GRIFFINS (2-5-0-0) at Belleville Senators (4-4-0-0)

Griffins Game #8 * Road Game #5 * AHL Game #119

Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 0-1-0-0 All-Time Home Series: 0-0-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 0-1-0-0

Griffins vs. Senators
Second of four meetings overall, second of two at CAA Arena…Belleville is in its second AHL season…The Senators make the return trip to West Michigan on Jan. 11-12…Belleville had 17 players play in at least one NHL game during its inaugural 2017-18 season…Goaltender Mike McKenna is in his first season with Belleville and has been on the losing end in the last two Calder Cup Finals (2017 Syracuse, 2018 Texas)…McKenna was the goalie of record in all six games against Grand Rapids during the Griffins’ 2017 title run…Belleville is the first of two North Division teams the Griffins will face this season, as Grand Rapids and Cleveland will also meet up four times…Grand Rapids is 137-90-1-10-17 all time (0.592) against current North Division members, with 92 of those games coming against Cleveland (50-28-0-4-10), 72 against Rochester (41-24-1-3-3) and 66 against Toronto (31-30-0-3-2).

Status Update
The Griffins are still looking for their first road win of the season following last night’s 5-3 defeat to the Senators. Grand Rapids concludes its eight-game October schedule tonight when the Griffins finish their two-game set at Belleville. The Griffins will then be off from games until next Friday when they host Iowa to begin their first of three three-in-threes this season.

Last Game (Friday): Griffins 3 at Senators 5
Belleville won the first-ever matchup between the teams...Chase Balisy’s unsuccessful penalty shot attempt in the first period was the first by a Griffins opponent since Alex Broadhurst on Jan. 21, 2017 vs. CLE (no goal)...Filip Hronek and Christoffer Ehn, both assigned by Detroit to Grand Rapids this week, made their Griffins season debuts...For Ehn, it was also his AHL debut...Turner Elson lit the lamp for the second consecutive game...Grand Rapids recorded a season-high 34 shots.

Old Affiliates
The Belleville Senators are in their second season as the primary affiliate to the Ottawa Senators. The Griffins spent three seasons (1999-2002) as Ottawa’s affiliate, including their last two as members of the International Hockey League (1999-2001) and their first in the American Hockey League (2001-02). From 1999-2002, the Griffins won three straight division titles while compiling a 146-71-11-4-12 regular season record (0.653) to go along with an 18-14 playoff mark (0.563). The Senators showed similar success during the affiliation, advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs all three seasons and showing a 128-76-29-13 regular season record (0.606). Of the Griffins’ 171 alumni to play in the NHL, 38 came from 1999-02.

This Week in Griffins History
On Oct. 24, 2000, the Senators exercised the option for a third year of their affiliation with the Griffins.

New Places to Play
Belleville, Ontario, marks the 52nd different road city and CAA Arena is the 63rd different road venue the Griffins have competed in since the franchise’s inception in 1996.

On This Date in Griffins History
2013: A shorthanded goal by Landon Ferraro with 36 seconds remaining in the third gives Grand Rapids a 3-2 win at Iowa, extending the Griffins’ season-opening road point streak to six games (4-0-1-1).
2017: Matt Lorito returns from a three-game injury absence to register his first career hat trick and lift the Griffins to a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Chicago at Van Andel Arena. After scoring twice in the game’s first 13 minutes, Lorito breaks a 3-3 tie with a power play goal 6:07 into the third period.

Saari, Not Saari
Second-year defenseman Vili Saarijarvi is on a career-high four-game point streak and ties with Jake Chelios for most points by a team blueliner with four (1-3—4). A third-round selection by Detroit in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Saarijarvi produced his first AHL tally late in the first period during Oct. 20’s 5-3 win vs. Chicago.

Cheli Helps
Speaking of Jake Chelios, he has at least one assist in three straight games and his four helpers overall tie with Carter Camper for tops on the team. Jake and his father, Chris, are the first father and son duo to both play for Grand Rapids during their careers. As part of his 26-year Hall of Fame career from 1983-2010, Chris appeared in two games with Grand Rapids during the 2008-09 campaign.

Homer Run
Third-year Griffin Axel Holmstrom has collected points in four straight games (2-2—4), which ties his career long (Dec. 29, 2017-Jan. 3, 2018) and matches Vili Saarijarvi for the longest by a Griffin this season.

Wealth Distribution
Through seven games, the Griffins show eight players with four or more points, eight with two or more assists, and six with two or more goals.

No Shots For You
Grand Rapids has given up more than 30 shots just once (32 on Oct. 17 vs. Texas) and ranks fourth in the AHL in shots against (26.0). The Griffins have outshot five of seven opponents so far.

Stepping Right In
Several players who were recently assigned to Grand Rapids by Detroit made a positive impact on the scoresheet last night, despite the end result. Brian Lashoff, playing in his second game after missing the first five due to injury, picked up his point of the season on an assist; Libor Sulak, assigned by Detroit on Oct. 17, collected an assist in his second Griffins game of the season; Filip Hronek, assigned on Tuesday, chipped in with one assist; and Christoffer Ehn, assigned Thursday, finished with a plus-one rating in his AHL debut.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina ties for second on the team in goals (2) and third in points (4). The 18-year-old is the highest Red Wings draft pick ever to suit up for the Griffins. Only three players in Griffins history were drafted higher than No. 6: Jason Spezza (No. 2 by Ottawa in 2001), Darrin Shannon (No. 4 by Pittsburgh in 1988) and Stephen Weiss (No. 4 by Florida in 2001). Dylan Larkin (selected 15th overall in the 2014 Draft) was the previous highest Red Wings draft selection to play for Grand Rapids.

Blueliner Movement
The Griffins’ roster of defensemen looks quite a bit different than it did a week ago. Last Wednesday, the Red Wings assigned Libor Sulak to the Griffins while the Griffins released Mackenze Stewart from his professional tryout, returning him to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Last Thursday, the Griffins signed Chris Carlisle to a professional tryout and assigned Marcus Crawford to Toledo. Last Friday, the Red Wings activated Brian Lashoff off injured reserve and assigned him to Grand Rapids. This week Tuesday, the Red Wings assigned Filip Hronek to the Griffins and Wednesday, the Griffins released Matt Finn from his professional tryout.

Photo by Belleville Senators