GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS (1-4-0-0) vs. CHICAGO WOLVES (4-0-0-0)

Griffins Game #6 * Home Game #3 * AHL Game #86

Season Series: 0-1-0-0 | Home Series: 0-0-0-0 | Road Series: 0-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 81-57-2-6-3 | All-Time Home Series: 40-25-2-4-2 | All-Time Road Series: 41-32-0-2-1

Griffins vs. Wolves
Second of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena…Chicago has won six straight in the series, including last Saturday’s 5-1 victory at Allstate Arena in the team’s home opener, and three straight at Van Andel Arena...In last Saturday’s game, David Pope scored his first professional goal and goaltender Patrik Rybar made 19 saves in his first North American start...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 Wade Megan totaled 99 points (44-55—99), a plus-34 rating and 109 PIM in 136 GP with Chicago from 2016-18…Megan paced the AHL with 33 goals during his first season with the Wolves in 2016-17…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 and picked up 16 points (1-15—16)...Chicago has won back-to-back regular season Central Division titles...However, from 2016-18, the Wolves combined to post a 69-36-11-8 record (0.633) against division foes, while the Griffins framed a 71-37-2-8 mark (0.644) during that stretch.

Status Update
The Griffins wrap up their home schedule in the month of October tonight when they host the Chicago Wolves in a rematch of last Saturday’s tilt at Allstate Arena. After tonight, Grand Rapids is off until Oct. 26-27 when the Griffins make their first-ever trip to Belleville.

Last Game (Wednesday): Stars 6 at Griffins 3
Wednesday was the first time in six career games against Grand Rapids that Texas goaltender Landon Bow allowed more than two goals...Matt Finn and Chris Terry scored their first goals as Griffins...Wade Megan’s penalty shot attempt at 6:08 of the first period (no goal) was the first since Matt Lorito’s unsuccessful attempt on Feb. 10, 2018 vs. Stockton...Texas scored four unanswered goals in the third period and finished 3-for-7 on the power play.

On This Date in Griffins History
2003: The Red Wings assign veteran NHL goaltender Curtis Joseph to Grand Rapids for conditioning during his rehabilitation from off-season ankle surgery. He goes on to win his only game in a Griffins uniform, stopping 20 of 21 shots in a 4-1 home triumph over the Utah Grizzlies on Oct. 24.

Lashing Out
Brian Lashoff was activated off of Detroit’s injured reserve and assigned to Grand Rapids yesterday. Lashoff, who played his first Griffins game during the latter stages of the 2008-09 season, enters the 2018-19 season with 400 regular season games played. He ranks second on the club’s all-time games played list, trailing only all-time great Travis Richards (655 GP from 1996-06).

Blueliner Movement
On Wednesday, the Red Wings assigned defenseman Libor Sulak to the Griffins while the Griffins released defenseman Mackenze Stewart from his professional tryout, returning him to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. The 170th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL, Sulak has skated in six games with the Red Wings this season, totaling six PIM and seven shots while averaging 19:22 of ice time. On Thursday, the Griffins signed defenseman Chris Carlisle to a professional tryout and assigned defenseman Marcus Crawford to Toledo. Carlisle has played in two games with the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs this season. The 23-year-old spent the 2017-18 campaign with HC Bolzano in Austria and helped the club win the league championship. Carlisle has skated in 139 career AHL games with Binghamton from 2015-17.

Veteran Presence
Five players tie for the team lead with three points through five games. Four of the five are veterans, Carter Camper, Matthew Ford, Matt Puempel and Chris Terry, with the lone exception being rookie Filip Zadina.

Griff & Finn
Defenseman Matt Finn’s goal at 17:32 of the first period on Wednesday marked his first AHL tally since April 15, 2016 when he was with Bridgeport. Signed to a professional contract on Oct. 3, the fifth-year pro has skated in four of five games this season.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina paces the Griffins in goals (2) and ties for the team lead with three points. The 18-year-old Zadina 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.

No Shots For You
Despite giving up a season-high 32 shots to Texas in their last time out, the Griffins rank third in the AHL in shots against, surrendering just 25.6 per contest. Grand Rapids has outshot three of its five opponents so far.


SATURDAY PROMOTIONS

Calendar Giveaway presented by Fox Motors: The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2019 Griffins calendar.

Post-game Autograph Session presented by Huntington Bank: Three Griffins players will sign autographs following the game from the team’s bench.

Friends & Family 4-Packs presented by Big E's Sports Grill: Available for all Saturday games, each pack incudes four or more tickets and $12 in concession cash for a great low price, plus a coupon for one FREE large, one-topping pizza at Big E's Sports Grill. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2.

Photo by Ross Dettman/Chicago Wolves