Rockford IceHogs (27-24-4-6) vs. GRIFFINS (33-17-6-4)

Griffins Game #61 * Home Game #34 * AHL Game #947

Season Series: 3-1-4-0 Home Series: 2-0-2-0 Road Series: 1-1-2-0
All-Time Series: 43-30-7-8 All-Time Home Series: 29-10-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 14-20-4-6

Griffins vs. IceHogs
Ninth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Van Andel Arena…Six of the eight games this season have been decided by one goal, including four in overtime…Rockford has claimed all four matchups that have been tied after regulation…Grand Rapids has points in 12 of the last 13 meetings overall (7-1-4-1)…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight in a row (6-0-2-0) and in 12 of the last 13 (10-1-2-0)…In the most recent matchup on March 1 in Illinois, Grand Rapids came back from being down three in the first period to force overtime and earn a point in a 5-4 loss…In the last meeting in West Michigan on Feb. 20, Rockford rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to tie the game before Luke Johnson scored the winner in overtime with 0.6 seconds remaining…Since the 2012-13 campaign, Grand Rapids is 23-4-3-1 (0.806) against the IceHogs at the Van and 12-13-2-4 (0.484) at Rockford…Matt Puempel (3-3—6 in 7 GP) and Wade Megan (4-1—5 in 3 GP) lead the team in scoring vs. Rockford…Patrik Rybar is 1-1-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage against Rockford this season while Harri Sateri is 2-0-3 with a 2.49 GAA and a 0.921 save mark…The season series will conclude at Rockford on March 30.

Rockford Connections
Rockford interim 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)…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.

Last Time Out (Saturday): Griffins 4 at Admirals 0 - Read the full recap here
Patrik Rybar and the Griffins shut out Milwaukee for the second consecutive game (Jan. 19)…Rybar’s shutout streak against the Admirals stands at 171:49…Grand Rapids improved to 5-1-0-1 in the 10-game season series…Matt Ford (9), Dominik Shine (5), Chris Terry (27) and Martin Frk (4) tallied goals…The Griffins notched two goals 17 seconds apart in the opening period and then tacked on two more in a 1:14 span late in the third stanza…Seventeen seconds marked the fastest consecutive goals by the Griffins this season…Grand Rapids is 11-3-0-0 all time at Panther Arena in the regular season.

Status Update
Showing an overall record of 33-17-6-4, the Griffins tie Iowa for second place in the Central Division with 76 points and trail first-place Chicago by three. The Griffins have picked up points in 10 of their last 12 outings (7-2-3-0) and in 15 of their last 19 (12-4-3-0). After earning five out of a possible six points last week, Grand Rapids returns to action tonight at home against Rockford before heading to Milwaukee tomorrow to kick off a season-high six-game road trip. The Griffins are in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (5-2-3-0). Grand Rapids has killed of its last 16 penalties.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in six consecutive home games (4-0-2-0) and in eight of their last nine (6-1-2-0). With a 22-5-3-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins pace the league in both home wins (22) and points (50), while ranking second in points percentage (0.758). Grand Rapids is a +23 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.24 goals and operating at 19.15% on the power play, compared to -9, 2.74 and 8.85% on enemy ice. Chris Terry (14-19—33), Carter Camper (10-19—29) and Matt Puempel (12-15—27) lead the team in scoring at home. Harri Sateri is 13-2-2 at Van Andel Arena with a 2.37 GAA and a 0.910 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 9-3-4 with a 2.27 GAA and a 0.919 save mark.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids became the first team in the Western Conference to hit the 70-point plateau after a 4-3 shootout win against Texas on Feb. 22...The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 overtime win vs. San Antonio on Feb. 16...Grand Rapids achieved 30 Ws or more in its first 53 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons...The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 960-646-27-57-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 300 regular season wins and 650 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (310 / 670) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (297 / 642).

Wade For It
In 22 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (23), goals (12) and plus-minus (+13), while tying for third in assists (11). He has tallied six points (2-4—6) during his current four-game point streak.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel became the 40th player in franchise history to record 100 or more points in a Griffins uniform following a two-assist effort last Friday against Iowa. He has points in eight of his last 10 games (5-6—11). The sixth-year pro leads Grand Rapids with 16 multi-point outings and seven power play goals while placing second in both goals (22) and points (47). His team-high 198 shots are third in the league. Puempel has reached the 20-goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and in back-to-back campaigns after depositing 23 last season (22 with Grand Rapids, 1 with Hartford).

Page Turner
Turner Elson picked up an assist in last Saturday’s win at Milwaukee, marking his 31st point and 17th assist of the season to establish new career highs in both categories. His 14 goals are three shy of his career best from 2014-15.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
Chris Terry logged seven points (3-4—7) in three games last week, including a career-high five-point effort (2-3—5) in Wednesday’s win against Texas. With 27 goals (T5th in AHL) and 54 points (T14th), Terry has surpassed the 50-point mark in his seventh consecutive full AHL season. Owning 494 career AHL points, Terry needs six more to become the 96th player in league history to amass 500 or more points.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in 10 of his last 12 starts (7-2-3) and shows a 2.29 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage in that span. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for 14th in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar is 6-2-0 in his last eight starts, showing a 1.87 GAA and a 0.937 save percentage with two shutouts in that time. He ties for the league lead with a 2.26 overall GAA.

Instant Impact
Since being assigned to Grand Rapids on Feb. 14, rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski places third on the team with five assists and ties for third with a plus-six rating in that span. Also assigned on Feb. 14, right wing Martin Frk is averaging a point per game with the Griffins (4-4—8 in 8 GP) and ties for tops on the team with a plus-seven rating over that stretch. Frk is on a four-game point and three-game goal streak.

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 5-3-0-0-0 all time when playing on March 15, including a 3-2-0-0-0 mark on home ice.
2006: Eric Manlow puts a happy end to a team-record 14 shootout rounds in a 3-2 triumph over Manitoba.
2008: Grand Rapids drops a 2-1 home decision to Lake Erie despite tying a season high for shots and out-gunning the Monsters 50-25, as Mike Wall makes 49 saves.

PROMOTIONS

Game presented by Spectrum Health Stroke Awareness #SpectrumStrokeStrong

‘90s Night: The Griffins will celebrate the decade with music, videos and in-game elements that feature the 1990s.

$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.

Photo by Garrett Gormley/Griffins