Griffins vs. Wolves
First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Allstate Arena…Chicago has won five straight in the series, including a 3-2 shootout victory in the last matchup of 2017-18…Griffins first-year head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Brad Tapper won the Calder Cup as players with the Wolves in 2002, their second consecutive season capturing a league championship together after hoisting the IHL’s Turner Cup with the Orlando Solar Bears in 2001…Simon logged 196 games with Chicago from 2001-03 and 2004-05, registering 87 points (37-50—87) and 192 PIM…Tapper appeared in 98 games with the Wolves from 2001-04, tallying 58 points (24-34—58) and 130 PIM…Tapper served as an assistant with the Wolves from 2014-16…First-year Griffin Wade Megan totaled 99 points (44-55—99), a plus-34 rating and 109 PIM in 136 games with Chicago from 2016-18…Megan paced the AHL with 33 goals during his first season with the Wolves in 2016-17…First-year Griffin Jake Chelios made his AHL debut with Chicago on April 11, 2014 at Iowa and went on to skate in 45 games with the Wolves from 2013-15 and picked up 16 points (1-15—16)...Chicago has won back-to-back regular season Central Division titles...However, from 2016-18, the Wolves combined to post a 69-36-11-8 record (0.633) against division foes, while the Griffins framed a 71-37-2-8 mark (0.644) during that stretch...Grand Rapids finished 10-7-0-1 against Chicago during the past two seasons.

Entering Saturday
Fresh off their first win of the season, the Griffins will look to make it two in a row when they visit division rival Chicago tonight. After today, the Griffins return to Van Andel Arena for a pair of contests next week, beginning with Texas on Wednesday and concluding with these same Wolves on Saturday.

Last Game (Friday): Griffins 6 vs. Bears 3
Grand Rapids picked up its first win of the season and scored six goals after combining for one in its first two games...Ben Simon earned his first victory as head coach of the Griffins...Rookie Filip Zadina picked up his first two career AHL goals...Rookie David Pope made his pro debut and registered an assist...First-year Griffin Carter Camper collected two assists to go along with the game-winning goal...First-year Griffin Wade Megan potted his first goal of the season...Harri Sateri notched his first win between the pipes for Grand Rapids...Thanks to a crowd of 10,834, the Griffins sold out their 23rd consecutive home opener...Grand Rapids is 13-9-0-1 all time in home openers...The Griffins’ six goals were the most in a home opener since burying six in a 6-4 win vs. Hamilton on Oct. 25, 2008...Grand Rapids has won six of its last seven when playing in front of a sold-out home crowd...Grand Rapids is 8-1 all time against Hershey.

On This Date in Griffins History
2001: A stifling Griffins defense sets a home record and ties a franchise mark by allowing only 12 shots in a 2-0 victory over the Hershey Bears. The 12 shots mark the Bears' fewest in their 64-year history.
2007: Carl Corazzini tallies the deciding goal on a breakaway 1:51 into overtime to give the Griffins a 4-3 win in Manitoba, pushing Grand Rapids’ record to 3-0 for the third time in four years and the fourth time in team history. The team earns a 3-0 start for the first time having yet to play at home.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina put up his first two career AHL goals during his Van Andel Arena debut last night. The 18-year-old Zadina 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.

Happy Camper
First-year Griffin Carter Camper posted a team-high three points last night, scoring the game-winning goal and adding a pair of assists. The eighth-year pro is coming off a 2017-18 campaign in which he totaled a career-high 61 points (16-45—61) in 68 games between Cleveland and Tucson.

On the Road
Five of the Griffins’ eight games in October will be contested on the road. All three of Grand Rapids’ home contests are played in a nine-day span (Oct. 12-20). The Griffins will conclude the month with their first-ever visit to Belleville on Oct. 26-27.

Captains
The 12th captain in franchise history, Matthew Ford embarks on his second campaign wearing the “C.” The third-year Griffin will be joined by alternate captains Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Wade Megan and Chris Terry.

Simon Says
Ben Simon is in his first season as Grand Rapids’ head coach after being named the 11th head coach in franchise history on June 5. Simon spent the previous three seasons as an assistant with the Griffins under Todd Nelson, who was hired by the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach in May. During Simon’s three seasons as a Grand Rapids assistant, the Griffins posted the third-most regular season victories in the AHL and won the franchise’s second Calder Cup in 2017. Appearing in 21 games and scoring nine points (4-5—9) with the Griffins in 2006-07 as part of an 11-year professional playing career, Simon is the third former Griffins player to serve as Grand Rapids’ head coach, joining Nelson and Danton Cole (2002-05).

Assistant to Head
Ben Simon is the fourth former Griffins assistant to then become the head coach. The previous three, Danton Cole, Greg Ireland and Todd Nelson, all qualified for the postseason in their first full campaign. After serving as an assistant from 1999-2001, Cole led Grand Rapids to a 48-22-8-2 record and a first-place division finish as the head coach in 2002-03. Ireland served as an assistant from 2003-05 before helping the club to a franchise-record 55 victories and the league’s best record in 2005-06. Nelson assisted the Griffins in 2002-03 and guided the team to a fourth-place finish in the Central Division in 2015-16.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico