Chicago Wolves (40-19-5-3) vs. GRIFFINS (38-19-6-4)

Griffins Game #68 * Home Game #35 * AHL Game #1029

Season Series: 3-4-0-0 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-3-0-0
All-Time Series: 84-60-2-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 42-26-2-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 42-34-0-2-1

Griffins vs. Wolves
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena…Chicago has won the last three matchups after Grand Rapids recorded a three-game winning streak from Oct. 20-Nov. 28…The Griffins are 6-4-0-0 in the last 10 meetings at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins have faced the Wolves 155 times in the regular season, the second most of any Grand Rapids opponent (Milwaukee, 182)…In the most recent meeting on Feb. 23 at Allstate Arena, Keegan Kolesar broke a 2-2 tie 3:35 into the third period and then Chicago held on for a 3-2 victory…In the last matchup in West Michigan on Feb. 10, Max Lagace turned aside 34 shots in the Wolves’ 4-1 win…Matt Puempel (5-1—6 in 7 GP) and Turner Elson (4-2—6 in 7 GP) lead the Griffins in scoring in the season series…Two of Elson’s team-high three shorthanded goals have come against Chicago…In between the pipes, Harri Sateri is 3-1-0 with a 2.75 GAA and a 0.911 save percentage, and Patrik Rybar is 0-3-0 with a 4.12 GAA and a 0.836 save percentage.

Real Recognize Real
The Griffins and Wolves are division rivals for the seventh straight season. Chicago (3) and Grand Rapids (2) have combined to win five of the previous six division titles (Milwaukee in 2015-16), with the Wolves’ three crowns coming by a combined four points over second-place Grand Rapids (1 in 2013-14, 1 in 2016-17, and 2 in 2017-18).

Last Time Out (Tuesday): Griffins 5 at Wild 2 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids scored the game’s final three goals and improved to 2-1-1-1 in the six-game season series...Behind a goal and two assists, Brian Lashoff recorded a career-high three points...Givani Smith extended his point streak to three with his sixth goal of the season...Chris Terry has points in four straight after netting his team-leading 28th goal...Carter Camper (16) and Matt Ford (11) also lit the lamp...Harri Sateri made 17 saves and has points in five of his last six road appearances (4-1-1)...Grand Rapids outshot Iowa 37-19 and has outshot the Wild 171-115 in five meetings this season.

Status Update
The Griffins’ magic number to extend their franchise-record Calder Cup Playoff streak to seven years stands at four points. Grand Rapids is in sole possession of second place in the Central Division standings with a 38-19-6-4 record and 86 points, trailing Chicago by two points. The Griffins have earned points in nine of their last 11 outings (7-2-2-0) and in 20 of their last 26 (17-6-3-0). Grand Rapids returns to Van Andel Arena tonight for the first time since March 15 to face Chicago and begin a three-game weekend. The Griffins are in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (10-4-3-0 record so far).

Road Work
Following a 5-2 win at Iowa on Tuesday, the Griffins finished their season-high six-game road trip with a 5-1 record, the most successful six-game swing in franchise history and the second-best trip of at least six games (finished 6-1 during a seven-game trip from March 25-April 7, 2000).

Home Cooking
For the first time since March 15, the Griffins tonight return to Van Andel Arena, a place where they have points in six of their last seven games (4-1-2-0) and in eight of their last 10 (6-2-2-0). With a 22-6-3-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins rank among the league’s home leaders with 22 wins (T4th), 50 points (T3rd) and a 0.735 points percentage (4th). The Griffins have won 20 or more home games for the seventh straight season. Grand Rapids is a +22 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.21 goals and operating at 18.62% on the power play, compared to –4, 2.82 and 9.92% on the road. Chris Terry (14-19—33), Carter Camper (10-19—29) and Matt Puempel (12-15—27) lead the team in scoring at home. Harri Sateri is 13-2-2 at Van Andel Arena with a 2.37 GAA and a 0.910 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 9-4-4 with a 2.31 GAA and a 0.916 save mark.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
With 28 goals (T7th in AHL), 59 points (T11th) and 31 assists – all team highs – Chris Terry has surpassed the 50-point mark in his seventh consecutive full AHL season. Owning 499 career AHL points, he needs one more to become the 96th player in league history to amass 500 or more.

Wade For It
In 26 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids with 26 points and 13 goals while tying for third with 13 assists and ranking third with a plus-11 rating. He has produced nine points (3-6—9) in his last eight outings.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro Turner Elson has set new career highs this season in both points (36) and assists (20), and needs one more goal to match his career best of 17 set in 2014-15 with Adirondack.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last nine appearances (5-1-3) and in his last 17 games he is 11-3-3 with a 2.30 GAA and a 0.917 save percentage. With 22 victories – which tie for 10th in the AHL – the Finnish netminder has reached the 20-win mark for the first time in his AHL career.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar is 7-3-0 in his last 10 starts, showing a 1.90 GAA and a 0.931 save percentage with a pair of shutouts in that time. In his first season in North America, Rybar places second in the league with a 2.25 overall GAA.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids needs two wins and four points to reach 40 and 90, respectively, for the seventh consecutive season...The Griffins were the second team in the Western Conference to reach 80 points following a 2-1 shootout win at San Antonio on March 19...Grand Rapids became the first in the West to hit the 70-point plateau after a 4-3 shootout win against Texas on Feb. 22...The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 overtime win 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 965-648-27-57-112 (0.588) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 305 regular season wins and 660 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (313 / 677) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (301 / 651).

Adding to the List
Matt Puempel became the 177th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with Detroit during the Red Wings’ 3-2 overtime win at Vegas last Saturday night. In 8:03 of ice time, Puempel recorded three shots. Dylan McIlrath became the 178th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his Red Wings debut on Monday in the team’s 3-2 victory at San Jose. McIlrath finished with a plus-one rating and two PIM in 14:52 of ice time.

Marching On
The Griffins have posted an overall winning record in March in 10 straight years, combining for an 85-44-7-8 (0.642) mark since 2008-09, including a 7-2-2-0 slate so far this season.

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 6-5-0-1-0 all time when playing on March 29, including a 3-3-0-1-0 mark on home ice.
2002: Goaltender Martin Prusek and defenseman John Gruden are named to the AHL First All-Star Team, the only teammates so honored. It marks the first time in franchise history that Grand Rapids has two players named to a First All-Star Team. A 3-1 loss at Milwaukee later that day breaks the Griffins' run of 19 consecutive months with a winning record under their affiliation with Ottawa.
2003: The Griffins tie AHL and team records with their 25th road win of the season, a 3-2 effort at Cincinnati.
2005: Kip Miller ties a Griffins home record with four assists and Joey MacDonald records his fifth shutout of the season in 5-0 fashion over CLE.
2013: The Red Wings assign defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo to the Griffins for conditioning. He appears in two games before returning to Detroit.

PROMOTIONS
Game presented by Michigan First Credit Union

Time: 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena (doors open at 6 p.m.).

$2 Beers and $2 Hot Dogs: Fans can enjoy $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Griffins Equipment Sale: In Banquet Rooms C and D, fans can purchase an assortment of Griffins equipment, including new and used sticks, pants, jerseys and more. The sale will begin at 6 p.m. and last until the end of the second period. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. In order to participate in the sale, fans must have a ticket to the game.

MOS College Sports Scribes Experience: Two dozen college journalism students, newspaper writers and aspiring
sportswriters will have the opportunity to cover a professional sporting event, meet and learn from members of the media, and possibly earn the chance to author a bylined story on MLive.com thanks to the Griffins, Michigan Office Solutions and the fourth annual MOS College Sports Scribes Experience.

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