Griffins Game #16 * Home Game #9 * AHL Game #225

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 44-32-7-8 All-Time Home Series: 29-11-3-2 All-Time Road Series: 15-21-4-6

Griffins vs. IceHogs
Second of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids won the first meeting of the season at Rockford on Oct. 12, 4-2…In that Oct. 12 game, Filip Larsson became the fifth Griffins rookie goalie in the team’s AHL era (since 2001-02) to pick up the win in his AHL debut after his 24-save performance, joining Petr Mrazek (Nov. 3, 2012 at Texas), Tom McCollum (Oct. 3, 2009 at Peoria), Jimmy Howard (Oct. 28, 2005 vs. Iowa) and Simon Lajeunesse (Dec. 12, 2001 at Utah)…Rookie Jarid Lukosevicius scored his first pro goal at Rockford in the initial matchup…Since the 2016-17 season, the home team in the series has posted a 21-8-2-0 record (0.710)…Grand Rapids has points in eight of the last nine meetings at Van Andel Arena (6-1-2-0)...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 (Tuesday): Griffins 4 at Monsters 2 - Recap
Rookie Joe Veleno scored his first game-winning goal with 42 seconds remaining in regulation after Cleveland tied the game 20 seconds prior...Matt Puempel tacked on an empty-net goal to extend his point streak to a career-high 10 games...Calvin Pickard stopped a season-high 40 shots...The Griffins have points in each of their last eight visits to Cleveland (5-0-1-2)…Grand Rapids has points in 12 of the last 15 meetings overall (9-3-1-2)...Filip Zadina pushed his goal streak to three games and recorded his first multi-point game of the season...With a goal and an assist, Turner Elson netted his second multi-point game of the year.

Status Update
The Griffins will look for consecutive wins for the first time since a three-game winning streak from Oct. 23-26 when they host the Rockford IceHogs tonight in the first leg of a home-and-home set. Grand Rapids will be in Illinois tomorrow and then return to Van Andel Arena to host the San Antonio Rampage next Wednesday. The Griffins tie for third in the Central Division standings with a 7-6-1-1 record (16 points).

Puemped Up
In his seventh pro year, Matt Puempel is on a career-high 10-game point streak (7-7—14), bettering his previous record of nine, which was set Jan. 12-Feb. 4, 2018, during his first season as a Griffin. His 10-game run ties for the eighth-longest in Griffins history and is the longest since Evgeny Svechnikov’s 12-game stretch from Jan. 20-Feb. 17, 2017. A point tonight would tie Puempel with Valterri Filppula (March 25-Nov. 3, 2006) and Glen Metropolit (Jan. 30-Feb. 21, 1999) for the sixth-longest streak in team history. This is the 16th instance in team history of a double-digit point streak. His 10-game run is the longest active point streak in the AHL and the second-longest overall in the league this season (Lucas Elvenes, 11). In his third season as a Griffin, Puempel is the team’s active leader in goals with 54 and he ties for third in the AHL in scoring with 17 points (8-9—17).

Knowing Our Own Power
The Griffins place third in the AHL in power play efficiency at 27.3% (18-for-66) and saw their season-high five-game power play streak come to an end in Tuesday’s win at Cleveland. Grand Rapids has netted two or more PPGs in a single game five times already this season, compared to eight in all of 2018-19. Chris Terry (5-6—11), Matt Puempel (3-5—8) and Joe Hicketts (0-6—6) lead the way in power play points. The PP accounts for 34.6% of Grand Rapids’ goals.

Z-Score
Nineteen-year-old Filip Zadina is on a three-game goal streak to match Chris Terry for the longest by a Griffin this season. He shows points in seven of the last nine outings and ties for third on the club in scoring (6-3—9).

Back Up, Terr
Chris Terry leads the AHL in points (22) while pacing the Griffins in assists (14) and multi-point games (7) and tying for the team lead in goals (8). He has found the scoresheet in nine of the last 10 games, accruing 16 points (6-10—16) in that stretch. In his 11th-year pro, Terry led the Griffins with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead the Griffins in scoring in back-to-back seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Apple Seider
After Joe Hicketts was recalled yesterday, rookie Moritz Seider is the team’s top point-producing defenseman with eight points (0-8—8). Seider, who ties for the second-youngest player in the AHL this season, ties for third among AHL rookie defensemen in scoring.

November to Remember
Despite a 2-4 start to the month, November has historically been a fruitful one for Grand Rapids as the Griffins have posted a 0.500 record or better in the month 17 times in franchise history. Since the 2012-13 season, Grand Rapids has tallied a combined 53-21-1-5 (0.700) record in the 11th month of the year.

First Things First
Grand Rapids’ roster currently features five recent Detroit first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017, Evgeny Svechnikov 2015). Five of the Red Wings’ last six first rounders are on the west side of the state, with the exception being Dennis Cholowski (2016), who made Detroit’s roster following training camp. From 2002-15, the Griffins had only seven Detroit first rounders total suit up for them: Jakub Kindl (2005-11; 14-15), Niklas Kronwall (2003-06), Dylan Larkin (2015 playoffs only), Anthony Mantha (2014-15), Tom McCollum (2009-15), Riley Sheahan (2011-14) and Brendan Smith (2010-13). The Griffins’ opening night lineup had five Detroit first rounders in it, far surpassing the previous record of two. The Griffins had never seen more than three Red Wings first rounders suit up for the club at any point in the same season until this year. Adding in Matt Puempel (24th overall by Ottawa in 2011), Grand Rapids’ roster boasts six former first-round draft selections.

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 972-662-27-59-113 (0.585) 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’ 312 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign tie Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for second behind Toronto’s 325 and the Griffins’ 677 points in that span are third, trailing Providence (678) and Toronto (706)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 90 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

This Date in Griffins History
2002: Thanks to a brilliant 34-save effort, Marc Lamothe blanks Houston by a 3-0 count, joining NHLers Jani Hurme and Martin Prusek as the only Griffins goalies to record back-to-back shutouts. Grand Rapids notches consecutive shutout wins for the first time ever.
2005: In the Griffins’ annual matinee contest, Nate DiCasmirro scores 13 seconds in to set a franchise record for fastest goal to start a game, and the home team rallies for a 5-4 shootout win over Manitoba. Grand Rapids’ power play goal streak reaches a record 11 games, while Jiri Hudler’s point streak extends to 14 games, three shy of Derek King’s team mark.
2013: Tomas Jurco registers his first pro hat trick off three assists from Gustav Nyquist as the Griffins roll to a 5-3 win over Rockford, marking their eighth victory in their last nine outings. Jordin Tootoo makes his Griffins debut on assignment from the Detroit Red Wings, logging his first AHL game since the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs.
2014: Behind Anthony Mantha’s first pro goal in the second period and Kevin Porter’s breakaway tally with 40 seconds left in the extra session, the Griffins prevail over Texas in overtime for the second straight night at Van Andel Arena, sweeping the matchup between the last two Calder Cup champions.

Time: 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena (doors open at 6 p.m.).

$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/dzonetoday 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 by Rockford IceHogs