GRIFFINS (32-17-6-4) at Milwaukee Admirals (25-23-12-1)

Griffins Game #60 * Road Game #27 * AHL Game #916

Season Series: 4-1-0-1 Home Series: 3-0-0-1 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 96-62-7-7-8 All-Time Home Series: 53-29-2-2-3 All-Time Road Series: 43-33-5-5-5

Griffins at Admirals
Seventh of 10 meetings overall, third 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 10-3-0-0 at Milwaukee in the regular season…Grand Rapids has points in seven of the last eight matchups overall (6-1-0-1) and is 13-4-1-1 in the last 19 regular season clashes…Since the 2013-14 campaign, the Griffins are 37-16-2-1 against the Admirals, including 20-7-1-1 at home and 17-9-1-0 away…In the last meeting on Jan. 19 at Van Andel Arena, Patrik Rybar turned aside all 24 shots he faced to record his first shutout in North America and propel Grand Rapids to a 3-0 victory…The last time the clubs squared off in Milwaukee on Jan. 9, Carter Camper, Axel Holmstrom and Matt Puempel lit the lamp while Rybar stopped 28 shots to help the Griffins to a 3-1 win…In six games this season, Puempel shows five goals among eight points, both of which are the most for either team…In 15 career games vs. Milwaukee as a Griffin, Puempel has 17 points (9-8—17) and a plus-six rating…This season, Rybar is 2-0-1 with a 0.98 GAA and a 0.963 save percentage against Milwaukee and Harri Sateri is 2-1-0 with a 2.97 GAA and a 0.873 save mark…The Griffins have faced the Admirals more than any other opponent in team history as the two clubs will meet for the 181st time 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): Wild 4 at Griffins 3 OT - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids is 1-1-1-1 in the six-game season series after Matt Bartkowski scored the game-winner at 4:08 of overtime...16 of the last 22 games between the two teams have been decided by a single goal, including 10 that have been tied after regulation...Martin Frk (3) started the scoring 17 seconds into the game...Givani Smith (5) and Axel Holmstrom (11) also lit the lamp in regulation…Defenseman Dylan McIlrath notched a season-high two points (0-2—2)...Grand Rapids outshot Iowa 37-21 and finished 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Status Update
The Griffins are tied with Iowa for second in the Central Division standings with 74 points and trail first-place Chicago by one. Grand Rapids shows an overall record of 32-17-6-4 and has picked up points in nine of its last 11 outings (6-2-3-0) and in 14 of its last 18 (11-4-3-0). The Griffins finish off their three games in four nights this week with a trip to Milwaukee tonight before returning home to host Rockford next Friday. Grand Rapids is in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (4-2-3-0 record so far). The Griffins have killed off their last 13 penalties, including going 6-for-6 in each of the last two games.

Road Trippin’
The Griffins have points in eight of their last 12 games on foreign ice (5-4-2-1). Grand Rapids will play 12 of its final 17 contests in enemy territory, including a season-high six-game road swing from March 16-26. Matt Puempel (10-10—20) and Chris Terry (12-7—19) pace the team in scoring in away games.

Suite Life
Tonight is the second 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 a 79-42-7-8 (0.636) 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 959-646-27-57-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 299 regular season wins and 648 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (310 / 669) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (295 / 638).

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel became the 40th player in franchise history to record 100 or more points in a Griffins uniform following a two-assist effort last night. He has points in eight of his last nine games (5-6—11), including in four straight (3-3—6). 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 194 shots are fourth 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).

Wade For It
In 21 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (22), goals (12) and plus-minus (+12), while placing fourth in assists (10). He has tallied five points (2-3—5) during his current three-game point streak.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
Behind a career-high five points (2-3—5) on Wednesday, Chris Terry became the first Griffin with a five-point effort since Eric Tangradi logged two goals and three assists on March 11, 2016 vs. Manitoba. In fact, Wednesday was only the fifth time since the 2011-12 season that a Griffin produced five points in a single contest. With 26 goals (T9th in AHL) and 52 points (T13th), Terry has surpassed the 50-point mark in his seventh consecutive full AHL season.

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 12th in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in 10 of his last 13 games (8-3-2) and shows a 2.19 GAA and a 0.924 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar ranks fifth in the AHL with a 2.35 overall GAA.

Page Turner
Turner Elson posts 30 points (14-16—30) on the season to equal his career high, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Elson’s 16 assists match his career-high total from 2015-16 and his 14 goals are three shy of his career best from 2014-15.

Instant Impact
Since being assigned to Grand Rapids on Feb. 14, rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski ties for second on the team with five assists and ties for third with a plus-five rating in that span. Also assigned on Feb. 14, right wing Martin Frk is averaging a point per game with the Griffins (3-4—7 in 7 GP) and ties for tops on the team with a plus-six rating over that stretch.

This Date in Griffins History
Grand Rapids is 3-2-1-0-1 all time when playing on March 9, including a 1-1-1-0-0 mark on road ice.
2001: The Griffins earn their record 27th home win and establish a regular season mark for goals scored in a 9-3 slaughter of Chicago.
2003: Thanks to losses by Rochester and Cincinnati, the idle Griffins claim the 2002-03 John Chick Trophy as champions of the Central Division. The division title marks their second straight as AHL members and fourth consecutive overall, dating back to the 1999-00 IHL campaign.
2005: Joey MacDonald ties Mike Fountain’s team record by making his 15th consecutive appearance in goal, but the Griffins fall 4-2 to Manitoba.
2007: Jimmy Howard records his fifth shutout of the season, just one shy of the franchise record, with a 1-0 win in Omaha.
2013: A 2-1 win over Lake Erie pushes the Griffins to 15 games over the 0.500 mark (34-19-2-2) for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign, when they made their most recent Calder Cup Playoff appearance.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins