GRIFFINS (10-7-0-2) vs. Chicago Wolves (10-6-2-1)

Griffins Game #20 * Home Game #10 * AHL Game #302

Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 83-57-2-6-3 All-Time Home Series: 41-25-2-4-2 All-Time Road Series: 42-32-0-2-1

Griffins vs. Wolves
Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins are meeting the Wolves for the second time in three games…Following last Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win, Grand Rapids has won two in a row over Chicago after a six-game winless streak…Last Saturday, the Griffins overcame a two-goal deficit in the first period and Filip Hronek scored the winner in overtime…In the last meeting at Van Andel Arena on Oct. 20, Grand Rapids had its 3-0 lead erased, but rebounded to score two more and take a 5-3 victory…Grand Rapids’ triumph on Oct. 20 snapped Chicago’s three-game winning streak at the Van...Grand Rapids is 6-4-0-0 in its last 10 against Chicago at Van Andel Arena...The Griffins have faced the Wolves 151 times in the regular season, the second most of any Grand Rapids opponent…Turner Elson leads the team with four points (2-2—4) in the season series…On Oct. 13 at Chicago, rookie David Pope scored his first pro goal and goaltender Patrik Rybar made his North American debut…Brooks Macek, originally drafted 171st overall by the Red Wings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, tallied a hat trick on Oct. 13…Second-year defenseman Vili Saarijarvi collected his first AHL goal on Oct. 20 vs. Chicago…Griffins first-year head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Brad Tapper won the Calder Cup as players with the Wolves in 2002, their second consecutive season capturing a league championship together after hoisting the IHL’s Turner Cup with the Orlando Solar Bears in 2001…Simon logged 196 games with Chicago from 2001-03 and 2004-05, registering 87 points (37-50—87) and 192 PIM…Tapper appeared in 98 games with the Wolves from 2001-04, tallying 58 points (24-34—58) and 130 PIM…Tapper served as an assistant with the Wolves from 2014-16…First-year Griffin Jake Chelios made his AHL debut with Chicago on April 11, 2014 at Iowa and went on to skate in 45 games with the Wolves from 2013-15, picking up 16 points (1-15—16)…First-year Griffin Wade Megan totaled 99 points (44-55—99), a plus-34 rating and 109 PIM in 136 games with Chicago from 2016-18…Megan paced the AHL with 33 goals during his first season with the Wolves in 2016-17 and was named to the AHL First All-Star Team.

Last Game (Monday): Griffins 3 at Wild 2 OT
Grand Rapids won two straight games in overtime for the first time since March 17-18, 2017...For the second straight game, Filip Hronek scored the overtime winner, as he became the first player in franchise history to record an overtime goal in back-to-back games...Patrik Rybar stopped 20 shots and has points in six of eight games (4-2-2)...Axel Holmstrom and Matthew Ford both scored in regulation...15 of the last 20 games between the two teams have been decided by one goal, including nine that have gone past 60 minutes...The Griffins have won the last four matchups in Des Moines...Grand Rapids has claimed five of its last six road games...The Griffins are outshooting Iowa 73-45 through two games.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in 10 of their last 12 games (8-2-0-2), including four in a row (3-0-0-1), and stand fifth in the Central Division with a 10-7-0-2 overall record. Grand Rapids continues its quartet of Central Division matchups in a six-day time frame this week when it welcomes Chicago to the Van tonight. The Griffins are also kicking off a four-game homestand tonight. The Griffins are in the midst of playing 14 straight games against Central Division opponents. Grand Rapids is 7-2-0-1 in its last 10, the best mark in the Western Conference in that span.

Free Hockey
After playing just one game past regulation in its first 15 contests, Grand Rapids has seen its last four decided in either overtime or a shootout. The Griffins are 3-0 in OT and 0-2 in shootouts this season. The last time Grand Rapids played four games in a row that went more than 60 minutes was March 24-30, 2018. The franchise record for most consecutive games tied after regulation is five, which was set Jan. 19-30, 2009.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in seven of their first nine home games (5-2-0-2), including wins in three of their last five. Grand Rapids is a +3 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.22 goals, compared to –5 and 2.90 on enemy ice.

Filip Hero-nek
For the second straight game, Filip Hronek scored the overtime winner as the Griffins defeated the Iowa Wild 3-2 on Monday at Wells Fargo Arena. Hronek, who also provided the theatrics in last Saturday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Chicago Wolves, became the first player in franchise history to record an overtime goal in back-to-back games. Hronek is the first AHL player to notch OT goals in consecutive games since… well... Nov. 18-23, 2018, when Toronto’s Mason Marchment did so. A second-year defenseman, six of Hronek’s 15 career AHL goals have been of the game-winning variety, including three coming in overtime. Two overtime goals ties for the third most in a single season in club history, while his three career OT winners tie for third in the team’s all-time top 10 list. Drafted 53rd overall by Detroit in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Hronek is on a three-game point streak, including back-to-back two-point outings, and shows seven points (2-5—7) in the last six games. His seven points since Nov. 14 tie for the second most among league defensemen in that span. Hronek paces all team blueliners in goals (3), assists (7) and points (10).

No Shots For You
Grand Rapids has held foes to 25 or less shots in regulation in 10 of 19 games this season and allowed 30 or more in just five instances. The Griffins have out shot 15 of 19 opponents and rank fourth on the circuit in shots against (26.3). Grand Rapids’ penalty killers have gone 13-for-13 in the last four games after finishing 2-for-5 against Ontario on Nov. 16.

Terr-ing It Up
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry shows seven points (4-3—7) in the last five contests. He has four goals in the last five games, eight in the last nine and 10 in the last 12. Since the Griffins’ stretch of 10 points in their last 12 games began on Oct. 27, Terry paces the league with 10 goals while his 14 points in that span tie for fifth. The 10th-year pro’s team-high 12 goals tie for third in the AHL.

Rybar Supports
Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) shows points in six of eight starts this season (4-2-2) and is fourth in the league with a 2.21 goals against average. He claims a 1.82 GAA since Oct. 27, and that ranks second in the AHL among goalies who have played more than 300 minutes in that span. The 25-year-old is in his first season in North American and led the Czech Extraliga in both GAA (1.73) and shutouts (7) in 36 games with Hradec Kralove last season.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson has points in five of the last seven games, accumulating eight points in that span (3-5—8). He scored the team’s first shorthanded goal of the campaign in last Saturday’s triumph at Chicago and chipped in an assist for his fifth multi-point game of the season. In comparison, Elson had four outings of two or more points in 57 games in 2017-18. He shows 14 points – which is third on the team – through the first 19 tilts and is on pace for 56 points, which would shatter his previous best of 30.

Z-Score
The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina tallied his seventh goal of the season in last Saturday’s win at Chicago, which oddly enough was the first time he’s lit the lamp just once in a game. His three multi-goal games are the most on the team. His two goals on the man-advantage tie for the club lead while he also ties for second in goals and places fifth in points (11). The newly minted 19-year-old (birthday was yesterday) is the highest Red Wings draft pick ever to suit up for the Griffins. Only three players in Griffins history were drafted higher than No. 6: Jason Spezza (No. 2 by Ottawa in 2001), Darrin Shannon (No. 4 by Pittsburgh in 1988) and Stephen Weiss (No. 4 by Florida in 2001). Dylan Larkin (selected 15th overall in the 2014 Draft) was the previous highest Red Wings draft selection to play for Grand Rapids.

Happy Camper
Carter Camper leads the squad with six multi-point games on the season and shows six points (2-4—6) in the last four contests. The first-year Griffin and eighth-year pro paces the club in assists (13) and ranks second in points (17), trailing Chris Terry by one.

This Date in Griffins History
2002: In the first clash between the current and former affiliates of the Ottawa Senators, Binghamton becomes the first team to defeat the Griffins since Oct. 24, taking a 2-1 overtime win over visiting Grand Rapids on Thanksgiving night. The defeat marks the first for the Griffins in their season’s eight road games, as well as their first-ever OT loss as members of the AHL.
2004: The Griffins improve to 13-5-1-0 with a 2-1 shootout win over Cincinnati, tying for the most victories ever garnered by the team through 19 games.
2015: Mitch Callahan’s goal 2:02 into overtime lifts Grand Rapids to a 3-2 victory over Lake Erie, as the Griffins earn their sixth win in a row with their third victory in eight days against a team that sat atop the Central Division.

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’ win against the Rockford IceHogs during their matinee game on Nov. 14 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.

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 one of the following games: Nov. 28, Dec. 5 or Dec. 19.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins