This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Wed., Feb. 5 // 8 p.m. EST // UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Road, 3-4-0-0 Overall. Eighth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
All-Time Series: 47-35-5-5-5 Road, 101-68-7-7-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has won the last two matchups, with both coming by 3-2 margins at Panther Arena.

GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Sat., Feb. 8 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Texas Stars // Sun., Feb. 9 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, 3:35 p.m. on Sunday
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home, 1-2-0-1 Overall. Fifth and sixth of eight meetings overall, second and third of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 17-6-0-3 Home, 31-17-2-4 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars
Noteworthy: The Griffins and Stars are tied for fourth in the Central Division.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Jan. 31 // GRIFFINS 1 at Iowa Wild 4 // 20-21-2-4 (46 pts., T4th Central Division)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins have points in eight of their last 10 games (6-2-0-2) and tie for fourth place in the Central Division with a 20-21-2-4 (46 points) overall record. Wednesday’s contest at division-leading Milwaukee will mark only Grand Rapids’ second outing in a 13-day span. The Griffins will then host Texas, the team they are tied with in the standings, for a Saturday-Sunday set.

Last Week’s Notes:
Friday at Iowa – Grand Rapids is 1-2-2-0 in the season series, which concludes March 11 at Van Andel Arena…Iowa won all three meetings this season at Wells Fargo Arena…Dominic Turgeon became the third Griffin to reach the double-digit goal tally when he netted his 10th of the season at 7:51 in the second period…Taro Hirose extended his point streak to five games…Grand Rapids finished 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Recap

Follow the Leaders:

Jammin’ January: Behind a 7-4-0-2 January record, the Griffins’ 16 points were the most of any month this season and their 0.615 points percentage was second to only October’s 0.667. Grand Rapids posted a winning record and exactly 16 points in January for the fourth consecutive season. The Griffins started January in a tie for last in the division and climbed into a tie for fourth at month’s end. Chris Terry (4-7—11 in 13 GP), Taro Hirose (0-10—10 in 11 GP), Matt Puempel (4-3—7 in 13 GP) and Dominic Turgeon (4-3—7 in 13 GP) led the team in points during the month. Kevin Poulin (0-1-2, 2.22 GAA, 0.915%), Pat Nagle (2-1-0, 2.30 GAA, 0.918%) and Calvin Pickard (5-2-0, 2.44 GAA, 0.925%, 1 SO) manned the crease in January.

Tar-Oh!: Rookie Taro Hirose has collected eight helpers during his five-game assist streak, which equals Chris Terry (Oct. 25-Nov. 3) and Moritz Seider (Oct. 26-Nov. 6) as the longest by a Griffin this season. Since joining Grand Rapids on Dec. 3, Hirose’s 19 points (4-15—19) are a team high.

Terrific Turg: One of only two Griffins (Turner Elson) to play in every game this season, Dominic Turgeon ranks third on the team in goals (10) while tying for third in points (20). He has already matched his scoring output from last season when he suited up 72 times.

Lights Out: Over the last 10 games, Grand Rapids’ penalty kill has gone 26-for-30 (86.7%) and the Griffins have scored three shorthanded tallies (Dominic Turgeon 2, Chase Pearson 1). In the last 26 contests, the Griffins have killed 81 of 91 penalties (89.0%).

Net Nagle: Pat Nagle has won three of his last five starts, showing a 2.20 GAA and stopping 123 of 134 shots in that stretch (0.918). His 2.32 season GAA ranks seventh among AHL netminders with more than 550 minutes.

Back Up, Terr: 2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry leads the team with 11 points (4-7—11) in 13 GP in the new year. Overall, he ties for seventh 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 AHL starts, posting a 1.80 GAA, a 0.936 save percentage and one shutout in that stretch. He was assigned by Detroit back to Grand Rapids on Saturday.

Give Me a Break: Since joining the AHL in the 2001-02 season, the Griffins post a 301-217-7-20-27 (0.573) combined record in games played after the all-star break. Grand Rapids has tallied a 0.500 mark or better in each of the last nine seasons after the hiatus, including going a combined 131-71-10-12 (0.634) since 2012-13 – the year its current postseason streak began.

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.

Rotating Roster: Five different goaltenders have logged 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 74 times.

Milestones Within Reach:
Joe Hicketts – needs two points to reach 100 as a pro
Brian Lashoff – needs 16 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 985-677-27-60-116 (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 327 and Toronto’s 339 while the Griffins’ 707 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (711), Providence (717) and Toronto (736)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Milwaukee Notes: Current record 33-8-4-2, 72 points, 1st Central Division…Grand Rapids has won the last two matchups, with both coming by 3-2 margins at Panther Arena…In the last meeting on Jan. 8, Dominic Turgeon netted the game-winner at 15:34 of the second period with his second career shorthanded goal…Three of Milwaukee’s eight regulation losses have come against the Griffins…Four Griffins tie for the team lead in the season series with three points apiece…Daniel Carr is the leading scorer in the series with seven points (4-3—7) in 6 GP…Grand Rapids is 4-6-0-0 in the last 10 overall against the Admirals…Since the Admirals moved to Panther Arena at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, the Griffins are 14-5 at Milwaukee in the regular season with a +13 scoring margin (60-47)…Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 192nd meeting on Wednesday – and the Griffins’ 101 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4).

Texas Notes: Current record 21-20-2-2, 46 points, T4th Central Division…Grand Rapids has points in seven of the last 10 meetings overall (6-3-0-1)…The Griffins have points in six of the last seven matchups at Van Andel Arena (5-1-0-1), including wins in each of the last four…In Texas’ first visit of the season to Van Andel Arena on Oct. 26, Grand Rapids rallied for a 6-4 win after falling behind 3-0 at the 16:56 mark of the opening period…Joe Hicketts (0-4—4 in 4 GP) leads the team in the season series…Jake Oettinger has stopped all 61 shots he’s faced against the Griffins in two games…Kevin Poulin made his Griffins debut in the last meeting on Jan. 4 at Texas…The Griffins and Stars are facing off for the 11th consecutive season and Grand Rapids has finished with a 0.500 record or better in season series nine times, including eight consecutive years.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 20 wins and 27 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back-to-Back: This weekend will mark the 16th of 25 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins