GRIFFINS (31-16-4-4) at Chicago Wolves (29-17-5-1)

Griffins Game #56 * Road Game #25 * AHL Game #832

Season Series: 3-3-0-0 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 84-59-2-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 42-26-2-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 42-33-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Seventh of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Allstate Arena…Chicago has won the last two matchups after Grand Rapids recorded a three-game winning streak from Oct. 20-Nov. 28…In their last 10 games at Allstate Arena, the Griffins are 5-4-0-1…Turner Elson (4-2—6 in 6 GP) leads Grand Rapids in the series in points and has a plus-seven rating…Matt Puempel ties Elson’s team lead in goal scoring with four, while Carter Camper has tallied four assists in the series…Between the pipes, Harri Sateri has a 3-1-0 record against the Wolves with a 2.75 GAA and 0.911 save percentage, while Chicago’s Max Lagace is 2-2-0 with a 2.54 GAA and 0.923 save percentage...Both of Patrik Rybar’s starts in the series have come at Allstate Arena and he is 0-2-0 with a 4.61 GAA and a 0.820 save mark…David Pope (Oct. 13) and Vili Saarijarvi (Oct. 20) both netted their first AHL goals against the Wolves this season.

Real Recognize Real
The Griffins and Wolves are division rivals for the seventh straight season. Chicago (3) and Grand Rapids (2) have combined to win five of the previous six division titles (Milwaukee in 2015-16), with the Wolves’ three crowns coming by a combined four points over second-place Grand Rapids (1 in 2013-14, 1 in 2016-17, and 2 in 2017-18).

Recapping Feb. 10 at Grand Rapids
The Wolves handed Grand Rapids just its second home regulation loss in its last 11 games at Van Andel Arena with a 4-1 victory in the two teams’ last go-round...The loss moved Chicago within three points of the top-ranked Griffins...At 4:35 of the third period, Filip Zadina put the Griffins on the board with his 13th goal of the season off an assist from Matt Puempel...Harri Sateri made 27 saves...The Griffins recorded 19 of their 35 shots in the final 20 minutes of regulation, outshooting Chicago 19-7 in the frame.

Chicago Connections
Brooks Macek was originally drafted 171st overall by the Red Wings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft…Head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Brad Tapper won the Calder Cup as players with the Wolves in 2002, their second consecutive season capturing a league championship together after hoisting the IHL’s Turner Cup with the Orlando Solar Bears in 2001…Simon logged 196 GP with Chicago from 2001-03 and 2004-05, registering 87 points (37-50—87) and 192 PIM…Tapper appeared in 98 GP with the Wolves from 2001-04, tallying 58 points (24-34—58) and 130 PIM…Tapper served as an assistant with the Wolves from 2014-16…Jake Chelios made his AHL debut with Chicago on April 11, 2014 at Iowa and went on to skate in 45 games with the Wolves from 2013-15, picking up 16 points (1-15—16)…Wade Megan totaled 99 points (44-55—99), a plus-34 rating and 109 PIM in 136 games with Chicago from 2016-18…Megan paced the AHL with 33 goals during his first season with the Wolves in 2016-17 and was named to the AHL First All-Star Team.

Last Time Out (Friday): Stars 3 at Griffins 4 SO - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids has won three straight games against the Stars...The Griffins saw their third consecutive contest tied after regulation...Derek Hulak scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout...Givani Smith (4), Libor Sulak (3) and Turner Elson (PP, 13) all tallied goals in regulation...Patrik Rybar stopped a season-high 34 shots...The Griffins finished their season-high seven-game homestand with a 5-1-1-0 record and averaged 8,710 fans during that stretch.

Status Update
The Griffins continue to lead the Central Division by three points with 70 to go along with a 31-16-4-4 overall record. Grand Rapids has points in six of its last seven outings (5-1-1-0) and wins in 10 of its last 14. After finishing off a season-high seven-game homestand last night, the Griffins hit the road for the first time since Feb. 1 when they travel to Chicago tonight. Grand Rapids is in the midst of facing 20 consecutive Central Division foes.

Road Trippin’
After a four-game winless stretch on the road (0-3-1-0) from Dec. 7-16, the Griffins have points in seven of their last 10 on foreign ice (5-3-1-1) and are a +3 in goal differential in that span. Grand Rapids will play 14 of its final 21 games in enemy territory, including a season-high six-game road swing from March 16-26. Chris Terry (12-7—19) and Matt Puempel (7-10—17) pace the team in scoring in away contests.

Wade For It
Wade Megan notched his second career hat trick (Dec. 28, 2016, CHI at RFD) on Feb. 15 vs. San Antonio, and it also marked the first three-goal game by a Griffin since Colin Campbell on April 14, 2018 vs. CLE. In 18 GP in 2019, Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (17), goals (10) and plus-minus (+10), while tying for second in assists (7).

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last 10 starts (7-2-1) and shows a 1.88 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage in that span. His 2.26 GAA in the new year is eighth among goalies with 500 or more minutes in that time frame. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for sixth in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in nine of his last 11 games (7-2-2) and shows a 2.13 GAA and a 0.927 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar sits second in the AHL with a 2.33 overall GAA.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 14 multi-point efforts in 50 GP. In comparison, he had 15 in 62 GP last season. The sixth-year pro also leads the club with six PPGs. He ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (19) and points (41) and his team-high 180 shots tie for second in the league.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse, Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry ties for fourth on the league’s goal leaderboard with 24. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career. With 47 points overall, he ties for 14th on the circuit in scoring. Competing for the Central Division at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, Terry earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

Page Turner
Turner Elson snapped a 14-game scoreless streak with a power play goal at 19:59 of the first period last night. Elson places fifth on the team with 29 points (13-16—29) and is just one shy of leveling his career high of 30, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Sixteen assists has already equaled his career best total from 2015-16.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids became the first team in the Western Conference to hit the 70-point plateau after a 4-3 shootout win against Texas last night...The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 OTW 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 958-645-27-55-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 298 regular season wins and 644 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (306 / 661) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (293 / 632).

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 6-3-1-0-0 all time when playing on Feb. 23, including a 3-0-1-0-0 mark on road ice.
2001: Kip Miller scores a goal for the sixth consecutive game, tying Pavol Demitra’s franchise record in a 5-3 loss to Milwaukee.
2002: With a 1-1 deadlock at Milwaukee, the Griffins record consecutive ties for the first time in franchise history.
2014: Former Griffins Jonathan Ericsson, Jonas Gustavsson, Niklas Kronwall and Gustav Nyquist earn silver medals with Sweden at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, falling 3-0 to Canada in the gold medal game. Kronwall becomes the first former Griffin to win a pair of Olympic medals, having won gold with Sweden at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, and the silver completes the spectrum of medals for Griffins alumni, as Valtteri Filppula won bronze with Finland in 2010 in Vancouver. Meanwhile, at Van Andel Arena, Petr Mrazek and Milwaukee’s Scott Darling post identical 29-save shutouts through the conclusion of overtime, and defenseman Brennan Evans closes out the skills competition in round five by scoring on the first shootout attempt of his 11-year career.
2016: The Griffins score three goals in a 1:08 span of the first period and Jared Coreau stops all 28 shots in a 5-0 road rout of Chicago.


Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins