Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins

Back-to-Back: This weekend will mark the 15th of 25 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights.

All That Ras: Second-year pro Michael Rasmussen has collected four points (2-2—4) in his first five games back in the lineup after missing the previous 23 due to injury. Among Griffins with more than 10 GP this season, Rasmussen ranks third in points per game with 0.87, behind only Chris Terry’s 0.98 and Matt Puempel’s 0.88.

Ford, Terry Heading to All-Star Classic: The AHL announced on Jan. 3 that Chris Terry has been selected to the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held this coming Sunday and Monday in Ontario, Calif. Terry joins Matthew Ford on the all-star team, after the Griffins’ captain was named as one of the two playing captains on Dec. 18. Terry, in his 11th season as a pro and second in Grand Rapids, has earned his fourth straight AHL All-Star bid and fifth overall (2012). He becomes the sixth Griffin ever to be named an all-star in back-to-back years (Matt Lorito 2017-18, Xavier Ouellet 2015-16, Gustav Nyquist 2012-13, Niklas Kronwall 2004-05, Michel Picard 1997-98 in the IHL) and only the third Grand Rapids forward to earn consecutive AHL selections, joining Lorito and Nyquist. A SoCal native, Ford is in his third season as the Griffins’ captain, fourth in Grand Rapids and 12th in the AHL. He becomes the fourth Griffin to be chosen as a playing captain for an AHL All-Star Classic, joining Jeff Hoggan (2016, West), Kip Miller (2007, PlanetUSA) and Travis Richards (2004, PlanetUSA).

Back Up, Terr: 2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry shows 10 points (3-7—10) in his last nine outings. He ties for fifth in the AHL in points (40) while pacing the Griffins in goals (16), assists (24), multi-point games (13) and power play goals (9). He became the 43rd player in franchise history to score 100 points in a Griffins uniform following his three-point effort on Jan. 11 and he tied Slava Butsayev (1999-01) as the seventh-fastest player to reach the century mark. In his 11th-year pro, Terry guided the Griffins with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead GR in scoring in back-to-back seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Red Wings Report: There have been 12 players who have played for both Detroit and Grand Rapids this season – Madison Bowey, Dennis Cholowski, Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard (conditioning), Joe Hicketts, Taro Hirose, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Calvin Pickard, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov and Filip Zadina. Pickard, Smith and Zadina remain on recall.

Rotating Roster: Kevin Poulin made his Griffins debut on Jan. 4 and became the fifth goaltender to log minutes for Grand Rapids this season, the team’s most since five suited up during the 2014-15 campaign (Pat Nagle, Jonas Gustavsson, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum). Including those five goalies, the Griffins have used 38 players already this season. Here is how the current usage stacks up to the final player counts in recent seasons: 2018-19 – 41 players, 2017-18 – 32, 2016-17 – 39, 2015-16 – 37 and 2014-15 – 39. Since the AHL’s season began on Oct. 4, the Red Wings have recalled or assigned a player from or to Grand Rapids a total of 64 times.

Milestones Within Reach:
Joe Hicketts – needs two points to reach 100 as a pro
Turner Elson – needs three games to reach 350 in the AHL
Eric Tangradi – needs two points to reach 350 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs four points to reach 250 in the AHL

Griffins in General: Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 983-675-27-60-116 (0.583) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 323 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign tie Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for second, behind only Toronto’s 338 while the Griffins’ 702 points in that span are third, trailing Providence (710) and Toronto (733)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Iowa Notes: Current record 24-14-3-2, 53 points, 2nd Central Division…The Griffins are winless in their last four vs. Iowa (0-2-2-0)…In the last 10 meetings overall, Grand Rapids is 3-3-3-1…In the last 10 at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins are 3-4-2-1…While winning 20 of the first 24 all-time meetings, Grand Rapids outscored the Wild 91-43…Since then, the Griffins are 11-9-3-2 in the series and have been outscored 80-71…18 of the last 27 meetings have been decided by one goal, including 12 that have been tied after regulation…The Griffins are 19-6-3-3 (0.710) all time on home ice against teams from Iowa, including 1-0-0-0 vs. Iowa Chops, 4-0-0-0 vs. Iowa Stars and 14-6-2-2 vs. Iowa Wild…Matt Puempel (0-4—4 in 3 GP) and Chris Terry (1-2—3 in 3 GP) lead the Griffins in the season series…Former Ferris State Bulldog and Wyandotte, Mich., native Gerald Mayhew has 16 points (11-5—16) and a plus-10 rating in 16 career games against Grand Rapids.

San Diego Notes: Current record 17-15-2-2, 38 points, 5th Pacific Division…The Griffins claimed the first two meetings of the season in southern California, recovering from a two-goal deficit to win 4-3 on Dec. 11 and taking a 3-2 shootout victory on Dec. 17…Grand Rapids and San Diego are squaring off for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign…The Gulls will make their first visit to Van Andel Arena since Nov. 20, 2015, which ended in a 7-4 Griffins victory…Grand Rapids holds a 27-11-2-0-0 all-time record (0.700) against Anaheim’s AHL affiliates, including 22-10-2-0-0 against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, 2-0-0-0 against the Iowa Chops and 3-1-0-0 against San Diego…Eric Tangradi was selected in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by Anaheim but did not suit up for any clubs in the organization…Tangradi scored the first goal of his Griffins career at San Diego on Oct. 10, 2015…Rookie defenseman Alec McCrea hails from San Diego and Gulls first-year forward Brent Gates Jr. is a Grand Rapids native.

California Dreamin’: Friday and Saturday will mark the 17th and 18th times, respectively, the Griffins have hosted a team from California, including playoffs. Grand Rapids is 8-7-0-1 (0.531) all time against Golden State teams at Van Andel Arena.

Pacific Coasting: The Griffins hold a 10-12-1-3 record (0.462) against current teams in the Pacific Division, including a 5-5-0-1 mark (0.500) at home.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 18 wins and 25 (including OT and SO) losses:

Going Streaking: During their six-game point streak, the Griffins are outscoring opponents 18-11 and outshooting foes 204-166 while operating at 25.0% on the power play (5-for-20) and killing off all 12 penalties. Chris Terry (3-3—6) leads the team in goals and points during the streak, followed by Turner Elson (1-3—4), Joe Hicketts (1-3—4) and Michael Rasmussen (2-2—4).

Staycation: The Griffins are 3-0-0-2 so far in their eight-game homestand that lasts through Saturday. It is the team’s lengthiest since an eight-game stretch from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2006 (4-3-0-1 record). In fact, the only longer homestand Grand Rapids has enjoyed is nine games from Oct. 26-Nov. 18, 2004 (4-4-1-0 record). Chris Terry (9-10—19) and Matt Puempel (6-10—16) lead the team in scoring at Van Andel Arena this season. Since the 2016-17 season, Grand Rapids is 16-6-0-3 (0.700) in West Michigan in January.

Lights Out: Since the third period on Nov. 27 at Chicago, Grand Rapids has fended off 68 of its last 74 penalties (91.9%), including 12 in a row. The Griffins have vaulted from 30th in the AHL in penalty killing on Nov. 28 to their current position of 12th.

Net Nagle: Pat Nagle has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last three starts, showing a 1.69 GAA and stopping 66 of 71 shots in that span (0.930). His 2.15 season GAA ranks seventh among league netminders with more than 440 minutes.

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Wed., Jan. 22 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-1-0 Home, 0-1-2-0 Overall. Fourth of six meetings overall, second of three at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 14-6-2-2 Home, 31-13-3-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: Iowa has won the last four meetings, including two in overtime.

GRIFFINS vs. San Diego Gulls // Fri., Jan. 24 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. San Diego Gulls // Sat., Jan. 25 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. both nights
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 2-0-0-0 Overall. Third and fourth of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 1-0-0-0 Home, 3-1-0-0 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Anaheim Ducks
Noteworthy: The Gulls are making their first visit to Van Andel Arena since Nov. 20, 2015.

Follow the Leaders:

Last Week’s Notes:

Wednesday vs. Rockford –Signed to a professional tryout on Dec. 25, goaltender Kevin Poulin made his second Griffins appearance and first at Van Andel Arena…Poulin stopped 25 shots and earned his first AHL point since March 26, 2016 when he was with the Stockton Heat...Joe Veleno scored his sixth goal of the season at 7:46 of the third period...Grand Rapids is 2-2-0-2 in the season series...The Griffins had only one power play opportunity for the third time this season...Grand Rapids played its seventh game of the season that was tied after regulation. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Rockford – The Griffins snapped a four-game winless streak against Rockford (0-2-0-2)...Skating in his 700th AHL game, captain Matt Ford posted a goal and an assist...Dominik Shine notched his third goal at 14:11 of the opening period and added an assist for his third multi-point outing of the season...Chase Pearson netted his fifth goal and 10th point of the year...Pearson’s two game-winning goals tie for second on the team...Chris Terry added an empty-netter with 2:41 remaining...Pat Nagle recorded 21 saves and picked up his second win of the season...Including a 3-for-3 effort on the penalty kill, Grand Rapids has fended off its last 17 penalties against the IceHogs. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. Belleville – Belleville made its first and only trip of the season to Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids played its eighth game that was tied after regulation…Dominik Shine has goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season after he lit the lamp at 3:20 in the second period…Dennis Cholowski netted his second AHL goal at 16:58 of the second…Cholowski scored his first AHL goal on Jan. 11 in his 40th game and now has two in the last four outings…Evgeny Svechnikov tallied his sixth goal of the season and first since Dec. 17…Kevin Poulin recorded 27 saves and has points in back-to-back outings…Three shots in the opening period tied for the fewest the Griffins have allowed in a single frame in 2019-20…Grand Rapids’ 46 shots were a season high and its 23 attempts in the second period were the most since firing 23 in the third period on April 10, 2019 vs. Iowa. Recap | Highlights

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 15 // Rockford IceHogs 2 at GRIFFINS 1 SO // 17-19-2-3 (39 pts., 6th Central Division)
Fri., Jan. 17 // Rockford IceHogs 1 at GRIFFINS 4 // 18-19-2-3 (41 pts., 5th Central)
Sat., Jan. 18 // Belleville Senators 4 at GRIFFINS 3 SO // 18-19-2-4 (42 pts., T4th Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins are on a season-high six-game point streak (4-0-0-2) and have moved into a tie for fourth place in the Central Division standings. Grand Rapids is 3-0-0-2 in its eight-game homestand and will conclude the stretch against Iowa on Wednesday and San Diego on Friday and Saturday. The Griffins will then pause for the AHL all-star break.