This Week’s Games
Tue., Dec. 2 GRIFFINS at Toronto Marlies 7 p.m. ESPN 96.1 / AHLLive.com
Fri., Dec. 5 Oklahoma City Barons at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Dec. 6 GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sun., Dec. 7 GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals 4 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Nov. 26 GRIFFINS 3 at Rochester Americans 1 8-7-1-0, 15 pts. (4th, Midwest Division)
Fri., Nov. 28 GRIFFINS 3 at Rochester Americans 4 OT 8-7-2-0, 16 pts. (4th)
Sat., Nov. 29 GRIFFINS 6 at Adirondack Flames 1 9-7-2-0, 18 pts. (4th)

Point Production: The Griffins earned five of six possible points in three road games last week, improving their record to 9-7-2-0. The scoring started off quickly for Grand Rapids on Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena when Andy Miele notched a goal just 1:07 into the first period. Miele’s goal was followed up shortly thereafter at 3:43 when Andreas Athanasiou put home the eventual game-winner. Former Griffins captain Matt Ellis struck for Rochester at 18:24 of the first and Landon Ferraro secured his fourth goal of the season late in the second. Both teams were held scoreless in the third, resulting in a 3-1 victory for the Griffins. On Friday, Rochester retaliated despite a three-point performance by Miele (1-2—3) and a two-point showing by Teemu Pulkkinen (1-1—2). The team’s third foray into the new 3-on-3 overtime format (and fourth overtime appearance overall) eventually saw Rochester center Phil Varone beat McCollum gloveside on a breakaway 6:02 into overtime to hand the Griffins a 3-4 loss. On Saturday, Grand Rapids torched the Adirondack Flames, 6-1, in the first-ever meeting between the two franchises. Jared Coreau backstopped the Griffins to a win with 35 saves and Mitch Callahan (2), Ferraro, Jeff Hoggan, Athanasiou, and Nick Jensen all earned goals. After the two teams went scoreless in the first, Grand Rapids exploded for three goals in both the second and third periods.

Movin’ On Up: Entering play on Nov. 12, the Griffins sat 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference with a 3-6-1-0 record and seven points, putting them six points behind eighth-place Adirondack. Since then, Grand Rapids has rattled off a 6-1-1-0 mark to shoot up six spots in the standings and take hold of eighth place in the conference with a 9-7-2-0 record and 20 points. Tuesday’s game in Toronto will mark the quarter pole of the season for the Griffins.

50/50: Following Friday’s 3-4 overtime loss to the Amerks, the Griffins have gone to extra minutes four times in 18 games this season. Their first venture into the AHL’s new format was on Oct. 31 versus the Chicago Wolves at Van Andel Arena, which resulted in a 5-6 loss during the four-on-four portion of the extra session (the Griffins were shorthanded at the time due to a Mitch Callahan penalty in the waning seconds of regulation). Grand Rapids then posted two consecutive overtime wins against the defending Calder Cup champion Texas Stars on Nov. 14 and 15, with Teemu Pulkkinen and Kevin Porter earning the game-winning tallies in each respective contest. Friday’s events saw Phil Varone capitalize for Rochester, posting both the Griffins’ first overtime venture and loss on the road this season. The Griffins are now 2-2 post-regulation.

Better Make It Two: Griffins defenseman Nick Jensen (3-4—7) scored his first goal as both a Griffin and a professional in a 5-4 road loss to the Lake Erie Monsters on Nov. 21 after tallying no goals in his 2013-14 rookie season. It was Jensen’s 61st pro contest (58 AHL games, 3 ECHL games). The Rogers, Minn., native then scored a goal in each game on Friday and Saturday. Jensen is the only Griffins blueliner to have scored more than one goal this season.

Streaks: After accumulating eight points (3-5—8) along a six-game point streak from Nov. 14-28, center Andy Miele had his streak snapped in Saturday’s 6-1 rout of the Adirondack Flames. Teemu Pulkkinen extended his point streak to eight games on Saturday, though, banking a total of five goals and 10 assists from Nov. 12-29. Pulkkinen’s eight-game point streak ties for the 19th longest scoring run in franchise history. With a point tomorrow in Toronto, he would move into a tie for 15th. Mitch Callahan is on a four-game point streak and has recorded seven points (3-4—7) from Nov. 22-29.

Griffins Leaders: Not only does Teemu Pulkkinen pace the Griffins in scoring with 23 points (9-14—23), but he also leads the entire league. In addition, the right wing has played the least amount of games of any of the AHL’s top 13 scorers. Mitch Callahan (8-7—15) and Andy Miele (7-8—15) have remained consistent in their scoring as well, tying for second among Grand Rapids’ leaders, while Andreas Athanasiou (4-8—12) follows in fourth. Among the team’s active skaters, Miele’s shooting percentage (31.8%) ranks first, followed by Callahan’s 16.7%.

Physicality: Left wing Chris Bruton leads the Griffins in penalty minutes with 35 in 16 games and is followed by Brennan Evans, who owns 31 PIM in 13 games with the team. However, rookie right wing Anthony Mantha has proven to be a physical presence himself after notching 12 PIM in seven games with Grand Rapids. Evans currently averages 2.38 PIM per game, while Bruton averages 2.19 and Mantha 1.71.

Coreau’s Big Win: Second-year netminder Jared Coreau earned his first victory in a Griffins sweater on Saturday, posting a sturdy 35-save performance against the Adirondack Flames in a 6-1 decision. Coreau’s 2014-15 campaign is a turnaround compared to his rookie season, when he registered a 4.03 goals against average and a 1-12-6 record in 20 games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and a 4.39 GAA and a 0-4-0 record in five games with the Griffins. In his second-year reincarnation, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound goaltender has turned out a 4-2-0 record with Toledo and a 1-0-0 record with Grand Rapids. Saturday’s win also marked Coreau as the 30th goaltender to earn a victory in Griffins franchise history.

First to Worst: Grand Rapids and the Toronto Marlies own the two worst records in the AHL when scoring the first goal in a game. The Griffins have turned out a 4-4-2-0 record (.500) after scoring first 10 times and the Marlies have produced a 2-5-2-0 (.333) record in nine times with the first tally.

The Midwest: The Rockford IceHogs (15-5-1-1, 32 pts.) continue to lead both the Midwest Division and Western Conference, despite a two-game losing streak. In second place are the Chicago Wolves (13-6-3-0, 29 pts.), who defeated Rockford twice last weekend, and the Milwaukee Admirals (12-5-0-2, 26 pts.) rank third. The Griffins (9-7-2-0, 20 pts.), who have played the least amount of games in the division at 18, rank fourth with just two points on the fifth-place Lake Erie Monsters (7-8-2-2, 18 pts.). The Monsters have picked up points in their last three contests (2-0-1-0).

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye keep rolling along, posting victories on Friday when they hosted the Orlando Solar Bears and Saturday against the Kalamazoo Wings. Friday’s game saw Griffins-contracted forward Tyler Barnes earn the game-winning goal 9:32 into the third period of an eventual 9-6 decision. It was Barnes’ third of the evening, marking his first professional hat trick. Martin Frk and Alden Hirschfeld also enjoyed goals in the contest. On Saturday, Shane Berschbach notched two assists and Hirschfeld earned a goal and two assists of his own to propel the Walleye to a 6-4 win over Kalamazoo. Toledo has scored at least six goals in five of its 16 total games so far this season. Improving their record to 12-3-0-1, the Walleye rank second in the North Division. Griffins-contracted defenseman Scott Czarnowczan was assigned to the Walleye on Monday. While with Grand Rapids, Czarnowczan made his AHL debut on Nov. 21 at Lake Erie.

Xavier Exhilarates: Griffins defenseman Xavier Ouellet notched his first NHL goal last Thursday in the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-4 come-from-behind shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils. Just over a week ago, Ouellet also notched his first assist and NHL point on Tomas Tatar’s lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 22. Ouellet returned to the Griffins last night after five appearances with the parent club this season.

XO: The Detroit Red Wings on Sunday assigned defenseman Xavier Ouellet to the Griffins. Ouellet, 21, has made five appearances with Detroit this season, securing his first NHL point on Nov. 22 at Toronto (assist) and first NHL goal on Nov. 28 at New Jersey. In all, Ouellet has appeared in nine career regular season games and one playoff game with the Red Wings. The 6-foot, 200-pound blueliner has also posted five points (1-4—5) and 44 shots in 13 games with the Griffins this season. Detroit’s second choice (48th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Ouellet tallied 17 points (4-13—17) and 22 penalty minutes in 70 games with Grand Rapids during his 2013-14 rookie campaign.

Scouting Report

Tue., Dec. 2 at Toronto Marlies (5-12-2-0) – Ricoh Coliseum – 7 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through espn961.com. All-Time Series: 28-25-3-2 Overall, 12-14-2-1 Road. Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Ricoh Coliseum. NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs. Head Coach: Gord Dineen (1st season). Notes: The Marlies rank fifth in the North Division and have posted a 1-7-2-0 record in their last 10 games. Currently, the Marlies are on a nine-game losing streak (0-7-2-0)...Center Greg McKegg (7-5—12) and rookie right wing Connor Brown (3-9—12) tie for the scoring lead on the Marlies. Connor also ties for 13th overall in scoring among AHL rookies…Left wing David Broll owns 77 penalty minutes, good enough for fourth in the league…The Marlies have scored just five goals in 63 power play opportunities this season (7.9%), ranking last among all teams. They also rank last in goals per game at 1.58. The team’s penalty killing record (79.5%) ranks 27th.

Fri., Dec. 5 vs. Oklahoma City Barons (11-4-2-2) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 11-7-1-1 Overall, 6-3-0-1 Home. Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Edmonton Oilers. Head Coach: Todd Nelson (5th season). Notes: The Barons rank second in the West Division, just one point behind the first-place San Antonio Rampage (13-6-1-0, 27 pts.)…Oklahoma City has picked up points in its last seven matches (6-0-0-1) and owns a 6-2-0-2 record in its last 10 games overall…Former Griffins defenseman Todd Nelson is the head coach of the Barons. Nelson was the first player ever signed by Grand Rapids…While this is the first meeting between these two teams this season, last season’s series went 3-1 in favor of the Griffins including two wins in OKC…Former Stanley Cup champion (2002 Detroit) and Griffin (2002-03) Jason Williams leads the Barons in scoring with 19 points (7-12—19) in 17 games. Williams is a 15-year pro and has played in 455 NHL games throughout his career.

Sat., Dec. 6 at Rockford IceHogs (15-5-1-1) – BMO Harris Bank Center – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 20-19-3-4 Overall, 6-12-2-3 Road. Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Road. Third of eight meetings overall, second of four at BMO Harris Bank Center. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Ted Dent (4th season). Notes: The Griffins have dropped both games against the IceHogs so far this season. The first loss was a 2-1 setback at Van Andel Arena on Oct. 29 and the second came on Nov. 8 in Rockford (3-1)... The IceHogs sit atop the Midwest Division…Despite outscoring their opponents 70-48, the third-most amount of goals scored in the league, Rockford has no skaters that rank among the AHL’s leading scorers…Rockford goaltender Scott Darling ties for fifth among all netminders with a 2.05 goals against average…Defenseman T.J. Brennan leads the team in scoring with 17 points (4-13—17) in 22 games, followed by center Mark McNeill (9-7—16) in second. After registering just one point (goal) in his first eight games, Brennan has earned a point in 12 of his last 14 games dating back to Oct. 31. He ties for third overall in scoring among AHL defensemen.

Sun., Dec. 7 at Milwaukee Admirals (12-5-0-2) – BMO Harris Bradley Center – 4 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 3:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 66-50-7-5-7 Overall, 29-27-5-4-5 Road. Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Road. Second of 10 meetings overall, second of five at BMO Harris Bradley Center. NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Dean Evason (3rd season). Notes: The Milwaukee Admirals sit in the middle of the Midwest Division in third place with 26 points…Former Griffin (2012-14) and 2013 Calder Cup champion Triston Grant is a member of the Admirals this season. Grant has tallied one goal and one assist along with 18 penalty minutes in 19 games…Rookie Brendan Leipsic (1-16—17) leads the Admirals in scoring and ties for the league lead in assists…Although goaltender Marek Mazanec (2.49 GAA) has played the primary role between the pipes this season for Milwaukee, Magnus Helberg leads the league in goals against average at 1.23 in eight appearances. Hellberg has procured at least a point in every appearance for Milwaukee with a 6-0-1-1 record.

This Week’s Games
Tue., Dec. 2 GRIFFINS at Toronto Marlies 7 p.m. ESPN 96.1 / AHLLive.com
Fri., Dec. 5 Oklahoma City Barons at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Dec. 6 GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sun., Dec. 7 GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals 4 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Nov. 26 GRIFFINS 3 at Rochester Americans 1 8-7-1-0, 15 pts. (4th, Midwest Division)
Fri., Nov. 28 GRIFFINS 3 at Rochester Americans 4 OT 8-7-2-0, 16 pts. (4th)
Sat., Nov. 29 GRIFFINS 6 at Adirondack Flames 1 9-7-2-0, 18 pts. (4th)

Point Production: The Griffins earned five of six possible points in three road games last week, improving their record to 9-7-2-0. The scoring started off quickly for Grand Rapids on Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena when Andy Miele notched a goal just 1:07 into the first period. Miele’s goal was followed up shortly thereafter at 3:43 when Andreas Athanasiou put home the eventual game-winner. Former Griffins captain Matt Ellis struck for Rochester at 18:24 of the first and Landon Ferraro secured his fourth goal of the season late in the second. Both teams were held scoreless in the third, resulting in a 3-1 victory for the Griffins. On Friday, Rochester retaliated despite a three-point performance by Miele (1-2—3) and a two-point showing by Teemu Pulkkinen (1-1—2). The team’s third foray into the new 3-on-3 overtime format (and fourth overtime appearance overall) eventually saw Rochester center Phil Varone beat McCollum gloveside on a breakaway 6:02 into overtime to hand the Griffins a 3-4 loss. On Saturday, Grand Rapids torched the Adirondack Flames, 6-1, in the first-ever meeting between the two franchises. Jared Coreau backstopped the Griffins to a win with 35 saves and Mitch Callahan (2), Ferraro, Jeff Hoggan, Athanasiou, and Nick Jensen all earned goals. After the two teams went scoreless in the first, Grand Rapids exploded for three goals in both the second and third periods.

Movin’ On Up: Entering play on Nov. 12, the Griffins sat 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference with a 3-6-1-0 record and seven points, putting them six points behind eighth-place Adirondack. Since then, Grand Rapids has rattled off a 6-1-1-0 mark to shoot up six spots in the standings and take hold of eighth place in the conference with a 9-7-2-0 record and 20 points. Tuesday’s game in Toronto will mark the quarter pole of the season for the Griffins.

50/50: Following Friday’s 3-4 overtime loss to the Amerks, the Griffins have gone to extra minutes four times in 18 games this season. Their first venture into the AHL’s new format was on Oct. 31 versus the Chicago Wolves at Van Andel Arena, which resulted in a 5-6 loss during the four-on-four portion of the extra session (the Griffins were shorthanded at the time due to a Mitch Callahan penalty in the waning seconds of regulation). Grand Rapids then posted two consecutive overtime wins against the defending Calder Cup champion Texas Stars on Nov. 14 and 15, with Teemu Pulkkinen and Kevin Porter earning the game-winning tallies in each respective contest. Friday’s events saw Phil Varone capitalize for Rochester, posting both the Griffins’ first overtime venture and loss on the road this season. The Griffins are now 2-2 post-regulation.

Better Make It Two: Griffins defenseman Nick Jensen (3-4—7) scored his first goal as both a Griffin and a professional in a 5-4 road loss to the Lake Erie Monsters on Nov. 21 after tallying no goals in his 2013-14 rookie season. It was Jensen’s 61st pro contest (58 AHL games, 3 ECHL games). The Rogers, Minn., native then scored a goal in each game on Friday and Saturday. Jensen is the only Griffins blueliner to have scored more than one goal this season.

Streaks: After accumulating eight points (3-5—8) along a six-game point streak from Nov. 14-28, center Andy Miele had his streak snapped in Saturday’s 6-1 rout of the Adirondack Flames. Teemu Pulkkinen extended his point streak to eight games on Saturday, though, banking a total of five goals and 10 assists from Nov. 12-29. Pulkkinen’s eight-game point streak ties for the 19th longest scoring run in franchise history. With a point tomorrow in Toronto, he would move into a tie for 15th. Mitch Callahan is on a four-game point streak and has recorded seven points (3-4—7) from Nov. 22-29.

