Cleveland Monsters (17-11-4-0) vs. GRIFFINS (17-11-3-2)

Griffins Game #34 * Home Game #17 * AHL Game #490

Season Series: 1-1-1-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-1-0
All-Time Series: 51-29-5-10 All-Time Home Series: 29-15-1-2 All-Time Road Series: 22-14-4-8

Griffins vs. Monsters
Fourth of four meetings overall, second of two at Van Andel Arena...Grand Rapids has points in 10 of the last 12 meetings (7-2-1-2)…Cleveland’s 3-1 win on Dec. 19 snapped Grand Rapids’ five-game point and four-game winning streaks in the series…Grand Rapids claimed the first meeting of the season on Nov. 4 in Ohio by an 8-4 margin and concluded the game with six unanswered goals…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight of the last 11 meetings (7-3-0-1)…At Quicken Loans Arena, Grand Rapids is on a seven-game point streak (4-0-1-2) and has not lost in regulation since Feb. 28, 2017 (1-4 L)…Cleveland’s power play has converted on five of 10 chances against the Griffins this season...As part of the league’s realignment last summer, Cleveland moved to the Eastern Conference’s North Division, while San Antonio and Texas joined the Central…The Griffins and Monsters are finishing a four-game season series, a stark decrease compared to recent years when the squads squared off eight times in 2017-18, 12 in 2016-17, 18 in 2015-16 (including playoffs) and 10 in 2014-15…Head coach Ben Simon is a native of Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb…Captain Matthew Ford spent most of his first three pro seasons (2008-11) with the Monsters, totaling 69 points (39-30—69) in 126 appearances...First-year Griffin Carter Camper is from Rocky River, a Cleveland suburb…Appearing in 53 games with the Monsters last season, Camper posted 42 points (13-29—42) and finished the season as Cleveland’s leading scorer, despite being traded to Tucson on Feb. 26…Colin Campbell has two career hat tricks and both have come against Cleveland (12/26/15 away and 4/14/18 home).

Last Game (Friday): Griffins 2 at Monsters 3 OT - Read the full recap here
Cleveland scored three unanswered goals to take the win...Defenseman Libor Sulak netted his first AHL goal at 4:20 in the first period...Former Monster Carter Camper recorded his sixth goal of the season at 8:50 of the second and has points in three straight...Turner Elson made his return to the lineup after missing four games due to injury...Grand Rapids tallied one shot in the third period, which tied a franchise record for fewest shots in a road period that was set twice previously (4/7/18 at Tucson third period and 3/29/00 at Orlando third period)...The Griffins have given up a season-high 36 shots on two occasions and both have been against Cleveland.

Status Update
Following last night’s overtime loss at Cleveland, the Griffins own a 17-11-3-2 overall record (39 points) and tie for second in the Central Division. Grand Rapids has points in 20 of its last 26 games (15-6-3-2). The Griffins wrap up a home-and-home set against the Cleveland Monsters tonight at Van Andel Arena before hosting the Rockford IceHogs on New Year’s Eve. When playing a back-to-back, Grand Rapids has won seven of its last eight on the second night.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in 13 of their first 16 games at Van Andel Arena (10-3-1-2) and had their eight-game point streak (6-0-1-1) ended with a loss to Cleveland on Dec. 19. The eight-game run was the longest since an eight-gamer from Nov. 25, 2016-Jan. 4, 2017 (6-0-0-2). The Griffins’ 23 points at home ties for third in the AHL. Grand Rapids is a +10 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.50 goals, compared to –9 and 2.65 on enemy ice.

‘Tis the Season
Grand Rapids has suffered just three regulation losses at home in December since Dec. 10, 2014, going 18-3-3-3 (0.778) in its last 27 games on home ice during the last month on the calendar. The Griffins have notched an overall winning mark in December in eight consecutive seasons, showing a 64-33-10-7 (0.636) combined record since 2010-11.

Back Up Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 20 and has found twine five times in the last nine games. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career. He is also one of three active AHL players with 200 or more career goals. In the last 16 contests, he has accumulated 17 points (9-8—17). Terry’s eight goals in the month of December tie for the most in the league and his 13 points tie for ninth.

Puemped Up
After missing two games due to a league-issued suspension, Matt Puempel has five points in his last three outings (1-4—5) including back-to-back two-assist games. The second-year Griffin has collected points in seven of his last eight games, banking 10 (3-7—10) in that span. Puempel places second on the club in both goals (13) and points (26).

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last nine starts (6-1-2) and his 10 victories on the season tie for ninth in the AHL. In his last four starts, Patrik Rybar shows a 2.03 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage to go along with a 1-2-1 record. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar places fourth in the AHL with a 2.39 overall GAA.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson ties for the league lead with three shorthanded goals. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15. Elson is the 21st player in team history to log three or more SHG in a season. He has reached the double-digit goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and first since 2015-16. With 24 points, Elson has already bettered his output from 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). Elson shows 10 points (5-5—10) in his last 10 games and 18 (8-10—18) in his last 17. He returned to the lineup last night after sitting out the previous four due to injury.

Hulak Signed to Standard Player’s Contract
The Griffins on Thursday signed forward Derek Hulak to a standard player’s contract for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Signed to a professional tryout on Dec. 5, Hulak has contributed one goal and four PIM in 10 games with the Griffins. The 29-year-old began the season with the Hershey Bears, scoring three points (2-1—3) in eight appearances. A 6-foot, 185-pound winger, Hulak has played in 177 career AHL games with Texas (2013-16), Utica (2016-17), Hershey (2018-19) and Grand Rapids, tallying 95 points (46-49—95), a plus-20 rating and 50 PIM. He missed all of 2017-18 due to injury. He has logged 10 career Calder Cup Playoff contests with Texas from 2014-16 and helped the Stars claim the 2014 Calder Cup.

Zadina Playing in WJC
The Red Wings on Dec. 20 reassigned rookie forward Filip Zadina from the Griffins to the Czech Republic U20 National Team for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship. Born in Pardubice, Czech Republic, the 19-year-old is representing his country at the tournament that is currently underway and lasts until Jan. 5, 2019 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Zadina was named to the WJC All-Star Team at the 2018 event in Buffalo, N.Y., after recording eight points, including a team-high seven goals, in seven tournament games. Selected sixth overall in this year’s NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and the highest Red Wings draft pick to ever play for the Griffins, Zadina has accounted for 17 points (8-9—17) and 10 PIM in 27 GP during his first full professional season. The last player to leave the Griffins mid-season to compete in the World Junior Championship was Tomas Tatar in 2009-10. He tallied five points (3-2—5) in six games for Slovakia.

This Date in Griffins History
2017: The season’s first meeting between the previous two Calder Cup champions goes the way of the 2017 victors, as Grand Rapids deals Cleveland its ninth straight road defeat by a 5-2 count.

PROMOTIONS

Bluetooth Speaker Giveaway presented by Adventure Credit Union: The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a Bluetooth speaker. View the speaker here.

Friends & Family 4-Packs presented by Big E's Sports Grill: Available for all Saturday games, each pack includes four or more tickets and $12 in concession cash for a great low price, plus a coupon for one FREE large, one-topping pizza at Big E's Sports Grill. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins