GRIFFINS (31-17-4-4) at Rockford IceHogs (26-23-3-6)

Griffins Game #57 * Road Game #26 * AHL Game #877

Season Series: 3-1-3-0 Home Series: 2-0-2-0 Road Series: 1-1-1-0
All-Time Series: 43-30-6-8 All-Time Home Series: 29-10-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 14-20-3-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Eighth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at the BMO Harris Bank Center…Five of the seven games this season have been decided by one goal, including three in overtime…No team has scored more than three goals in a game in this year’s series…Grand Rapids has points in 11 of the last 12 meetings overall (7-1-3-1), including an eight-game streak that lasted from Dec. 23, 2017-Dec. 14, 2018…Grand Rapids snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-4-1-3) at the BMO Harris Bank Center with a 3-1 victory during its last visit there on Jan. 18, winning at Rockford for the first time since March 25, 2017…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight in a row (6-0-2-0) and in 12 of the last 13 (10-1-2-0) vs. Rockford…In the most recent matchup on Feb. 20 at Van Andel Arena, Rockford rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to tie the game before Luke Johnson scored the winner in overtime with 0.6 seconds remaining…Wade Megan (3-1—4 in 2 GP), Chris Terry (2-2—4 in 5 GP) and Matt Puempel (1-3—4 in 6 GP) tie for the team lead in scoring in the series…Harri Sateri is 2-0-2 against the IceHogs this season with a 1.93 GAA and a 0.937 save percentage...Patrik Rybar has a 1-1-1 record vs. Rockford, tallying a 2.01 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage...AHL firsts coming vs. RFD: Givani Smith first goal (Dec. 7, 2018 at RFD), Colin Campbell first goal (March 29, 2014 vs. RFD), Jake Chelios first point (April 18, 2014 at RFD) and Vili Saarijarvi debut and first point (Oct. 28, 2017 at RFD)...Derek Hulak made his Griffins debut at Rockford on Dec. 7 and potted a goal.

Rockford Connections
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)…King and Ben Simon were both assistant coaches with the Toronto Marlies in 2014-15...Simon also served as an assistant coach with the IceHogs during the 2012-13 season.

Last Time Out (Saturday): Griffins 2 at Wolves 3 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids is 3-4 in the season series with the Wolves winning the last three…Matt Puempel (20) and Wade Megan (14) tallied goals…Puempel leads the team with five goals in the season series…The Griffins played their first road game since Feb. 1 at San Antonio…Grand Rapids finished 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill...The Griffins finished February with a 5-3-1-0 record, their ninth consecutive season posting a winning mark in the month.

Status Update
The Griffins tie Chicago for the Central Division lead with 70 points to go along with a 31-17-4-4 overall record. Grand Rapids has points in six of its last eight outings (5-2-1-0) and in 11 of its last 15 (10-4-1-0). The Griffins have just one game on their slate this week, tonight at Rockford, before returning to West Michigan to host Texas next Wednesday. With Grand Rapids’ last action coming on Saturday, the five-day layoff from games is the team’s longest since Dec. 23-27. Grand Rapids is in the midst of facing 20 consecutive Central Division foes (3-2-1-0 record so far).

Road Trippin’
After a four-game winless stretch on the road (0-3-1-0) from Dec. 7-16, the Griffins have points in seven of their last 11 on foreign ice (5-4-1-1) and are a +2 in goal differential in that span. Grand Rapids will play 13 of its final 20 games in enemy territory, including a season-high six-game road swing from March 16-26. In fact, after their seven-game homestand concluded on Feb. 22, the Griffins host just seven more contests at Van Andel Arena in the season’s final 50 days. Chris Terry (12-7—19) and Matt Puempel (8-10—18) pace the team in scoring in away contests.

Suite Life
Tonight kicks off the first of nine road games the Griffins will play in the month of March. This season marks the eighth consecutive in which Grand Rapids hits the road for seven or more contests in March (7 in 2017-18, 10 in 2016-17, 8 in 2015-16, 7 in 2014-15, 9 in 2013-14, 11 in 2012-13 and 9 in 2011-12). Despite the lack of home games, the Griffins have posted an overall winning record in March in 10 straight years, combining for a 78-42-5-8 (0.635) mark since 2008-09. The Griffins played just two road games in February, their fewest since having two in 2011-12.

And 1
The Griffins have played four consecutive one-goal games, showing a 2-1-1-0 record. For the season, Grand Rapids is 13-3-4-4 in games decided by a single tally.

Wade For It
In 19 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (19), goals (11) and plus-minus (+11), while placing fourth in assists (8). He notched his second career hat trick (Dec. 28, 2016, CHI at RFD) on Feb. 15 vs. San Antonio, and it also marked the first three-goal game by a Griffin since Colin Campbell on April 14, 2018 vs. CLE.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last 10 starts (7-2-1) and shows a 1.88 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage in that span. His 2.26 GAA in the new year ties for ninth among goalies with 500 or more minutes in that time frame. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for 10th in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in nine of his last 12 games (7-3-2) and shows a 2.21 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar ranks fourth in the AHL with a 2.36 overall GAA.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 14 multi-point efforts in 51 GP. In comparison, he had 15 in 62 GP last season. The sixth-year pro also leads the club with six PPGs. He ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (20) and points (42) and his team-high 183 shots are fourth in the league. In his sixth season pro, Puempel has reached the 20-goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and in back-to-back campaigns after depositing 23 last season.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry ties for ninth on the league’s goal leaderboard with 24. The 10th-year pro has achieved 20 goals for the sixth time in his AHL career. With a team-high 47 points overall, he ties for 17th on the circuit in scoring. Competing for the Central Division at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, Terry earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids became the first team in the Western Conference to hit the 70-point plateau after a 4-3 shootout win against Texas on Feb. 22...The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 OTW vs. San Antonio on Feb. 16...Grand Rapids achieved 30 Ws or more in its first 53 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons...The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 958-646-27-55-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 298 regular season wins and 644 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (307 / 663) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (294 / 634).

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins post a 6-2-0-0-0 all-time record when playing on March 1, including a 3-1-0-0-0 mark on road ice.
2012: The AHL names Chris Minard as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Month for February, making him the only player in franchise history to earn the honor. The left wing registered eight goals and five assists for 13 points and recorded a plus-seven rating in 10 games, returning to form after missing the season’s first 36 games due to a concussion.
2013: Led by Gustav Nyquist’s third consecutive three-point game, the Griffins score the last four goals en route to a 5-1 win at Milwaukee.
2017: After acquiring him from Florida as part of the Thomas Vanek trade, the Red Wings assign Dylan McIlrath to the Griffins. His physical presence proves to be a determining factor in the team’s run to its second Calder Cup that June.

Photo by Garrett Gormley/Griffins