Manitoba Moose (20-20-3-2) vs. GRIFFINS (26-15-3-4)

Griffins Game #49 * Home Game #25 * AHL Game #718

Season Series: 5-1-0-0 Home Series: 2-0-0-0 Road Series: 3-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 61-29-1-1-7 All-Time Home Series: 31-12-1-1-5 All-Time Road Series: 30-17-0-0-2

Griffins vs. Moose
Seventh of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids has claimed 10 of the last 11 regular season meetings against Manitoba, including four in a row...In the last 11 matchups, the Griffins are outscoring the Moose 36-17…Both games at Van Andel Arena this season (Nov. 17, Jan. 23) have been decided in overtime, with Carter Camper delivering the winner each time…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16 following a four-year hiatus, the Griffins are 17-5 vs. Manitoba, including 8-2 at Van Andel Arena and 9-3 at Bell MTS Place…Grand Rapids and Manitoba will close out their eight-game season series on April 12 in West Michigan, the final home game of the year for the Griffins…Chris Terry has six goals among eight points through five meetings this season, both of which are the most for either team…Patrik Rybar is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a 0.962 against Manitoba while Harri Sateri is 3-1-0 to go along with a 2.46 GAA and a 0.905 save percentage…Grand Rapids is 20-for-21 on the penalty kill against the Moose…Defenseman Dylan McIlrath hails from Winnipeg…Dominic Turgeon recorded his first career hat trick at Manitoba on Feb. 17, 2018…Axel Holmstrom made his AHL debut at Manitoba on April 4, 2017, and scored his first AHL goal (overtime) at the Moose on April 5, 2017.

Keepin’ It 100
Tonight marks the 100th regular season matchup between the Griffins and Moose. The first-ever meeting came on Dec. 14, 1996 at Van Andel Arena and resulted in a 3-2 victory for the Griffins. Before both clubs joined the AHL beginning in 2001-02, Grand Rapids and Manitoba clashed 21 times from 1996-2001 as members of the International Hockey League, with the Griffins finishing 11-7-0-0-3 in those matchups.

Last Game (Friday): Griffins 0 at Rampage 2 - Read the full recap here
The Griffins are 2-2 in the season series against the Rampage…Grand Rapids was shut out at San Antonio for the second time this season…The Griffins were blanked for the second time in the last four games…Jared Coreau turned aside all 29 shots he faced in his first start against his former club…Harri Sateri stopped 25 of 27 shots but had his AHL career high-tying five-game winning streak snapped…Grand Rapids finished 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Status Update
The Griffins have totaled points in 14 of their last 18 outings (11-4-1-2), including wins in five of their last seven, and pace the Central Division by two points with 59 to go along with a 26-15-3-4 overall record. After splitting a pair of games in Texas last week, Grand Rapids returns to Van Andel Arena this week and opens a seven-game homestand against the Manitoba Moose tonight before hosting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in seven of their last eight contests at Van Andel Arena (6-1-0-1). Twice already this season Grand Rapids has tallied a home point streak of at least six (6-0-1-1 from Nov. 17-Dec. 15 and 5-0-0-1 from Dec. 29-Jan. 23). Grand Rapids has also totaled points in 15 of its last 17 (12-2-1-2) at the Van and with a 16-4-1-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins rank among the AHL’s home leaders with a 0.750 points percentage (T3rd), 36 points (2nd) and 16 wins (T3rd). Grand Rapids is a +15 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.25 goals and operating at 18.18% on the power play, compared to -11, 2.67 and 8.65% on enemy ice.

Couch Potatoes
Tonight’s contest against Manitoba kicks off a season-high seven-game homestand for Grand Rapids, the team’s longest since a seven-game stretch from Nov. 29-Dec. 14, 2013. GR 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 GR history and how the club has fared:

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 953-644-27-54-112 (0.586) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 293 regular season wins and 633 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (302 / 651) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (291 / 626).

All That Ras
Nineteen-year-old rookie Michael Rasmussen, assigned by Detroit for conditioning last Wednesday, made his AHL debut last Thursday at Texas and tallied two goals, one on the power play and an empty-netter. The ninth overall selection by the Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Rasmussen’s marker on the man-advantage at 12:29 of the second period helped Grand Rapids end a 0-for-25 stretch on the power play in road games. In two games with Grand Rapids, Rasmussen shows two goals and a plus-one rating.

You’re a Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri had his AHL career high-tying five-game winning streak come to an end following last Friday’s 2-0 loss at San Antonio. In his last six starts, Sateri is good for a 1.81 GAA and a 0.940 save percentage (173 of 184). The Finnish netminder has points in 14 of his last 17 outings (12-3-2) and in nine of his last 11 (8-2-1). Sateri’s 16 wins on the season, which is two shy of matching his AHL career best, tie for fifth in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in six of his last eight games (4-2-2) and shows a 2.20 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar, who led the Czech Extraliga with seven shutouts last season, recorded his first clean sheet on North American soil after stopping 24 shots during Jan. 19’s 3-0 victory against Milwaukee. He places fifth in the AHL with a 2.38 overall GAA.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is tied atop 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 and is on pace to become just the third Griffin ever to bank 40 or more goals in a single season. He is bidding to join Teemu Pulkkinen (34 in 2014-15) and Donald MacLean (56 in 2005-06) as the only Griffins to lead the league in goals. He ranks 10th in the league with 43 points overall. 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).

Wading Back In
Wade Megan paced the team with 11 points (6-5—11) in 11 January games. Since being assigned by Detroit on Jan. 3 following nearly a month’s stay in the NHL, Megan has points in seven of his 12 games back in Grand Rapids’ lineup.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel leads the team with 13 multi-point efforts on the season. His 10 points (4-6—10) in January placed second on the club. The sixth-year pro ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (17) and points (36) and his team-leading 153 shots are second in the league.

Page Turner
Turner Elson places fourth on the team with 28 points (12-16—28) and is just two shy of leveling his career high of 30, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Sixteen assists has already equaled his career best total from 2015-16. He has also bettered his output from his first season with the Griffins in 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). Elson has all three of the Griffins’ shorthanded goals this season, which ties for second in the AHL. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15.

This Date in Griffins History
2004: The Griffins earn a 3-2 win over Chicago, tying the franchise record of 10 consecutive home games without a loss (7-0-3-0).
2013: After an 18-day layoff while serving as Jimmy Howard’s backup in Detroit, Tom McCollum returns to action and stops all 28 shots in a 2-0 win over Houston, logging his 100th game as a Griffin.
2015: Nathan Paetsch scores 2:03 into overtime to lift the Griffins to a 5-4 victory over Rochester. Coming off back-to-back road shutouts, Jared Coreau sees his shutout streak come to an end at 160:06, breaking the franchise record previously held by Marc Lamothe (153:58).

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’ overtime win against the Manitoba Moose on Jan. 23 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 Mark Newman/Griffins