GRIFFINS (17-11-2-2) at Cleveland Monsters (16-11-4-0)

Griffins Game #33 * Road Game #17 * AHL Game #477

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 51-29-4-10 All-Time Home Series: 29-15-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 22-14-3-8

Griffins at Monsters
Third of four meetings overall, second of two at Quicken Loans Arena…The teams will conclude their season series tomorrow in West Michigan...Grand Rapids has points in nine of the last 11 meetings (7-2-0-2)…Cleveland’s 3-1 win on Dec. 19 snapped Grand Rapids’ five-game point and four-game winning streaks in the series…Grand Rapids claimed the first meeting of the season on Nov. 4 in Ohio by an 8-4 margin and concluded the game with six unanswered goals…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight of the last 11 meetings (7-3-0-1)…At Quicken Loans Arena, Grand Rapids is on a six-game point streak (4-0-0-2) and has not lost in regulation since Feb. 28, 2017 (1-4 L)…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 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…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...First-year Griffin Carter Camper is from Rocky River, a Cleveland suburb…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…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): Griffins 3 at Moose 1 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids has won nine of the last 10 regular season meetings against Manitoba, including three in a row…The Griffins notched their 60th all-time win over Manitoba...Grand Rapids allowed one goal or fewer in consecutive games for the first time this season…Skating in his third career AHL game, Tyler Spezia potted his first goal and it turned out to be the game-winner…Chris Terry scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season…The Griffins finished 2-for-6 on the power play, the first time they have notched multiple power play goals on the road this season…Patrik Rybar recorded 25 saves to halt his four-game winless streak.

Status Update
Following a two-game sweep at Manitoba before the holiday break, the Griffins own a 17-11-2-2 overall record (38 points) and tie for third in the Central Division. Grand Rapids has points in 19 of its last 25 games (15-6-2-2). Following five days off from competition, the Griffins play a home-and-home set against the Cleveland Monsters tonight and tomorrow before hosting the Rockford IceHogs on New Year’s Eve.

Back Up Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 20 and has found twine five times in the last eight games. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career. He is also one of three active AHL players with 200 or more career goals. In the last 15 contests, he has accumulated 16 points (9-7—16). Terry’s eight goals in the month of December tie for the most in the league and his 12 points tie for eighth.

Puemped Up
After missing two games due to a league-issued suspension, Matt Puempel has three points in his last two outings (1-2—3). The second-year Griffin has collected points in six of his last seven games, banking eight (3-5—8) in that span. Puempel places second on the club with 13 goals and ties for second with 24 points.

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in seven of his last eight starts (6-1-1) and his 10 victories on the season tie for eighth in the AHL. In his last four starts, Patrik Rybar shows a 2.03 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage to go along with a 1-2-1 record. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar places fourth in the AHL with a 2.39 overall GAA.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson ties for the league lead with three shorthanded goals. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15. Elson is the 21st player in team history to log three or more SHG in a season. He has reached the double-digit goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and first since 2015-16. With 24 points, Elson has already bettered his output from 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). Elson shows 10 points (5-5—10) in his last nine games and 18 (8-10—18) in his last 16. He has missed the last four games due to injury.

Hulak Signed to Standard Player’s Contract
The Griffins on Thursday signed forward Derek Hulak to a standard player’s contract for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Signed to a professional tryout on Dec. 5, Hulak has contributed one goal and four PIM in nine games with the Griffins. The 29-year-old began the season with the Hershey Bears, scoring three points (2-1—3) in eight appearances. A 6-foot, 185-pound winger, Hulak has played in 176 career AHL games with Texas (2013-16), Utica (2016-17), Hershey (2018-19) and Grand Rapids, tallying 95 points (46-49—95), a plus-20 rating and 50 PIM. He missed all of 2017-18 due to injury. He has logged 10 career Calder Cup Playoff contests with Texas from 2014-16 and helped the Stars claim the 2014 Calder Cup.

This Date in Griffins History
2001: Petr Schastlivy, tied for the AHL lead with 22 goals, is recalled to the Ottawa Senators and suffers a season-ending knee injury the following night at Pittsburgh.
2011: The Griffins fight their way out of a four-goal deficit to claim a point at Lake Erie, ultimately dropping a 6-5 decision in overtime.
2016: Ben Street’s power play marker with 4:12 remaining gives the Western Conference-leading Griffins their season-high fifth consecutive victory, 3-2 at Cleveland, and garners Grand Rapids points for the for the 13th time in its last 14 outings (10-1-1-2).

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins