Rockford IceHogs (25-21-3-5) vs. GRIFFINS (30-16-3-4)

Griffins Game #54 * Home Game #30 * AHL Game #809

Season Series: 3-1-2-0 Home Series: 2-0-1-0 Road Series: 1-1-1-0
All-Time Series: 43-30-5-8 All-Time Home Series: 29-10-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 14-20-3-6

Griffins vs. IceHogs
Seventh of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at Van Andel Arena…Four of the last five games have been decided by one goal…Grand Rapids has points in 10 of the last 11 meetings overall (7-1-2-1), including an eight-game streak that lasted from Dec. 23, 2017-Dec. 14, 2018…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in seven in a row (6-0-1-0) and in 11 of the last 12 (10-1-1-0)…Since the 2012-13 campaign, Grand Rapids is 23-4-2-1 (0.817) against the IceHogs at the Van and 12-13-1-4 (0.483) at Rockford…Chris Terry leads the Griffins in points in the season series with four (2-2—4), while Matt Puempel and Colin Campbell are tied for the lead in assists with three…Harri Sateri is 2-0-1 against the IceHogs this season with a 1.63 GAA and a 0.948 save percentage...Patrik Rybar has a 1-1-1 record vs. Rockford, tallying a 2.01 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage...AHL firsts coming vs. RFD: Givani Smith first goal (Dec. 7, 2018 at RFD), Colin Campbell first goal (March 29, 2014 vs. RFD), Jake Chelios first point (April 18, 2014 at RFD) and Vili Saarijarvi debut and first point (Oct. 28, 2017 at RFD)...Derek Hulak made his Griffins debut at Rockford on Dec. 7 and potted a goal...Former Griffin Derek King is the interim head coach of the IceHogs after Jeremy Colliton was brought up to coach the Blackhawks on Nov. 6…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)…King and Ben Simon were both assistant coaches with the Toronto Marlies in 2014-15...Simon also served as an assistant coach with the IceHogs during the 2012-13 season.

Recapping Jan. 18 at Rockford
In the most recent meeting between the teams, the Griffins snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-4-1-3) at the BMO Harris Bank Center with a 3-1 victory…With Rockford leading 1-0 early in the middle frame, Jake Chelios scored his first goal as a Griffin off a wrist shot to tie the game...In addition tallying an assist on Chelios' goal, Wade Megan notched two tallies of his own...Harri Sateri picked up 29 saves and earned second-star honors.

Last Time Out (Saturday): Rampage 2 at Griffins 3 OT - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids scored two goals 1:26 apart late in the third period to tie the game 2-2…Carter Camper scored his 100th pro goal at 18:10 and Martin Frk potted his first AHL tally of the season at 19:36…Filip Zadina scored the winner eight seconds into overtime, the fastest OT goal in franchise history…Landon Ferraro had held the regular season mark at 18 seconds (3/13/13 vs. CHI) while Tyler Bertuzzi owns the playoff record at 13 seconds (5/14/15 at RFD)…Patrik Rybar matched his season high with 33 saves…The Griffins have overcome a two-goal deficit to win on six occasions...The Griffins have won eight in a row at Van Andel Arena against the Rampage…The capacity crowd of 10,834 marked the Griffins’ sixth sellout of the season…Grand Rapids has been tied with its opponent after regulation 15 times this season…Chris Terry played in his 700th pro game and Turner Elson in his 300th.

Status Update
Following last weekend’s sweep of the San Antonio Rampage, the Griffins continue to lead the Central Division by three points with 67 to go along with a 30-16-3-4 overall record. Grand Rapids has collected wins in nine of its last 12 games and picked up points in 18 of its last 23 (15-5-1-2). The Griffins will complete their season-high seven-game homestand against Rockford and Texas tonight and Friday, respectively, before traveling to Chicago on Saturday. Grand Rapids is in the midst of facing 20 consecutive Central Division foes.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in 11 of their last 13 contests at Van Andel Arena (10-2-0-1), including wins in five of six. With a 20-5-1-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins lead the league in home wins (20), points (44) and points percentage (0.759). Grand Rapids is a +21 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.21 goals and operating at 18.70% on the power play, compared to -11, 2.67 and 8.65% on enemy ice. Chris Terry (12-16—28), Carter Camper (9-17—26) and Filip Zadina (12-12—24) lead the team in scoring at home. Harri Sateri is 13-2-0 at Van Andel Arena with a 2.25 GAA and a 0.916 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 7-3-4 with a 2.25 GAA and a 0.918 save mark.

Staycation
Grand Rapids is 4-1 in its season-high seven-game homestand, which concludes this week with tilts against Rockford tonight and Texas on Friday. So far in the homestand, the Griffins are a plus-six in goal differential (15-9), plus-25 in shot margin (167-142), have allowed one goal on three occasions, and are operating at 20.8% on the power play (5/24) and 84.2% on the penalty kill (16/19). Seven games is the team’s longest since a seven-game stretch from Nov. 29-Dec. 14, 2013. Grand Rapids will play seven home games in a 17-day period this month, and then close out the campaign with seven home contests spread across the regular season’s final 50 days. Take a look at the longest homestands in Grand Rapids history and how the club has fared:

30 & Counting
Following Saturday night’s win against San Antonio, the Griffins became the fifth team in the league, and second in the Western Conference, to reach 30 victories. Grand Rapids has achieved 30 Ws or more in its first 53 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

Z-Score
With the game-winning goal and an assist last Saturday, rookie Filip Zadina has lit the lamp in four straight games, the longest streak by a Griffin this season. His five-game point streak has also established a personal season high. Among first-year AHL players, Zadina ties for seventh in goals (15) and 12th in power play markers (4). His seven points (4-3—7) in February are a team high and tie for 10th among league rookies.

Wade For It
Wade Megan notched his second career hat trick (Dec. 28, 2016, CHI at RFD) last Friday, and it also marked the first three-goal game by a Griffin since Colin Campbell on April 14, 2018 vs. CLE. In 16 GP in 2019, Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (16), goals (9) and plus-minus (+10), while placing second in assists (7).

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has won seven of his last nine starts, showing a 1.78 GAA and a 0.938 save percentage (240 of 256) in that span. His 2.21 GAA in the new year is 10th among goalies with 400 or more minutes in that time frame. The Finnish netminder has points in 16 of his last 20 outings (14-4-2) and in 11 of his last 14 (10-3-1). Sateri’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for fifth in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in eight of his last 10 games (6-2-2) and shows a 2.06 GAA and a 0.928 save percentage with one shutout in that span. In his last two appearances, he’s stopped 66 of 69 shots (0.957). Rybar leads the AHL with a 2.31 overall GAA.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 14 multi-point efforts in 48 GP. In comparison, he had 15 in 62 GP last season. The sixth-year pro also paces the club with five PPGs. He ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (18) and points (40) and his team-high 175 shots are third 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 13th 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).

Griffins in General
The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 957-645-27-54-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 297 regular season wins and 641 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (305 / 658) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (293 / 632).

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 7-3-0-0-1 all time when playing on Feb. 20, all of which have been played on home ice.
2000: The Griffins blast a team-record 54 shots (since surpassed) in a 2-1 shootout win over Detroit.
2004: Grand Rapids extends its record unbeaten streak at home to 13 games with a 2-1 OT win versus Hamilton. Joey MacDonald’s franchise-record shutout streak on home ice ends at 242:18, when he surrenders a goal to the Bulldogs’ Alexander Perezhogin at 7:37 of the third period.
2011: In a 4-2 win over Peoria, Jordan Pearce becomes the first Griffins goalie since Jimmy Howard to start both three games in three nights (April 3-5, 2009) and four games in five nights (April 11-15, 2007), while also becoming the first Grand Rapids rookie to ever accomplish the latter.

PROMOTIONS

Winning Wednesday presented by Farm Bureau Insurance: Every time the Griffins win at home on Wednesday, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the next Wednesday game. All fans who were in attendance for the Griffins’ win against the Manitoba Moose on Feb. 6 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to this game. To redeem a Winning Wednesday ticket, please visit the box office following the Winning Wednesday game, The Zone during normal business hours, or the Van Andel Arena box office prior to the next Wednesday game beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans who exchange their Winning Wednesday ticket at The Zone on a non-game day will receive 20% off the purchase of one item (excluding jerseys). One discount per person present.

Post-Game Parties at Peppino’s: After every Wednesday game, join Griffins players and staff for the official post-game party at Peppino’s Sports Grille downtown.

Library Nights: For all Wednesday and Sunday games, fans can present their Grand Rapids Public Library card or Kent District Library card at the Van Andel Arena box office on the night of the game or at The Zone anytime during the store’s regular business hours to purchase either an Upper Level Faceoff ticket for $14, an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $17, or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $20. Limit four tickets per card per person, subject to availability.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins