Closing Out 2019

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS vs. Milwaukee Admirals // Fri., Dec. 27 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Sat., Dec. 28 // 7 p.m. EST // UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. both nights
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-2-0-0 Home, 0-1-0-0 Road, 1-3-0-0 Overall. Fifth and sixth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at Van Andel Arena, second of five at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
All-Time Series: 54-32-2-2-3 Home, 45-35-5-5-5 Road, 99-67-7-7-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: Milwaukee leads the AHL with 49 points (22-4-3-2 record).

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Tue., Dec. 31 // 6 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 5:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Home, 1-2-0-0 Overall. Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 42-28-2-4-2 Home, 85-63-2-6-3 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Vegas Golden Knights
Noteworthy: Chicago has won the last two after Grand Rapids took the season opener.

Last Week’s Results
Tue., Dec. 17 | GRIFFINS 3 at San Diego Gulls 2 SO | 12-14-1-2 (27 pts., 7th Central Division)
Fri., Dec. 20 | GRIFFINS 2 at Iowa Wild 4 | 12-15-1-2 (27 pts., 7th Central)
Sat., Dec. 21 | GRIFFINS 3 at Iowa Wild 4 OT | 12-15-2-2 (28 pts., T6th Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins have points in five of the last seven outings (3-2-1-1) and concluded their 14-day, six-game road trip with a 3-2-1-0 record. Grand Rapids returns to Van Andel Arena on Friday for the first time since Dec. 6 to host the league-leading Milwaukee Admirals in the first half of a weekend home-and-home set. The Griffins round out the 2019 calendar year with a New Year’s Eve date against the Chicago Wolves.

Last Week’s Notes:
Tuesday at San Diego – Assigned by Detroit for conditioning, goalie Jimmy Howard stopped 30 of 32 shots and all three attempts in the shootout...Howard made his first appearance with the Griffins since March 7, 2017, when he also suited up during a conditioning loan…Howard collected his 17th shootout win as a Griffin to extend his franchise record...Eric Tangradi (PP, 3) and Evgeny Svechnikov (PP, 5) provided Grand Rapids’ goals in regulation...Taro Hirose was the only scorer for either team in the shootout...The Griffins picked up their first shootout win since March 19, 2019 at San Antonio...Grand Rapids finished 2-for-4 on the power play, 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and outshot San Diego 43-32. Recap

Friday at Iowa – While on a conditioning assignment by Detroit, Jimmy Howard made his second appearance of the season for the Griffins and rounded up 25 saves...Eric Tangradi (4) netted a power play goal for the second straight game and Dominik Shine (2) also scored…Matt Puempel made his return to the lineup after missing the last four due to injury and contributed an assist...Grand Rapids was outshot 29-28, finished 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Recap | Highlights

Saturday at Iowa – Grand Rapids is 0-1-2-0 in the season series…Taro Hirose (4), Eric Tangradi (5) and Chris Terry (13) scored for Grand Rapids…Tangradi has goals in three straight games…By adding an assist, Terry extended his team lead in goals, assists and points…Matt Puempel has three assists in his first two games back after missing the previous four due to injury…The Griffins outshot Iowa 34-29, finished 0-for-4 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. Recap | Highlights

Follow the Leaders:

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.

Rotating Roster: Including four goalies, the Griffins have used 36 players already before the halfway mark 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 57 times.

Ford Named Playing Captain: AHL President and CEO David Andrews announced last Wednesday that Matthew Ford will serve as one of the two playing captains for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic, to be held January 26-27 in Ontario, Calif. Hershey Bears forward Matt Moulson was also selected. 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).

Seider, Veleno Head to WJC: The Red Wings last Wednesday reassigned defenseman Moritz Seider from the Griffins to Germany’s U20 National Team and center Joe Veleno from the Griffins to Canada’s U20 National Team for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship. This marks the second consecutive year a player has left the Griffins mid-season to compete in the World Junior Championship after Filip Zadina represented the Czech Republic at the 2019 event. Tomas Tatar also suited up for Slovakia during his rookie campaign with Grand Rapids in 2009-10.

Road Trippin’: The Griffins picked up seven out of a possible 12 points during their season-high six-game road trip. Eric Tangradi (4-2—6) and Taro Hirose (3-3—6) led the team in scoring during the tour. Including this most recent trip, Grand Rapids has now posted a 0.500 record or better during each of its last seven road trips lasting six games or longer: 5-1-0-0 in 2018-19 (March 16-26), 3-2-0-2 in 2016-17 (Feb. 28-March 12), 4-2-0-1 in 2013-14 (March 13-28), 4-2-0-1 in 2012-13 (March 23-April 6), 3-3-0-0 in 2010-11 (Jan. 6-18), 4-1-0-1 in 2009-10 (March 12-25).

Rally Griffs: The Griffins only led for 42:03 during the trip but still posted a 3-2-1-0 record. Five of the six contests were decided by one, including three in overtime or a shootout, and Grand Rapids overcame a two-goal deficit twice.

Away for the Holidays: The Griffins play just four home games this month, their fewest in December in franchise history. Grand Rapids will make up for it in January as an eight-game homestand from Jan. 10-25 is the team’s longest since an eight-game stretch from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2006.

Time to Tango: Signed to a one-year contract by Grand Rapids 90 minutes prior to the opening faceoff against Rockford on Dec. 6, Eric Tangradi has seven points (5-2—7) in his first seven outings during his return to a Griffins uniform. His seven points tie for the team’s most in the month and his current three-game goal streak ties for the longest by a Griffin in 2019-20. A 2017 Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids, Tangradi ranks among the team’s all-time leaders with 171 points (9th), 81 goals (5th), 23 PPG (T8th), 14 GWG (4th), three OT goals (T3rd) and eight unassisted goals (T3rd) in 207 games since 2015-16. Tangradi posted nine points (5-4—9) in 22 games for Astana Barys of the KHL this season and spent the 2018-19 campaign in the New Jersey organization.

Tar-Oh!: Assigned by Detroit on Dec. 3, rookie Taro Hirose’s seven points (4-3—7) tie for the team lead in the month. He played hero twice on the recent road trip, notching the overtime-winner on Dec. 13 at Bakersfield and scoring the only goal in the shootout on Dec. 17 at San Diego.

Lights Out: Since the third period at Chicago on Nov. 27, Grand Rapids’ penalty killers have gone 41 for its last 42 (97.6%), which includes fending off 30 consecutive penalties. On Nov. 28, the Griffins sat 30th in the league in penalty killing and have since climbed into a tie for 12th.

Goalvani: Givani Smith shows 13 points (4-9—13) in 20 AHL games this season and has already equaled the production from his rookie campaign when he appeared in 64 contests (6-7—13). He ranks third on the team in December scoring with six points (1-5—6).

Back Up, Terr: Chris Terry ranks fifth in the AHL in points (30) while pacing the Griffins in goals (13), assists (17), multi-point games (10) and power play goals (8). 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.

Teenage Dream: The New Year’s Eve tilt against Chicago will put a bow on this decade for the Griffins. From 2010-19, the franchise’s second full decade, Grand Rapids posted captured its first two Calder Cups (2017, 2013), won two division championships (2012-13 and 2014-15) and collected a 402-280-37-45 record (0.580) (three games remaining). Of the 182 Griffins to play in the NHL, 74 came during this decade.

Ball Drop: 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 next Tuesday marks the 23rd annual New Year’s Eve Celebration and the 20th consecutive calendar closer. The Griffins post an 11-9-1-1 (0.545) record on NYE and beat Rockford 2-1 last season. Tuesday will be the third time Grand Rapids and Chicago have met to ring in the New Year (3-4 OTL in 2005, 4-1 W in 2000). The most lopsided game on NYE came during the 2008-09 season when Grand Rapids shut out Iowa, 6-0 at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins have sold out six consecutive New Year’s Eve clashes.

Milestones Within Reach:
Joe Hicketts – needs one game to reach 250 as a pro
Chris Terry – needs two games to reach 600 in the AHL and 100 as a Griffin. Needs nine points to reach 100 as a Griffin

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 977-671-27-60-114 (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’ 317 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign tie Providence for third, behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 319 and Toronto’s 335 while the Griffins’ 689 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (691), Providence (701) and Toronto (726)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Milwaukee Notes: Current record 22-4-3-2, 49 points, 1st Central Division…The Griffins are 5-5-0-0 in the last 10 matchups overall…Grand Rapids has points in five of the last eight meetings at Van Andel Arena (4-3-0-1)…Despite their last two visits to Panther Arena resulting in 5-0 wins for the Admirals, the Griffins have won 10 of the last 13 matchups in Wisconsin…Since the Admirals moved to Panther Arena at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign, the Griffins are 12-5 at Milwaukee in the regular season…Since 2013-14, the Griffins are 40-21-2-1 against the Admirals, including 21-10-1-1 at home and 19-11-1-0 away…In his career, Calvin Pickard is 9-6-2 with a 2.49 GAA, 0.913 save mark and one shutout in 18 appearances against Milwaukee…Pickard’s older brother, Chet, appeared in 43 games with Milwaukee from 2009-11 and registered 15 wins to go along with a 2.86 GAA, 0.893 save percentage and one shutout…As an Admiral, goaltender Troy Grosenick, a Wisconsin native, is 6-3-1 with a 1.60 GAA, 0.951 save percentage and one shutout in 10 games against the Griffins…The Griffins and Admirals began their rivalry in 1996-97 in the International Hockey League and Milwaukee is Grand Rapids’ most frequent opponent as the two will clash for the 189th and 190th times this weekend…Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4)…The Griffins own 99 regular season wins against the Admirals, the most of any foe…In its history, Grand Rapids has squared off against 57 different teams since 1996-97 and next in line in terms of wins versus opponents are Chicago (85-63-2-6-3) and Manitoba (63-33-1-1-7).

Chicago Notes: Current record 14-16-2-0, 30 points, T4th Central Division…Chicago has won the last two after Grand Rapids took the season opener…Both in the last 10 overall and at home against Chicago, the Griffins are 4-6-0-0…The Wolves have won the last three at Van Andel Arena…Evgeny Svechnikov (2-3—5 in 3 GP) leads Grand Rapids in the series…Both Chicago and Grand Rapids are 4-for-11 (36.4%) on the power play against each other…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 159 times in the regular season, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 188)…Second-year head coach Ben Simon and Wolves’ third-year bench boss Rocky Thompson are both members of Todd Nelson’s coaching tree…Simon was an assistant under Nelson in Grand Rapids from 2015-18 and won the 2017 Calder Cup…Thompson served on Nelson’s staff in Oklahoma City from 2010-14 as an assistant…As part of his 11-year professional playing career, Simon registered 87 points (37-50—87) in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of Chicago’s first Calder Cup title in 2002.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 12 wins and 19 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back-to-Back: This weekend will mark the 11th of 25 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights.

Photo at top by Iowa Wild