
Griffins Travel to Canada for Games against Manitoba
January 21, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release

Grand Rapids Griffins forward Austin Watson vs. the Manitoba Moose
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Mark Newman)
This Week's Games
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Thu., Jan. 23 // 8 p.m. EST // Canada Life Centre
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sat., Jan. 25 // 3 p.m. EST // Canada Life Centre
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EST on Thursday and 2:45 p.m. EST on Saturday
Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey
Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Away. Fifth and sixth of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at the Canada Life Centre
All-Time Series: 77-46-1-1-10 Overall, 35-25-0-0-3 Away
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: Nine of the last 12 meetings between the Moose and Griffins have been decided by just one goal, including all four games this season. Through 63 all-time games played at Manitoba, Grand Rapids has never lost in overtime.
Ups and Downs: The Griffins returned from the holiday break with a 3-0-0-0 record in their first three games but then dropped three straight outings from Jan. 4-11, averaging just one goal per game during the skid. The offense exploded for four goals in the third period last Wednesday against Chicago and have now scored 13 goals in its last three games (4.33 goals per game) with a 2-0-0-1 record. The defense has been solid once again, allowing just 1.89 goals since the break. The offense has averaged 3.00 goals per game since the break and at least four goals in five of the last nine outings. Grand Rapids remains in first place in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference, and tied for fifth in the AHL with a 22-12-3-1 record and 48 points through 38 games. The Griffins are 13-10-2-0 against their division rivals and have held at least a share of the top spot in the division since Nov. 8.
Pucks On Net: The 26 shots by the Griffins in the opening period last Friday against Cleveland were the most ever recorded in a period by either the Griffins or their opponent, spanning 2,359 combined regular season (2,170) and playoff (189) games. Grand Rapids finished the contest with a season-high 44 shots and have now averaged 30.9 shots per game in the month of January. The Griffins outshot their opponent just three times in the first 21 contests (14.3%) but have since outshot their opponent seven times in the last 17 games (41.2%). The Griffins average 26.0 shots per game, which ranks second-to-last in the AHL. Grand Rapids has been held to under 20 shots six times and has exceeded 30 shots nine times. On the flip side, the Griffins' opponents average 28.5 shots per game (T15th in AHL) and have been held to under 30 shots 20 times. The third period has given the Griffins the most problems, as they are being outshot 339-278 compared to being outshot 353-344 in the second and 367-348 in the first. However, Grand Rapids has a 14-7-2-0 ledger when recording 20-29 shots and an 11-5-2-0 mark when allowing 30-39 shots.
Shine Bright: Last Saturday, veteran Dominik Shine moved into a tie for 10th place on the team's all-time goals scored list with his 72nd tally as a Griffin. Shine ranks first on the roster in points (11-18-29), tied for first in assists (18), tied for third in goals (11), and tied for second in power-play goals (4) in 38 games. Shine collected his seventh multi-point game of the season last Saturday against Cleveland (1-1-2), which set a new career-high mark, beating out his six multi-point games in 2021-22. The 31-year-old now has 10 points (5-5-10) in his last 13 contests. Last year, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (23), points (33) and plus-minus rating (+8) and is on pace to reach 55 points (21-34-55) this season. The Detroit native has spent his entire career with Grand Rapids since 2016-17 and has accumulated 167 points (72-95-167) and 513 penalty minutes in 460 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).
Elm Tree: Elmer Soderblom, the tallest player in franchise history at 6-foot-8, is on a three-game point streak (2-2-4) and has six points (3-3-6) in his last five games. During his two-point night last Wednesday, the 23-year-old bagged his 50th assist as a pro after registering his 50th point as a Griffin on Jan. 11 (21-29-50). Last year, Soderblom produced 29 points (13-16-29) in 61 contests before adding two points (1-1-2) in seven playoff games, making his Calder Cup Playoff debut on May 3, 2024 against Rockford. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native also appeared in 21 games with the Detroit Red Wings during his rookie season in 2022-23 and totaled eight points (5-3-8) in 21 games. Through 38 games this year, Soderblom has 17 points (5-12-17), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating. He was recalled by Detroit on Tuesday.
Come Out Firing: When the Griffins start hot, things usually turn out pretty well for the team, as they have a 14-1-2-1 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) and 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 3-9-0-0 when it trails after the second period.
Lock it Down: The Griffins have allowed just 1.89 goals per game since returning from the holiday break and rank first overall with 2.47 goals allowed per game this season. Sebastian Cossa has shown a 2.31 GAA and .917 save percentage through 22 games, Jack Campbell has logged a 2.15 GAA and a .917 save percentage in five appearances, and Ville Husso possesses a 1.86 GAA and a .935 save percentage in eight contests. Dating back to last season, Grand Rapids has allowed just 50 goals in its last 22 regular-season games at Van Andel Arena (2.27 GA per game). Also dating back to last season, the Griffins have allowed 54 goals in their last 21 regular-season road games (2.57 GA per game).
Power Surge: The Griffins potted two power-play goals in consecutive games last week for the first time this season. The power play has converted seven of their last 29 power-play opportunities (24.1%) during their last 10 games. Grand Rapids had its best run when it scored a power-play goal in five straight games from Nov. 24-Dec. 6 (5-for-15, 33.3%). The power play ranks 11th on the circuit at 18.3% (24-for-131). If you break it down further, Grand Rapids' home power play is 12-for-58 (20.7%, 13th) and its road power play is 12-for-73 (16.4%, 19th). The Griffins have given up six short-handed goals, which is tied for the fifth-most. The Griffins' penalty kill has struggled as of late, allowing a power-play goal in five of their last six games (18-for-24 on PK, 75.0%). Grand Rapids has also surrendered a power-play goal in 12 of its last 18 outings (53-for-67 on PK, 79.1%). However, the penalty-kill unit remains one of the best in the league, as it ranks eighth at 84.8%. Grand Rapids has scored six short-handed tallies this season, which is tied for fourth in the AHL. When scoring on the power play, the Griffins are 12-4-2-1 and 6-9-1-1 when they allow a power-play goal.
AHL Leaderboard Tracker:
Shai Buium-Seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (13), tied for 11th among rookie defensemen in points (13), tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+7), tied for eighth among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa-Ninth in minutes played (1,298:08), tied for eighth in games played (22), ninth in GAA (2.31), tied for fifth in wins (12), 10th in save percentage (.917)
Nate Danielson-Third among rookies in assists (18), tied for 12th among rookies in plus-minus rating (+8), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for eighth among rookies in power-play assists (7)
Josiah Didier-Tied for fourth in short-handed assists (2), tied for 12th among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+13), tied for second among defensemen in short-handed assists (2)
Alex Doucet-Tied for fifth in short-handed goals (2), tied for first among rookies in short-handed goals (2)
x William Lagesson-Tied for 12th among defensemen in plus-minus rating (+13)
Amadeus Lombardi-Tied for seventh in game-winners (4)
Austin Watson-First in major penalties (9), tied for ninth in penalty minutes (71)
Images from this story
![]() Grand Rapids Griffins forward Austin Watson vs. the Manitoba Moose (Mark Newman) |
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