GRIFFINS (15-11-2-2) at Manitoba Moose (11-14-2-0)

Griffins Game #31 * Road Game #15 * AHL Game #444

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 58-29-1-1-7 All-Time Home Series: 30-12-1-1-5 All-Time Road Series: 28-17-0-0-2

Griffins at Moose
Fourth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Bell MTS Place…Grand Rapids has won seven of the last eight regular season meetings, including a six-game winning streak from Jan. 8-Nov. 8, 2018…In the last matchup on Nov. 17 at Van Andel Arena, Carter Camper scored the winner in overtime…Manitoba’s 6-2 win on Nov. 10 in Winnipeg snapped both Grand Rapids’ six-game winning streak overall in the series and six-game streak at Bell MTS Place…Chris Terry has four goals among five points in three meetings this season, both of which are the most for either side…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16 following a four-year hiatus, the Griffins are 14-5 vs. Manitoba, including 7-3 at Bell MTS Place…Grand Rapids and Manitoba have met 96 times in the regular season since 1996-97 when both were members of the International Hockey League…Defenseman Dylan McIlrath hails from Winnipeg…Dominic Turgeon recorded his first career hat trick at Manitoba on Feb. 17, 2018…Axel Holmstrom made his AHL debut at Manitoba on April 4, 2017, and scored his first AHL goal (overtime) at the Moose on April 5, 2017.

Last Game (Wednesday): Monsters 3 at Griffins 1 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids’ eight-game home point streak (6-0-1-1) came to an end...One goal was the team’s lowest output on home ice...David Pope notched his second career goal and first at Van Andel Arena...Patrik Rybar stopped 29 of 31 shots, but lost for only the second time on home ice...The Griffins’ pre-Christmas home record of 10-3-1-2 (0.719) ranks as the eighth-best out of their 23 seasons...Cleveland out shot Grand Rapids 32-23, only the 10th time in 30 outings the Griffins have been outgunned...The Griffins saw both their five-game point (4-0-0-1) and four-game winning streaks against the Monsters halted.

Status Update
The Griffins have dropped back-to-back contests in regulation for the fourth time this season and tie for fourth in the Central Division standings with a 15-11-2-2 overall mark (34 points). Grand Rapids will look to snap a four-game winless streak on the road (0-3-1-0) when it heads north of the border for a two-game set at Manitoba beginning tonight. After tomorrow’s matinee affair, the Griffins will be off until Dec. 28 at Cleveland.

Zadina Joins Czech Republic for WJC
The Red Wings on Thursday reassigned rookie forward Filip Zadina from the Griffins to the Czech Republic U20 National Team for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship. Born in Pardubice, Czech Republic, the 19-year-old will represent his country at the tournament that runs Dec. 26, 2018-Jan. 5, 2019 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Zadina was named to the WJC All-Star Team at the 2018 event in Buffalo, N.Y., after recording eight points, including a team-high seven goals, in seven tournament games. Selected sixth overall in this year’s NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and the highest Red Wings draft pick to ever play for the Griffins, Zadina has accounted for 17 points (8-9—17) and 10 penalty minutes in 27 games during his first full professional season. The last player to leave the Griffins mid-season to compete in the World Junior Championship was Tomas Tatar in 2009-10. He tallied five points (3-2—5) in six games for Slovakia.

Back Up Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 18 and has found twine three times in the last six games. The 10th-year pro is one of three active AHL players with 200 or more career goals. Terry also shows points in 10 of the last 13 contests, accumulating 13 (7-6—13) in that span. His six goals in the month of December tie for the third most in the league and his nine points tie for 11th.

Most Goals by Christmas in Griffins History

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) and is on pace for 65, which would more than double his previous best of 30. 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 two games due to injury.

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in six of his last seven starts (5-1-1), including two wins in overtime and one in a shootout. Patrik Rybar has collected points in nine of 14 starts this season (6-5-3) – his first in North America – and ties for seventh in the AHL with a 2.49 GAA.

This Date in Griffins History
2005: Jimmy Howard earns his first pro shutout with 23 saves in a 5-0 win at Milwaukee. Clay Wilson becomes the 11th Griffin – and just the second defenseman – to score both a power play goal and a shorthanded goal in the same game.
2016: Evgeny Svechnikov’s first two-goal game as a pro gives Grand Rapids more than enough offense and Eddie Pasquale shuts the door on the other end with 27 saves to propel the Griffins to a 3-0 victory over Milwaukee, giving them points in 12 of their last 13 games (9-1-1-2).
2017: Tyler Bertuzzi registers a season-high three-point performance (2-1—3), including a pair of power play goals, in a 5-4 loss at Chicago that proves to be his last game in a Griffins uniform. He is recalled by Detroit after the game and remains with the Red Wings the rest of the season.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins