GRIFFINS (19-11-3-2) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (17-14-4-1)

Griffins Game #36 * Road Game #18 * AHL Game #531

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 4-3-0-1 All-Time Home Series: 2-1-0-1 All-Time Road Series: 2-2-0-0

Griffins at Penguins
First of two meetings overall, first and last at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza…Wilkes-Barre/Scranton makes the return trip to West Michigan on Feb. 9…After claiming the first four all-time meetings that occurred in the 2001-02 and 2006-07 seasons, the Griffins are winless in the last four matchups (0-3-0-1), finishing 0-1-0-1 in 2008-09 and 0-2 last season…Grand Rapids and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are facing off in consecutive seasons for the first time ever…The Griffins have not won at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since Jan. 5, 2007 (6-5 W)…The long drought is attributable to the fact that tonight is only Grand Rapids’ third trip to the Penguins since Jan. 5, 2007 (3-5 L on March 25, 2009 and 1-2 L on March 10, 2018)…Entering this season, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in 16 consecutive campaigns, which is the longest active streak in the AHL…The Griffins have advanced to the postseason in six straight seasons…The lone postseason meeting between the Griffins and Penguins came in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals, a series Grand Rapids won 3-1…The Penguins are celebrating their 20th season as a franchise.

Atlantic Coasting
The Griffins hold a 39-27-1-2 all-time regular season record (0.587) against current teams in the Atlantic Division including 20-13-0-1 (0.603) on the road. Thirty-six of the 69 games have come against the Charlotte Checkers (18-17-0-1), who were members of the Central Division from 2015-17. Among Atlantic teams, the Griffins have yet to face off against Bridgeport, Springfield or Providence.

Last Game (Monday): IceHogs 1 at Griffins 2 - Read the full recap here
Joe Hicketts scored the game-winning goal with 4:44 remaining in regulation…Harri Sateri notched 31 saves and earned first-star honors…Grand Rapids concluded the 2018 calendar year with a 47-21-4-5 record (0.669)…The Griffins are 11-9-1-1 when playing on New Year’s Eve, including 3-0-0-1 against Rockford…The capacity crowd of 10,834 marked the team’s sixth consecutive New Year’s Eve sellout…Grand Rapids snapped a three-game winless streak against Rockford (0-1-2-0)…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in seven straight against Rockford (6-0-1-0) and in 11 of the last 12 (10-1-1-0).

Status Update
After earning five out of a possible six points in their three most recent outings, the Griffins have extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1-0) and place third in the Central Division with a 19-11-3-2 overall record (43 points). Grand Rapids has points in 22 of its last 28 games (17-6-3-2). The Griffins begin 2019 by heading to Pennsylvania this weekend for games against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tonight and the Hershey Bears tomorrow. Grand Rapids is opening the new year on the road for the third time in the last four seasons. The Griffins also have points in three straight away contests (2-0-1-0).

High-Five x 3
The Griffins are on a five-game point streak (4-0-1-0), marking the third time in the season’s opening 35 games the team has embarked on at least a five-game run (4-0-0-1 from Oct. 27-Nov. 8 and 7-0-1-1 from Nov. 17-Dec. 7). During its current streak, Grand Rapids has allowed one goal on three occasions and is averaging 1.8 goals against per game.

Terry Selected for 2019 AHL All-Star Classic
The AHL announced yesterday that the Griffins’ top point producer and the league’s leading goal scorer, Chris Terry, has been selected to play for the Central Division All-Star Team at the 2019 Lexus AHL All-Star Classic presented by MGM Springfield, to be held Jan. 27-28 in Springfield, Mass. Terry, in his 10th season as a professional and first in Grand Rapids, has earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012). The John B. Sollenberger Trophy award winner from 2017-18 as the league’s leading scorer and a reigning AHL First All-Star Team selection, Terry paces the league with 21 goals this season and ranks third with 38 points in 35 games while adding a plus-14 rating and 16 PIM. He is bidding to join Teemu Pulkkinen (34 in 2014-15) and Donald MacLean (56 in 2005-06) as the only Griffins to lead the league in goals.

What You Doin’ Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 21. He has accumulated nine points (3-6—9) during his five-game point streak and places third on the circuit with 38 points. 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 18 contests, he has accumulated 22 points (10-12—22). Terry’s nine goals in the month of December paced the AHL while his 18 points tied for second.

Hicks Mix
With Filip Hronek on recall with the Red Wings, third-year pro Joe Hicketts is the team’s top defenseman in terms of point production with 10 (2-8—10) in 26 games. Hicketts’ two goals this season have come in timely fashion, as he scored the game-tying goal with 1:17 remaining in regulation during a 5-4 shootout win Dec. 15 vs. Milwaukee and netted the game-winner on Monday with 4:44 to play.

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in nine of his last 10 starts (7-1-2) and shows a 2.55 GAA and a 0.910 save percentage in that span. He has allowed one goal in two of his last three games and his 11 victories on the season tie for seventh in the league. In his last five outings, Patrik Rybar has notched a 2.19 GAA and a 0.924 save percentage to go along with a 2-2-1 record. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar ranks fifth in the AHL with a 2.41 overall GAA.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson is responsible for 11 points (5-6—11) in his last 12 games and 19 (8-11—19) in his last 19. With 25 points, he has already surpassed his output from 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP) and is just five shy of matching his career high of 30, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Elson has all three of the Griffins’ shorthanded goals this season, which also ties for the most in the AHL. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15.

Happy Camper
During his season-high five-game point streak, first-year Griffin Carter Camper has totaled six points (3-3—6). He is also on a three-game goal streak, which matches a career-high (Nov. 12-18, 2011) and equals Chris Terry (Nov. 4-10) for the longest by a Griffin this season. Camper paces the club with 18 assists and ties for second with 26 points.

This Date in Griffins History
2013: Down 1-0 to Oklahoma City through 20 minutes, the Griffins explode for five second-period goals en route to a 5-2 win, tying a franchise record for goals scored in a home period.
2017: Thanks to two-goal, three-point nights by both Ben Street and Tomas Nosek, Grand Rapids prevails 6-5 over Iowa to improve to 21-8-1-2 and reclaim the top spot in the Western Conference. The Griffins, who won their fifth straight game on home ice to move to 6-0-0-2 at Van Andel Arena since Thanksgiving, begin the new year by earning points for the 15th time in their last 17 contests overall (12-2-1-2).

Photo by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins