Milwaukee Admirals (11-6-3-0) vs. GRIFFINS (8-7-0-1)

Griffins Game #17 * Home Game #9 * AHL Game #267

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 93-61-7-7-7 All-Time Home Series: 51-29-2-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 42-32-5-5-5

Griffins vs. Admirals
Second of 10 meetings overall, second of five at Van Andel Arena...With a rivalry dating back to the International Hockey League days, the Griffins have faced the Admirals more than any other opponent in team history as the two clubs will meet up for the 176th time in the regular season tonight…Grand Rapids posts a 34-15-2-0 (0.686) regular season mark against the Admirals since 2013-14, including an 18-7-1-0 (0.712) record in 26 games at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins are 10-3-1-0 in their last 14 regular season meetings against Milwaukee…In the first meeting on Nov. 3, Dylan McIlrath scored his first goal of the season with 3:42 remaining to break a 1-1 tie…Christoffer Ehn produced his first North American pro goal vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 3…Griffins first-year head coach Ben Simon appeared in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 season and finished with four points (1-3—4)…Karl Taylor is in his first campaign behind Milwaukee’s bench after serving the last four seasons as an assistant with the Texas Stars.

Tommy Mac is Back (in different colors)
Goaltender Tom McCollum, who played with the Griffins from 2009-16 and 2017-18, returns to Van Andel Arena tonight as a member of the Admirals. Selected 30th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, McCollum is Grand Rapids’ all-time goaltending leader in wins (123), games played (263), minutes (14900:25) and saves (6640). He helped Grand Rapids win the 2013 Calder Cup and is the team’s only four-time AHL Man of the Year nominee. McCollum also appeared in three career games with the Red Wings, showing a 1-0-0 record, a 2.98 GAA and a 0.879 save percentage. He became the 117th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted on March 30, 2011 vs. St. Louis. In his career facing Grand Rapids, McCollum is 0-0-2 with a 1.90 GAA and a 0.952 save percentage. His two appearances vs. the Griffins came on April 12 and 14, 2017, at Van Andel Arena as a member of the Charlotte Checkers. McCollum served as a backup in Milwaukee’s first visit to the Van on Nov. 3.

Last Game (Saturday): Moose 2 at Griffins 3 OT
After Manitoba tied the game with 35 seconds remaining in regulation, Carter Camper scored 35 seconds into overtime…The Moose recorded 16 shots, the lowest for a Griffins opponent this season…Manitoba had two attempts in the third period, another low for a Griffins opponent in a single frame this season…Harri Sateri made 14 saves to log his third win in his last four games…Saturday was only the second game this season for Grand Rapids that went past 60 minutes…Colin Campbell made his return to the lineup after missing the previous 13 games due to injury.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in seven of their last nine games (6-2-0-1) and tie for fifth in the Central Division with an 8-7-0-1 overall record. Grand Rapids will conclude its four-game homestand tonight against Milwaukee before traveling to Chicago tomorrow for a matchup with the Wolves. Tonight is also the team’s 19th annual Teddy Bear Toss, benefiting Hug-A-Bears of Kent County. The Griffins are in the midst of playing 14 straight games against Central Division opponents.

Second Helpings
The Griffins are playing on Black Friday for the 13th consecutive season and hold a 12-4-1-2 (0.711) all-time record on the day after Thanksgiving, including a 10-4-0-2 (0.688) mark on home ice. Last season’s 3-1 home loss to Manitoba snapped Grand Rapids’ five-game point streak on Black Friday (4-0-1-0).

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in six of their first eight home games (5-2-0-1), including wins in three of their last four. Grand Rapids is a +4 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.38 goals, compared to -7 and 2.75 on enemy ice.

Ehn and Megan Swap
The Red Wings on Tuesday assigned center Wade Megan to the Griffins and on Wednesday recalled center Christoffer Ehn from Grand Rapids. Recalled on Oct. 31, Megan played six games with the Wings, recording nine shots and two PIM while averaging 7:59 of ice time. He became the 172nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his Red Wings debut on Nov. 1 vs. New Jersey. Ehn has split his first season in North America between Grand Rapids and Detroit, appearing in 10 games for both clubs. He did not play in Detroit’s 3-2 overtime win vs. Boston on Wednesday. He shows one assist, a plus-two rating, four PIM, eight shots and averages 9:19 of ice time with Detroit. Ehn has six points (1-5—6), a plus-five rating and four PIM with the Griffins.

Terr-ing It Up
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry has posted back-to-back multi-point games, including a season-high three points (2-1—3) last Friday. His team-high 11 markers place fourth in the AHL and he has three goals in the last two games, seven in the last six and nine in the last nine. Since Nov. 4, the 10th-year pro paces the league with seven goals while his 10 points in that span place fourth.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson is on a four-game point streak that matches a career high (achieved twice previously and most recently April 10-17, 2015 with Adirondack). Elson’s four multi-point games tie for second on the team. He has 12 points – which places third on the team – through the first 16 games and is on pace for 57 points, which would shatter his previous best of 30.

Happy Camper
Following an assist and the overtime goal in last Saturday’s win, Carter Camper collected his team-leading sixth multi-point game of the season and his second in as many outings. The first-year Griffin and eighth-year pro paces the club in assists (11) and ranks second in points (15), trailing Chris Terry by one.

No Shots For You
Grand Rapids held Manitoba to 16 shots last Saturday, the eighth time in 16 games the Griffins have allowed 25 or less attempts. Sixteen also marked a season-best for shots against. The Griffins rank third in the AHL in shots against (26.1).

Add Rybar for Support
Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) had his four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped in last Friday’s 4-3 loss to Ontario. He shows a 1.80 goals against average since Oct. 27, and that ranks fifth in the AHL among goalies who have played more than 200 minutes in that span. His overall GAA of 2.33 places fifth in the league. 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.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina recorded his team-high third multi-goal game of the season in last Wednesday’s 3-1 matinee victory vs. Rockford. In the last seven games, he shows six points (4-2—6) and a plus-two rating. Zadina paces the team with two power play goals, ranks second with six goals and ties for fourth with 10 points. The 18-year-old 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.

This Date in Griffins History
2001: A staunch Griffins defense establishes a franchise mark by holding an opponent to two or fewer goals for the seventh consecutive game, in a 2-1 win over Chicago. Grand Rapids sets another record for fastest start with its 13th win in the season's first 18 games.
2002: Thanks to a 4-2 win over Cleveland, the Griffins finish November with a 6-0-2-0 record at home, marking the first calendar month in franchise history in which they post an undefeated record at Van Andel Arena.
2005: A 3-2 shootout win at Manitoba marks the Griffins’ fifth win in a six-day span, equaling a record feat accomplished in Dec. 2000.
2011: Thanks to four unanswered goals during the third period, the Griffins roll to a 5-2 win over Hamilton.
2012: Tomas Tatar scores his second goal of the game with 2:13 remaining to extend the Griffins’ winning streak to seven with a 4-3 victory over Chicago. Petr Mrazek makes 25 saves while improving to 6-0 on the season, marking the best start by a goaltender in franchise history.

PROMOTIONS

19th Annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by J&H Family Stores: The annual Teddy Bear Toss benefiting Hug-A-Bears of Kent County is back. Fans are encouraged to bring new, store-tagged teddy bears and stuffed
animals to throw onto the ice after the Griffins score their first goal.

$2 Beers and $2 Hot Dogs: Fans can enjoy $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Get in the D-ZONE presented by Coppercraft Distillery: Every Friday night is a Griffins D-Zone night. Avoid the concession lines and get your $2 beers and $2 hot dogs served to you in your seats. Call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com/dzone today to purchase a package of four or more D-Zone tickets for any Friday night game.

Free Ride Friday on the Rapid: Ride the Rapid to and from any Friday game and enjoy complimentary fare by showing your ticket to the game. Visit ridetherapid.org for schedule information, routes and maps.

College Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union: College students can show their ID at every Friday game to purchase an Upper Level Faceoff ticket for $13 (or $12 in advance at The Zone) or an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $16 (or $15 in advance at The Zone). Limit one ticket per ID.

Pepsi Reading Goals Redemption Date: Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the
required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free upper level tickets to any one of the following games: Nov. 23, Nov. 28, Dec. 5 or Dec. 19.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins