GRIFFINS (21-12-3-4) at Chicago Wolves (22-13-3-1)

Griffins Game #41 * Road Game #21 * AHL Game #599

Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Home Series: 2-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 84-57-2-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 42-25-2-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 42-32-0-2-1

Griffins at Wolves
Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Allstate Arena…The Griffins have won three in a row against Chicago after a six-game winless streak (0-5-0-1 from Dec. 15, 2017-Oct. 13, 2018)…In the most recent meeting on Nov. 28 at Van Andel Arena, Turner Elson and Matt Puempel each scored two goals apiece while goaltender Harri Sateri made 33 saves for a 5-2 win that continued Grand Rapids’ five-game point streak…The last time the Griffins traveled to Allstate Arena on Nov. 24, Grand Rapids overcame a two-goal deficit in the first period and Filip Hronek netted the overtime goal for a 4-3 victory…Sateri is 3-0-0 against Chicago with a 2.63 GAA and a 0.914 save percentage…Patrik Rybar made his first start in North America on Oct. 13 at Allstate Arena…Elson leads the team with six points (4-2—6) and a plus-seven rating in four games in the season series…Two of Elson’s team-high three shorthanded goals have come against Chicago…Puempel also has four goals vs. the Wolves this season…The Griffins have faced the Wolves 152 times in the regular season, the second most of any Grand Rapids opponent…David Pope (Oct. 13) and Vili Saarijarvi (Oct. 20) both netted their first AHL goals against the Wolves this season…Erik Brannstrom, Daniel Carr and Brandon Pirri were selected to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic.

Chicago Connections
Chicago forward Brooks Macek was originally drafted 171st overall by the Red Wings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft…Griffins first-year 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 games with Chicago from 2001-03 and 2004-05, registering 87 points (37-50—87) and 192 PIM…Tapper appeared in 98 games 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…First-year Griffin 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)…First-year Griffin 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 Game (Saturday): Senators 2 at Griffins 5 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids concluded the four-game season series against Belleville 2-1-0-1…The Griffins finished 4-for-5 on the power play, marking the first time they have notched four power play goals in a game since scoring four at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016 (9-1 W)…Grand Rapids scored three power play goals in a span of 2:35 in the second period, the most power play goals in a single frame since tallying three during the second period on Feb. 24, 2013 vs. San Antonio (7-3 W)…Carter Camper recorded four power play assists, the first four-assist game by a Griffin since Andy Miele on Dec. 19, 2014…Harri Sateri turned aside a season-high 41 shots to earn his 12th victory…Sateri’s 24 saves in the third period were one shy of the franchise record for saves in a single frame…Matt Puempel (1-2—3) and defenseman Vili Saarijarvi (1-2—3) also banked three-point nights.

Status Update
The Griffins earned five out of a possible six points in their three games last week and tie Iowa for the Central Division lead with a 21-12-3-4 record (49 points). Grand Rapids is 2-1-0-2 to begin 2019 and shows points in nine of its last 10 outings (6-1-1-2) and in 26 of its last 33 (19-7-3-4). Grand Rapids begins this week with a tour through Illinois, facing the third-place Chicago Wolves tonight before trekking an hour and a half west to play the Rockford IceHogs on Friday and then returning home on Saturday to play the Milwaukee Admirals.

Power Ups
The Griffins’ power play exploded for a 4-for-5 finish in last Saturday’s 5-2 victory, scoring goals in each of their last four opportunities. Wade Megan, Vili Saarijarvi, Matt Puempel and Axel Holmstrom provided the tallies with Carter Camper supplying an assist for each goal. Grand Rapids scored four power play goals for the first time since banking four in a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016, and logged four on home ice for the first time since recording four in a 7-4 win vs. San Diego on Nov. 20, 2015. The three power play goals scored in a 2:35 span in the second period marked the most in a single stanza since logging three during the second period on Feb. 24, 2013 vs. San Antonio (7-3 W). Grand Rapids finished 5-for-8 on the power play in the two-game set against Belleville.

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in 10 of his last 12 starts (8-2-2) and has allowed two goals or less in three of his last five games. His 12 victories on the season tie for ninth in the league. Patrik Rybar is on a five-game point streak (3-0-2) and shows a 1.91 GAA and a 0.932 save percentage in that stretch. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar ranks third in the AHL with a 2.33 overall GAA. Griffin netminders have allowed two goals or less in six of the last 10 games.

Happy Camper
Carter Camper recorded an assist on each of Grand Rapids’ four power play goals last Saturday, the first four-assist game by a Griffin since Andy Miele on Dec. 19, 2014 vs. Toronto. It is the second time in his career Camper has logged four or more assists after posting a career-high five as a member of the Tucson Roadrunners on March 2, 2018 at Cleveland. His team-high 22 assists tie for 14th in the AHL.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry sits atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 23. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career and is on pace to become just the third Griffin ever to bank 40 or more goals in a single season. He is bidding to join Teemu Pulkkinen (34 in 2014-15) and Donald MacLean (56 in 2005-06) as the only Griffins to lead the league in goals. He is also one of three active AHL players with 200 or more career goals. Over the last 23 contests since Nov. 24, Terry has accumulated 25 points (12-13—25), which is the third most in the league in that span. He is situated fourth in the league with 41 points overall. Selected to play for the Central Division at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, Terry has earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

Page Turner
Turner Elson places fourth on the team with 28 points (12-16—28) and is just two shy of matching 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. He has also bettered his output from his first season with the Griffins in 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). Elson has all three of the Griffins’ shorthanded goals this season, which also ties for second in the AHL. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15.

Puemped Up
Following a goal and two assist performance last Saturday, Matt Puempel picked up his team-leading 12th multi-point game of the season. In comparison, Puempel had 15 in all of 2017-18. The sixth-year pro banked both his 100th career AHL assist and his 200th AHL point on Saturday and needs just one more goal to reach 100 in the AHL. He places second on the team in both goals (16) and points (16).

Z-Score
Skating in his second game back in the Griffins lineup after representing the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship, rookie forward Filip Zadina posted a season-high three points (2-1—3) in last Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss. In his first AHL action since Dec. 19, Zadina recorded three points (2-1—3) and a plus-one rating in three games last week. The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, the 19-year-old leads the Griffins with four multi-goal games and is one of five Griffins with 10 or more tallies. Among AHL rookies, Zadina ties for 15th in goals.

Saari, Not Saari
Second-year defenseman Vili Saarijarvi registered his first career multi-point game with a three-point effort (1-2—3) in last Saturday’s 5-2 victory. Both of Saarijarvi’s goals this season have come on the power play. Skating in all 40 games, Saarijarvi ranks third among team defensemen with 10 points (2-8—10).

This Date in Griffins History
2002: All-Star Kip Miller, the AHL's leading scorer with 56 points, signs an NHL contract with the N.Y. Islanders for the remainder of the season.
2008: Red Wings defenseman and former Griffin Derek Meech completes a two-week conditioning assignment with Grand Rapids. During his stint, Meech climbed into 10th place on the Griffins’ all-time games played list with 230, while he earned two points (1-1—2) to bump his career total up to 65 and rank fifth all-time among defensemen.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins