This Week’s Game
GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Fri., March 1 // 8 p.m. EST // BMO Harris Bank Center
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-1-1-0 Road, 3-1-3-0 Overall. Eighth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at the BMO Harris Bank Center
All-Time Series: 14-20-3-6 Road, 43-30-6-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: Five of the seven games this season have been decided by one goal, including three in overtime.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Feb. 20 Rockford IceHogs 3 at GRIFFINS 2 OT 30-16-4-4 (68 points, 1st Central Division)
Fri., Feb. 22 Texas Stars 3 at GRIFFINS 4 SO 31-16-4-4 (70 points, 1st Central)
Sat., Feb. 23 GRIFFINS 2 at Chicago Wolves 3 31-17-4-4 (70 points, 1st Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins took three out of a possible six points last week and continue to lead the Central Division by two points with 70 to go along with a 31-17-4-4 overall record. Grand Rapids has points in six of its last eight outings (5-2-1-0) and wins in 10 of its last 15. The Griffins have just one game on their slate this week, a Friday night affair at the Rockford IceHogs. Grand Rapids is in the midst of facing 20 consecutive Central Division foes.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry (47)
Goals: Terry (24)
Assists: Carter Camper (28)
Plus-Minus: Jake Chelios (+15)
PIM: Dylan McIlrath (68)
Wins: Harri Sateri (18)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.36)
Save %: Rybar (0.914)

Last Week’s Notes:
Wednesday vs. Rockford – Rockford rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to tie the game before Luke Johnson scored the winner in overtime with 0.6 seconds remaining...Grand Rapids has points in eight in a row against the IceHogs at Van Andel Arena (6-0-2-0)...Three of the seven meetings this season have been decided in overtime, with Rockford winning 3-2 every time…GR has been tied with its opponent after regulation 16 times this season...Wade Megan scored his 13th goal of the season 1:21 into the game while Matt Puempel lit the lamp at 18:06 of the first for his 19th and team-leading sixth on the power play...Rookie Filip Zadina picked up an assist on Megan’s goal to extend his point streak to a season-high six games...Rookie Dennis Cholowski has an assist in each of his first three Griffins games this season. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Texas – Grand Rapids has won three straight games against the Stars...The Griffins saw their third consecutive contest tied after regulation...Derek Hulak scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout...Givani Smith (4), Libor Sulak (3) and Turner Elson (PP, 13) all tallied goals in regulation...Patrik Rybar stopped a season-high 34 shots...The Griffins finished their season-high seven-game homestand with a 5-1-1-0 record and averaged 8,710 fans during that stretch. Recap | Highlights

Saturday at Chicago – Grand Rapids is 3-4 in the season series with the Wolves winning the last three…Matt Puempel (20) and Wade Megan (14) tallied goals…Puempel leads the team with five goals in the season series…The Griffins played their first road game since Feb. 1 at San Antonio…Grand Rapids finished 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Recap | Highlights

Griffins in General: Grand Rapids became the first team in the Western Conference to hit the 70-point plateau after a 4-3 shootout win against Texas on Feb. 22...The Griffins became the fifth team in the league this season to reach 30 victories after a 3-2 OTW vs. San Antonio on Feb. 16...Grand Rapids achieved 30 Ws or more in its first 53 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons...The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 958-646-27-55-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 298 regular season wins and 644 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (307 / 663) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (294 / 634).

Friendly Confines: The Griffins have points in 13 of their last 15 contests at home (11-2-1-1), including wins in six of eight. With a 21-5-2-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins lead the league in both home wins (21) and points (47) while placing third in points percentage (0.758). GR is a +21 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.19 goals and operating at 19.38% on the power play, compared to -12, 2.64 and 8.49% on enemy ice. Chris Terry (12-16—28), Carter Camper (9-19—28) and Filip Zadina (12-14—26) lead the team in scoring at home. Harri Sateri is 13-2-1 at Van Andel Arena with a 2.28 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 8-3-4 with a 2.29 GAA and a 0.918 save mark.

Road Trippin’: After a four-game winless stretch on the road (0-3-1-0) from Dec. 7-16, the Griffins have points in seven of their last 11 on foreign ice (5-4-1-1) and are a +2 in goal differential in that span. Grand Rapids will play 13 of its final 20 games in enemy territory, including a season-high six-game road swing from March 16-26. In fact, after their seven-game homestand concluded on Feb. 22, the Griffins play just seven more contests at Van Andel Arena in the season’s final 50 days. Chris Terry (12-7—19) and Matt Puempel (8-10—18) pace the team in scoring in away contests.

Zadina Debuts: Rookie Filip Zadina became the 176th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Red Wings during their 5-3 loss vs. San Jose at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday. Zadina finished with one shot in 10:38 of ice time. Zadina is currently on a season-high seven-game point streak with the Griffins (4-5—9).

And 1: The Griffins have played four consecutive one-goal games, showing a 2-1-1-0 record. For the season, Grand Rapids is 13-3-4-4 in games decided by a single tally.

Wade For It: In 19 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (19), goals (11) and plus-minus (+11), while placing fourth in assists (8). He notched his second career hat trick (Dec. 28, 2016, CHI at RFD) on Feb. 15 vs. San Antonio, and it also marked the first three-goal game by a Griffin since Colin Campbell on April 14, 2018 vs. CLE.

You’re a Wizard, Harri: Harri Sateri has points in eight of his last 10 starts (7-2-1) and shows a 1.88 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage in that span. His 2.26 GAA in the new year ties for 10th among goalies with 500 or more minutes in that time frame. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for seventh in the league.

Rybar Supports: Patrik Rybar has points in nine of his last 12 games (7-3-2) and shows a 2.21 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar ranks fourth in the AHL with a 2.36 overall GAA.

Puemped Up: Matt Puempel paces the team with 14 multi-point efforts in 51 GP. In comparison, he had 15 in 62 GP last season. The sixth-year pro also leads the club with six PPGs. He ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (20) and points (42) and his team-high 183 shots tie for second in the league. In his sixth season pro, Puempel has reached the 20-goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and in back-to-back campaigns after depositing 23 last season.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr: The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry ties for fifth on the league’s goal leaderboard with 24. The 10th-year pro has achieved 20 goals for the sixth time in his AHL career. With a team-high 47 points overall, he ties for 16th on the circuit in scoring. Competing for the Central Division at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, Terry earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

AHL's Active Goal Leaders:
1) Chris Bourque (BRI) - 248
2) Chris Mueller (TOR) - 213
3) Chris Terry - 207

Page Turner: Turner Elson snapped a 14-game scoreless streak with a power play goal at 19:59 of the first period last Friday. Elson places fifth on the team with 29 points (13-16—29) and is just one shy of leveling his career high of 30, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Sixteen assists has already equaled his career best total from 2015-16.

Milestones Within Reach:
Vili Saarijarvi – needs four games to reach 100 as a Griffin
Axel Holmstrom – needs one point to reach 50 as a Griffin
Carter Camper – needs one goal to reach 100 in the AHL, needs five games played to reach 500 as a pro
Wade Megan – needs two assists to reach 100 as a pro, needs five games played to reach 400 as a pro
Dominic Turgeon – needs four games played to reach 200 as a Griffin
Jake Chelios – needs two games played to reach 300 as a pro
Derek Hulak – needs three points to reach 100 in the AHL
Colin Campbell – needs one game played to reach 300 in the AHL, needs seven points to reach 100 as a Griffin
Matthew Ford – needs one point to reach 400 in the AHL, needs seven points to reach 100 as a Griffin
Matt Puempel – needs four points to reach 100 as a Griffin

Rockford Notes: Current record 26-22-3-6, 61 points, 4th Central Division…Eighth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at the BMO Harris Bank Center…Five of the seven games this season have been decided by one goal, including three in overtime…No team has scored more than three goals in a game in this year’s series…Grand Rapids has points in 11 of the last 12 meetings overall (7-1-3-1), including an eight-game streak that lasted from Dec. 23, 2017-Dec. 14, 2018…Grand Rapids snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-4-1-3) at the BMO Harris Bank Center with a 3-1 victory during its last visit there on Jan. 18, winning at Rockford for the first time since March 25, 2017…At Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in eight in a row (6-0-2-0) and in 12 of the last 13 (10-1-2-0)…In the most recent matchup on Feb. 20 at Van Andel Arena, Rockford rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to tie the game before Luke Johnson scored the winner in overtime with 0.6 seconds remaining…Wade Megan (3-1—4 in 2 GP), Chris Terry (2-2—4 in 5 GP) and Matt Puempel (1-3—4 in 6 GP) tie for the team lead in scoring in the series…Harri Sateri is 2-0-2 against the IceHogs this season with a 1.93 GAA and 0.937 save percentage...Patrik Rybar has a 1-1-1 record vs. Rockford, tallying a 2.01 GAA and 0.926 save percentage...AHL firsts coming 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.

Rockford Connections: 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)…King and Ben Simon were both assistant coaches with the Toronto Marlies in 2014-15...Simon also served as an assistant coach with the IceHogs during the 2012-13 season.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 31 wins and 25 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back to Backs: Grand Rapids will play on back-to-back nights a total of 26 times this season.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins