GRIFFINS (9-7-0-2) at Iowa Wild (12-4-2-1)

Griffins Game #19 * Road Game #10 * AHL Game #298

Season Series: 0-0-0-1 Home Series: 0-0-0-1 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 29-10-0-2 All-Time Home Series: 14-5-0-2 All-Time Road Series: 15-5-0-0

Griffins at Wild
Second of six meetings overall, first of three at Wells Fargo Arena…Iowa has points in its last six outings (4-0-1-1)...In the first meeting of the year on Nov. 2 in West Michigan, Iowa scored twice in the four-round shootout to defeat the Griffins by a 3-2 margin...Axel Holmstrom and Chris Terry both recorded goals in regulation and goaltender Patrik Rybar made his first start on home ice during that first matchup...14 of the last 19 meetings between the teams have been decided by one goal, including eight that have gone past 60 minutes…The Griffins won 20 of the first 24 all-time games against the Wild, but are 9-6-0-2 since…At Wells Fargo Arena, Grand Rapids claimed the first eight all-time matchups from Oct. 27, 2013-Dec. 13, 2015, and is 7-5 since...The Griffins have won the last three in Des Moines, including two in a shootout...Tim Army is in his first season as Iowa’s head coach, taking over from Derek Lalonde, who was named an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning over the summer…Wild forward Landon Ferraro was a second-round draft selection by Detroit in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft…Ferraro tallied 140 points (75-65—140) in 270 games with the Griffins over parts of five seasons (2009-10; 2011-15) and helped the team win the 2013 Calder Cup...Ferraro became the 142nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with the Red Wings on March 18, 2014 vs. Toronto…Gerald Mayhew, in his second full pro season with Iowa, is a Wyandotte, Mich., native and skated four seasons with the Ferris State Bulldogs (WCHA) and tallied 119 points (52-67—119) in 150 games from 2013-17…Rookie netminder Kaapo Kahkonen leads the AHL with a 1.12 GAA.

Last Game (Saturday): Griffins 4 at Wolves 3 OT
Grand Rapids overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat Chicago for the second consecutive time...The Griffins snapped a four-game winless streak at Allstate Arena...Filip Hronek took home first-star honors after scoring the game-winner 2:36 into overtime and adding an assist...Turner Elson netted the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season...Harri Sateri finished with 27 saves to pick up his fourth win in his last five starts...Grand Rapids improved to 4-2 when playing on the second night of a back to back.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in nine of their last 11 games (7-2-0-2), including three in a row (2-0-0-1), and stand fifth in the Central Division with a 9-7-0-2 overall record. Grand Rapids concludes a brief two-game road swing tonight at Iowa that also begins this week’s quartet of Central Division matchups stretched across a six-day time frame. The Griffins will return to Van Andel Arena on Wednesday to host the Chicago Wolves and open up a four-game homestand. Grand Rapids is lacing them up for a rare Monday night affair as the Griffins will play on Monday just one other time this season (Dec. 31). The Griffins are in the midst of playing 14 straight games against Central Division opponents. Grand Rapids is 6-2-0-2 in its last 10, the best mark in the Western Conference in that span.

Road Reversal
After dropping their first four road games and being outscored 17-5 in that stretch, the Griffins have won four of their last five on foreign ice with a 21-15 scoring edge. During its last four road victories, Grand Rapids has rallied from a two-goal deficit on two occasions (Saturday at Chicago, Nov. 4 at Cleveland) and a one-goal debit twice (Nov. 8 at Manitoba, Oct. 27 at Belleville).

Free Hockey
After playing just one game past regulation in its first 15 contests, Grand Rapids has seen its last three decided in either overtime or a shootout. The Griffins are 2-0 in OT and 0-2 in shootouts this season.

Filip Hero-nek
With 2:24 remaining in overtime, Filip Hronek slotted the puck past Chicago’s Oscar Dansk to help the Griffins to a 4-3 overtime win at Allstate Arena on Saturday. A second-year defenseman, five of Hronek’s 14 career AHL goals have been of the game-winning variety, including two coming in overtime. Drafted 53rd overall by Detroit in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Hronek shows five points (1-4—5) in the last five games and paces all team blueliners in goals (2), assists (6) and points (8).

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson has points in five of the last six games, accumulating eight points in that span (3-5—8). He scored the team’s first shorthanded goal of the campaign in Saturday’s triumph at Chicago and chipped in an assist for his fifth multi-point game of the season. In comparison, Elson had four outings of two or more points in 57 games in 2017-18. He shows 14 points – which is third on the team – through the first 18 tilts and is on pace for 59 points, which would shatter his previous best of 30.

Terr-ing It Up
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry shows six points (4-2—6) in the last four contests. He banked another goal in Saturday’s win at Chicago, giving him four in the last four games, eight in the last eight and 10 in the last 11. Since the Griffins’ stretch of nine points in their last 11 games began on Oct. 27, Terry paces the league with 10 goals while his 13 points in that span tie for seventh. The 10th-year pro’s team-high 12 goals tie for third in the AHL.

Rybar Supports
Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) shows points in five of seven starts this season (3-2-2) and is fourth in the league with a 2.26 goals against average. He claims a 1.81 GAA since Oct. 27, and that ranks second in the AHL among goalies who have played more than 300 minutes in that span. The 25-year-old is in his first season in North American and led the Czech Extraliga in both GAA (1.73) and shutouts (7) in 36 games with Hradec Kralove last season.

No Shots For You
Grand Rapids has held foes to 25 or less shots in eight of 18 games this season and allowed more than 30 on just five instances. The Griffins have out shot 14 of 18 opponents and rank fourth on the circuit in shots against (26.5). Grand Rapids’ penalty killers have gone 10-for-10 in the last three games after finishing 2-for-5 against Ontario on Nov. 16.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina tallied his seventh goal of the season in Saturday’s win, which oddly enough was the first time he’s lit the lamp just once in a game. His three multi-goal games are the most on the team. His two goals on the man-advantage lead the club as well while he also ties for second in goals and places fifth in points (11). The soon-to-be 19-year-old (birthday is tomorrow) is the highest Red Wings draft pick ever to suit up for the Griffins. Only three players in Griffins history were drafted higher than No. 6: Jason Spezza (No. 2 by Ottawa in 2001), Darrin Shannon (No. 4 by Pittsburgh in 1988) and Stephen Weiss (No. 4 by Florida in 2001). Dylan Larkin (selected 15th overall in the 2014 Draft) was the previous highest Red Wings draft selection to play for Grand Rapids.

Happy Camper
Carter Camper leads the squad with six multi-point games on the season and shows two in his last four outings. The first-year Griffin and eighth-year pro paces the club in assists (12) and ranks second in points (16), trailing Chris Terry by one.

This Date in Griffins History
2005: Despite a 6-5 shootout loss to Hamilton, the Griffins close out their best 20-game start in franchise history with a 15-3-0-2 record.
2016: After seeing a two-goal lead slip away early in the second period, the Griffins score four unanswered tallies for a 6-2 road rout of Cleveland.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins