Griffins Face Home-And-Home with IceHogs
March 10, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
Grand Rapids Griffins forward Tyler Spezia (center) vs. the Rockford IceHogs
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Todd Reicher/IceHogs)
This Week's Games
GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs (3-7-1-0) // Thurs., March 11 // 7 p.m. // BMO Harris Bank Center
Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS // Sat., March 13 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Watch: WXSP-TV (Saturday only) and
AHLTV
Listen:
WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM
Season Series: 2-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home, 2-0-0-0 Road. Third and fourth of eight meetings overall, third of four in Rockford, first of four in Grand Rapids
All-Time Series: 50-35-7-10 Overall, 32-11-3-4 Home, 18-24-4-6 Road
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: The Griffins' two wins against Rockford this season both came on the road, by scores of 3-1 on Feb. 18 and 9-4 on March 3.
Last Week's Result
Wed., March 3 // GRIFFINS 9 at Rockford IceHogs 4 // 5-3-0-0 (10 pts., T2nd Central Division)
Last Time Out
In the midst of playing one game in a span of 10 days, the Griffins certainly made that one count last Wednesday in Rockford, spoiling the IceHogs' 1000th game by riding five unanswered goals and a six-goal second period to a 9-4 win...Max Humitz, Riley Barber and Tyler Spezia each had two goals to pace a Griffins attack that threatened several franchise records and saw 14 players record points. Humitz added an assist for his first points as a pro and a three-point night that tied for the Griffins' season-high...Patrick Curry also netted his first pro goal and AHL point, while Donovan Sebrango earned his first AHL point with an assist...The Griffins' last nine-goal outing was a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. They came within two goals of matching of their team record, set in an 11-6 victory at - you guessed it - Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013...The Griffins' six season-period goals fell one short of their franchise record for a period, set on Nov. 27, 2010 during the second period of a 10-8 win at Chicago...Despite approaching their franchise record for shots in a road period (23) during both the first (22) and second (21) stanzas, the Griffins finished the game with 49 shots, two shy of their record for a road game (51)...After going 3-7-2-3 in 15 visits to Rockford from 2017-20, Grand Rapids is now 2-0 at the BMO Harris Bank Center this season.
Breeding Contempt
Thursday's contest in Rockford will be the second of the Griffins' four straight games against the IceHogs, a run that will conclude with games in Grand Rapids this Saturday and next Tuesday. This marks just the third time in the Griffins' history that they'll play four consecutive regular season games against the same opponent. The Manitoba Moose were the foe on both prior occasions, in November 2006 and November 1997.
It's a Start
The roar of a Griffins crowd will be partially restored starting this Saturday when the team begins welcoming 750 fans per home game, pursuant to the most recent order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Griffins 2021-22 season ticket members are being given the first opportunity to purchase tickets to home games during the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other fans can sign up for Griffins Nation, the team's official email newsletter, to receive priority access to 2020-21 tickets whenever limited seats are made available for sale throughout the season. This Saturday's game against Rockford is sold out, and the Van Andel Arena box office will not be selling tickets that night.
Millennium Griffins
The Griffins' next victory will mark the 1000th regular season win in the franchise's 25 seasons of play. Grand Rapids holds an all-time record of 999-686-27-61-116 (0.583) heading into game No. 1890 on Thursday in Rockford.
High-Flying Griffins
Eight games into his Griffins career, Riley Barber is already tied for the 23rd-longest point streak in franchise history with an eight-game run. He has registered a pair of points and at least one goal in each of the last three games, including two-goal efforts on Feb. 26 against Chicago and March 3 at Rockford, and ranks among the AHL's leaders with seven goals (T3rd), 12 points (7-5-12, T4th), seven power play points (T1st) and five power play assists (T4th)...Dennis Cholowski (2-5-7) and Taro Hirose (1-7-8) each saw his four-game point streak snapped in Rockford last Wednesday. Cholowski's eight points (3-5-8) on the season tie him for fifth among league defensemen...Turner Elson (1-1-2), Chase Pearson (0-3-3) and Kyle Criscuolo (1-2-3) each have points in consecutive games, and Criscuolo's six power play points (3-3-6) have him tied for fourth on the circuit...Pearson, Joe Hicketts, Troy Loggins and Givani Smith each had a pair of assists in last Wednesday's 9-4 win at Rockford, joining Max Humitz (2-1-3), Barber (2-0-2) and Tyler Spezia (2-0-2) among seven Griffins who posted multiple points in that contest.
Images from this story
 Grand Rapids Griffins forward Tyler Spezia (center) vs. the Rockford IceHogs (Todd Reicher/IceHogs) |
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