GRIFFINS (14-7-0-2) at Rockford IceHogs (10-9-1-4)

Griffins Game #24 * Road Game #11 * AHL Game #355

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 41-29-3-8 All-Time Home Series: 28-10-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 13-19-2-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Second of 10 meetings overall, first of five at the BMO Harris Bank Center…In the first meeting of the season on Nov. 14 during Grand Rapids’ annual school day game, Filip Zadina scored twice and Patrik Rybar stopped 29 shots to help the Griffins to a 3-1 victory...Former Griffin Derek King is the interim head coach of the IceHogs after Jeremy Colliton was brought up to coach the Blackhawks on Nov. 6…King played in Grand Rapids from 1999-01 and 2002-04 and is the franchise’s all-time leading playoff scorer (16-25—41) and ranks fifth in regular season points (73-130—203)…Since King took the reigns, Rockford is 4-6-0-2...Rockford averages 2.33 goals per game, ranking last in the AHL…Grand Rapids has won five straight against Rockford after a seven-game winless streak (0-4-0-3 from April 1-Dec. 23, 2017)…Since the 2012-13 season, the Griffins are 22-4-1-1 (0.821) against the ‘Hogs at the Van…In that same time frame, Grand Rapids is 11-12-0-4 (0.481) at Rockford.

Nightmare on Elm Street
The BMO Harris Bank Center, which lists its mailing address on Elm Street, lately has been a tough venue for the Griffins as they are winless in their last six trips there (0-3-0-3) and have not come out with a victory since March 25, 2017 (4-0 W). On the flip side, Grand Rapids has won five in a row over the ‘Hogs at Van Andel Arena and nine of the last 10.

Last Game (Wednesday): Rampage 2 at Griffins 4
Grand Rapids has won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall against the Rampage, including six straight at Van Andel Arena...Grand Rapids totaled two PIM and allowed one power play opportunity, both season bests...Patrik Rybar stopped 25 shots and won his third consecutive game...Filip Hronek extended his point streak to seven following his unassisted first-period goal...Axel Holmstrom scored his sixth goal of the season, which turned out to be his second game-winner...Chris Terry and Colin Campbell both notched a goal, and both players show three goals in the last two games…Grand Rapids won its fourth straight at Van Andel Arena and is 9-2-0-2 on home ice.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in eight consecutive (7-0-0-1) and wins in six straight, both of which are season highs. Grand Rapids shows points in 14 of its last 16 games (12-2-0-2) and has climbed to third in the Central Division with a 14-7-0-2 overall mark. Grand Rapids begins a three-game road trip tonight at Rockford before heading to Iowa tomorrow and finishing the tour at Milwaukee on Tuesday. The Griffins are in the midst of facing 14 Central Division opponents in a row. Grand Rapids is 8-1-0-1 in its last 10, the best mark in the Western Conference in that span.

Sing a Song of Sixpence
During the Griffins’ six-game winning streak which began Nov. 24 at Chicago, three players tie for the team lead with four goals apiece (Filip Hronek, Turner Elson and Chris Terry) while Hronek is the top point producer with 10 (4-6—10). Grand Rapids is a +11 in goal differential during the run, while the power play is operating at 23.8% (5/21) and the penalty kill is a perfect 18-for-18. Goalies Harri Sateri and Patrik Rybar have accounted for three victories each, as the duo have alternated starts.

Road Reversal
After dropping their first four road games and being outscored by 12 in that stretch, the Griffins have won five of their last six on foreign ice with a +7 scoring edge. During its last five road victories, Grand Rapids has rallied from a two-goal deficit on two occasions (Nov. 24 at Chicago, Nov. 4 at Cleveland) and a one-goal debit three times (Nov. 26 at Iowa, Nov. 8 at Manitoba, Oct. 27 at Belleville). Two straight road games have lasted past 60 minutes, the first time that’s happened since March 24-25, 2018. The last time three consecutive away contests were tied after regulation was March 11-18, 2017. On the road, Chris Terry has a team-high nine points (6-3—9) and Patrik Rybar is 3-1-0, allowing two or less goals in three of those four starts.

PK is OK
Grand Rapids has killed off its last 25 penalties spanning the previous eight games after finishing 2-for-5 against Ontario on Nov. 16. It is the team’s longest PK run since successfully killing 27 in a row from Nov. 1-11, 2017. The Griffins have climbed to 11th in the league at 83.0% overall after sitting in 26th place at 76.2% on the morning of Nov. 17.

Filip Hero-nek
Second-year defenseman Filip Hronek extended his career-high point streak to seven with a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s win. Hronek is also on a seven-game assist streak, which is one shy of tying the franchise record set by Valtteri Filppula from March 26-Oct. 13, 2006. During the point streak, the 21-year-old boasts 11 points (4-7—11), four two-point games and a plus-six rating. His 11 points since Nov. 23 are the most among league defensemen and tie for second among all AHL skaters. In addition, Hronek has found the scoresheet in nine of the last 10 matchups. Last month, Hronek became the first player in franchise history to record an overtime goal in back-to-back games when he provided the theatrics in Nov. 24’s 4-3 win at Chicago and Nov. 26’s 3-2 victory at Iowa.

Longest Single-Season Point Streaks by a Griffins Defenseman Since 1999-2000

On a Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is on a season-high six-game point streak (4-4—8) and has tallied points in eight of the last nine and 11 of the last 13. He picked up another goal in Wednesday’s win – his third in the last two games – and is now tied for the league lead in that category with 15. Since the Griffins’ stretch of 14 points in their last 16 games began on Oct. 27, Terry paces the league with 13 goals while his 20 points in that span tie for third.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson is on a four-game point streak to match a career high and is responsible for three multi-point outings in the last four. In the last 11 games, Elson accounts for 15 points (6-9—15). Elson ties for the league lead with two shorthanded goals, which are the team’s only two, and both have come against the Wolves. He’s accumulated 21 points – which is second on the team – through the first 23 tilts and is on pace for 69, which would more than double his previous best of 30.

Rybar Supports
Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) shows points in eight of 10 starts this season (6-2-2) and is fifth in the league with a 2.27 goals against average. He claims a 1.97 GAA since Oct. 27, tying for second in the AHL among goalies who have played more than 500 minutes in that span. The 25-year-old is in his first season in North American and led the Czech Extraliga in both GAA (1.73) and shutouts (7) in 36 games with Hradec Kralove last season.

A Harri Situation
Goalie Harri Sateri has been victorious in six of his last seven starts, including wins in four straight. During his four-game streak, the Finnish netminder owns a 2.47 goals against average and a 0.911 save percentage and has won twice in overtime. He made a season-high 33 saves in Nov. 28’s 5-2 win vs. Chicago.

No Shots for You
Grand Rapids has held foes to 25 or less shots in regulation in 10 of 23 games this season and allowed 30 or more in just seven instances. The Griffins have out shot 15 of 23 opponents and tie for fourth on the circuit in shots against (27.0).

Hu’s On First
Should he make his Griffins debut, newly signed Derek Hulak (HOO-lak) will become the 501st player to ever play for the Griffins. In his fourth full AHL season, Hulak was signed to a professional tryout on Wednesday and recorded three points (2-1—3) in eight games with Hershey this year.

Soupy Season
Since returning from an injury that sidelined him for 13 games, Colin Campbell has collected six points (3-3—6) in his first eight back in the lineup. Campbell has three goals in the last two contests.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina had his season-high three-game point streak snapped in Wednesday’s win. The 19-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.

No. 174
Goaltender Eddie Pasquale became the 174th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tuesday’s 6-5 shootout win against the Red Wings. Pasquale finished the night with 19 saves. Pasquale spent the 2016-17 campaign with Grand Rapids, showing a 15-9-3 record in 29 GP, a 2.43 GAA, a 0.919 save percentage and four shutouts, and helped the Griffins win the Calder Cup.

This Date in Griffins History
2012: The Griffins skate to their sixth straight road victory and improve to 8-2 away from home with a convincing 3-0 win at Chicago, as Tom McCollum records a shutout on his 23rd birthday.
2013: A 3-1 victory over Rochester gives the Griffins their best record ever through 23 games, an AHL-leading 17-4-1-1. Petr Mrazek earns his ninth straight win behind 29 saves, leading Grand Rapids to its eighth consecutive home victory and its seventh win in a row overall.
2016: En route to a 6-5 overtime victory against Chicago, the Griffins score a power play goal for the 13th consecutive game, equaling the franchise-record streak set by the 2005-06 AHL regular season champions.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins