying his career best of 17 (2021-22). He has already notched career-high totals in power-play goals (4), game-winners (3), and multi-point outings (8). On Jan. 18, Shine moved into a tie for 10th place on the team's all-time goals scored list with his 72nd tally as a Griffin and is currently on a team-high five-game point streak (1-6-7). The 31-year-old also has 13 points (5-8-13) in his last 15 contests. Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-21-32) and assists (21), tied for third in goals (11), and third in power-play goals (4) in 40 games. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 170 points (72-98-170) and 513 penalty minutes in 462 appearances. In the Griffins' all-time rankings, Shine places third in games played, sixth in penalty minutes, tied for 10th in goals scored (72), tied for 10th in overtime goals (2), and tied for first in unassisted goals (10). On Monday, Shine signed his first NHL contract, a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Later that evening, he made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings.

Guess Who's Back?: Carter Mazur was sidelined for 35 games from Oct. 19-Jan. 22 due to rehabbing an upper-body injury. Mazur made his long-awaited return last Thursday at Manitoba, collecting an assist, and now has three points (1-2-3) in the first five contests of his season. The 70th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021 has totaled 46 points (21-25-46) in 71 pro games with the Griffins since 2022-23. Last season, Mazur paced the team's rookies with 37 points (17-20-37) in 60 regular-season games before tying for second among all skaters on the team with eight points (3-5-8) in nine playoff outings.

Young Sheldon: After scoring 12 goals in 20 games from Oct. 27-Dec. 18, veteran Sheldon Dries was held without a goal for the next nine outings from Dec. 20-Jan. 15. Dries is now on a five-game point streak (5-1-6) and has scored a goal in four straight games, which is tied with Joe Snively for the longest run by a Griffin. The Macomb, Michigan, native ranks first on the roster and tied for 12th in the AHL with 17 goals in 37 games. 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 433 pro games with 254 points (146-108-254) and 228 points (130-98-228) in 311 AHL appearances.

Home Sweet Home: Grand Rapids concluded a season-high five-game homestand on Jan. 18 with a 2-2-0-1 record, which included points in the final three games (2-0-0-1). This week, the Griffins will finish a stretch that saw them play eight of 10 games inside Van Andel Arena from Jan. 10-Feb. 1 after playing nine of 12 games on the road from Dec. 7-Jan. 4. The Griffins are 11-6-1-1 at home this season but have won three of their last nine home outings (3-4-1-1). Under head coach Dan Watson, Grand Rapids is 34-13-5-3 (.690) inside Van Andel Arena.

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 34 goals across 11 games (3.09) since Dec. 28 with a 7-3-0-1 record, which includes four goals on average in its last five outings. Grand Rapids has a plus-11 scoring margin in the third period (42-31) despite being outshot 358-304. The Griffins are tied for 19th on the circuit with 2.95 goals per contest, while placing first in goals against per game (2.48). When scoring at least three goals this season, Grand Rapids is 19-0-0-1 compared to 5-12-3-0 when scoring fewer than three goals.

Come Out Firing: When the Griffins start hot, things usually turn out pretty well for the team, as they have a 15-1-2-1 record when scoring the game's first goal. They also have yet to suffer a regulation loss when leading after the first period (9-0-2-1) or when leading after the second period (14-0-2-0). When Grand Rapids is trailing after the opening frame, it is 3-8-1-0 and 4-9-0-0 when it trails after the second period.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

Shai Buium-Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (14), tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in points (14), tied for fifth among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+8), tied for ninth among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)

Sebastian Cossa-10th in minutes played (1,357:57), tied for 11th in games played (23), seventh in GAA (2.25), tied for sixth in wins (13), ninth in save percentage (.920)

Nate Danielson-Tied for fourth among rookies in assists (18), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play assists (7)

Josiah Didier-Tied for fourth in short-handed assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)

Alex Doucet-Tied for sixth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)

Sheldon Dries-Tied for 12th in goals (17), tied for second in game-winners (5)

x William Lagesson-Tied for 11th among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+13)

Amadeus Lombardi-Tied for 11th in game-winners (4)

Austin Watson-First in major penalties (9), tied for 13th in penalty minutes (71)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics




Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Shai Buium (right) vs. the Rockford IceHogs
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Shai Buium (right) vs. the Rockford IceHogs
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   

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

American Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2025


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