GRIFFINS (4-5-0-1) at Cleveland Monsters (7-3-1-0)

Griffins Game #11 * Road Game #6 * AHL Game #169

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 50-28-4-10 All-Time Home Series: 29-14-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 21-14-3-8

Griffins vs. Monsters
First of four meetings overall, first of two at Quicken Loans Arena…Cleveland has points in three straight games (2-0-1-0) and was idle last night...As part of the league’s realignment last summer, Cleveland moved to the Eastern Conference’s North Division, while San Antonio and Texas joined the Central…The Griffins and Monsters will meet four times this season, a stark decrease compared to recent years when the squads squared off eight times in 2017-18, 12 in 2016-17, 18 in 2015-16 (including playoffs) and 10 in 2014-15…Grand Rapids finished 6-1-0-1 against Cleveland in 2017-18, including wins in the last three and points in the last four (3-0-0-1)…The Griffins have points in 30 of 42 meetings (24-12-2-4) against the Monsters since the start of the 2014-15 season, including in eight of the last nine (6-1-0-2)…Grand Rapids has points in its last five at the Q (3-0-0-2)...Head coach Ben Simon is a native of Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb…Captain Matthew Ford spent most of his first three pro seasons (2008-11) with the Monsters, totaling 69 points (39-30—69) in 126 appearances...Colin Campbell has two career hat tricks and both have come against Cleveland (12/26/15 away and 4/14/18 home).

Last Game (Saturday): Admirals 1 at Griffins 2
Grand Rapids snapped the Admirals’ six-game point streak and handed Milwaukee only its second regulation loss of the season...Dylan McIlrath scored his first goal of the season with 3:42 remaining to break a 1-1 tie...The Griffins have points in four of their first five home games (3-1-0-1)...Harri Sateri recorded 24 saves and all three of his victories have come at Van Andel Arena...Christoffer Ehn produced his first North American pro goal as part of a two-point night.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in a season-high three straight games (2-0-0-1) and place seventh in the Central Division. Grand Rapids will look to even its record at 0.500 this evening as the Griffins conclude their first three-in-three of the season at Cleveland.

Puemped Up
Second-year Griffin Matt Puempel tallied a pair of assists last night to overtake Carter Camper for the team scoring lead with eight points (4-4—8). In the first 10 games, Puempel shows three multi-point outings, the most on the club.

Happy Camper
First-year Griffin Carter Camper had his team-high four-game assist streak ended in last night’s win. He leads the club in assists (6) and ranks second in points (7). Hailing from nearby Rocky River, Camper returns to Cleveland this evening. Appearing in 53 games with the Monsters last season, Camper posted 42 points (13-29—42) and finished the season as Cleveland’s leading scorer, despite being traded to Tucson on Feb. 26.

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 (25.3). The Griffins have outshot eight of 10 opponents so far. In the last three games, Grand Rapids’ opponents are averaging 23.3 shots per.

Count to 10
While the Griffins’ record (4-5-0-1, 0.450) through 10 games currently sits below 0.500, historically, early-season woes do not necessarily correlate to the year-end results. Entering this season, Grand Rapids had a record at 0.500 or below through 10 games eight times and went on to finish with a winning record on six of those occasions.

Hitting the Snooze
Historically, the Griffins appear to benefit from the extra hour gained when daylight savings time ends, showing a perfect 5-0 record all time when playing on the date the clocks roll back. Four of those five victories have come on the road, including three when the team played the night before and had to travel (2012-13 traveled from TEX, 2010-11 traveled from GR, 2003-04 traveled from CIN). Daylight savings time in 2018 ended earlier today.

Homer Run
Third-year Griffin Axel Holmstrom had his career-high six-game point streak come to an end in last night’s victory. The 196th overall selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Holmstrom ties for third on the team in scoring with six points (3-3—6).

Add Rybar for Support
Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) has points in his last two starts (1-0-1), showing a 1.44 GAA and a 0.932 save percentage in that span. He picked up his first victory on North American soil in his second career start on Oct. 27 in Belleville after stopping 21 of 22 shots. The 24-year-old led the Czech Extraliga in both GAA (1.73) and shutouts (7) in 36 games with Hradec Kralove last season.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina ties for fourth on the team in goals (2) and places sixth in points (5). 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.

Terr-ing It Up
First-year Griffin Chris Terry has two goals in the last three games and his four markers tie with Matt Puempel for the most on the squad.

Megan Becomes No. 172
Recalled by the Red Wings on Wednesday, center Wade Megan became the 172nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with Detroit during the team’s 4-3 win on Thursday night vs. New Jersey. Megan has skated in both games with Detroit since his call up and is averaging 8:27 of ice time. Signed as a free agent by Detroit on July 1, Megan shows four points (2-2—4) in eight games with the Griffins this season.

This Date in Griffins History
2005: A 5-2 win over Syracuse improves the Griffins’ record to 7-2-0-1, marking their best start in five seasons as AHL members.
2016: The Griffins storm out to a 4-0 lead against Iowa and secure a 4-1 victory – their eighth straight at home against the Wild – to spoil the return of former Griffins Jeff Hoggan and Teemu Pulkkinen to Van Andel Arena.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins