Griffins Game #5 * Road Game #4 * AHL Game #83

Season Series: 0-0-0-1 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-1
All-Time Series: 30-15-2-4 All-Time Home Series: 16-6-0-3 All-Time Road Series: 14-9-2-1

Griffins at Stars
Second of eight meetings overall, second of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park…The teams will meet at Van Andel Arena next Saturday…Grand Rapids has points in six of the last seven meetings overall (5-1-0-1)...Chris Terry led the Griffins in the 2018-19 season series with 13 points (6-7—13) in eight games, including a career-high five-point effort (2-3—5) last March 6…Grand Rapids is 9-4-1-1 at Texas since Jan. 25, 2014...Longtime Star Travis Morin announced his retirement from professional hockey this past summer and will have his No. 23 raised to the rafters tonight…The team’s regular season franchise leader with 686 games played, 560 points, 175 goals and 385 assists, Morin won both the regular season MVP and playoff MVP in 2013-14 while helping the Stars win the Calder Cup…In 45 career regular season games against the Griffins, Morin totaled 32 points (14-18—32)…He faced the Griffins once in the postseason, in the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals, and logged six assists in six games.

Last Time Out (Friday): Griffins 3 at Stars 4 SO - Recap
Grand Rapids lost in a shootout for the first time since Jan. 11, 2019 vs. Belleville…The Griffins hold a 108-113 all-time record in shootouts...Matt Puempel scored his first goal of the season while on the power play 11:37 into the first period as part of a two-point night...Rookie Jarid Lukosevicius notched his second goal in as many nights at 10:23 of the third period...Grand Rapids finished 2-for-7 on the man-advantage as Givani Smith added a power play tally at 5:08 of the third period.

24th Season Underway
The Griffins have points in three of their first four games to open the 2019-20 campaign. Grand Rapids is 2-0-0-1 away from Van Andel Arena and concludes its three-game road trip at Texas tonight. The Griffins will finish out October with four consecutive home games, beginning Wednesday against Milwaukee.

Lighting It Up
The Griffins pace the AHL in power play efficiency at 33.3% (7-for-21) and have scored in all four contests. The four-game power play streak is the team’s longest since a four-game run Jan. 17-27, 2018 (5-for-16). Chris Terry (1-2—3), Michael Rasmussen (1-2—3), Joe Hicketts (0-3—3) and Evgeny Svechnikov (0-3—3) tie for the team lead in power play points.

Suite Life
Grand Rapids has points in each of its first three road games to open a season for the 12th time in franchise history and is seeking a four-game road point streak to start the year for the seventh time (2013-14, 2008-09, 2007-08, 2004-05, 2002-03, 2000-01).

Goalvani
After registering 13 points (6-7—13) in 64 games as a rookie last season, Givani Smith has already reached nearly a third of that production with four points (2-2—4) in three games. His three-game point streak is the longest active run on the team.

Back Up, Terr
The Griffins’ leading scorer a season ago with 61 points (29-32—61) in 69 games, Chris Terry has picked up where he left off by recording a team-high six points (2-4—6) to begin the new year.

All That Ras
Second-year pro Michael Rasmussen is averaging a point per game in his Griffins career, showing seven (4-3—7) in seven. Appearing in three games with Grand Rapids last season while on a conditioning stint, he tallied two goals. The ninth overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Rasmussen places second on the team with five points (2-3—5) this season.

Rookie, Rookie, Rookie, Rookie, Rockin’ Everywhere
Through four games this season, seven rookies have played for the Griffins – Ryan Kuffner, Filip Larsson, Gustav Lindstrom, Jarid Lukosevicius, Gregor MacLeod, Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno. Dressing seven rookies ties for the second most in the franchise’s last 12 seasons through four games, equaling the seven from last year’s club (Marcus Crawford, Trevor Hamilton, David Pope, Givani Smith, Mackenze Stewart, Trevor Yates, Filip Zadina) and the 2011-12 team (Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Adam Estoclet, Landon Ferraro, Andrej Nestrasil, Gustav Nyquist, Trevor Parks) but trailing the eight from the 2016-17 squad (Mike Borkowski, Matt Caito, Kyle Criscuolo, Joe Hicketts, Dan Renouf, Dylan Sadowy, Evgeny Svechnikov, Dominic Turgeon).

Living Lars
Filip Larsson became the fifth Griffins rookie goalie in the team’s AHL era (since 2001-02) to pick up the win in his AHL debut after his 24-save performance last Saturday at Rockford, joining Petr Mrazek (Nov. 3, 2012 at Texas), Tom McCollum (Oct. 3, 2009 at Peoria), Jimmy Howard (Oct. 28, 2005 vs. Iowa) and Simon Lajeunesse (Dec. 12, 2001 at Utah). The 21-year-old Larsson was selected in the sixth round by the Red Wings in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

First Things First
Grand Rapids’ roster currently features five recent Detroit first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017, Evgeny Svechnikov 2015). Five of the Red Wings’ last six first rounders are on the west side of the state, with the exception being Dennis Cholowski (2016), who made Detroit’s roster following training camp. From 2002-15, the Griffins had only seven Detroit first rounders total suit up for them: Jakub Kindl (2005-11; 14-15), Niklas Kronwall (2003-06), Dylan Larkin (2015 playoffs only), Anthony Mantha (2014-15), Tom McCollum (2009-15), Riley Sheahan (2011-14) and Brendan Smith (2010-13). The Griffins’ opening night lineup had five Detroit first rounders in it, far surpassing the previous record of two. The Griffins had never seen more than three Red Wings first rounders suit up for the club at any point in the same season until this year. Adding in Matt Puempel (24th overall by Ottawa in 2011) and Dylan McIlrath (10th overall by the New York Rangers in 2010), Grand Rapids’ roster boasts seven former first-round draft selections.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 967-657-27-58-113 (0.585) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 307 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign rank second behind only Toronto’s 321 and the Griffins’ 666 points in that span are third, trailing Toronto (695) and Providence (667)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 89 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings…In fact, 27 Griffins alumni wore the Winged Wheel during the 2018-19 season.

This Date in Griffins History
2001: An opponent is awarded a penalty shot for the first time in Griffins history, but Martin Prusek denies Chicago's Brad Tapper. Regardless, the Wolves skate to a 4-1 win in Grand Rapids. Bob Craft of Crown Point, Ind., becomes the Griffins' two-millionth fan in their 208th regular season home game since 1996.
2003: Kevin Miller’s second overtime goal in four games lifts Grand Rapids to a 4-3 victory at Hamilton.
2005: Chris Osgood makes 22 saves in his Griffins debut and Jiri Hudler nets his second career hat trick, helping Grand Rapids take a 6-3 victory at San Antonio.
2012: Tomas Jurco scores his first professional goal but the Griffins fall 4-3 at Rochester in their first road game of the season.
2013: The IceHogs score twice in the final 2:10 to force overtime before prevailing over the Griffins 5-4 in a shootout at Rockford.

Milestones Within Reach
Brian Lashoff – needs two points to reach 100 as a Griffin/in the AHL
Chris Terry – needs seven assists to reach 300 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs two goals to reach 200 in the AHL. Needs one game played to reach 700 as a pro
Matt Puempel – needs two games played to reach 300 in the AHL