Griffins Game #14 * Home Game #8 * AHL Game #195

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 32-30-3-2 All-Time Home Series: 19-13-1-1 All-Time Road Series: 13-17-2-1

Griffins vs. Marlies
Second of four meetings overall, second of two at Van Andel Arena…The season series will conclude on March 19 and 22 when Grand Rapids visits Toronto...Before this weekend, the last time the Griffins and Marlies played was in 2015-16 when Toronto swept all four meetings…Brian Lashoff is the lone Griffin on the roster who participated in the 2015-16 series…The Griffins and Marlies had met for 11 consecutive seasons from 2005-16 before taking a three-year hiatus (2016-19)…Calvin Pickard appeared in 33 regular season games with the Marlies in 2017-18, posting a 21-9-2 record to go along with a 2.31 GAA, a 0.918 save percentage and one shutout…Pickard and creasemate Garret Sparks won the Harry Holmes Memorial Award, which is awarded to the AHL’s goaltending tandem with the lowest GAA (2.24)…Pickard helped Toronto win the 2018 Calder Cup after playing in three postseason games and showing a 1-0-0 record, a 1.00 GAA and a 0.956 save mark…Givani Smith is a native of Toronto…Ben Simon served as an assistant coach with the Marlies during the 2014-15 season (40-27-9-0 record).

Last Game (Friday): Marlies 1 at Griffins 4 - Recap
The teams met for the first time overall since April 2, 2016, and for the first time in Grand Rapids since Jan. 29, 2016...The Griffins picked up their first win against the Marlies since April 4, 2015 at Van Andel Arena, snapping a four-game winning streak for Toronto in the series...Grand Rapids finished 3-for-6 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill...Chris Terry and Matt Puempel both extended their point streaks to eight games...Filip Zadina (4), Givani Smith (3) and Puempel (7) all scored on the power play...Dominic Turgeon (2) added an empty-net goal...Calvin Pickard picked up the win against his former team with 23 saves...Joe Hicketts was assigned back to Grand Rapids by Detroit on Thursday, and the Griffins are 6-2-0-1 this season with him in the lineup…Prior to the game, the Griffins held a moment of silence in memory of longtime video coach Bill LeRoy, who passed away one week ago.

Status Update

The Griffins snapped a four-game winless streak last night and will look to string together back-to-back wins as they wrap up both their three-game homestand and two-game weekend set against the Toronto Marlies tonight. Grand Rapids takes to the road on Tuesday to play the Cleveland Monsters for the second time in less than a week.

Best in Class
Since the teams last met on April 2, 2016 in Toronto, both have gone on to win a Calder Cup – Grand Rapids in 2017 and Toronto in 2018. Since 2012-13, the teams rank among the AHL’s leaders in both regular season wins and points.

Lighting It Up
The Griffins lead the AHL in power play efficiency at 29.3% (17-for-58) and have scored in 10 of 13 games, including five multi-goal outings. In comparison, there were eight instances last season when Grand Rapids netted two or more PPGs in a game. Grand Rapids’ three power play tallies last night equaled its season high from Oct. 5 at Chicago. Chris Terry (5-6—11), Matt Puempel (3-4—7) and Joe Hicketts (0-6—6) lead the way in power play points.

Back Up, Terr
Chris Terry tops the AHL in points (21) while leading the team in goals (8), assists (13) and multi-point games (7). Terry has found the scoresheet in 11 of 13 outings. During his current eight-game point streak, which ties Matt Puempel for the second longest in the league this season, he is averaging nearly two points per outing (6-9—15). His eight-game streak is two shy of his career high, which was set Nov. 12, 2016-Jan. 21, 2017 with St. John’s. 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.

Puemped Up
In his seventh year as a pro and third season as a Griffin, Matt Puempel is the team’s active goal scoring leader with 53 and has amassed 12 points (6-6—12) during his season-high eight-game point streak. His point streak is just one shy of his career high, which was set Jan. 12, 2018-Feb. 4, 2018 during his first season as a Griffin. Puempel ties with former Griffin Ben Street for third in the AHL in scoring.

Blueline Points
Joe Hicketts is on a four-game assist streak, one shy of matching his career high, and leads all team defensemen with eight points (0-8—8). Moritz Seider ties for fourth among AHL rookie defensemen in scoring with seven points (0-7—7).

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 971-661-27-59-113 (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’ 311 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are second behind Toronto’s 324 and the Griffins’ 675 points in that span are third, trailing Providence (676) and Toronto (704)...Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 90 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

This Date in Griffins History
2002: Grand Rapids fires 48 shots during a 2-1 win at Utah, establishing a regular season franchise record for most shots on goal in a road game decided during regulation.
2007: Mark Hartigan’s tally at 15:12 of the third period marks the 37th hat trick in Griffins history and just the fifth time in 37 games the team did not win despite getting a hat trick from a player, as Grand Rapids goes on to lose 6-5 in a shootout at Rockford.
2012: Two-goal nights by Riley Sheahan and Brendan Smith power the Griffins to their fourth consecutive victory, 5-3 over Rockford, as rookie netminder Petr Mrazek improves to 4-0.

Military Appreciation Weekend presented by DTE Energy

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

Military Appreciation Weekend presented by DTE Energy: Join the Griffins on Veterans Day weekend as they will be recognizing all active and retired military members throughout the two games. The Griffins will wear camo jerseys for both games and they will be auctioned off post-game on Saturday. The 126 Army Band will be performing on the concourse pregame and the skating color guard from Calumet, Mich., will be on the ice during the first intermission.

Camo Hat Giveaway presented by DTE Energy: The first 2,500 fans will receive a Griffins camo hat. Click here to see the hat.

Post-Game Jersey Auction: After the game, fans can bid on the camo jerseys that will be worn by the Griffins during both weekend games, with proceeds to benefit Grand Valley State University's Iota Tau Alpha chapter. The jersey auction will take place off the Griffins’ bench in sections 121 and 122.

Friends & Family 4-Packs presented by Big E’s Sports Grill: Available for all Saturday games, each pack includes four tickets and $20 in concession cash for a great low price. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2. Continuing this season, fans may use their concession cash to purchase healthy choice menu options at the stand located outside of section 126, including low-fat yogurt, apples, oranges, granola bars and smoothies.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins