GRIFFINS (37-19-6-4) at Iowa Wild (34-21-7-5)

Griffins Game #67 * Road Game #33 * AHL Game #1017

Season Series: 1-1-1-1 Home Series: 0-0-1-1 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 30-11-1-2 All-Time Home Series: 14-5-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 16-6-0-0

Griffins at Wild
Fifth of six meetings overall, third of three at Wells Fargo Arena...16 of the last 22 meetings between the teams have been decided by one goal, including 10 that have been tied after regulation…In the last 22 meetings, Grand Rapids and Iowa have both totaled 63 goals…In the last 22 meetings, Grand Rapids’ power play is operating at 24.7% (19/77) while Iowa’s is at 20.2% (17/84)…The Griffins have outshot the Wild 134-96 in four games this season (33.5 avg.-24.0 avg.)…Grand Rapids has won four of the last five at Iowa…The Wild have the lone regulation victory in this year’s season series, claiming a 5-2 win in the last matchup at Wells Fargo Arena on Dec. 8…In the most recent clash on March 8, Matt Bartkowski scored at 4:08 of overtime to give the Wild a 4-3 victory…The Griffins won 20 of the first 24 all-time games against the Wild, and are 10-7-1-2 since…Grand Rapids also won its first eight trips to Wells Fargo Arena from Oct. 27, 2013-Dec. 13, 2015, and is 8-6-0-0 since…Chris Terry (2-2—4 in 4 GP) and Matt Puempel (1-3—4 in 4 GP) lead the Griffins in scoring in the season series…Patrik Rybar is 1-1-1 vs. Iowa while showing a 2.88 GAA and a 0.878 save percentage, and Harri Sateri is 0-0-1 with a 3.75 GAA and a 0.810 save mark…The six-game season series will conclude April 10 in West Michigan…Six games is the fewest between the teams since playing four times in 2014-15…The Griffins and Wild are in their sixth season playing each other and Grand Rapids has never finished with a 0.500 mark or below in a season series.

Last Time Out (Sunday): Griffins 3 at Rampage 1 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids finished the season series 6-2-0-0…Wade Megan (16), Colin Campbell (6) and Filip Zadina (16) all lit the lamp as the Griffins scored three unanswered goals…After dropping the first two meetings in San Antonio this season, the Griffins claimed the last two…Patrik Rybar made 16 saves and has allowed one goal in his last two road starts…Grand Rapids outshot San Antonio 30-17, including 11-3 in the third period.

Status Update
The Griffins’ magic number to extend their franchise-record Calder Cup Playoff streak to seven years stands at seven points. Grand Rapids is in sole possession of second place in the Central Division standings with a 37-19-6-4 record and 84 points, trailing Chicago by two points. The Griffins have earned points in eight of their last 10 outings (6-2-2-0) and in 19 of their last 25 (16-6-3-0). Grand Rapids is 4-1 in its season-high six-game, 11-day road trip, which wraps up tonight at Iowa before the Griffins return to Van Andel Arena on Friday to face Chicago and begin a three-in-three weekend. The Griffins are in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (9-4-3-0 record so far).

Road Trippin’
The Griffins are 4-1 in their season-high six-game road swing and will conclude the stretch tonight. Grand Rapids will play six of its final 10 games in enemy territory. The Griffins have won five of their last six and have points in 13 of their last 18 contests (10-5-2-1) away from Van Andel Arena. Chris Terry (13-12—25) and Matt Puempel (12-11—23) pace the team in scoring in away games.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
With 27 goals (T9th in AHL), 58 points (T12th) and 31 assists – all team highs – Chris Terry has surpassed the 50-point mark in his seventh consecutive full AHL season. Owning 498 career AHL points, he needs two more to become the 96th player in league history to amass 500 or more.

Wade For It
In 25 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids with 25 points and 13 goals while tying for fourth with 12 assists and ranking second with a plus-10 rating. He has produced eight points (3-5—8) in his last seven outings.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro Turner Elson has set new career highs this season in both points (35) and assists (19), and needs one more goal to match his career best of 17 set in 2014-15 with Adirondack.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in seven of his last eight appearances (4-1-3) and in his last 16 games he is 10-3-3 with a 2.32 GAA and a 0.918 save percentage. With 21 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 is 7-3-0 in his last 10 starts, showing a 1.90 GAA and a 0.931 save percentage with a pair of shutouts in that time. In his first season in North America, Rybar leads the league with a 2.25 overall GAA.

Suite Life
Tonight marks the eighth of nine road games the Griffins will have played in the month of March. This season is the eighth consecutive in which Grand Rapids hits the road for seven or more contests in March (7 in 2017-18, 10 in 2016-17, 8 in 2015-16, 7 in 2014-15, 9 in 2013-14, 11 in 2012-13 and 9 in 2011-12). Despite the lack of home games, the Griffins have posted an overall winning record in March in 10 straight years, combining for an 84-44-7-8 (0.640) mark since 2008-09, including a 6-2-2-0 slate so far this season.

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 6-3-0-0-0 all time when playing on March 26, including a 2-2-0-0-0 mark on road ice.
2004: All-time Griffins GP leader Travis Richards makes his 600th regular season appearance in a Grand Rapids uniform during a 4-0 L at Utah.
2005: Joey MacDonald sets a GR record with his 16th consecutive start and earns his 30th win of the season, making 34 saves in a 2-1 W at SA.
2006: The Griffins earn their 10th consecutive victory, 3-2 over Rochester. Grand Rapids finishes March with a perfect 8-0 record at Van Andel Arena, its first unblemished monthly mark on home ice.
2008: Darren Helm scores a rare 3-on-5 shorthanded goal during the Griffins’ 6-1 win over Lake Erie. In the same game, Kyle Quincey is whistled off for 34 penalty minutes, setting a new franchise record for most PIM in a single game.
2017: Thanks to a 3-2 victory at Milwaukee, the Griffins equal a franchise record by clinching their fifth consecutive postseason berth and mark the earliest date they’ve clinched a playoff spot in 11 years.

Photo by Iowa Wild