This Week’s Games
Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS // Wed., Nov. 14 // 11 a.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: ESPN 96.1 FM at 10:35 a.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 27-10-1-2 Home, 40-29-3-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: On home ice, the Griffins have won eight of the last nine meetings, including four in a row.

Ontario Reign at GRIFFINS // Fri., Nov. 16 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first and last at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: First meeting
NHL Affiliation: Los Angeles Kings
Noteworthy: Ontario’s fourth-year head coach Mike Stothers makes his first return to Van Andel Arena since serving as Grand Rapids’ bench boss during the 2007-08 campaign.

Manitoba Moose at GRIFFINS // Sat., Nov. 17 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at approximately 7:45 p.m. (joined in progress)
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 1-1-0-0 Overall. Third of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 29-12-1-1-5 Home, 57-29-1-1-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16 following a four-year hiatus, the Griffins are 13-5 against their Central Division counterpart, including 6-2 at Van Andel Arena.

Last Week’s Results
Thu., Nov. 8 GRIFFINS 4 at Manitoba Moose 1 6-5-0-1 (13 points, 5th Central Division)
Sat., Nov. 10 GRIFFINS 2 at Manitoba Moose 6 6-6-0-1 (13 points, 6th Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins had their season-high five-game point streak snapped in last Saturday’s loss at Manitoba. With a 6-6-0-1 record, Grand Rapids places seventh in the Central Division. The Griffins begin a four-game homestand with three contests this week.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry, Carter Camper (11)
Goals: Terry (8)
Assists: Camper (9)
Plus-Minus: Three players tied (+6)
PIM: Turner Elson (22)
Wins: Harri Sateri (4)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.21)
Save %: Rybar (0.905)

Last Week’s Notes:
Thursday at Manitoba – Grand Rapids extended its point streak to five (4-0-0-1) and its winning streak – both overall and on the road – to three…After spotting Manitoba an early lead at 14:17 of the first period, Grand Rapids scored the game’s next four goals, including three in the third period...Logan Stanley’s first pro goal at 14:17 marked the first tally Grand Rapids had given up at Bell MTS Place since the 0:53 mark of the first period on Jan. 10, 2018, a scoreless streak of 193:24...Filip Hronek’s power-play goal at 8:25 of the second period snapped the team’s 0-for-19 slump on the man-advantage...Grand Rapids recorded a season-high 39 shots…The Griffins have won six regular season meetings in a row overall against the Moose and outscored them 22-6 in that stretch…Dating to an April 5, 2017, overtime win in Winnipeg, the Griffins have claimed six consecutive regular season contests at Manitoba with a 20-5 goal advantage.
Saturday at Manitoba – Grand Rapids had its five-game point streak and three-game winning streak snapped…Manitoba earned its first regular season win against the Griffins at Bell MTS Place since April 4, 2017…Grand Rapids bettered Thursday’s output with a season-high 40 shots…Chris Terry extended his goal streak to three games.

This Week’s Promotions: In addition to being the annual school day game, Wednesday against Rockford is also 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. On Friday against Ontario, fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs and $2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last. On Saturday against Manitoba, the first 2,500 fans will receive a Griffins lunchbox, courtesy of Chick-Fil-A. More info on this week's promotions can be found here.

Back to School, Back to School…: When Rockford comes to town on Wednesday, it will mark Grand Rapids’ 18th annual school day game, as the Griffins have hosted a weekday game with an early start time every year since the 2001-02 season. Grand Rapids owns an 11-5-0-1 record (0.676) in home matinee games. In last season’s rendition, the Griffins scored five answered goals over the game’s final 29 minutes to earn a 7-4 victory against San Antonio.

Friendly Confines: The Griffins have points in four of their first five home games (3-1-0-1) and are averaging 3.60 goals at Van Andel Arena, compared to 2.75 on enemy ice.

Terr-ing It Up: The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is on a season-high three-game goal streak, lighting the lamp four times in that stretch. In fact, in the last six games, Terry shows six goals among seven points. His team-high eight markers tie for seventh in the AHL.

Happy Camper: First-year Griffin Carter Camper recorded back-to-back multi-point games for the first time in the campaign on Nov. 4-8. He shows nine points (1-8—9) in his last eight outings. Camper paces the team in assists (9) and ties for the lead in both points (11) and multi-point games (4).

Puemped Up: Second-year Griffin Matt Puempel ties with Carter Camper for the most multi-point games of the season with four after collecting a goal and an assist in last Thursday’s victory. The Essex, Ontario, native ranks second on the team in goals (5) and third in points (10).

Add Rybar for Support: Goaltender Patrik Rybar (pronounced REE-bar) has points in his last three starts (2-0-1), showing a 1.30 GAA and a 0.944 save percentage in that span. He picked up his first victory on North American soil in his second career start on Oct. 27 in Belleville after stopping 21 of 22 shots. The 25-year-old led the Czech Extraliga in both GAA (1.73) and shutouts (7) in 36 games with Hradec Kralove last season.

No Shots For You: Grand Rapids has surrendered more than 30 shots just three times through the season’s first 13 games and ranks fifth in the AHL in shots against (26.7). The Griffins have outshot 10 of 13 opponents so far. On the flip side, Grand Rapids is averaging 36.2 shots for over its last five contests, including a season-high 40 in its last time out on Saturday at Manitoba.

Pick Ehn Up Points: Skating in his first season in North America, Christoffer Ehn shows five points (1-4—5) in the last four games. Detroit’s third choice, 106th overall, in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Ehn also has one assist in 10 games with the Red Wings this season. He was recalled by the Wings last Tuesday, skated in that night’s 3-2 shootout victory against Vancouver, and then was assigned back to Grand Rapids last Wednesday. By appearing in Tuesday’s game, Ehn became the 173rd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL.

Z-Score: The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Filip Zadina had his season-high three-game point streak snapped in last Saturday’s loss but still shows four points (2-2—4) in the last four contests. He ties for third on the team in goals (4) and fourth in points (8). The 18-year-old 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.

Megan in Detroit: Recalled by the Red Wings on Oct. 31, Wade Megan remains with Detroit and has skated in four games, showing seven shots and averaging 8:59 of ice time. He became the 172nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with Detroit during the team’s 4-3 win vs. New Jersey on Nov. 1.

Road Reversal: After dropping their first four road games and being outscored 17-5 in that stretch, the Griffins have won three of their last four on foreign ice with a 17-12 scoring edge. During its last four road games, Grand Rapids is outgunning its home opponent during the third period 13-3.

Saari, Not Saari: With a goal and three assists, second-year defenseman Vili Saarijarvi ties with Jake Chelios for most points by a team blueliner.

Milestones Within Reach:
Brian Lashoff – needs one point to reach 100 as a pro
Jake Chelios – needs three points to reach 100 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs two assists to reach 200 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs two goals to reach 100 as a pro

Rockford Notes: Current record 8-4-1-2, 19 points, 2nd Central Division…On Nov. 6, the Chicago Blackhawks relieved Joel Quenneville of his coaching duties and named Rockford head coach Jeremy Colliton its 38th head coach in franchise history…Colliton, 33, had been the youngest active head coach in the AHL and becomes the youngest head coach currently in the NHL…On the same day, Rockford assistant coach Derek King was named the interim head coach of the IceHogs…A former Griffin, 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)…The Griffins finished 4-3-0-3 in the 2017-18 season series against the IceHogs…Grand Rapids has won four straight against Rockford after a seven-game losing streak (0-4-0-3 from April 1-Dec. 23, 2017)…On home ice, the Griffins have won eight of the last nine meetings and 13 of the last 16…Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Griffins are 21-4-1-1 (0.815) against the ‘Hogs at the Van.

Ontario Notes: Current record 4-5-2-1, 11 points, T6th Pacific Division...After Friday, the Griffins will have faced all five of California’s AHL teams…Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose and Stockton began play in 2015-16…The Griffins have welcomed a team from California to Van Andel Arena 10 times previously in the regular season, showing a 1-3 mark vs. Long Beach in the IHL, 1-1 vs. San Jose, 1-0-0-1 vs. Stockton, 0-1 vs. Bakersfield and 1-0 vs. San Diego…Friday is the first of six games this season Grand Rapids will play against the Pacific Division…Captain Matthew Ford is from West Hills, Calif., about 60 miles west of Ontario.

Stothers Returns: Ontario’s fourth-year head coach Mike Stothers makes his first return to Van Andel Arena since serving as Grand Rapids’ bench boss during the 2007-08 campaign. The Griffins finished with a 31-41-2-6 record and a fifth-place finish in the North Division under Stothers. During his one season, Stothers coached future Red Wings Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, Jimmy Howard, Jakub Kindl and Kyle Quincey.

Manitoba Notes: Current record 7-6-0-0, 14 points, T5th Central Division…The teams split their first two meetings of the season last week in Winnipeg…The Griffins had their six-game winning streak against Manitoba in the regular season snapped in last Saturday’s 6-2 loss at Bell MTS Place…The Moose also ended Grand Rapids’ six-game winning streak at Bell MTS Place with the victory…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16 following a four-year hiatus, the Griffins are 13-5 against their Central Division counterpart, including 6-2 at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids and Manitoba have met 95 times in the regular season since 1996-97, when both were members of the International Hockey League…Manitoba is making its first appearance in West Michigan since Game 5 of the Central Division Semifinals last spring, as the Moose ended Grand Rapids’ run of five straight seasons advancing to at least the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs…Defenseman Dylan McIlrath hails from Winnipeg…Dominic Turgeon recorded his first career hat trick at Manitoba on Feb. 17, 2018…Axel Holmstrom made his AHL debut at Manitoba on April 4, 2017, and scored his first AHL goal (overtime) at the Moose on April 5, 2017.

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

Playing on Consecutive Nights:

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins