Griffins Finish Homestand, Travel to Springfield, Hartford
Published on December 6, 2022 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
This Week's Games
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Wed., Dec. 7 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Third of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 41-19-4-2 Overall, 20-7-3-2 Home
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: Rockford, Mich., native Mitchell Chaffee remains with the Minnesota Wild organization. Chaffee played his AAA youth hockey with the Michigan Nationals in Byron Center and with HoneyBaked in Detroit. Through 87 AHL games, Chaffee has 63 points (30-33-63) and 38 penalty minutes.
Promotions: Winning Wednesday presented by Michigan First Credit Union
GRIFFINS at Springfield Thunderbirds // Fri., Dec. 9 // 7:05 p.m. // MassMutual Center
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first of one at the MassMutual Center
All-Time Series: First-ever meeting
NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues
Noteworthy: The Griffins have never competed against a team from Springfield. However, the Griffins are 51-44-7-3 all time against previous St. Louis Blues affiliates (Peoria 21-26-5-2; San Antonio 7-7-0-1; Chicago 23-11-2-0).
GRIFFINS at Hartford Wolf Pack // Sat., Dec. 10 // 7 p.m. // XL Center
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first of one at the XL Center
All-Time Series: 1-1-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Away
NHL Affiliation: New York Rangers
Noteworthy: Hartford's general manager is former Griffins GM Ryan Martin. Former Griffins Turner Elson (2017-22) and Blake Hillman (2019-20; 2021-22) are featured on Hartford's roster. Elson totaled 144 points (61-83-144) in 294 games with Grand Rapids, while Hillman bagged three assists in 15 contests. This will be the first meeting between the two franchises since Nov. 14, 2008.
Last Week's Results
Fri., Dec. 2 // GRIFFINS 1 vs. Texas 4 // 8-10-1-0 (17 pts., 0.447, 6th Central)
Sat., Dec. 3 // GRIFFINS 3 vs. Texas 6 // 8-11-1-0 (17 pts., 0.425, 6th Central)
Last Week's Notes
Friday vs. Texas (1-4 L) - The Stars used three goals in the third frame to secure a 4-1 win against the Griffins at Van Andel Arena. Magnus Hellberg made his Griffins debut, notching 34 saves in his first AHL game since April 12, 2017 with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Kyle Criscuolo scored the lone goal for Grand Rapids, his third of the season and his second in the last three games. Recap | Highlights
Saturday vs. Texas (3-6 L) - Five goals by the Stars in the opening stanza were too much for the Griffins to overcome in a 6-3 loss at Van Andel Arena. Trenton Bliss scored the first goal for the Griffins, the first AHL tally of his career. Recording assists on two of Grand Rapids' goals tonight, Chase Pearson now has three apples in four games this season. Taro Hirose competed in his 200th game as a pro and recorded the fastest goal to start a period this season for the Griffins (:22, 1st period). Jared McIsaac joined Hirose with his 100th game as a Griffin and in the AHL. Recap | Highlights
New Additions: On Tuesday, Dec. 6, Grand Rapids signed Toledo Walleye (ECHL) forwards Lukas Craggs and Gordie Green to professional tryouts. Craggs has 11 points (5-6-11) in 54 AHL career games with Milwaukee (2019-20), Chicago (2020-21) and Rochester (2021-22) while Green has notched two points (1-1-2) in 15 AHL appearances with Toronto. On Nov. 26, the Griffins signed NHL veteran Alex Chiasson (SHAY-sahn) to a professional tryout. The 32-year-old spent 10 seasons in the National Hockey League and recorded 224 points (114-110-224) and 353 penalty minutes. On Dec. 1, the Detroit Red Wings assigned goaltender Magnus Hellberg to the Griffins on a conditioning loan. On Dec. 2, Hellberg became the fifth Red Wings goalie to make his Griffins debut during a conditioning stint, joining Curtis Joseph (2003-04), Chris Osgood (2005-06), Manny Legace (2005-06) and Jonas Gustavsson (2012-13).
O Captain! My Captain!: Captain Brian Lashoff is just three games away from 600 as a Griffin, as his 597 games played for the Griffins rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and fourth in league history among one-team players. Of the players ahead of him on that list, the most recent - and, coincidentally, the record-holder - last played during the 1970-71 season (Bill Needham of the Cleveland Barons, 981 games played). Lashoff overtook Paul Larivee (Providence Reds, 1952-62) for the No. 4 spot on April 6, 2022 against Cleveland and is now 11 games behind No. 3 Howie Yanosik (Hershey Bears, 1957-67). Lashoff is still 58 games away from breaking the Griffins' all-time regular-season games played record, held by Travis Richards with 655 games (1995-2006).
Pontus Pilot: After a slow start that saw him tally one point (0-1-1) in the first seven games, Pontus Andreasson has been among the driving forces of the Griffins' offense of late. Andreasson enjoyed a four-game point streak (3-2-5) from Nov. 18-26 and has 13 points in the last 12 outings (6-7-13). The Munkedal, Sweden, native bagged his first goal in North America on Nov. 11 against Toronto to conclude a three-point contest (2-1-3). In 2021-22 in the Swedish Hockey League, Andreasson finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting when he totaled 38 points (18-20-38) in 52 games. The 24-year-old signed a one-year contract with Detroit this past offseason.
Welcome Back: After missing the first 16 games of the season due to personal reasons, Chase Pearson has stormed back onto the scene with three assists and a plus-two rating in his first four outings of the campaign. Through 151 AHL games, the fourth-year pro has 67 points (25-42-67) and 41 penalty minutes. Pearson was selected with the 140th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and made his NHL debut on March 24, 2022 against the New York Islanders.
American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2022
- Toronto Marlies Host Belleville Senators in Battle of Ontario - Toronto Marlies
- Bears Take Down Checkers, 4-2 - Hershey Bears
- Rough Second Sinks Checkers in 4-2 Loss to Bears - Charlotte Checkers
- Blackhawks Recall Reichel from Rockford - Rockford IceHogs
- Anaheim Ducks Claim Jayson Megna on Waivers from Colorado - San Diego Gulls
- Eagles Cap Road Trip with 2-1 Win over Condors - Colorado Eagles
- Bruins Buzz - December 6 - Providence Bruins
- Griffins Sign Pair to PTO - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Rockford IceHogs to Adopt "Screw City" Moniker for December 9 Game - Rockford IceHogs
- Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Syracuse Crunch
- Join Us for Teddy Bear Toss and Ringo's Birthday - Texas Stars
- Griffins Finish Homestand, Travel to Springfield, Hartford - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Phantoms Power Play Presented by Provident Bank - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- New 3:00 p.m. Start Time for Monsters Home Game Sunday, December 18 - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolf Pack Ink Forward Brandon Cutler to PTO - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Amerks Holding Holiday Food Drive During Next Three Home Games to Benefit Foodlink - Rochester Americans
- Keeping up with the Jones - Calgary Wranglers
- Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Home for the Hockey - Tucson Roadrunners
- Moose Release Jacob Friend from Tryout - Manitoba Moose
- The Bridgeport Report: Week 8 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Penguins Put All Their Focus into One Game this Week - Friday vs. Monsters - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Game Preview: Bears vs. Checkers, 7 p.m. - Hershey Bears
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