This Week’s Games
Cleveland Monsters at GRIFFINS // Wed., Dec. 19 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 1-0-0-0 Overall. Second of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 29-14-1-2 Home, 51-28-4-10 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has points in nine of the last 10 meetings (7-1-0-2), including five in a row (4-0-0-1) and four straight victories.

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Fri., Dec. 21 // 8 p.m. EST // Bell MTS Place
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sat., Dec. 22 // 3 p.m. EST // Bell MTS Place
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, ESPN 96.1 FM at 2:35 on Saturday
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Road, 2-1-0-0 Overall. Fourth and fifth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at Bell MTS Place
All-Time Series: 28-17-0-0-2 Road, 58-29-1-1-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has won seven of the last eight regular season meetings.

Last Week’s Results
Tue., Dec. 11 GRIFFINS 2 at Milwaukee Admirals 5 14-9-1-2 (31 points, 3rd Central Division)
Fri., Dec. 14 Rockford IceHogs 3 at GRIFFINS 2 OT 14-9-2-2 (32 points, 3rd Central)
Sat., Dec. 15 Milwaukee Admirals 4 at GRIFFINS 5 SO 15-9-2-2 (34 points, 3rd Central)
Sun., Dec. 16 GRIFFINS 1 at Rockford IceHogs 2 15-10-2-2 (34 points, 3rd Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins are situated in third place in the Central Division standings with a 15-10-2-2 (34 points) overall mark. Grand Rapids earned three points in its four games last week. The Griffins have still been on an impressive run the last 22 games, recording points in 17 of those (13-5-2-2). Grand Rapids hosts Cleveland on Wednesday and then will head north of the border for a two-game weekend set at Manitoba before breaking for the holiday.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry (29)
Goals: Terry (18)
Assists: Carter Camper (15)
Plus-Minus: Turner Elson (+12)
PIM: Dominik Shine (34)
Wins: Harri Sateri (9)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.52)
Save %: Rybar (0.902)

Last Week’s Notes:
Tuesday at Milwaukee – The Griffins allowed three unanswered goals over the game’s final 23:24...Grand Rapids recorded a season-high 31 PIM...The Griffins’ seven-game regular season winning streak at Milwaukee came to a close as Grand Rapids lost in Wisconsin for the first time since March 19, 2017...Tom McCollum earned his first win against his former club in his third career appearance after stopping 26 of 28 shots...Turner Elson picked up a goal and an assist and Matt Puempel contributed a power play tally. Recap | Highlights
Friday vs. Rockford – Rockford has won the last two meetings by the same score in overtime…Grand Rapids is 3-2 in OT this season...Chris Terry scored on the power play to record his 200th career AHL goal...Turner Elson notched his team-leading third shorthanded goal of the campaign, which also ties for the league lead...After being assigned by Detroit earlier in the day, Brian Lashoff picked up an assist on Elson’s shorthanded marker...The Griffins had their five-game winning streak against the IceHogs at Van Andel Arena snapped, but still show points in each of the last six (5-0-1-0). Recap | Highlights
Saturday vs. Milwaukee – Grand Rapids twice rallied back from a two-goal deficit, trailing 2-0 at 2:27 of the first period and 4-2 at 11:04 of the second…The Griffins held Milwaukee to 16 shots overall, including two in the third period, and both matched season bests for attempts in a game and in a single frame...After allowing two goals in the opening 2:27, Grand Rapids notched two power play tallies in a 1:20 span later in the first stanza...Dominic Turgeon was the only scorer in the three-round shootout. Recap | Highlights
Sunday at Rockford – No goals were scored until the 11:31 mark of the third period…Chris Terry spoiled Collin Delia’s shutout bid at 19:50…Due to injury, suspension or recall, the Griffins were missing 43% of their offensive production…Grand Rapids outshot Rockford 38-29…The Griffins are winless in their last eight games (0-4-1-3) at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Recap | Highlights

This Week’s Promotions: Wednesday against Cleveland is 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. All fans who were in attendance for the Griffins’ win against the San Antonio Rampage on Dec. 5 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to this game. Read the full list of promos.

Among AHL’s Best Since Oct. 27: The Griffins are 13-5-2-2 since Oct. 27, tying for the third most wins and placing third in points in that time.

Most Wins
Charlotte - 15
Bridgeport - 14
Grand Rapids/Syracuse - 13

Most Points
Charlotte/Bridgeport - 31
Grand Rapids - 30

Friendly Confines: The Griffins have points in 13 of their first 15 games at Van Andel Arena (10-2-1-2), including in eight consecutive (6-0-1-1). The eight-game point streak is Grand Rapids’ longest since an eight-game run from Nov. 25, 2016-Jan. 4, 2017 (6-0-0-2). The Griffins’ 23 points at home is third in the AHL. Grand Rapids is a +12 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.67 goals, compared to –13 and 2.57 on enemy ice.

‘Tis the Season: Grand Rapids has suffered just two regulation losses at home in December since Dec. 10, 2014, going 18-2-3-3 (0.808) in its last 26 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 62-32-9-7 (0.636) 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 18 and has found twine six times in the last eight games. His power play tally last Friday marked his 200th career goal in the AHL. The 10th-year pro also shows points in 10 of the last 12 contests, accumulating 13 (7-6—13) in that span. Since Nov. 1, Terry has a league-high 15 goals and his 24 points in that period tie for fourth.

AHL's Active Goal Leaders
1) Chris Bourque (BRI) - 241
2) Chris Mueller (TOR) - 202
3) Chris Terry - 201

Central of Attention: The Griffins closed a stretch of playing 14 Central Division opponents in a row on Sunday at Rockford. During the span, Grand Rapids finished 8-3-2-1 (0.679) and climbed from seventh in the Central to its current position in third.

Page Turner: Sixth-year pro and second-year Griffin Turner Elson ties for the league lead with three shorthanded goals after picking up another one last Friday night. 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. Notching his 10th goal last Friday, he has reached double digits 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 the last nine games and 18 (8-10—18) in the last 16.

Between the Pipes: Harri Sateri has points in six of his last seven starts (5-1-1), including two wins in overtime and one in a shootout. Patrik Rybar has collected points in nine of 13 starts this season (6-4-3) – his first in North America – and is eighth in the AHL with a 2.52 GAA.

Shots, Shots, Shots: Grand Rapids is one of only four teams (Bakersfield, Texas, Tucson) to rank in the top 10 in both shots for (31.21, T10th) and against (27.03, 5th). The Griffins have out shot 19 of 29 opponents and have eclipsed the 40-shot mark on three occasions (Dec. 7 at RFD, Nov. 23 vs. MIL, Nov. 10 at MB).

First Things First: Three Griffins scored their first goals of the season in last Saturday’s come-from-behind victory against the Central Division-leading Milwaukee Admirals. Defenseman Trevor Hamilton, playing in his seventh career AHL game, banked his first AHL goal at 13:25 of the first period on the power play. Dylan Sadowy potted his first goal since Jan. 21, 2017 when he lit the lamp 1:01 into the third. Defenseman Joe Hicketts, who began the year with the Detroit Red Wings and was playing in his 19th AHL game of the season, picked a good time for his first of the year when he tied the game with 1:17 remaining in regulation.

Hronek and Lashoff Swap: The Red Wings last Friday recalled defenseman Filip Hronek from the Griffins and assigned Brian Lashoff to the Griffins. Hronek paces all Griffins defensemen in points (18), goals (5), assists (13) and PIM (28) in 20 games this season while adding a plus-six rating. Hronek has appeared in eight games with the Wings, tallying three points (1-2—3) and 18 PIM. Lashoff has not skated for Detroit this season but has appeared in 123 career games with the Red Wings since 2012-13, accounting for 13 points (2-11—13) and 57 PIM. He has four points (0-4—4) in 20 games with the Griffins.

Moore Recalled, Spezia Signed: The Griffins on Sunday recalled forward Bryan Moore from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and signed forward Tyler Spezia to a professional tryout. Both players made their Griffins debuts later that day at Rockford. For Spezia, a rookie, it was also his AHL debut.

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
Matt Puempel – needs one assist to reach 100 as a pro

Cleveland Notes: Current record 13-10-4-0, 30 points, 4th North Division…Grand Rapids has points in nine of the last 10 meetings (7-1-0-2), including five in a row (4-0-0-1) and four straight victories… The Griffins have scored 20 goals in the last three matchups and 24 in the last four…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight of the last 10 meetings (7-2-0-1), including wins in three of the last four…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 will 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).

Monster Mashing: In the first meeting between Grand Rapids and Cleveland on Nov. 4 in Ohio, the Griffins fell behind 4-2 at the 0:28 of the third period and then rallied to score six unanswered goals. The eight-goal total was Grand Rapids’ highest-scoring game since tallying nine at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. The six goals collected in the third frame was one shy of the franchise record for most goals in a period (seven at Chicago on Nov. 27, 2010). As a team, Grand Rapids finished with a +35 rating and 13 of 18 skaters notched at least a point. Filip Zadina and Dominik Shine both had two goals.

Manitoba Notes: Current record 11-14-2-0, 24 points, 8th Central Division…Grand Rapids has won seven of the last eight regular season meetings, including a six-game winning streak from Jan. 8-Nov. 8, 2018…In the last matchup on Nov. 17 at Van Andel Arena, Carter Camper scored the winner in overtime…Manitoba’s 6-2 win on Nov. 10 in Winnipeg snapped both Grand Rapids’ six-game winning streak overall in the series and six-game streak at Bell MTS Place…Chris Terry has four goals among five points in three meetings this season, both of which are the most for either side…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16 following a four-year hiatus, the Griffins are 14-5 vs. Manitoba, including 7-3 at Bell MTS Place…Grand Rapids and Manitoba have met 96 times in the regular season since 1996-97 when both were members of the International Hockey League…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’ 15 wins and 14 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back to Backs: This weekend will mark the 10th of 26 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights. Grand Rapids has won six of its last seven on the second night.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins