This Week’s Games
Wed., Dec. 17 - Syracuse Crunch at GRIFFINS - 7 p.m. - WOOD 1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Fri., Dec. 19 - Milwaukee Admirals at GRIFFINS - 7 p.m. - WOOD 1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Sat., Dec. 20 - Milwaukee Admirals at GRIFFINS - 7 p.m. - WOOD 1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Sun., Dec. 21 - GRIFFINS at Rochester Americans - 6:05 p.m. - WOOD 1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Dec. 12 - GRIFFINS 6 at Manitoba Moose 5 - 13-6-3-3, 32 pts. (T2nd, North Division)

Sat., Dec. 13 - GRIFFINS 2 at Manitoba Moose 4 - 13-7-3-3, 32 pts. (T2nd)

Get Busy: After playing only two games in a 10-day span (Dec. 7-16) and just four contests in 16 days (Dec. 1-16), the Griffins will play eight times over the final 15 days of the month, beginning with Wednesday’s matchup at home against Syracuse. Grand Rapids, which sits only two points behind Hamilton and four behind Manitoba in the North Division race, will also host a pair against Milwaukee this Friday and Saturday before completing a 4-in-5 with Sunday’s visit to Rochester. The Griffins have thrived during hectic schedules this season, as they are a combined 6-2-0-1 when playing three times in as many nights and 3-0-0-1 when playing four games in five nights.

Holiday Fun: A slew of promotions are on tap for Griffins fans this week: Wed. vs. Syracuse – As part of Winning Wednesday, all fans in attendance can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to the Jan. 7 game vs. Rockford if the Griffins defeat the Crunch. Fri. vs. Milwaukee – It’s another Dollar Beers, Dollar Dogs night, with $1 hot dogs and $1 domestic drafts available from 6-8 p.m. while supplies last, as well as College Night and Library Night. Sat. vs. Milwaukee – Thanks to Chrysler Jeep, 2,500 fans will receive a Darren McCarty figurine, commemorating his memorable hat trick during his Van Andel Arena debut last season. Detroit Red Wings legend and Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay will be on the concourse selling and signing copies of his new book, #7, for fans. In addition, fans can bring their skates and take to the ice for the post-game open skate.

Causes for Celebration: The Griffins franchise stands poised to reach as many as four significant milestones this week:
• Chris Chelios became the 99th former Griffin to play in the NHL on Saturday, putting Grand Rapids one player shy of celebrating its 100th NHL graduate;
• This Friday’s game versus Milwaukee will mark the 500th regular season home game in Griffins history. They currently sport an all-time record (W-L-T-OTL-SOL) of 282-159-15-8-34 (0.623) through 498 games at Van Andel Arena;
• This Sunday’s game at Rochester will be the Griffins’ 1000th regular season contest. Their all-time record stands at 527-357-27-20-65 (0.585) through 996 games;
• With three home games this week, the Griffins will welcome their four-millionth fan on either Friday or Saturday. They are 12,842 fans shy of reaching that plateau.

Home Sweet Home: The Griffins are an impressive 7-2-1-3 at Van Andel Arena this season and have points in eight of their last nine games in friendly territory (5-1-1-2).

Welcome Back: The Griffins today recalled defenseman P.J. Atherton from the Ontario Reign of the ECHL. Atherton, 26, has logged 14 games in the ECHL this season between Las Vegas (5) and Ontario (9), tallying two points (1-1—2) with the Wranglers and seven points (2-5—7) with the Reign. The Edina, Minn., native has appeared in four games thus far with the Griffins, registering four PIM.

Enough’s Enough: The Griffins have two shots this week to break a mind-boggling skid against their rival from across Lake Michigan. They are 0-6-1-1 in their last eight games against Milwaukee – including 0-2-0-1 at home – since their last series win, a 4-2 victory at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 29, 2007. Dating back to their 2006 Western Conference Finals series against the Admirals, the Griffins are 4-15-4-1 versus Milwaukee, including a 2-7-1-1 mark at home.

Old Fashioned Shootout: The 11 combined goals scored during the Griffins’ 6-5 win over Manitoba on Friday marked Grand Rapids’ highest-scoring contest since a 6-5 shootout loss on Nov. 9, 2007 at Rockford. The team’s last 11-goal game that ended in regulation was a 6-5 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Jan. 5, 2007.

Come One, Come All: The Griffins stand fourth in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,576, a year-to-date increase of 18.3% over the first 13 home contests of 2007-08 (5,559) and 32.4% over the first 13 home games of 2006-07 (4,968). The team’s total attendance of 85,484 is its highest through 13 home games in eight years, since the 2000-01 campaign (97,854).

Youth is Served: Cory Emmerton netted his first pro goal on Dec. 6 against Hamilton then built his first goal streak by lighting the lamp in Friday’s 6-5 win at Manitoba. He has points in five of the last eight contests (2-4—6)…Justin Abdelkader has points in six of his last nine outings (1-6—7)…Jamie Tardif has contributed points in six of the last seven contests (4-2—6) and is currently riding a four-game point streak (3-1—4). He had just one shot in each game against Manitoba over the weekend but lit the lamp each time…Jakub Kindl saw his three-game assist streak snapped on Saturday…Evan McGrath has points in six of the last 10 games (3-6—9).

Lone Star Landon: Since being recalled by Dallas on Nov. 21, Landon Wilson has tallied four points (1-3—4) and 12 PIM in 11 games, averaging 9:59 of ice time. He tallied two assists in the Stars’ 3-1 win over Detroit on Friday. Despite his absence from Grand Rapids’ last 11 games, he still places among the club’s leaders with eight goals (T3rd), 15 points (T6th), 37 PIM (3rd) and seven power play goals (1st).

Take Me to Your Leaders: Several Griffins rank among the AHL’s individual leaders: Justin Abdelkader – T9th rookie points (18); Jakub Kindl – T16th defenseman points (14); Daniel Larsson – T5th shutouts (2); and Garrett Stafford – T8th defenseman points (16).

Miss You: As of Landon Wilson’s recall to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 21, the Griffins ranked third in the AHL with an average of 3.60 goals per game (54 goals in 15 contests). Their output has since dropped by more than 0.75 goals per game, having scored just 31 goals in the last 11 outings for a 2.82 average. Overall, Grand Rapids now ranks seventh in the league at 3.27 goals per game.

Hard to Kill: The Griffins’ seven regulation losses are tied for the fewest in the AHL, but their six losses past regulation time (3 OTL, 3 SOL) tie for the most in the league.

Here’s the Situation: Oddly, nine of the Griffins’ 13 losses have come during games in which they scored first (8-5-2-2), while they have suffered just four defeats when allowing the first lamp-lighter (5-2-1-1)…Grand Rapids is 9-0-1-1 when leading after two periods and a robust 3-4-1-0 when trailing entering the third period.

Milestones: Tom Galvin appeared in his 300th pro game on Saturday…Garrett Stafford needs six more games for 400 as a pro…Ryan Oulahen currently stands in seventh on the Griffins’ all-time games played list with 255 games played, just nine behind sixth-place Derek King (264).

Scouting Report

Wed., Dec. 17 vs. Syracuse Crunch (14-12-0-1) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:59 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast ($6 at AHLLive.com) and audio web cast (free at woodradio.com) available through griffinshockey.com. All-Time Series (W-L-OTL-SOL): 13-5-0-1 Overall, 7-2-0-1 Home. Season Series: 0-0-0-1 Overall, 0-0-0-1 Home. Second of four meetings overall, second of two in Grand Rapids. NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets. Head Coach: Ross Yates (3rd season). Notes: Syracuse is 7-11-0-1 since starting the season 7-1…The Crunch, who beat the Griffins 2-1 in a shootout on Oct. 29 at Van Andel Arena, will return toting a six-game losing streak…Dan LaCosta ranks 11th in the AHL with a 2.43 GAA, part of a Syracuse defense that places fourth in the league (2.63 goals per game)…Former Griffins defenseman Clay Wilson, second among AHL blueliners with eight goals, is currently on recall to Columbus…Nikita Filatov is tied for 13th in rookie scoring (7-10—17).

Fri., Dec. 19 vs. Milwaukee Admirals (16-7-0-1) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 20 vs. Milwaukee Admirals – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 6:59 p.m. (Fri.) and 6:35 p.m. (Sat.). Web Casts: Video web cast ($6 at AHLLive.com) and audio web cast (free at woodradio.com) available through griffinshockey.com. All-Time Series (W-L-T-OTL-SOL): 45-33-7-5-4 Overall, 26-14-2-1-1 Home. Season Series: 0-3-1-0 Overall, 0-1-0-0 Home. Fourth and fifth of eight meetings overall, second and third of four in Grand Rapids. NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Lane Lambert (2nd season). Notes: Five straight wins have propelled Milwaukee into a three-way tie for second place in the West Division, just one point behind first-place Chicago…Cal O’Reilly ranks among the AHL’s best with 27 assists (T1st) and 32 points (T3rd)…Alexander Sulzer stands third among AHL defensemen with 19 points (4-15—19)…The Admirals’ power play is second in the league at 22.3%, helping pace an office that ranks third in goals per game (3.50)…Milwaukee defenseman Cody Franson has seven goals in 12 career games against Grand Rapids, and just nine goals in 84 games against other AHL clubs.

Sun., Dec. 21 at Rochester Americans (7-20-0-2) – Blue Cross Arena – 6:05 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 1300 AM at 5:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast ($6 at AHLLive.com) and audio web cast (free at woodradio.com) available through griffinshockey.com. All-Time Series (W-L-T-OTL-SOL): 18-15-1-1-0 Overall, 6-10-0-1-0 Road. Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Second of six meetings overall, first of three in Rochester. NHL Affiliation: Florida Panthers. Head Coach: Benoit Groulx (1st season). Notes: The Amerks begin the week with the fewest wins and points (seven and 16) in the AHL but have won two straight games…Their power play ranks 29th in the AHL (10.9%) while their penalty kill stands 25th (80.4%)…Rochester has been outscored 36-17 in the first period and 31-17 in the third…The Americans score the fewest goals in the AHL (1.97 per game) while allowing the second-most (3.55).