Griffins Leaders: Not only does Teemu Pulkkinen pace the Griffins in scoring with 23 points (9-14—23), but he also leads the entire league. In addition, the right wing has played the least amount of games of any of the AHL’s top 13 scorers. Mitch Callahan (8-7—15) and Andy Miele (7-8—15) have remained consistent in their scoring as well, tying for second among Grand Rapids’ leaders, while Andreas Athanasiou (4-8—12) follows in fourth. Among the team’s active skaters, Miele’s shooting percentage (31.8%) ranks first, followed by Callahan’s 16.7%.

Physicality: Left wing Chris Bruton leads the Griffins in penalty minutes with 35 in 16 games and is followed by Brennan Evans, who owns 31 PIM in 13 games with the team. However, rookie right wing Anthony Mantha has proven to be a physical presence himself after notching 12 PIM in seven games with Grand Rapids. Evans currently averages 2.38 PIM per game, while Bruton averages 2.19 and Mantha 1.71.

Coreau’s Big Win: Second-year netminder Jared Coreau earned his first victory in a Griffins sweater on Saturday, posting a sturdy 35-save performance against the Adirondack Flames in a 6-1 decision. Coreau’s 2014-15 campaign is a turnaround compared to his rookie season, when he registered a 4.03 goals against average and a 1-12-6 record in 20 games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and a 4.39 GAA and a 0-4-0 record in five games with the Griffins. In his second-year reincarnation, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound goaltender has turned out a 4-2-0 record with Toledo and a 1-0-0 record with Grand Rapids. Saturday’s win also marked Coreau as the 30th goaltender to earn a victory in Griffins franchise history.

First to Worst: Grand Rapids and the Toronto Marlies own the two worst records in the AHL when scoring the first goal in a game. The Griffins have turned out a 4-4-2-0 record (.500) after scoring first 10 times and the Marlies have produced a 2-5-2-0 (.333) record in nine times with the first tally.

The Midwest: The Rockford IceHogs (15-5-1-1, 32 pts.) continue to lead both the Midwest Division and Western Conference, despite a two-game losing streak. In second place are the Chicago Wolves (13-6-3-0, 29 pts.), who defeated Rockford twice last weekend, and the Milwaukee Admirals (12-5-0-2, 26 pts.) rank third. The Griffins (9-7-2-0, 20 pts.), who have played the least amount of games in the division at 18, rank fourth with just two points on the fifth-place Lake Erie Monsters (7-8-2-2, 18 pts.). The Monsters have picked up points in their last three contests (2-0-1-0).

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye keep rolling along, posting victories on Friday when they hosted the Orlando Solar Bears and Saturday against the Kalamazoo Wings. Friday’s game saw Griffins-contracted forward Tyler Barnes earn the game-winning goal 9:32 into the third period of an eventual 9-6 decision. It was Barnes’ third of the evening, marking his first professional hat trick. Martin Frk and Alden Hirschfeld also enjoyed goals in the contest. On Saturday, Shane Berschbach notched two assists and Hirschfeld earned a goal and two assists of his own to propel the Walleye to a 6-4 win over Kalamazoo. Toledo has scored at least six goals in five of its 16 total games so far this season. Improving their record to 12-3-0-1, the Walleye rank second in the North Division. Griffins-contracted defenseman Scott Czarnowczan was assigned to the Walleye on Monday. While with Grand Rapids, Czarnowczan made his AHL debut on Nov. 21 at Lake Erie.

Xavier Exhilarates: Griffins defenseman Xavier Ouellet notched his first NHL goal last Thursday in the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-4 come-from-behind shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils. Just over a week ago, Ouellet also notched his first assist and NHL point on Tomas Tatar’s lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 22. Ouellet returned to the Griffins last night after five appearances with the parent club this season.

XO: The Detroit Red Wings on Sunday assigned defenseman Xavier Ouellet to the Griffins. Ouellet, 21, has made five appearances with Detroit this season, securing his first NHL point on Nov. 22 at Toronto (assist) and first NHL goal on Nov. 28 at New Jersey. In all, Ouellet has appeared in nine career regular season games and one playoff game with the Red Wings. The 6-foot, 200-pound blueliner has also posted five points (1-4—5) and 44 shots in 13 games with the Griffins this season. Detroit’s second choice (48th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Ouellet tallied 17 points (4-13—17) and 22 penalty minutes in 70 games with Grand Rapids during his 2013-14 rookie campaign.

Scouting Report

Tue., Dec. 2 at Toronto Marlies (5-12-2-0) – Ricoh Coliseum – 7 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through espn961.com. All-Time Series: 28-25-3-2 Overall, 12-14-2-1 Road. Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Ricoh Coliseum. NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs. Head Coach: Gord Dineen (1st season). Notes: The Marlies rank fifth in the North Division and have posted a 1-7-2-0 record in their last 10 games. Currently, the Marlies are on a nine-game losing streak (0-7-2-0)...Center Greg McKegg (7-5—12) and rookie right wing Connor Brown (3-9—12) tie for the scoring lead on the Marlies. Connor also ties for 13th overall in scoring among AHL rookies…Left wing David Broll owns 77 penalty minutes, good enough for fourth in the league…The Marlies have scored just five goals in 63 power play opportunities this season (7.9%), ranking last among all teams. They also rank last in goals per game at 1.58. The team’s penalty killing record (79.5%) ranks 27th.

Fri., Dec. 5 vs. Oklahoma City Barons (11-4-2-2) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 11-7-1-1 Overall, 6-3-0-1 Home. Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Edmonton Oilers. Head Coach: Todd Nelson (5th season). Notes: The Barons rank second in the West Division, just one point behind the first-place San Antonio Rampage (13-6-1-0, 27 pts.)…Oklahoma City has picked up points in its last seven matches (6-0-0-1) and owns a 6-2-0-2 record in its last 10 games overall…Former Griffins defenseman Todd Nelson is the head coach of the Barons. Nelson was the first player ever signed by Grand Rapids…While this is the first meeting between these two teams this season, last season’s series went 3-1 in favor of the Griffins including two wins in OKC…Former Stanley Cup champion (2002 Detroit) and Griffin (2002-03) Jason Williams leads the Barons in scoring with 19 points (7-12—19) in 17 games. Williams is a 15-year pro and has played in 455 NHL games throughout his career.

Sat., Dec. 6 at Rockford IceHogs (15-5-1-1) – BMO Harris Bank Center – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 20-19-3-4 Overall, 6-12-2-3 Road. Season Series: 0-2-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Road. Third of eight meetings overall, second of four at BMO Harris Bank Center. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Ted Dent (4th season). Notes: The Griffins have dropped both games against the IceHogs so far this season. The first loss was a 2-1 setback at Van Andel Arena on Oct. 29 and the second came on Nov. 8 in Rockford (3-1)... The IceHogs sit atop the Midwest Division…Despite outscoring their opponents 70-48, the third-most amount of goals scored in the league, Rockford has no skaters that rank among the AHL’s leading scorers…Rockford goaltender Scott Darling ties for fifth among all netminders with a 2.05 goals against average…Defenseman T.J. Brennan leads the team in scoring with 17 points (4-13—17) in 22 games, followed by center Mark McNeill (9-7—16) in second. After registering just one point (goal) in his first eight games, Brennan has earned a point in 12 of his last 14 games dating back to Oct. 31. He ties for third overall in scoring among AHL defensemen.

Sun., Dec. 7 at Milwaukee Admirals (12-5-0-2) – BMO Harris Bradley Center – 4 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 3:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 66-50-7-5-7 Overall, 29-27-5-4-5 Road. Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Road. Second of 10 meetings overall, second of five at BMO Harris Bradley Center. NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Dean Evason (3rd season). Notes: The Milwaukee Admirals sit in the middle of the Midwest Division in third place with 26 points…Former Griffin (2012-14) and 2013 Calder Cup champion Triston Grant is a member of the Admirals this season. Grant has tallied one goal and one assist along with 18 penalty minutes in 19 games…Rookie Brendan Leipsic (1-16—17) leads the Admirals in scoring and ties for the league lead in assists…Although goaltender Marek Mazanec (2.49 GAA) has played the primary role between the pipes this season for Milwaukee, Magnus Helberg leads the league in goals against average at 1.23 in eight appearances. Hellberg has procured at least a point in every appearance for Milwaukee with a 6-0-1-1 record.