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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins to Host Manitoba for Two-Game Set

November 21, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins right wing Joel L'Esperance
Grand Rapids Griffins right wing Joel L'Esperance
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Jonathan Kozub/Moose)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Fri., Nov. 24 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Sun., Nov. 26 // 5 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Sunday

Watch: AHLTV on Friday; WXSP-TV and AHLTV on Sunday

Season Series: First and second of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 70-42-1-1-9 Overall, 38-18-1-1-6 Home

NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets

Noteworthy: Manitoba has two rookies that place in the top five in scoring among first-year players in the AHL, as Nikita Chibrikov (5-9-14) ranks third and Brad Lambert (6-7-13) is tied for fourth. Despite a 6-7-0-0 overall record, the Moose are 4-1-0-0 on the road.

Home Sweet Home: The Griffins will begin a four-game homestand this Friday against the Manitoba Moose. The Moose, who visit Grand Rapids for a two-game set this weekend, are two points ahead of the Griffins in the Central Division standings. Van Andel Arena has been kind to Grand Rapids, as the team shows a 3-2-1-0 record and are coming off a 5-2 home win against the Chicago Wolves on Nov. 15.

It's Taco Time: Taro Hirose, who has competed for the Griffins for the past five seasons, has continued to climb the Griffins' all-time leaderboard for assists and points. Last Saturday, Hirose tied Eric Tangradi (2015-18; 2019-20) for ninth on the Griffins' all-time points list with 177 and is now two points from tying Jiri Hudler (2003-06) for eighth. The Calgary, Alberta, native also ranks fifth on the team's all-time assists list with 132 and is one helper from tying Kip Miller (2001-02; 2004-05; 2006-07) for fourth place.

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A: Last Thursday, former Griffin Brett Peterson was named the general manager of the 2024 U.S. Men's National Team. As part of his five-year pro career, Peterson suited up for 18 regular-season games with the Griffins in 2008-09 and notched one assist and four penalty minutes, adding one assist in one postseason contest. The 42-year-old is in his fourth season as the assistant general manager for the Florida Panthers (2020-24), making a trip to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. The U.S. Men's National Team will compete in the 2024 IIHF Men's World Championship from May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia.

Bad Recipe: The Griffins are tied for 26th in the AHL with 2.54 goals scored per game and 27th with 3.62 goals allowed per game, which is not a winning recipe. However, after scoring an average of 1.60 goals from Oct. 28-Nov. 11, Grand Rapids is averaging 3.67 goals in its last three contests. Keeping the puck out of the net has been a problem, as the team gave up an average of 5.50 goals per game this past weekend against the Texas Stars and has averaged 4.80 goals against in its last five games from Nov. 10-18. Newcomer Tim Gettinger leads the squad with six goals in 11 outings, while goaltenders Sebastian Cossa and Michael Hutchinson have a combined 3.38 goals against average.

Stumbling Out of the Gate: First periods have been very unkind to the Griffins to begin the season, as they have been outscored 14-6 and outshot 141-128. However, the Griffins did post a 21-10 shot advantage in their last first period on Friday at Texas but trailed 3-2. Grand Rapids has a record of 1-5-0-0 when trailing after the first stanza, compared to a 3-2-1-1 mark when it is tied or leading after the first. The Griffins have won just one first period in the first 13 games of the season, a 2-0 advantage over Colorado on Oct. 14, which was the second contest of the campaign. Since beginning 2-0-0-0, the Griffins have won just two games in their last 11 outings (2-7-1-1).

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins right wing Joel L'Esperance
Grand Rapids Griffins right wing Joel L'Esperance
(Jonathan Kozub/Moose)		   



American Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2023


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