Griffins Game #25 * Home Game #14 * AHL Game #350

Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 45-34-7-8 All-Time Home Series: 30-11-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 15-23-4-6

Griffins vs. IceHogs
Fifth of 10 meetings overall, second of five at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids won the first two meetings of the season and Rockford has claimed the last two…Chris Terry (1-3—4 in 4 GP) is the series’ leading scorer…The Griffins have outshot Rockford in three of four matchups so far, and own a 126-102 advantage in that category...As a member of the Griffins, Matt Puempel has 18 points (8-10—18) in 19 GP against the IceHogs...Grand Rapids’ penalty kill is 14-for-15 against Rockford this season (93.3%)…Since the 2016-17 season, the home team in the series has posted a 24-8-2-0 record (0.735)…Grand Rapids has points in nine of the last 10 meetings at Van Andel Arena (7-1-2-0)…In the last 10 overall against Rockford, the Griffins are 4-4-2-0…Head coach Ben Simon served as an assistant in Rockford for two seasons (2011-13)…Rockford head coach Derek King played in Grand Rapids from 1999-01 and 2002-04 and is the franchise’s all-time leading playoff scorer (16-25—41) and ranks fifth in regular season points (73-130—203).

Last Time Out (Wednesday): Wolves 5 at Griffins 2 - Recap
Grand Rapids is 1-2 in the season series...Second-year head coach Ben Simon coached in his 100th regular season game as head coach of the Griffins...Taro Hirose, who was assigned by Detroit on Tuesday, scored in his AHL debut...Brandon Anselmini (signed to a PTO on Tuesday) made his Griffins debut and Tyler Spezia (recalled from Toledo on Monday) made his AHL season debut...Evgeny Svechnikov scored a power play goal for his fourth of the season...Grand Rapids finished 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill...Chicago’s visit to Van Andel Arena was its first since Game 4 of the 2019 Central Division Semifinals on April 24, a series the Wolves went on to win 3-2 as their first step on the way to a Calder Cup Finals appearance.

Status Update
The Griffins aim to stop a six-game losing skid tonight when they host the Rockford IceHogs for the team’s Fifth Annual Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army. The six regulation losses in a row are the team’s most since a franchise record-tying seven-game skid Jan. 17-Feb. 3, 2010. Grand Rapids will then have both Saturday and Sunday off from games for the first of two times this season (Feb. 1-2). The Griffins are back in action on Wednesday at San Diego to begin a season-high six-game road trip.

Away for the Holidays
The Griffins will play four home games this month, their fewest in December in franchise history. After tonight against Rockford, Grand Rapids embarks on a season-high six-game road trip and will not return to Van Andel Arena until Dec. 27. The Griffins will make up for it in January as an eight-game homestand from Jan. 10-25 is the team’s longest since an eight-game stretch Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2006.

Rotating Roster
The Griffins have used 26 skaters already this season (not including three goalies), which is the team’s most through Dec. 5 in the last 15 seasons. Since the AHL’s regular season began on Oct. 4, the Red Wings have recalled or assigned a player from or to Grand Rapids a total of 39 times.

Back Up, Terr
Chris Terry has lit the lamp in two of the last four games. The second-year Griffin ties for second in the AHL in points (27) while pacing the club in goals (11), assists (16), multi-point games (9) and power play goals (7). In his 11th-year pro, Terry led the Griffins with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead GR in scoring in back-to-back seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Blueline Scoring
Moritz Seider (1-11—12) and Joe Hicketts (0-12—12) tie for the team lead among defensemen in points. Hicketts’ 12 assists tie for eighth among all AHL blueliners while Seider ties for fourth among rookie defensemen in points. Born April 6, 2001, Seider ties Ontario’s Tobias Bjornfot for the second-youngest player in the AHL this season. Only Bridgeport’s Simon Holmstrom (May 24, 2001) is younger.

Puzzle Pieces
The Griffins have recently been missing several key components that were on the team’s opening night roster:
Dylan McIlrath (0-3—3 in 10 GP) – on recall with Detroit since Nov. 5, missed last 13 games
Matt Puempel (9-10—19 in 17 GP) – missed last seven due to injury
Michael Rasmussen (2-7—9 in 10 GP) – missed last nine due to injury

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 974-669-27-59-113 (0.583) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 314 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 317 and Toronto’s 332 while the Griffins’ 681 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (686), Providence (691) and Toronto (720)...Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 91 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

This Date in Griffins History
1996: The Griffins run their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 5-1 victory over visiting Michigan.
2003: With Curtis Joseph serving as his backup, Marc Lamothe makes 41 saves to lead the Griffins to a 3-1 win over St. John’s. The victory is Lamothe’s seventh in a row, one shy of the franchise record.
2013: The Griffins push their winning streaks to six games overall and seven at home with a 5-1 beating of Rochester, improving their AHL-best winning percentage to 0.773 (16-4-1-1) and spoiling the returns of former captains Matt Ellis and Jamie Tardif in their first games as visitors at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids extended its franchise record by scoring five or more goals for the seventh straight home game and set another mark by scoring at least four goals for the seventh consecutive home contest.

Fifth Annual Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army: Help raise awareness of The Salvation Army’s mission to provide programs and services to our West Michigan neighbors during the holidays and throughout the year by wearing red to the game. Several red kettles will be stationed throughout the lobby and concourse, with the Griffins’ Better Halves (players’ wives or girlfriends) ringing the bell for spare change collection. The Salvation Army’s brass band will perform the national anthem and play a selection of holiday favorites on the concourse during intermissions. In addition to special game elements and graphics, the Griffins will wear red jerseys sporting The Salvation Army Red Shield logo to support the Red Kettle theme.

Red Kettle Jersey Auction: After the game, fans can bid on the Red Kettle jerseys that were worn during the game, with proceeds benefiting The Salvation Army of Kent County. The live jersey auction will take place off the Griffins’ bench in sections 121 and 122. Select players will also be in attendance.

The Salvation Army Ticket Pack: Lower Level Faceoff tickets to The Salvation Army Red Kettle Game are just $23– a savings of $2 per ticket, plus no service fees. Proceeds from each ticket purchased as part of this special ticket offer benefits The Salvation Army of West Michigan and Northern Indiana. Visit www.griffinshockey.com/red-kettle to purchase your tickets.

$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.

College Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union: Presented by Michigan First Credit Union, college students can buy online using their school .edu email address or 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 if purchasing in-person. Visit griffinshockey.com/college to sign up for College Night alerts.

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.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins