This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Charlotte Checkers // Fri., Oct. 28 // 7:15 p.m. // Bojangles’ Coliseum
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Bojangles’ Coliseum
All-Time Series: 8-5-0-1 Road, 14-13-0-1 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes
Noteworthy: The Griffins won three of four on the road against Charlotte last season as 2015-16 marked the return of Checkers hockey to Bojangles’ Coliseum.

GRIFFINS at Charlotte Checkers // Sat., Oct. 29 // 6 p.m. // Bojangles’ Coliseum
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 5:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: Second of eight meetings overall, second of four at Bojangles’ Coliseum
All-Time Series: 8-5-0-1 Road, 14-13-0-1 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes
Noteworthy: Among returning players, Louis-Marc Aubry led the team with seven points (2-5—7) in eight games played against Charlotte last season.

Last Week’s Results
Tues., Oct. 18 GRIFFINS 4 at Iowa Wild 3 3-0-0-0 (6 points, T1st Central Division)
Fri., Oct. 21 Rockford IceHogs 2 at GRIFFINS 1 3-1-0-0 (6 points, 3rd)
Sat., Oct. 22 Cleveland Monsters 2 at GRIFFINS 3 4-1-0-0 (8 points, 2nd)

Off and Running: Following a pair of wins last week, the Griffins are 4-1 to open the 2016-17 season, their best start since the 2008-09 team started 4-0-1-0. The Griffins rallied from a two-goal third-period deficit last Tuesday at Iowa to claim a 4-3 victory. Following a 2-1 defeat last Friday at home to the Rockford IceHogs, the Griffins bounced back on Saturday to upend the defending Calder Cup champion Cleveland Monsters 3-2. Grand Rapids will travel to Charlotte this Friday and Saturday as it concludes its October trek through the Central Division.

Tip-A-Griffin Returns Tonight: Griffins players, coaches and staff will serve as wait staff and bartenders at all five local Uccello's Restaurants on Tuesday, Oct. 25 during the 10th annual Tip-A-Griffin event, which serves as a fundraiser for the Griffins Youth Foundation. For more information and a lineup for each location, please click here.

Through Five…: Anthony Mantha’s AHL-high six goals are the most for a Griffin through the season’s first five games since Justin Abdelkader potted a sextet of goals to open the 2008-09 campaign. Second-year pro and first-year Griffin Matt Lorito’s five assists are tied for third in the league and are the most for a Griffin through the first five games since Adam Almquist had five helpers in 2013-14. In fact, Lorito’s six total points (1-5—6) through five games are the most by a player to begin his Griffins career since Chris Conner totaled nine points (3-6—9) to open the 2011-12 season, his first and only year in Grand Rapids.

Super Mantha: During Grand Rapids’ come-from-behind 4-3 win at Iowa last Tuesday, Anthony Mantha notched his second career hat trick (2/17/16 vs. Milwaukee) and tied a franchise record with three power play goals (Tomas Jurco, 11/20/15 vs. San Diego; Teemu Pulkkinen, 1/29/15 at Iowa; Joe Murphy, 10/16/01 at Cleveland). Mantha’s four power play goals are tops in the league and already match the number he scored in 60 games last season.

On the Power Play: The Griffins rank eighth in the AHL on the power play, converting on 6-of-23 opportunities (26.1%). Matt Lorito (4) and Anthony Mantha (4) lead the team in power play assists and goals, respectively.

Consecutive Coreau: Goaltender Jared Coreau has made five straight starts in between the pipes to start the season, the second-longest streak in Griffins history. Joey MacDonald was in net seven consecutive times to begin the 2004-05 campaign. Coreau’s four wins and 298:19 minutes both pace the AHL while his 2.01 goals against average ranks 10th among goalies with 120:00 or more minutes.

Whoa, Nellie: Following a 4-1 start, second-year Griffins head coach Todd Nelson has matched his best start to a season as an AHL head coach. Now in his seventh season as an AHL head coach, Nelson also led the Oklahoma City Barons to a 4-1 mark in 2011-12 – which, coincidentally, was also his second season as the Barons’ bench boss.

Griffin Debuts: Mike Borkowski, Dan Renouf and Ben Street all made their season debuts last Friday against Rockford after returning from injuries. Borkowski is in his first full professional season after playing in 12 games for Binghamton last season on an amateur tryout following a four-year collegiate career at Colgate. Also a rookie, Renouf signed a two-year entry-level contract with Detroit last March and appeared in six games with the Griffins last spring. A seventh-year pro and first-year Griffin, Street recorded his first goal and multi-point game (1-1—2) of the year during last Saturday’s 3-2 win against Cleveland.

Fresh Blood: The Griffins have played eight rookies – Mike Borkowski, Matt Caito, Kyle Criscuolo, Joe Hicketts, Dan Renouf, Dylan Sadowy, Evgeny Svechnikov and Dominic Turgeon – already this season through five games, surpassing the total from all of last season as seven rookies appeared for Grand Rapids in 2015-16.

Walleye Report: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye have started the 2016-17 campaign 4-1 under first-year head coach Dan Watson. Former Griffin Kyle Bonis (5-3—8) leads the charge in scoring while second-year pro Jake Paterson, Detroit’s second pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, is 2-1with a 3.00 goals against average and a 0.906 save percentage.

Back-to-Backs: The Griffins will play back-to-back games a total of 27 times this season. Compare the statistics for when the Griffins have played on consecutive nights:

Captains: Fifth-year Griffin and 14th-year professional Nathan Paetsch has been named the 11th captain in Griffins history. The fastest defenseman in franchise history to accumulate 100 points as a Griffin, Paetsch has skated in 291 career games in a Griffins sweater and totaled 128 points (20-108—128), second all time among Grand Rapids blueliners behind Travis Richards (56-182—238). Should he appear in nine more contests, Paetsch can join the short list of eight other players who have played in 300 or more games. Eighth-year Griffin Brian Lashoff along with newcomers Matthew Ford and Ben Street will serve as assistant captains.

Young Leaders: Four rookies on the roster come to Grand Rapids after having served as a captain for their respective junior or collegiate team last season: Mike Borkowski (Colgate), Kyle Criscuolo (Harvard), Joe Hicketts (Victoria – WHL) and Dominic Turgeon (Portland – WHL).