Texas Stars (26-22-3-2) vs. GRIFFINS (30-16-4-4)

Griffins Game #55 * Home Game #31 * AHL Game #820

Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 27-14-2-3 All-Time Home Series: 14-6-0-3 All-Time Road Series: 13-8-2-0

Griffins vs. Stars
Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 2-2 in the season series, winning the last two matchups…In the last 14 meetings between the teams in West Michigan, the Griffins are 10-3-0-1…Since the 2013-14 campaign, Grand Rapids is 17-7-1-1 in 26 games overall vs. Texas…Chris Terry headlines scoring for the Griffins with six points (4-2—6) through four games in the series…Texas goaltender Landon Bow (3.27 GAA, 0.891 save percentage) and Harri Sateri (3.28 GAA, 0.882 save percentage) have both started all four games of the series in net…The Stars sit third in the league with a power play efficiency of 23.4% and have converted on 5 of 15 chances (33.3%) against the Griffins...On Oct. 5, 2018, Ben Simon made his AHL head coaching debut at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park against the Stars.

Recapping Jan. 31 at Texas
In the most recent meeting between the teams, the Griffins came away with a 5-3 win in their second trip to Cedar Park this season...While in Grand Rapids' lineup on a conditioning assignment from the Red Wings, Michael Rasmussen scored two goals in his first AHL game...Harri Sateri collected 25 saves to run his winning streak to a season-high five games...Along with Rasmussen, Axel Holmstrom (0-2—2) finished the night with two points...Grand Rapids' 23 shots in the second frame tied the franchise record for most shots in a road period (twice, most recently in the third period at Manitoba on March 31, 2006).

Last Time Out (Wednesday): IceHogs 3 at Griffins 2 OT
Rockford rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to tie the game before Luke Johnson scored the winner in overtime with 0.6 seconds remaining...Grand Rapids has points in eight in a row against the IceHogs at Van Andel Arena (6-0-2-0)...Three of the seven meetings this season have been decided in overtime, with Rockford winning 3-2 every time…GR has been tied with its opponent after regulation 16 times this season...Wade Megan scored his 13th goal of the season 1:21 into the game while Matt Puempel lit the lamp at 18:06 of the first for his 19th and team-leading sixth on the power play...Rookie Filip Zadina picked up an assist on Megan’s goal to extend his point streak to a season-high six games...Rookie Dennis Cholowski has an assist in each of his first three Griffins games this season.

Status Update
The Griffins continue to lead the Central Division by two points with 68 to go along with a 30-16-4-4 overall record. Grand Rapids has points in five of its last six outings (4-1-1-0) and wins in nine of its last 13. The Griffins finish off their season-high seven-game homestand tonight against Texas and then will travel to Chicago tomorrow to play their first road game since Feb. 1 at San Antonio. Grand Rapids is in the midst of facing 20 consecutive Central Division foes.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in 12 of their last 14 contests at home (10-2-1-1), including wins in five of seven. With a 20-5-2-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins lead the league in both home wins (20) and points (45) while tying for second in points percentage (0.750). GR is a +20 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.17 goals and operating at 18.90% on the power play, compared to -11, 2.67 and 8.65% on enemy ice. Chris Terry (12-16—28), Carter Camper (9-18—27) and Filip Zadina (12-13—25) lead the team in scoring at home. Harri Sateri is 13-2-1 at Van Andel Arena with a 2.28 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 7-3-4 with a 2.25 GAA and a 0.918 save mark.

Staycation
Grand Rapids is 4-1-1-0 in its season-high seven-game homestand, which concludes tonight. So far in the homestand, the Griffins are a plus-five in goal differential (17-12), plus-35 in shot margin (206-171), have allowed one goal on three occasions, and are operating at 21.4% on the power play (6/28) and 83.3% on the penalty kill (20/24). Seven games is the team’s longest since a seven-game stretch from Nov. 29-Dec. 14, 2013. Grand Rapids is finishing off playing 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 Grand Rapids history and how the club has fared:

Z-Score
Rookie Filip Zadina has points in a season-high six consecutive games and has lit the lamp in four of the last five. His four-game goal streak from Feb. 9-16 was the longest by a Griffin this season. Among first-year AHL players, Zadina ties for seventh in goals (15) and 12th in power play markers (4). His eight points (4-4—8) in February are a team high and tie for eighth among league rookies.

Wade For It
Wade Megan notched his second career hat trick (Dec. 28, 2016, CHI at RFD) on Feb. 15 vs. San Antonio, and it also marked the first three-goal game by a Griffin since Colin Campbell on April 14, 2018 vs. CLE. In 17 GP in 2019, Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (17), goals (10) and plus-minus (+10), while placing second in assists (7).

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last 10 starts (7-2-1) and shows a 1.88 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage in that span. His 2.26 GAA in the new year is seventh among goalies with 500 or more minutes in that time frame. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for sixth in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in eight of his last 10 games (6-2-2) and shows a 2.06 GAA and a 0.928 save percentage with one shutout in that span. In his last two appearances, he’s stopped 66 of 69 shots (0.957). Rybar leads the AHL with a 2.31 overall GAA.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 14 multi-point efforts in 49 GP. In comparison, he had 15 in 62 GP last season. The sixth-year pro also leads the club with six PPGs. He ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (19) and points (41) and his team-high 179 shots are second in the league.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse, Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry ties for fourth on 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. With 47 points overall, he ties for 13th on the circuit in scoring. 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).

Griffins in General
The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 OTW vs. San Antonio on Feb. 16...Grand Rapids achieved 30 Ws or more in its first 53 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons...The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 957-645-27-55-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 297 regular season wins and 642 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (306 / 660) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (293 / 632).

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 5-3-1-0-0 all time when playing on Feb. 22, including a 4-2-1-0-0 mark on home ice.
2006: The Griffins win 4-0 at Rochester thanks to Joey MacDonald’s 33 saves.
2012: After having played just 11 games for the Red Wings – all on the road – Ty Conklin makes his Griffins debut and his first appearance of the season in front of a friendly crowd, making 22 saves in a 4-2 win over Hamilton at Van Andel Arena.

PROMOTIONS

Game presented by BDO

$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 Sam Iannamico/Griffins