GRIFFINS (38-22-6-4) at Ontario Reign (22-30-6-4)

Griffins Game #71 * Road Game #35 * AHL Game #1069

Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 0-1-0-0 All-Time Home Series: 0-1-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 0-0-0-0

Griffins at Reign
Second of two meetings overall, first and last at Citizens Business Bank Arena…The teams are meeting for the second-time ever and the first at Ontario…Ontario marks the 53rd different road city and Citizens Business Bank Arena will be the 64th different road venue the Griffins have competed in since the franchise’s inception in 1996…The last time Grand Rapids played at a Kings affiliate was Jan. 3, 2009 when the Griffins defeated the Manchester Monarchs by a 2-1 final at Verizon Wireless Arena in New Hampshire…In the inaugural meetings between the teams on Nov. 16 at Van Andel Arena, Ontario scored three third-period power play goals and won 4-3…In the first matchup, Chris Terry scored seven seconds into the game, the fastest goal to open any period in Griffins franchise history…After the first meeting, Ontario stood at 5-5-2-1 and Grand Rapids was 7-7-0-1 and since that time the teams have gone 17-25-4-3 and 31-15-6-3, respectively…Ontario’s fourth-year head coach Mike Stothers served as Grand Rapids’ bench boss during the 2007-08 campaign when the Griffins finished with a 31-41-2-6 record and a fifth-place standing in the North Division…After tonight, the Griffins will have played at all five of the current AHL teams in California...Captain Matthew Ford is from West Hills, Calif., about 60 miles west of Ontario…Dennis Cholowski and Mikey Eyssimont were teammates at St. Cloud State in 2016-17…Drake Rymsha is from Huntington Woods, a suburb of Detroit…Jamie Devane played his junior hockey with the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers from 2008-12...Terry and Brett Sutter both split time between the Charlotte Checkers and Carolina Hurricanes from 2011-14...The Griffins are 7-9-0-3 all time against current Pacific Division foes in the regular season, including 2-4-0-2 on the road.

Last Game (Sunday): Admirals 3 at Griffins 1 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids had its five-game winning streak against Milwaukee snapped…The capacity crowd of 10,834 marked the Griffins’ seventh sellout of the season and sixth since New Year’s Eve…Chris Terry became the 96th player in AHL history to achieve 500 or more points after he picked up the primary assist on Turner Elson’s power play goal…Elson’s goal was his 17th of the season, equaling a career high…Patrik Rybar made 25 saves while appearing in his third game in as many days…404 dogs were in attendance for the Jake Engel Memorial Dog Game…Milwaukee scored two goals 1:16 apart in the second period…Kevin Tansey, signed to a professional tryout earlier in the day, made his Griffins debut.

Status Update
The Griffins’ magic number to extend their franchise-record Calder Cup Playoff streak to seven years stands at four points. Grand Rapids is in sole possession of second place in the Central Division standings with a 38-22-6-4 record and 86 points, trailing Chicago by six points and leading Iowa by six. The Griffins will look to end a three-game slide when they begin a three-game California road trip with a visit to Ontario tonight. Grand Rapids has won three of its last four away games and five of its last seven. The Griffins are playing their first non-Central Division opponent since Feb. 9 (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).

Playoffs?
The Griffins can clinch a Calder Cup Playoff berth tonight with a win at Ontario AND a Milwaukee loss (reg./OT/SO) vs. San Antonio, OR a win at Ontario AND a Manitoba regulation loss vs. Bakersfield. Should they secure their spot, it will extend their franchise-record postseason streak to seven years and mark the 17th time in the franchise’s 23-year history they have qualified for the league’s playoffs (includes IHL). Ben Simon is seeking to become the eighth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench, joining Dave Allison (1996-97), Bruce Cassidy (2000-01), Danton Cole (2002-03), Greg Ireland (2005-06) Curt Fraser (2008-09), Jeff Blashill (2012-13) and Todd Nelson (2015-16).

Getting the Call
Eight members of Grand Rapids’ projected playoff roster are currently with the Red Wings, including forwards Christoffer Ehn, Martin Frk, Matt Puempel and Dominic Turgeon, and defensemen Jake Chelios, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek and Dylan McIlrath.

Puttin’ It Down for Californ-i-a
This week will mark games No. 14, 15 and 16 for Grand Rapids in the state of California, including playoffs. The Griffins are 4-7-0-2 (0.385), which includes 1-1 in the postseason.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
Chris Terry became the 96th player in AHL history to amass 500 or more points when he tallied an assist on Turner Elson’s power play goal on Sunday. With 28 goals (T8th in AHL), 60 points (T10th) and 32 assists – all team highs – Terry has reached the 60-point mark for the sixth time in his AHL career.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro Turner Elson has set new career highs this season in both points (38) and assists (21) and tied his career best in goals with 17.

Wade For It
In 29 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids with 27 points and 14 goals while tying for third with 13 assists and ranking third with a plus-nine rating. He has produced 10 points (4-6—10) in his last 11 outings.

You’re a Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last nine decisions (5-1-3) and in his last 18 games he is 11-3-3 with a 2.35 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage. With 22 victories – which tie for 11th in the AHL – the Finnish netminder has reached the 20-win mark for the first time in his AHL career.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar, in his first season in North America, is third in the league with 2.30 GAA and in his last 13 appearances he shows a 7-6-0 record to go along with a 2.10 GAA, a 0.924 save percentage and two shutouts.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids needs two wins and four points to reach 40 and 90, respectively, for the seventh consecutive season...The Griffins were the second team in the Western Conference to reach 80 points following a 2-1 shootout win at San Antonio on March 19...Grand Rapids became the first in the West 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 overtime win 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 965-651-27-57-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 305 regular season wins and 660 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (315 / 681) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (302 / 653).

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 2-7-0-0-0 all time when playing on April 3, including a 2-7-0-0-0 mark on road ice.
2006: Two Griffins receive league honors as the AHL names Jimmy Howard the Goaltender of the Month and Donald MacLean is awarded the Milestone of the Month for March. Howard posted a perfect 11-0 record with a 1.80 goals against average and a 0.936 save percentage, while MacLean was recognized for reaching the 50-goal plateau.
2016: The Griffins punch their playoff ticket for the fourth straight season with a 5-2 win at Rochester.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins