*Tonight's radio broadcast will be joined in progress at approximately 7:05 p.m. following the conclusion of college football on WOOD Radio

Griffins Game #20 * Road Game #9 * AHL Game #280

Season Series: 1-2-0-0 Home Series: 1-2-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 99-66-7-7-8 All-Time Home Series: 54-32-2-2-3 All-Time Road Series: 45-34-5-5-5

Griffins at Admirals
Fourth of 10 meetings overall, first of five at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena…During Milwaukee’s current nine-game winning streak, the Admirals are outscoring opponents 42-24…Grand Rapids has won 10 of the last 12 matchups at Panther Arena...Since the Admirals moved to Panther Arena at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign, the Griffins are 12-4 at Milwaukee in the regular season...Michael Rasmussen leads the Griffins with three points (0-3—3) in two games against the Admirals this season...In his career, Calvin Pickard is 9-5-2 with a 2.33 GAA and a 0.918 save mark in 17 appearances against Milwaukee…Pickard’s older brother, Chet, appeared in 43 games with Milwaukee from 2009-11 and registered 15 wins to go along with a 2.86 GAA, a 0.893 save percentage and one shutout…As an Admiral, goaltender Troy Grosenick, a Wisconsin native, is 5-3-1 with a 1.79 GAA and a 0.948 save percentage in nine games against the Griffins…The Griffins and Admirals began their rivalry in 1996-97 in the International Hockey League and Milwaukee is Grand Rapids’ most frequent opponent as the two will meet for the 188th time tonight…Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4)...Since 2013-14, the Griffins are 40-20-2-1 against the Admirals, including 21-10-1-1 at home and 19-10-1-0 away.

0 to 100
The Griffins own 99 regular season wins against the Admirals, the most of any foe. In its history, Grand Rapids has squared off against 57 different teams since 1996-97 and next in line in terms of wins versus opponents are Chicago (85-61-2-6-3) and Manitoba (63-32-1-1-7).

Last Time Out (Friday): Admirals 3 at Griffins 2 - Recap
Rookie Jarid Lukosevicius recorded his fourth pro goal and Filip Zadina scored his seventh of the season…Recalled earlier in the day from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, rookie Troy Loggins picked up an assist in his AHL season debut...Calvin Pickard had his four-game winning streak snapped...Grand Rapids outshot Milwaukee 36-24 and has outgunned the Admirals in all three meetings this season...The Griffins finished 0-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill...Grand Rapids suffered its first loss of the season when leading after two periods (7-1).

Status Update
The Griffins are a quarter of the way through their 2019-20 schedule and tie for fourth in the Central Division standings with a 9-8-1-1 record (20 points). Grand Rapids finishes off a home-and-home set against the AHL-leading Milwaukee Admirals tonight in Wisconsin before traveling to Chicago on Wednesday.

Z-Score
Nineteen-year-old Filip Zadina is on a season-high six-game point streak (4-4—8) and just one shy of matching his career best (Feb. 6-22, 2019). His point streak is the fourth instance already this season of a Griffin with a point run of five games or longer (Matt Puempel 11, Chris Terry 8, Moritz Seider 5). Zadina has 12 points (6-6—12) in his last 12 games and places third overall on the club in scoring (7-6—13).

Close Enough
After playing just two one-goal affairs in the season’s first 17 games – and neither was decided in regulation – the Griffins have played back-to-back one-goal games and both have ended in 60 minutes. Grand Rapids’ four one-goal games ties for the second-fewest amount in the league.

Apple Seider
The team’s top-scoring defenseman with 11 points (1-10—11), Moritz Seider ties for second among rookie blueliners in scoring and 13th among all defensemen. Born April 6, 2001, Seider ties Ontario’s Tobias Bjornfot for the second-youngest player in the AHL this season. Only Bridgeport’s Simon Holmstrom (May 24, 2001) is younger.

Pick-ing His Shots
Calvin Pickard has won four of his last five games, showing a 2.22 GAA and a 0.925 save mark in that span. The eight-year pro collected his 100th AHL victory behind 27 saves on Wednesday against San Antonio.

Back Up, Terr
Chris Terry ranks second in the AHL in points (24) while pacing the Griffins in assists (15) and multi-point games (8) and tying for the team lead in goals (9). He has accumulated 18 points (7-11—18) in the last 14 games. In his 11th-year pro, Terry led the Griffins with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead GR in scoring in back-to-back seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Knowing Our Own Power
The Griffins place fourth in the AHL in power play efficiency at 24.1% (20-for-83) and have scored in seven of the last 10 games. Grand Rapids has netted two or more PPGs in a single game five times already this season, compared to eight in all of 2018-19. Chris Terry (6-6—12), Matt Puempel (3-6—9) and Filip Zadina (4-2—6) lead the way in power play points. The PP accounts for 30.8% of Grand Rapids’ goals.

First Things First
Grand Rapids’ roster currently features five recent Detroit first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017, Evgeny Svechnikov 2015). Five of the Red Wings’ last six first rounders are on the west side of the state, with the exception being Dennis Cholowski (2016), who made Detroit’s roster following training camp. 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). The Griffins’ opening night lineup had five Detroit first rounders in it, far surpassing the previous record of two. The Griffins had never seen more than three Red Wings first rounders suit up for the club at any point in the same season until this year. Adding in Matt Puempel (24th overall by Ottawa in 2011), Grand Rapids’ roster boasts six former first-round draft selections.

This Date in Griffins History
2001: A staunch Griffins defense establishes a franchise mark by holding an opponent to two or fewer goals for the seventh consecutive game, in a 2-1 win over Chicago. Grand Rapids sets another record for fastest start with its 13th win in the season's first 18 games.
2002: With a 4-2 win over Cleveland, the Griffins finish November with a 6-0-2-0 record at home, marking the first calendar month in franchise history in which they post an undefeated record at Van Andel Arena.
2005: A 3-2 shootout win at Manitoba marks the Griffins’ fifth win in a six-day span, equaling a record feat accomplished in Dec. 2000.
2011: Thanks to four unanswered goals during the third period, the Griffins roll to a 5-2 win over Hamilton.
2012: Tomas Tatar scores his second goal of the game with 2:13 remaining to extend the Griffins’ winning streak to seven with a 4-3 victory over Chicago. Petr Mrazek makes 25 saves while improving to 6-0 on the season, marking the best start by a goaltender in franchise history.

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 974-664-27-59-113 (0.585) 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’ 314 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 315 and Toronto’s 328 while the Griffins’ 681 points in that span tie Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for third, trailing Providence (682) and Toronto (712)...Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 90 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins