GRIFFINS (33-18-6-4) at Milwaukee Admirals (26-24-13-1)

Griffins Game #62 * Road Game #28 * AHL Game #961

Season Series: 5-1-0-1 Home Series: 3-0-0-1 Road Series: 2-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 97-62-7-7-8 All-Time Home Series: 53-29-2-2-3 All-Time Road Series: 44-33-5-5-5

Griffins at Admirals
Eighth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena…Since the Admirals moved to Panther Arena at the start of the 2016-17 season, the Griffins are 11-3-0-0 at Milwaukee in the regular season…Grand Rapids has points in eight of the last nine matchups overall (7-1-0-1) and is 14-4-1-1 in the last 20 regular season clashes…Since the 2013-14 campaign, the Griffins are 38-16-2-1 against the Admirals, including 20-7-1-1 at home and 18-9-1-0 away…Grand Rapids has not allowed a goal to Milwaukee since the 8:03 mark of the first period on Jan. 9, a team shutout span of 171:57…Patrik Rybar has started the last three games against the Admirals and his shutout streak against them, which is bolstered by back-to-back clean sheets on Jan. 19 and March 9, stands at 171:49…Rybar is 3-0-1 in the season series with a 0.74 GAA and a 0.973 save percentage…Harri Sateri shows a 2-1-0 record to go along with a 2.97 GAA and a 0.873 save mark…In seven games this season, Matt Puempel shows five goals among eight points, both of which are the most for either team…In 16 career games vs. Milwaukee as a Griffin, Puempel has 17 points (9-8—17) and a plus-seven rating…The Griffins have faced the Admirals more than any other opponent in team history as the two clubs will meet for the 182nd time in the regular season tonight...Admirals netminder Tom McCollum played with the Griffins from 2009-16 and 2017-18 and is the franchise’s all-time goalie leader in wins (123), games played (263), minutes (14900:25) and saves (6640), helped Grand Rapids win the 2013 Calder Cup and is the team’s only four-time AHL Man of the Year nominee…In five appearances vs. Grand Rapids, McCollum is 1-1-3 with a 2.32 GAA and a 0.927 save percentage…Griffins first-year head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4).

Last Time Out (Friday): IceHogs 3 at Griffins 2 - Read the full recap here
The Griffins are 3-2-4-0 in the 10-game season series...Grand Rapids had its eight-game home point streak (6-0-2-0) against Rockford snapped...The Griffins also saw their six-game overall home point streak (4-0-2-0) ended…Grand Rapids outshot Rockford 48-20, recording a season high in shots...Matt Ford tallied his 10th goal of the season and has lit the lamp in back-to-back contests...Turner Elson banked his 15th marker of the campaign...Vili Saarijarvi skated in his 100th Griffins/AHL game...Patrik Rybar’s shutout streak was snapped at 102:57 after Andreas Martinsen’s goal at 6:38 of the first period.

Status Update
Showing an overall record of 33-18-6-4, the Griffins are in third place in the Central Division, trailing Iowa by two and Chicago by three. The Griffins have picked up points in 10 of their last 13 outings (7-3-3-0) and in 15 of their last 20 (12-5-3-0). Grand Rapids heads to Milwaukee tonight to begin a season-high six-game road trip. The Griffins are in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (5-3-3-0 record so far).

Road Trippin’
The Griffins have points in nine of their last 13 games on foreign ice (6-4-2-1). Grand Rapids will play 11 of its final 15 contests in enemy territory, including its current six-game road swing that lasts until March 26. Chris Terry (13-8—21) and Matt Puempel (10-10—20) pace the team in scoring in away games. Grand Rapids is a +22 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.21 goals and operating at 18.62% on the power play, compared to –9, 2.74 and 8.85% on enemy ice.

Suite Life
Tonight at Milwaukee is the third of nine road games the Griffins will play in the month of March. This season marks the eighth consecutive in which Grand Rapids hits the road for seven or more contests in March (7 in 2017-18, 10 in 2016-17, 8 in 2015-16, 7 in 2014-15, 9 in 2013-14, 11 in 2012-13 and 9 in 2011-12). Despite the lack of home games, the Griffins have posted an overall winning record in March in 10 straight years, combining for an 80-43-7-8 (0.634) mark since 2008-09. The Griffins played just two road games in February, their fewest since having two in 2011-12.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids became the first team in the Western Conference to hit the 70-point plateau after a 4-3 shootout win against Texas on Feb. 22...The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 overtime win vs. San Antonio on Feb. 16...Grand Rapids achieved 30 Ws or more in its first 53 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons...The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 960-647-27-57-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 300 regular season wins and 650 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (311 / 672) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (297 / 642).

Wade For It
In 22 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (23), goals (12) and plus-minus (+13), while tying for third in assists (11). He has tallied six points (2-4—6) during his current four-game point streak.

Puemped Up
The 40th player in franchise history to record 100 or more points in a Griffins uniform, Matt Puempel has found the scoresheet in eight of his last 11 games (5-6—11). The sixth-year pro leads Grand Rapids with 16 multi-point outings and seven power play goals while placing second in both goals (22) and points (47). His team-high 201 shots are third in the league. Puempel has reached the 20-goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and in back-to-back campaigns after depositing 23 last season (22 with Grand Rapids, 1 with Hartford).

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro Turner Elson has set new career highs this season in both points (32) and assists (17). His 15 goals are the most since scoring a career high 17 in 2014-15 with Adirondack.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
With 27 goals (T5th in AHL) and 54 points (16th) – both team highs – Chris Terry has surpassed the 50-point mark in his seventh consecutive full AHL season. Owning 494 career AHL points, he needs six more to become the 96th player in league history to amass 500 or more.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in 10 of his last 12 starts (7-2-3) and shows a 2.29 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage in that span. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for 14th in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar is 6-3-0 in his last nine starts, showing a 2.00 GAA and a 0.931 save percentage with two shutouts in that time. He ties for second in the league with a 2.29 overall GAA.

Instant Impact
Since being assigned to Grand Rapids on Feb. 14, right wing Martin Frk is averaging better than a point per game with the Griffins (4-6—10 in 9 GP) and posts a team-best plus-nine rating in that time. He has picked up six points during his five-game point streak (3-3—6). Also assigned on Feb. 14, rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski places fourth on the team with five assists and ties for third with a plus-six rating in that span.

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 4-4-1-0-1 all time when playing on March 16, including a 1-3-1-0-0 mark on road ice.
2000: Yves Sarault sets a franchise record for fastest goal to start a game (since surpassed) by scoring 15 seconds into a 6-1 win over Michigan.
2002: With a 1-1 draw at Utah, Grand Rapids becomes the first team in its league (IHL in 2000 and 2001, AHL in 2002) to clinch a playoff spot for the third consecutive season.
2016: Tom McCollum turns aside 40 of 41 shots as the Griffins win their 12th straight game, 4-1 at Texas.
2018: Adorned in West Michigan Whitecaps-inspired uniforms, the Griffins defeat Rockford 4-3 in overtime. Todd Nelson earns his 300th AHL victory, making him just the 20th head coach in the league’s 82-year history to reach that milestone.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins