Griffins Game #63 * Home Game #31 * AHL Game #934

Season Series: 1-2-2-0 Home Series: 1-0-1-0 Road Series: 0-2-1-0
All-Time Series: 32-14-3-2 All-Time Home Series: 15-6-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 17-8-1-0

Griffins vs. Wild
Sixth of six meetings overall, third of three at Van Andel Arena...If the season ended today, Grand Rapids and Iowa would meet in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs...Iowa ranks second in the AHL with 82 points and a 0.661 points percentage…Today finishes a six-game road trip for the Wild and they are 2-1-1-1 so far…In the last meeting on Jan. 31 at Wells Fargo Arena, which was the Griffins’ first game after the all-star break, Iowa won 4-1…The last time the teams met at Van Andel Arena on Jan. 22, Chris Terry scored the game-tying goal with 57 seconds left in regulation and Grand Rapids claimed a 4-3 shootout victory…Terry (2-2—4 in 5 GP), Taro Hirose (1-3—4 in 4 GP) and Matt Puempel (0-4—4 in 5 GP) lead Grand Rapids in scoring vs. Iowa…Former Ferris State Bulldog and Wyandotte, Mich., native Gerry Mayhew has 19 points (14-5—19) and a plus-12 rating in 18 career games against Grand Rapids…Grand Rapids has points in four of the last five meetings in West Michigan (1-1-2-1) and in eight of the last 12 overall (4-4-3-1)…The Griffins won 20 of the first 24 all-time matchups through Nov. 4, 2016 and outscored the Wild 91-43…Since then, Iowa has gone 15-4-2-6 (Griffins’ record 12-10-3-2) and outscored Grand Rapids 87-76…19 of the last 29 matchups, which dates to the beginning of the 2016-17 season, have been decided by one goal, including 13 that have been tied after regulation.

Status Update
Five weeks and 14 games remain in the regular season for the Griffins, who have won two of their last three and are alone in third place in the Central Division with 63 points. Chicago (62), Rockford (62), Texas (61) and San Antonio (60) sit right behind. Grand Rapids concludes its four-game homestand this week when the Griffins host second-place Iowa tonight and the Pacific Division’s Bakersfield Condors this weekend.

Lashoff 500
One of only three players in franchise history to be a part of Grand Rapids’ 2017 and 2013 Calder Cup championship teams, defenseman Brian Lashoff needs one more game to become only the second player in team history with 500 or more regular season games played (first chart). There have been 525 players suit up for the Griffins in their 24-year history. Lashoff’s 499 career regular season appearances rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and rank ninth all time in league history (second chart).

Last Time Out (Saturday): IceHogs 0 at Griffins 3 - Recap
Behind 35 saves, Calvin Pickard recorded his third shutout of the season and 15th of his AHL career…Matt Puempel (16), Chris Terry (PP, 21) and Taro Hirose (5) provided the goals…The Griffins sold out their fourth home game of the year (10,834)…Grand Rapids finished the 10-game season series with a 5-3-0-2 record, notching wins in three of the last four matchups and points in five of the last six…The Griffins went 36-for-38 (94.7%) on the penalty kill against Rockford in the series and both of the IceHogs’ power play goals came with a two-man advantage.

Home Cooking
The Griffins have points in 11 of their last 14 home games (8-3-1-2) and are 14-11-2-3 overall at Van Andel Arena. Eight of the team’s final 14 games will come inside friendly confines.

Isn’t That Special
The Griffins have converted on the power play in six of their last seven games overall, going 7-for-28 (25%) in the stretch. The power play has accounted for 29.5% of Grand Rapids’ goals and five different players have contributed five or more tallies, led by Chris Terry’s 11. In the last eight home appearances, the Griffins have contributed a power play goal in seven of those and gone 10-for-37 (27.0%).

Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin Pickard notched his third shutout of the season last Saturday and all three have come at Van Andel Arena (Jan. 10 vs. MB, Oct. 23 vs. MIL). In his last eight home appearances, Pickard shows a 4-2-2 record, a 1.74 GAA, a 0.940 save mark (221-for-235) and two clean sheets.

Net Nagle
Pat Nagle is 6-3 with a 2.33 GAA and a 0.925 save percentage in his last 10 appearances. He faced a career-high 47 shots in last Tuesday’s win at San Antonio and stopped a career-high 44 of them. He has allowed two goals or less in five of his last nine starts. The former Ferris State Bulldog has appeared in 20 games for Grand Rapids this season after totaling only eight games in the AHL – including three with the Griffins – during his first eight pro seasons. If Nagle had enough minutes to qualify (about 64 shy), his 2.32 overall season GAA would be sixth in the AHL.

Back Up, Terr
With 21 goals among 51 points, Chris Terry has racked up 20-plus goals in seven of his nine full AHL seasons and 50-plus points in eight of nine. Overall, he places ninth in the AHL in points (51) while pacing the Griffins in goals (21), assists (30), multi-point games (15) and power play goals (11). His 11 PPG tie for sixth in the league. Terry also led Grand Rapids with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead GR in scoring in consecutive seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

This Date in Griffins History
2005: The Griffins receive center Jeff Panzer on loan from the Syracuse Crunch in exchange for left wing Nathan Robinson. Later that night, Joey MacDonald sets a Griffins mark by playing in his 16th straight game in goal during a 3-2 overtime win against Manitoba.
2012: Sparked by a Gustav Nyquist goal that gives him 55 points on the season, tying the Griffins’ rookie scoring mark held by Glen Metropolit, Grand Rapids earns a 5-2 victory at Houston.
2016: Eric Tangradi’s five points tie a franchise record for most in a home game and power the Griffins to their ninth straight victory, a 7-2 thrashing of Manitoba. Todd Nelson, whose squad set a Griffins record earlier in the season with a 15-game winning streak, becomes the first head coach in team history to author two winning streaks of at least nine games at any point during his tenure.
2018: Playing in Hershey for the first time in more than 12 years, the Griffins muzzle the Bears by a 3-0 count behind a 21-save effort by Tom McCollum.

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 993-683-27-61-116 (0.583) 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’ 333 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third, behind only Providence’s 335 and Toronto’s 346 while the Griffins’ 724 points in that span are also third, trailing Providence (740) and Toronto (750).

Winning Wednesday: 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’ shootout win against Iowa on Jan. 22 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.

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 (regularly $16 advance and $19 day of game), an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $17 (regularly $19 advance and $22 day of game) or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $20 (regularly $22 advance and $25 day of game). Limit four tickets per card per person, subject to availability.

Pepsi Reading Goals Redemption Date: Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free upper level tickets to any of the following games: March 11 and 25, April 1.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins