This Week’s Games
San Antonio Rampage at GRIFFINS // Wed., Dec. 5 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home, 1-1-0-0 Overall. Third of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 23-12-1-3-1 Home, 45-27-1-5-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues
Noteworthy: The Griffins have won five in a row against San Antonio at Van Andel Arena, outscoring the Rampage 23-10 in that stretch.

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Fri., Dec. 7 // 8 p.m. EST // BMO Harris Bank Center
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Road, 1-0-0-0 Overall. Second of 10 meetings overall, first of five at the BMO Harris Bank Center
All-Time Series: 13-19-2-6 Road, 41-29-3-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has won five straight against Rockford after a seven-game winless streak.

GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Sat., Dec. 8 // 8 p.m. EST // Wells Fargo Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Road, 1-0-0-1 Overall. Third of six meetings overall, second of three at Wells Fargo Arena
All-Time Series: 16-5-0-0 Road, 30-10-0-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: 15 of the last 20 meetings between the teams have been decided by one goal, including nine that have gone past 60 minutes.

Last Week’s Results
Mon., Nov. 26 GRIFFINS 3 at Iowa Wild 2 OT 10-7-0-2 (22 points, 5th Central Division)
Wed., Nov. 28 Chicago Wolves 2 at GRIFFINS 5 11-7-0-2 (24 points, 3rd Central)
Fri., Nov. 30 San Antonio Rampage 3 at GRIFFINS 4 12-7-0-2 (26 points, 3rd Central)
Sat., Dec. 1 Texas Stars 3 at GRIFFINS 6 13-7-0-2 (28 points, 3rd Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins are on a five-game winning streak and a seven-game point streak (6-0-0-1), both of which are season highs. Grand Rapids shows points in 13 of its last 15 games (11-2-0-2) and has climbed to third in the Central Division with a 13-7-0-2 overall mark. Grand Rapids concludes its four-game homestand on Wednesday against San Antonio before hitting the road this weekend at Rockford and Iowa. The Griffins are in the midst of facing 14 straight Central Division opponents. Grand Rapids is 7-2-0-1 in its last 10, the best mark in the Western Conference in that span.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry (23)
Goals: Terry (14)
Assists: Carter Camper (15)
Plus-Minus: Turner Elson (+13)
PIM: Elson (29)
Wins: Harri Sateri (8)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.30)
Save %: Rybar (0.908)

Last Week’s Notes:
Monday at Iowa – 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.
Wednesday vs. Chicago – Grand Rapids has won three in a row against Chicago after a six-game winless streak...Turner Elson and Matt Puempel both recorded two goals...Puempel ties for the team lead with three multi-goal games...Elson notched his and the team’s second shorthanded goal of the campaign in the second period...Harri Sateri blocked 33 of 35 shots to earn his third straight victory...Grand Rapids’ saw its streak of consecutive games tied past regulation ended at four...After the game, the Griffins assigned defenseman Trevor Hamilton to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.
Friday vs. San Antonio – Faceoff was delayed 20 minutes due to ice conditions...The Griffins have claimed five in a row against San Antonio at Van Andel Arena, outgunning the Rampage 23-10 in that stretch...Grand Rapids scored a season-high three power play goals on six opportunities…Three power play goals were the most since March 23, 2018 at Iowa...The Griffins’ penalty kill finished 7-for-7...Five Griffins logged multi-point games...23 shots marked a season low for the Griffins...Grand Rapids finished 9-2-0-2 in November, which ties for the third most wins in the month in franchise history...The special jerseys that the Griffins wore for their fourth annual Red Kettle Game were auctioned off afterward, with proceeds benefiting The Salvation Army.
Saturday vs. Texas – Colin Campbell and Chris Terry both contributed two goals…Dylan McIlrath made his return to the lineup after missing nine games due to injury…The five goals allowed by goaltender Landon Bow are the most he’s given up against Grand Rapids in seven career appearances…Harri Sateri won his fourth straight game in goal…Grand Rapids claimed its third straight victory at the Van.

This Week’s Promotions: Wednesday against San Antonio will be a 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 Chicago Wolves on Nov. 28 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to this game.

Friendly Confines: The Griffins have points in 10 of their first 12 home games (8-2-0-2), including wins in three straight and points in five consecutive (4-0-0-1). Grand Rapids’ eight wins at home tie for the most in the AHL. Grand Rapids is a +10 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.67 goals, compared to -5 and 2.90 on enemy ice.

Road Reversal: After dropping their first four road games and being outscored 17-5 in that stretch, the Griffins have won five of their last six on foreign ice with a 24-17 scoring edge. During its last five road victories, Grand Rapids has rallied from a two-goal deficit on two occasions (Saturday at Chicago, Nov. 4 at Cleveland) and a one-goal debit three times (Nov. 26 at Iowa, Nov. 8 at Manitoba, Oct. 27 at Belleville). Two straight road games have been decided in overtime, the first time that’s happened since March 6-7, 2015.

‘Tis the Season: Grand Rapids has suffered just two regulation losses at home in December since Dec. 10, 2014, going 16-2-2-3 (0.804) in its last 23 games on home ice during the last month on the calendar. The Griffins have notched a winning mark in December in eight consecutive seasons, showing a 60-29-7-7 (0.650) record since 2010-11.

Remember November: Finishing with a 9-2-0-2 mark, Grand Rapids posted a 0.500 or better record in November for the seventh consecutive season. Nine wins ties for the third most in the month in franchise history. Since 2012-13, the Griffins have showed a losing profile in October four times and each time the team has bounced back with a 0.500 or better line in November, including this season (3-5-0-0 in October).

Terr-ing It Up: The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry shows points in five straight games, seven of the last eight and 10 of the last 12. Since the Griffins’ stretch of 13 points in their last 15 games began on Oct. 27, Terry paces the league with 12 goals while his 19 points in that time tie for fourth. The 10th-year pro’s team-high 14 goals are second in the AHL. Terry recorded his second three-point game of the season in last Saturday’s win vs. Texas, and his second goal marked his 500th career point as a pro.

Central of Attention: The Griffins are in the midst of playing 14 straight Central Division opponents. Cleveland on Dec. 19 ends the run. Grand Rapids will also play 20 consecutive divisional games from Feb. 10-March 31.

Filip Hero-nek: Filip Hronek became the first player in franchise history to record an overtime goal in back-to-back games when he provided the theatrics in Nov. 24’s 4-3 win at Chicago and Nov. 26’s 3-2 victory at Iowa. 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 16 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 career-high six-game point streak, notching an assist in each contest. He’s found the scoresheet in eight of the last nine contests and his 11 points (3-8—11) since Nov. 14 tie for the most among league defensemen in that span.

Page Turner: Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson is on a three-game point streak and shows points in eight of the last 10 games, accumulating 13 in that span (6-7—13). He notched a pair of goals in last Wednesday’s win vs. Chicago, his first two-goal game since Oct. 13, 2017. Elson ties for the league lead with two shorthanded goals, which are the team’s only two, and both have come against the Wolves. He shows 19 points – which is third on the team – through the first 22 tilts and is on pace for 65, which would more than double his previous best of 30.

Rybar Supports: Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) shows points in seven of nine starts this season (5-2-2) and is fifth in the league with a 2.30 goals against average. He claims a 1.97 GAA since Oct. 27, tying for second in the AHL among goalies who have played more than 400 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.

A Harri Situation: Goalie Harri Sateri has been victorious in six of his last seven starts, including wins in four straight. During his four-game streak, the Finnish netminder owns a 2.47 goals against average and a 0.911 save percentage and has won twice in overtime. He made a season-high 33 saves in last Wednesday’s 5-2 win vs. Chicago.

No Shots For You: Grand Rapids has held foes to 25 or less shots in regulation in 10 of 22 games this season and allowed 30 or more in just seven instances. The Griffins have out shot 15 of 22 opponents and rank fifth on the circuit in shots against (27.0). Grand Rapids’ penalty killers have gone 24-for-24 in the last seven games, including 7-for-7 last Friday, after finishing 2-for-5 against Ontario on Nov. 16.

Happy Camper: Carter Camper ties for the team lead with seven multi-point games. The first-year Griffin and eighth-year pro paces the club in assists (15) and ties for 10th in the AHL.

Z-Score: The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina is on a three-game point streak (0-4—4), matching a season-high. He ties for the team lead in both multi-goal games (3) and power play goals (2), while placing fourth in goals (7) and fifth in points (15). The newly minted 19-year-old (birthday was last Tuesday) 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.

Puemped Up: Matt Puempel banked his 10th goal of the season in last Friday’s victory to become the second Griffin to reach the double-digit goal plateau. He ties for the team lead in both multi-goal games (3) and multi-point games (7).

Milestones Within Reach:
Wade Megan – needs one goal to reach 100 as a pro
Chris Terry – needs three goals to reach 200 in the AHL
Jake Chelios – needs three points to reach 100 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs one assist to reach 200 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs one point to reach 200 as a pro

San Antonio Notes: Current record 9-14-1-0, 19 points, 8th Central Division…Grand Rapids has won nine of the last 10 meetings overall, including an eight-game winning streak from Feb. 17, 2017-April 12, 2018…The Griffins have claimed five in a row against the Rampage at Van Andel Arena, outgunning San Antonio 23-10 in that stretch…In the first meeting of the season in Texas on Oct. 6, San Antonio blanked the Griffins 4-0…In the most recent matchup last Friday in West Michigan, Grand Rapids finished 3-for-6 on the power play and 7-for-7 on the penalty kill and won 4-3…Five Griffins tie for the team lead in the season series with two points…San Antonio is second to last in the AHL averaging 2.50 goals per game…The Rampage are in their first season as the primary affiliate of the St. Louis Blues after spending the previous three with the Colorado Avalanche…San Antonio is also in its first campaign in the Central Division…Second-year Griffin Turner Elson spent the 2016-17 season with San Antonio and scored three points (1-2—3) while being limited to 13 games due to injury…First-year Griffin Wade Megan made his AHL debut with the Rampage on March 28, 2013 versus Grand Rapids and went on to total 31 points (20-11—31) in 115 games with San Antonio from 2012-15.

Rockford Notes: Current record 10-9-1-4, 25 points, 4th Central Division…Former Griffin Derek King is the interim head coach of the IceHogs after Jeremy Colliton was brought up to coach the Blackhawks on Nov. 6…King played in Grand Rapids from 1999-01 and 2002-04 and is the franchise’s all-time leading playoff scorer (16-25—41) and ranks fifth in regular season points (73-130—203)…Rockford averages 2.33 goals per game, ranking last in the AHL…Grand Rapids has won five straight against Rockford after a seven-game winless streak (0-4-0-3 from April 1-Dec. 23, 2017)…The Griffins are winless in their last six trips to the BMO Harris Bank Center, with their last victory coming 4-0 on March 25, 2017…Since the 2012-13 season, the Griffins are 22-4-1-1 (0.821) against the ‘Hogs at the Van…In that same time frame, Grand Rapids is 11-12-0-4 (0.481) at Rockford…In the first meeting of the season on Nov. 14 during Grand Rapids’ annual school day game, Filip Zadina scored twice and Patrik Rybar stopped 29 shots to help the Griffins to a 3-1 victory.

Iowa Notes: Current record 13-4-3-2, 31 points, T1st Central Division…Iowa has points in its last nine outings (5-0-2-2)...15 of the last 20 meetings between the teams have been decided by one goal, including nine that have gone past 60 minutes…The last three matchups have gone into either overtime or a shootout, including both games this season…In the last meeting in Des Moines on Nov. 26, Filip Hronek scored the winner in overtime…In the first meeting of the year on Nov. 2 in West Michigan, Iowa scored twice in the four-round shootout to defeat the Griffins by a 3-2 margin… The Griffins are outshooting Iowa 73-45 through two games…The Griffins won 20 of the first 24 all-time games against the Wild, and are 10-6-0-2 since…At Wells Fargo Arena, Grand Rapids claimed the first eight all-time matchups from Oct. 27, 2013-Dec. 13, 2015, and is 8-5 since…The Griffins have won the last four in Des Moines, including two in a shootout and one in overtime…Wild forward Landon Ferraro was a second-round draft selection by Detroit in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft…Ferraro tallied 140 points (75-65—140) in 270 games with the Griffins over parts of five seasons (2009-10; 2011-15) and helped the team win the 2013 Calder Cup...Ferraro became the 142nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with the Red Wings on March 18, 2014 vs. Toronto…Gerald Mayhew, in his second full pro season with Iowa, is a Wyandotte, Mich., native and skated four seasons with the Ferris State Bulldogs (WCHA) and tallied 119 points (52-67—119) in 150 games from 2013-17…Rookie netminder Kaapo Kahkonen leads the AHL with a 1.45 GAA and was named the AHL’s Goaltender of the Month for November.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 13 wins and nine (including OT and SO) losses:

Back to Backs: This weekend will mark the eighth of 26 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights. Grand Rapids has won its last five on the second night.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins