This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Cleveland Monsters // Fri., Dec. 28 // 7 p.m. // Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland Monsters at GRIFFINS // Sat., Dec. 29 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. both nights
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Home, 1-0-0-0 Road, 1-1-0-0 Overall. Third and fourth of four meetings overall, second of two at Van Andel Arena, second of two at Quicken Loans Arena
All-Time Series: 29-15-1-2 Home, 22-14-3-8 Road, 51-29-4-10 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets
Noteworthy: At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight of the last 11 meetings (7-3-0-1).

Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS // Mon., Dec. 31 // 6 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 5:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-0-1-0 Home, 1-1-2-0 Overall. Fifth of 10 meetings overall, third of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 28-10-2-2 Home, 41-30-5-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has points in each of the last six meetings on home ice (5-0-1-0) and in 10 of the last 11 (9-1-1-0).

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Dec. 19 Cleveland Monsters 3 at GRIFFINS 1 15-11-2-2 (34 points, T4th Central Division)
Fri., Dec. 21 GRIFFINS 4 at Manitoba Moose 1 16-11-2-2 (36 points, T3rd Central)
Sat., Dec. 22 GRIFFINS 3 at Manitoba Moose 1 17-11-2-2 (38 points, T1st Central)

Status Update: Following a two-game sweep at Manitoba before the holiday break, the Griffins own a 17-11-2-2 overall record (38 points) and tie for third in the Central Division. Grand Rapids has points in 19 of its last 25 games (15-6-2-2). Following five days off from competition, the Griffins play a home-and-home set against the Cleveland Monsters on Friday and Saturday before hosting the Rockford IceHogs on New Year’s Eve.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry (32)
Goals: Terry (20)
Assists: Carter Camper (17)
Plus-Minus: Turner Elson (+12)
PIM: Dominik Shine (34)
Wins: Harri Sateri (10)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.39)
Save %: Rybar (0.909)

Last Week’s Notes:
Wednesday vs. Cleveland – Grand Rapids’ eight-game home point streak (6-0-1-1) came to an end...One goal was the team’s lowest output on home ice...David Pope notched his second career goal and first at Van Andel Arena...Patrik Rybar stopped 29 of 31 shots, but lost for only the second time on home ice...The Griffins’ pre-Christmas home record of 10-3-1-2 (0.719) ranks as the eighth-best out of their 23 seasons...Cleveland out shot Grand Rapids 32-23, only the 10th time in 30 outings the Griffins have been outgunned...The Griffins saw both their five-game point (4-0-0-1) and four-game winning streaks against the Monsters halted. Recap | Highlights
Friday at Manitoba – Grand Rapids snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1-0) on the road...The Griffins had scored three goals in their previous 171:57 of game play before notching three in a 2:13 span during the third period to take control of the game…Dominic Turgeon, Matt Ford and Chris Terry lit the lamp in the final frame...After a two-game suspension, Matt Puempel returned to the lineup and tallied the game’s first goal…Carter Camper picked up his first point in his second game back after missing four due to injury...Harri Sateri turned aside 27 shots to earn his 10th win of the season...Four goals was the most the Griffins had posted on the road since Nov. 24 at Chicago (4-3 OTW). Recap | Highlights
Saturday at Manitoba – Grand Rapids has won nine of the last 10 meetings against Manitoba…The Griffins allowed one or less goals in consecutive games for the first time this season…Skating in his third career AHL game, Tyler Spezia potted his first goal and it turned out to be the game-winner…Chris Terry scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season…The Griffins finished 2-for-6 on the power play, the first time notching multiple power play goals on the road this season…Patrik Rybar recorded 25 saves to halt a four-game winless streak. Recap | Highlights

This Week’s Promotions: On Saturday against Cleveland, the first 2,500 fans will receive a Bluetooth speaker, courtesy of Adventure Credit Union. Monday against Rockford is the team’s 22nd annual New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Farm Bureau Insurance with post-game fireworks. See the full list of promotions here.

New Year’s Eve: With the exception of the 1999-00 season, Grand Rapids has hosted a game on New Year’s Eve every year since the franchise’s inception in 1996 as Monday marks the 22nd annual New Year’s Eve Celebration and the 19th consecutive calendar closer. The Griffins post a 10-9-1-1 (0.524) record on NYE and beat Milwaukee 4-3 in overtime last season. Monday’s tilt will mark the fourth time Grand Rapids and Rockford have met to bring in the New Year, with the Griffins owning a 2-0-0-1 record (3-1 W in 2012, 2-3 SOL in 2014, 5-2 W in 2016). The most lopsided game on NYE came during the 2008-09 season when Grand Rapids shut out Iowa, 6-0 at Van Andel Arena.

Friendly Confines: The Griffins have points in 13 of their first 16 games at Van Andel Arena (10-3-1-2) and had their eight-game point streak (6-0-1-1) ended with a loss to Cleveland last Wednesday. The eight-game run was the longest since an eight-gamer from Nov. 25, 2016-Jan. 4, 2017 (6-0-0-2). The Griffins’ 23 points at home ties for third in the AHL. Grand Rapids is a +10 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.50 goals, compared to -8 and 2.69 on enemy ice.

‘Tis the Season: Grand Rapids has suffered just three regulation losses at home in December since Dec. 10, 2014, going 18-3-3-3 (0.778) in its last 27 games on home ice during the last month on the calendar. The Griffins have notched an overall winning mark in December in eight consecutive seasons, showing a 64-33-9-7 (0.637) combined record since 2010-11.

Back Up Terr: The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 20 and has found twine five times in the last eight games. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career. He is also one of three active AHL players with 200 or more career goals. In the last 15 contests, he has accumulated 16 points (9-7—16). Terry’s eight goals in the month of December tie for the most in the league and his 12 points tie for seventh.

AHL's Active Goal Leaders:
1) Chris Bourque (BRI) - 242
2) Chris Terry - 203
3) Chris Mueller (TOR) - 202

Most Goals by Christmas in Griffins History:

Puemped Up: After missing two games due to a league-issued suspension, Matt Puempel has three points in his last two outings (1-2—3). The second-year Griffin has collected points in six of his last seven games, banking eight (3-5—8) in that span. Puempel places second on the club with 13 goals and ties for second with 24 points.

Zadina Joins Czech Republic for WJC: The Red Wings last Thursday reassigned rookie forward Filip Zadina from the Griffins to the Czech Republic U20 National Team for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship. Born in Pardubice, Czech Republic, the 19-year-old is representing his country at the tournament that is currently underway and lasts until Jan. 5, 2019 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Zadina was named to the WJC All-Star Team at the 2018 event in Buffalo, N.Y., after recording eight points, including a team-high seven goals, in seven tournament games. Selected sixth overall in this year’s NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and the highest Red Wings draft pick to ever play for the Griffins, Zadina has accounted for 17 points (8-9—17) and 10 penalty minutes in 27 games during his first full professional season. The last player to leave the Griffins mid-season to compete in the World Junior Championship was Tomas Tatar in 2009-10. He tallied five points (3-2—5) in six games for Slovakia.

A Harri Situation: Harri Sateri has points in seven of his last eight starts (6-1-1) and his 10 victories on the season tie for eighth in the AHL.

Rybar Supports: In his last four starts, Patrik Rybar shows a 2.03 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage to go along with a 1-2-1 record. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar places fourth in the AHL with a 2.39 GAA.

Page Turner: Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson ties for the league lead with three shorthanded goals. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15. Elson is the 21st player in team history to log three or more SHG in a season. He has reached the double-digit goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and first since 2015-16. With 24 points, Elson has already bettered his output from 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP) and is on pace for 65, which would more than double his previous best of 30. Elson shows 10 points (5-5—10) in his last nine games and 18 (8-10—18) in his last 16. He has missed the last four games due to injury.

Milestones Within Reach:
Jake Chelios – needs three points to reach 100 in the AHL
Derek Hulak – needs five points to reach 100 in the AHL
Dominik Shine – needs two games played to reach 100 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs four goals to reach 100 in the AHL, needs four assists to reach 100 in the AHL

Cleveland Notes: Current record 16-11-4-0, 36 points, 3rd North Division…Grand Rapids has points in nine of the last 11 meetings (7-2-0-2)…Cleveland’s 3-1 win on Dec. 19 snapped Grand Rapids’ five-game point and four-game winning streaks in the series…Grand Rapids claimed the first meeting of the season on Nov. 4 in Ohio by an 8-4 margin and concluded the game with six unanswered goals…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight of the last 11 meetings (7-3-0-1)…At Quicken Loans Arena, Grand Rapids is on a six-game point streak (4-0-0-2)…As part of the league’s realignment last summer, Cleveland moved to the Eastern Conference’s North Division, while San Antonio and Texas joined the Central…The Griffins and Monsters meet four times this season, a stark decrease compared to recent years when the squads squared off eight times in 2017-18, 12 in 2016-17, 18 in 2015-16 (including playoffs) and 10 in 2014-15…Head coach Ben Simon is a native of Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb…Captain Matthew Ford spent most of his first three pro seasons (2008-11) with the Monsters, totaling 69 points (39-30—69) in 126 appearances...First-year Griffin Carter Camper is from Rocky River, a Cleveland suburb…Appearing in 53 games with the Monsters last season, Camper posted 42 points (13-29—42) and finished the season as Cleveland’s leading scorer, despite being traded to Tucson on Feb. 26…Colin Campbell has two career hat tricks and both have come against Cleveland (12/26/15 away and 4/14/18 home).

Rockford Notes: Current record 15-11-2-4, 36 points, 5th Central Division…Rockford’s 2-1 win on Dec. 16 snapped Grand Rapids’ eight-game point streak in the series (5-0-2-1)…Grand Rapids has points in each of the last six meetings on home ice (5-0-1-0) and in 10 of the last 11 (9-1-1-0)…Since the 2012-13 campaign, Grand Rapids is 22-4-2-1 (0.810) against the IceHogs at the Van and 11-13-1-4 (0.466) at Rockford…Turner Elson, Chris Terry and Filip Zadina all have two goals in the season series to lead the Griffins…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)…AHL firsts vs. RFD: Givani Smith first goal (Dec. 7, 2018 at RFD), Colin Campbell first goal (March 29, 2014 vs. RFD), Jake Chelios first point (April 18, 2014 at RFD) and Vili Saarijarvi debut and first point (Oct. 28, 2017 at RFD)...Derek Hulak made his Griffins debut at Rockford on Dec. 7 and potted a goal.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 17 wins and 15 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back to Backs: This weekend will mark the 11th of 26 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights. Grand Rapids has won seven of its last eight on the second night.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins