This Week’s Game
GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Fri., Jan. 31 // 8 p.m. EST // Wells Fargo Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-1-1-0 Road, 1-1-2-0 Overall. Fifth of six meetings overall, third of three at Wells Fargo Arena
All-Time Series: 17-7-1-0 Road, 32-13-3-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: In the last meeting on Jan. 22, Chris Terry scored the game-tying goal with 57 seconds remaining in regulation and Grand Rapids claimed a 4-3 shootout victory to snap a four-game winless streak against the Wild (0-2-2-0).

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 22 // Iowa Wild 3 at GRIFFINS 4 SO // 19-19-2-4 (44 pts., T4th Central Division)
Fri., Jan. 24 // San Diego Gulls 3 at GRIFFINS 4 OT // 20-19-2-4 (46 pts., 4th Central)
Sat., Jan. 25 // San Diego Gulls 3 at GRIFFINS 1 // 20-20-2-4 (46 pts., T4th Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins had their season-high eight-game point streak (6-0-0-2) snapped last Saturday in their final game before the all-star break. Grand Rapids sits 20-20-2-4 and in a tie for fourth place in the Central Division standings. After playing eight home games in a 16-day span, Friday’s tilt at Iowa will be the Griffins’ only contest in a 10-day stretch.

Last Week’s Notes:
Wednesday vs. Iowa – Grand Rapids snapped a four-game winless skid against Iowa (0-2-2-0)...The Griffins recorded a season-high 47 shots, one game after attempting 46...Chris Terry tied the game with 57 seconds remaining in regulation and added a marker in the shootout...Matt Puempel notched the shootout-deciding goal...Dominic Turgeon scored his second shorthanded tally of the year...Turgeon’s goal 12 seconds in to the middle frame was the fastest to open any period by the Griffins this season and the fastest since Filip Zadina scored eight seconds into overtime on Feb. 16, 2019 vs. San Antonio...Dominik Shine extended his point streak to a career-high three games while assisting on Tyler Spezia’s fourth of the season…Gerald Mayhew’s power-play goal at 4:01 of the first period snapped Grand Rapids’ streak of 12 straight penalties killed. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. San Diego – Grand Rapids played its 10th game of the season tied after regulation and third in a row...Matt Ford delivered the game-winner on a 5-on-3 power play 1:06 into overtime...Filip Zadina netted his fifth career multi-goal AHL outing while skating in his first Griffins game since Dec. 4...The Griffins have a shorthanded goal in back-to-back games after Chase Pearson scored at 2:11 of the second period…Pearson is on a career-high four-game point streak (2-2—4)...Taro Hirose recorded three helpers and has distributed six during his three-game assist streak...Dominic Turgeon’s penalty shot try in the second period was the Griffins’ first since Chris Terry’s unsuccessful attempt on Feb. 9, 2019 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...Calvin Pickard stopped 33 shots and won his fourth straight start...Grand Rapids finished 2-for-6 on the power play, the Griffins’ second time this homestand they have banked multiple PPGs (3-for-7 vs. Manitoba, Jan. 11). Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. San Diego – Grand Rapids had its season-high eight-game point streak snapped…It was the team’s longest point streak since rattling off nine in a row (7-0-1-1) from Nov. 17-Dec. 7, 2018…The Griffins’ four-game winning streak against the Gulls came to a close…San Diego’s 19 shots were the fewest allowed by the Griffins this season…Matt Puempel tallied the team’s lone goal…Calvin Pickard recorded 16 saves but had his four-game winning streak ended…Taro Hirose extended his assist streak to four games…Turner Elson skated in his 350th AHL contest…Grand Rapids finished 1-for-7 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. Recap | Highlights

Follow the Leaders:

Shining Stars: Matthew Ford led all players with four goals during the AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, scoring in each of the Central Division’s games while adding an assist, to tie Matt Lorito (2017-18) for the most career goals scored by a Griffin in AHL All-Star competition. The Griffins' captain and Los Angeles native made his all-star debut after being chosen by the AHL as the captain for the Western Conference all-stars in recognition of his outstanding leadership and service. Chris Terry also helped the Central Division reach the championship game by totaling three points (1-2—3) in his second all-star appearance as a Griffin, fourth in a row overall and fifth of his career.

Give Me a Break: Since joining the AHL in the 2001-02 season, the Griffins post a 301-216-7-20-27 (0.574) combined record in games played after the all-star break. In their first game after the recess, Grand Rapids posts a 11-4-0-3 (0.694) ledger, including points in seven straight (5-0-0-2). The Griffins have tallied a 0.500 mark or better in each of the last nine seasons after the hiatus, including going a combined 131-70-10-12 (0.637) since 2012-13 – the year the postseason streak began.

Tar-Oh!: Rookie Taro Hirose has collected seven helpers during his four-game assist streak. His streak is one shy of matching the longest by a Griffin this season, which was set by Chris Terry (Oct. 25-Nov. 3) and Moritz Seider (Oct. 26-Nov. 6). Since joining Grand Rapids on Dec. 3, Hirose’s 18 points (4-14—18) are a team high.

Lights Out: Since the third period on Nov. 27 at Chicago, Grand Rapids has fended off 80 of its last 89 penalties (89.9%), a stretch that covers 25 games. The Griffins have vaulted from 30th in the AHL in penalty killing on Nov. 28 to their current spot tying for 11th.

Net Nagle: Pat Nagle has won three of his last four starts, showing a 1.98 GAA and stopping 93 of 101 shots in that stretch (0.921). His 2.23 season GAA ranks sixth among AHL netminders with more than 500 minutes.

Fire Away: The Griffins have recorded 30 or more shots in seven consecutive games, averaging 39.3 during that span and outshooting foes 275-197.

Back Up, Terr: 2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry leads the team with 11 points (4-7—11) in 12 GP in the new year. He ties for fifth in the AHL in points (41) while pacing the Griffins in goals (17), assists (24), multi-point games (13) and power play goals (9).

Picks and Pucks: Calvin Pickard has won four of his last five starts, posting a 1.80 GAA, a 0.936 save percentage and one shutout in that stretch. He was recalled by Detroit on Sunday.

Staycation: The Griffins finished 5-1-0-2 in their eight-game homestand from Jan. 10-25. It was the team’s lengthiest since an eight-game stretch from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2006 (4-3-0-1 record). In fact, the only longer homestand Grand Rapids has enjoyed is nine games from Oct. 26-Nov. 18, 2004 (4-4-1-0 record). Taro Hirose (0-8—8), Chris Terry (4-2—6) and Michael Rasmussen (2-3—5) led the team in scoring during the stretch. Calvin Pickard (3-1, 1.75 GAA, 0.936%, 1 SO), Kevin Poulin (0-0-2, 1.85 GAA, 0.929%) and Pat Nagle (2-0, 1.92 GAA, 0.923%) manned the crease over the homestand. Since the 2016-17 season, Grand Rapids is 18-7-0-3 (0.696) in West Michigan in January.

First Things First: Grand Rapids’ lineup last Friday featured all six of the Red Wings’ recent first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017, Dennis Cholowski 2016, Evgeny Svechnikov 2015). Adding in Dylan McIlrath (New York Rangers 2010) and Matt Puempel (Ottawa Senators 2011), Grand Rapids’ lineup hosted eight former first-round draft selections. Prior to this season, the Griffins never had more than five first-rounders (regardless of drafting team) play for them during an entire season, much less in one game. From 2002-15, the Griffins had only seven Detroit first rounders total suit up for them: Jakub Kindl (2005-11; 14-15), Niklas Kronwall (2003-06), Dylan Larkin (2015 playoffs only), Anthony Mantha (2014-15), Tom McCollum (2009-15), Riley Sheahan (2011-14) and Brendan Smith (2010-13).

Red Wings Report: There have been 12 players who have played for both Detroit and Grand Rapids this season – Madison Bowey, Dennis Cholowski, Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard (conditioning), Joe Hicketts, Taro Hirose, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Calvin Pickard, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov and Filip Zadina.

NHL Alumni: Through Jan. 27, 36 players with Griffins experience have skated in at least one game in the NHL this season.

Rotating Roster: Kevin Poulin made his Griffins debut on Jan. 4 and became the fifth goaltender to log minutes for Grand Rapids this season, the team’s most since five suited up during the 2014-15 campaign (Pat Nagle, Jonas Gustavsson, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum). Including those five goalies, the Griffins have used 38 players already this season. Here is how the current usage stacks up to the final player counts in recent seasons: 2018-19 – 41 players, 2017-18 – 32, 2016-17 – 39, 2015-16 – 37 and 2014-15 – 39. Since the AHL’s season began on Oct. 4, the Red Wings have recalled or assigned a player from or to Grand Rapids a total of 70 times.

Milestones Within Reach:
Joe Hicketts – needs two points to reach 100 as a pro
Brian Lashoff – needs 17 games to reach 500 as a Griffin/in the AHL
Chris Terry – needs eight points to reach 550 in the AHL
Eric Tangradi – needs two points to reach 350 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs three points to reach 250 in the AHL

Griffins in General: Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 985-676-27-60-116 (0.583) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 325 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third, behind only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 326 and Toronto’s 338 while the Griffins’ 707 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (708), Providence (715) and Toronto (734)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Iowa Notes: Current record 26-14-3-3, 58 points, 2nd Central Division…In the last meeting on Jan. 22, Chris Terry scored the game-tying goal with 57 seconds remaining in regulation and Grand Rapids claimed a 4-3 shootout victory to snap a four-game winless streak against the Wild (0-2-2-0)…Terry (2-2—4 in 4 GP) and Matt Puempel (0-4—4 in 4 GP) lead the Griffins in the series…Former Ferris State Bulldog and Wyandotte, Mich., native Gerald Mayhew has 18 points (13-5—18) and a plus-10 rating in 17 career games against Grand Rapids…31 different Griffins have suited up in the season series, compared to 23 for Iowa…In the last 10 meetings overall, Grand Rapids is 3-3-3-1…In the last 10 at Wells Fargo Arena, the Griffins are 5-4-1-0…While winning 20 of the first 24 all-time meetings, Grand Rapids outscored the Wild 91-43…Since then, the Griffins are 12-9-3-2 in the series and have been outscored 83-75…19 of the last 28 matchups have been decided by one goal, including 13 that have been tied after regulation.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 20 wins and 26 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back-to-Back: The Griffins have played on consecutive days 15 times so far out of 25 this season.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins