Belleville Senators (17-20-2-0) vs. GRIFFINS (20-12-3-3)

Griffins Game #39 * Home Game #19 * AHL Game #564

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 1-1-0-0 All-Time Home Series: 0-0-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 1-1-0-0

Griffins vs. Senators
Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena…The season series will conclude tomorrow at the Van...This weekend marks Belleville’s first-ever visit to Van Andel Arena…The Griffins are hosting an Ottawa Senators affiliate for the first time since a 2-2 tie against the Binghamton Senators on Jan. 15, 2003...In the inaugural meetings between the teams on Oct. 26-27 in Belleville, the Griffins and Senators split the two games, with Belleville winning 5-3 on Oct 26 and Grand Rapids claiming a 3-1 victory the next night…Patrik Rybar turned aside 21 of 22 shots and earned his first win on North American soil on Oct. 27 at the Senators…Belleville is in its second AHL season…Belleville had 17 players play in at least one NHL game during its inaugural 2017-18 season…Rookie Drake Batherson was selected to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic…Former Griffin Jake Paterson is 0-1-0 in four games with a 2.97 GAA and a 0.850 save percentage for Belleville this season…In two appearances with the Griffins in 2015-16, Paterson was 0-2-0 with a 3.11 GAA and a 0.928 save percentage…Grand Rapids is 140-91-1-11-17 all time (0.594) against current North Division members, with 96 of those games coming against Cleveland (52-29-0-5-10), 72 against Rochester (41-24-1-3-3) and 66 against Toronto (31-30-0-3-2).

Status Update
Following a 3-1 victory at Milwaukee on Wednesday that halted a brief two-game winless stretch, the Griffins are 1-1-0-1 to begin the new year and have points in seven of their last eight outings (5-1-1-1). Also accumulating points in 24 of their last 31 games (18-7-3-3), Grand Rapids ties Chicago for second in the Central Division standings with a 20-12-3-3 overall record (46 points) and trails Iowa by just one point. After concluding a three-game road trip at the Admirals on Wednesday, the Griffins play their initial home games of 2019 tonight and tomorrow when they host the Belleville Senators for the first time ever.

Last Game (Wednesday): Griffins 3 at Admirals 1 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids improved to 3-1-0-1 in the 10-game season series...The Griffins are 10-3-0-0 all time at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in the regular season, including wins in eight of the last nine...Carter Camper and Axel Holmstrom both notched their ninth goals of the season in the first period...Patrik Rybar stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn his ninth victory of the year and extend his point streak to four (3-0-1)...Matt Puempel added an empty-net goal at 18:59 of the third period and has lit the lamp a series-high four times in five meetings this season...After representing the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship, rookie forward Filip Zadina made his first appearance back in the Griffins lineup since Dec. 19.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in 15 of their first 18 games at Van Andel Arena (12-3-1-2) and in 10 of their last 11 (8-1-1-1). The Griffins’ 27 points at home ties for fifth in the AHL while their 0.750 points percentage ties for third. Grand Rapids is a +12 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.44 goals, compared to -10 and 2.70 on enemy ice.

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in nine of his last 11 starts (7-2-2) and has allowed one goal in two of his last four games. His 11 victories on the season tie for ninth in the league. Patrik Rybar is on a four-game point streak (3-0-1) and shows a 1.68 GAA and a 0.944 save percentage in that stretch. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar ranks second in the AHL with a 2.30 overall GAA. Griffin netminders have allowed two goals or less in five of the last eight games.

Old Affiliates
Belleville is in its second season as the primary affiliate to the Ottawa Senators. The Griffins spent three seasons (1999-2002) as Ottawa’s affiliate, including their last two as members of the International Hockey League (1999-2001) and their first in the American Hockey League (2001-02). From 1999-2002, the Griffins won three straight division titles while compiling a 146-71-11-4-12 regular season record (0.653) to go along with an 18-14 playoff mark (0.563). The Senators showed similar success during the affiliation, advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs all three seasons and showing a 128-76-29-13 regular season record (0.606). Of the Griffins’ 174 alumni to play in the NHL, 38 came from 1999-02.

“Whoa, We’re Halfway There”
The Griffins have achieved 20 wins by a season’s midpoint for the 16th time overall in franchise history and the fifth since the AHL went to a 76-game schedule beginning in 2011-12. At the halfway mark of the season, take a look at some of the Griffins’ statistics and where their projected finishes could rank in the franchise’s single-season top 10 list:

Terry Selected for 2019 AHL All-Star Classic
The Griffins’ top point producer and the league’s leading goal scorer, Chris Terry, has been selected to play for the Central Division All-Star Team at the 2019 Lexus AHL All-Star Classic presented by MGM Springfield, to be held Jan. 27-28 in Springfield, Mass. Terry, in his 10th season as a professional and first in Grand Rapids, has earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012). The John B. Sollenberger Trophy award winner from 2017-18 as the league’s leading scorer and a reigning AHL First All-Star Team selection, Terry paces the league with 22 goals this season and ties for fourth with 39 points in 38 games while adding a plus-13 rating and 16 PIM. 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.

What You Doin’ Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry sits atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 22. 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 also one of three active AHL players with 200 or more career goals. Over the last 21 contests since Nov. 24, Terry has accumulated 23 points (11-12—23), which ties for the second most in the league in that span. Terry is in a tie for fourth in the league with 39 points overall.

Page Turner
Turner Elson ties for third on the team with 27 points (11-16—27) and is just three shy of matching his career high of 30, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). He has already bettered his output from his first season with the Griffins in 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). The sixth-year pro shows three points (1-2—3) in his first six games back after missing four due to injury. Elson has all three of the Griffins’ shorthanded goals this season, which also ties for the most 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.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 11 multi-point games on the season while also placing second in both goals (15) and points (29). In comparison, Puempel had 15 multi-point efforts in all of 2017-18.

Hicks Mix
With Filip Hronek on recall with the Red Wings, third-year pro Joe Hicketts is the team’s top defenseman in terms of point production with 11 (2-9—11) in 29 games. He has points in three of the last five games. Hicketts’ two goals this season have come in timely fashion, as he scored the game-tying goal with 1:17 remaining in regulation during a 5-4 shootout win Dec. 15 vs. Milwaukee and netted the game-winner on New Year’s Eve against Rockford with 4:44 to play.

Wading Back In
Following nearly a month’s stay in the NHL with Detroit where he appeared in five games after being recalled on Dec. 4 and assigned on Jan. 3, veteran center Wade Megan has three points (1-2—3) in his first three outings back in Grand Rapids’ lineup. Megan became the 172nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his Red Wings debut on Nov. 1 vs. New Jersey and has skated in 11 games this season and tallied one assist. Appearing in 17 games with the Griffins, the sixth-year pro shows 10 points (4-6—10) and a plus-six rating.

This Date in Griffins History
2014: With a 4-1 victory over Iowa, the Western Conference-leading Griffins complete the first half of their regular season slate with a 25-10-1-2 record, marking the team’s second-most wins and points ever through 38 games.

PROMOTIONS

Game presented by Marathon

$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 Belleville Senators