First-Place Griffins to Renew Hunting and Fishing Licenses

This Week’s Games
Manitoba Moose at GRIFFINS // Wed., Jan. 23 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home, 4-1-0-0 Overall. Sixth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 30-12-1-1-5 Home, 60-29-1-1-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has won nine of the last 10 regular season meetings, including three in a row.

San Jose Barracuda at GRIFFINS // Fri., Jan. 25 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
San Jose Barracuda at GRIFFINS // Sat., Jan. 26 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: ESPN 96.1 FM at 6:35 on Friday, WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 1-1-0-0 Home, 2-1-0-1 Overall
NHL Affiliation: San Jose Sharks
Noteworthy: After dropping the inaugural meeting between the teams on Jan. 27, 2017, the Griffins have points in each of the last three regular season matchups (2-0-0-1) including a sweep in last year’s two-game series.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 16 GRIFFINS 2 at Chicago Wolves 5 21-13-3-4 (49 points, T2nd Central Division)
Fri., Jan. 18 GRIFFINS 3 at Rockford IceHogs 1 22-13-3-4 (51 points, 1st Central)
Sat., Jan. 19 Milwaukee Admirals 0 at GRIFFINS 3 23-13-3-4 (53 points, 1st Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins are tied with the Iowa Wild atop the Central Division standings with a 23-13-3-4 record (53 points). Grand Rapids is 4-2-0-2 in 2019 and shows points in 11 of its last 13 outings (8-2-1-2). The Griffins wrap up a four-game homestand this week against the Manitoba Moose and San Jose Barracuda before pausing for the AHL all-star break.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry (41)
Goals: Terry (23)
Assists: Carter Camper (23)
Plus-Minus: Turner Elson (+14)
PIM: Dylan McIlrath (46)
Wins: Harri Sateri (13)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.30)
Save %: Rybar (0.913)

Last Week’s Notes:
Wednesday at Chicago – Grand Rapids had its three-game winning streak against Chicago snapped and is 3-2-0-0 in the season series…The Griffins are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 trips to Allstate Arena...Dominic Turgeon scored his fourth goal of the season 2:02 into the game and rookie Givani Smith notched his second at 14:13 of the middle period...Patrik Rybar had his five-game point streak ended (3-0-2) after stopping 22 of 26 shots...Grand Rapids finished 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Recap | Highlights

Friday at Rockford – Grand Rapids won at Rockford for the first time since March 25, 2017, snapping an eight-game winless streak inside the BMO Harris Bank Center (0-4-1-3)...Jake Chelios scored his first goal as a Griffin at 2:00 in the second period and added an assist for his second multi-point game of the season...Wade Megan factored in to all three of Grand Rapids’ goals by assisting on Chelios’ goal and then tallying the game-winner at 10:33 in the third period and an empty-netter at 19:57...Harri Sateri turned aside 29 shots and has stopped 70 of 73 (0.959) in his last two outings. Recap

Saturday vs. Milwaukee – Grand Rapids improved to 4-1-0-1 in the 10-game season series…Patrik Rybar stopped all 24 shots he faced to notch his first shutout in North America…It was the Griffins’ first regular season shutout since March 11, 2018 at Hershey and first at home since Feb. 18, 2017 vs. San Antonio…The capacity crowd of 10,834 marked the Griffins’ third sellout of the season…Matt Puempel produced his 100th career AHL goal and added an assist…Wade Megan tallied his second consecutive multi-point game with a power play goal and an assist…Second-year defenseman Vili Saarijarvi skated in his 100th North American pro game. Recap | Highlights

This Week’s Promotions: Wednesday against Manitoba 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. On Friday against San Jose, fans can enjoy $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last. On Saturday, the first 2,500 fans will receive a Joe Hicketts bobblehead, courtesy of Michigan Office Solutions. Read the full list of promos here.

Friendly Confines: The Griffins are on a five-game point streak at Van Andel Arena (4-0-0-1) and have picked up points in 13 of their last 14 (10-1-1-2) on home ice. Grand Rapids is 14-3-1-3 overall inside friendly confines this season, ranking among the AHL’s home leaders with 32 points (T3rd), 14 wins (4th) and a 0.762 points percentage (T2nd). Grand Rapids is a +17 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.48 goals and operating at a 21.95% on the power play, compared to -11, 2.68 and 8.25% on enemy ice. In the last four games at the Van, the Griffins’ power play is 7-for-17 (41.2%).

Griffins in General: The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee last Saturday marked Grand Rapids’ 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 950-642-27-54-112 (0.586) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 290 regular season wins and 627 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (299 wins, 643 points) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (288 wins, 620 points).

Wading Back In: Since being assigned by Detroit on Jan. 3, Wade Megan has collected points in six of his eight games back in Grand Rapids’ lineup. His 10 points (5-5—10) in 2019 are tops on the team while his plus-seven rating ties Matthew Ford for a club high. The first-year Griffin shows five points (3-2—5) in the previous two games, and his three-point effort at Rockford last Friday marked his first three-point outing since Dec. 30, 2017 (1-2—3, CHI vs. RFD). Megan has either scored or assisted on five of Grand Rapids’ last six goals. The 172nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with Detroit on Nov. 1 vs. New Jersey, Megan has appeared in 11 games with the Red Wings this season over two stints and picked up one assist while averaging 7:52 of ice time.

Puemped Up: Matt Puempel collected his team-leading 13th multi-point game of the season in last Saturday’s victory against Milwaukee and his first-period goal marked his 100th career AHL tally. The sixth-year pro also notched his 100th career AHL assist and his 200th AHL point on Jan. 12 vs. Belleville. He places second on the team in both goals (17) and points (35). Puempel’s team-high 137 shots tie for second in the league.

Rybar Supports: Patrik Rybar has points in six of his last seven games (4-1-2) and shows a 1.95 GAA and a 0.929 save percentage in that stretch. Rybar, who led the Czech Extraliga with seven shutouts last season, recorded his first shutout on North American soil after stopping 24 shots in last Saturday’s victory. He ranks third in the AHL with a 2.30 overall GAA.

You’re a Wizard, Harri: Harri Sateri has points in 11 of his last 13 starts (9-2-2) and has allowed two goals or fewer in four of his last six. He’s stopped 70 of 73 shots (0.959) in his last two. Sateri’s 13 wins on the season tie for 10th in the league.

Model Year: Captain Matt Ford is on a three-game assist streak and has collected points in six of the last eight games (2-4—6). His six points in the new year tie for third on the team while his plus-seven rating is tied for the club’s best. The 11th-year pro needs one more point to notch 400 in the AHL (193-206—399).

2019 AHL All-Star Classic Coming Up on Jan. 27-28: The Griffins will be represented at the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic in Springfield, Mass., by their top point producer and the league’s leading goal scorer, Chris Terry. The AHL All-Star Skills Competition will be held on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. and the All-Star Challenge will be the following night at 7 p.m. Both will be televised live on NHL Network. More information can be found here.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr: The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry sits atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 23. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career and is on pace to become just the third Griffin ever to bank 40 or more goals in a single season. He is bidding to join Teemu Pulkkinen (34 in 2014-15) and Donald MacLean (56 in 2005-06) as the only Griffins to lead the league in goals. He ties for seventh in the league with 41 points overall. Selected to play for the Central Division at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, Terry has earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

AHL's Active Goal Leaders:
1) Chris Bourque (BRI) - 242
2) Chris Mueller (TOR) - 208
3) Chris Terry - 206

Happy Camper: Carter Camper has recorded an assist on each of the Griffins’ last five power play goals. He leads the team with 23 assists.

Page Turner: Turner Elson places fourth on the team with 28 points (12-16—28) and is just two shy of matching 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. He has also bettered his output from his first season with the Griffins in 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). Elson has all three of the Griffins’ shorthanded goals this season, which ties for second in the AHL. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15.

Z-Score: Since returning to the Griffins after representing the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship, rookie forward Filip Zadina has recorded three points (2-1—3) in six games. The sixth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, the 19-year-old leads the Griffins with four multi-goal outings and is one of five Griffins with 10 or more tallies. Among AHL rookies, Zadina ties for 18th in goals.

Milestones Within Reach:
Turner Elson – needs four games played to reach 100 as a Griffin
Carter Camper – needs four goals to reach 100 in the AHL, needs three goals to reach 100 as a pro
Wade Megan – needs one point to reach 200 as a pro, needs two games played to reach 350 in the AHL
Derek Hulak – needs four points to reach 100 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs one point to reach 400 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs three games played to reach 100 as a Griffin

Manitoba Notes: Current record 19-18-2-1, 41 points, 8th Central Division…Sixth of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids has won nine of the last 10 regular season meetings, including three in a row…The Griffins are outscoring Manitoba 34-16 in the last 10 games…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16 following a four-year hiatus, the Griffins are 16-5 vs. Manitoba, including 9-3 at Bell MTS Place and 7-2 at Van Andel Arena…With a rivalry dating to 1996-97 and the International Hockey League, the Griffins and Moose will meet up for the 99th time in the regular season on Wednesday…In the most recent meeting on Dec. 22 in Winnipeg, Tyler Spezia notched his first AHL goal, Chris Terry scored his 20th and Patrik Rybar made 25 saves as the Griffins earned their 60th all-time win over Manitoba with a 3-1 victory…In the only meeting at Van Andel Arena this season, Carter Camper netted an overtime goal just 35 seconds in to help the Griffins to a 3-2 victory…Terry has six goals among eight points through five meetings this season, both of which are the most for either team…Camper adds a series-high five assists among six points in five games…Rybar is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a 0.962 against Manitoba while Harri Sateri is 2-1-0 to go along with a 2.99 GAA and a 0.880 save percentage…Grand Rapids is 17-for-17 on the penalty kill against the Moose…The Moose are on a seven-game point streak (6-0-0-1)…The league’s leader in saves (870), Eric Comrie was named the AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 20 after showing a 1.72 GAA, a 0.949 save percentage and a 4-0-0 record in four starts last week…Former Michigan State Spartan Mason Appleton and Logan Shaw were selected to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic…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.

San Jose Notes: Current record 23-8-2-3, 51 points, 1st Pacific Division…First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena…San Jose’s 0.708 points percentage leads the Western Conference…The Griffins and Barracuda are matching up for just the fifth time in the regular season…After dropping the inaugural meeting between the teams on Jan. 27, 2017, at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in each of the last three regular season matchups (2-0-0-1) including a sweep of last year’s two-game series…In the last meeting on March 30, 2018, the Griffins were pushed to a 3-2 shootout win after a fourth-round goal by Matt Puempel…Grand Rapids will make the return trip to the Bay Area April 5-6…San Jose will be making its first trip of the season to the Eastern time zone…San Jose is 10-4-1-2 on the road this season, but just 2-2-1-1 in away games outside the state of California…The Barracuda’s eight regulation losses and 36 games played are both the fewest in the AHL…The Griffins have welcomed a team from the Golden State to Van Andel Arena 11 times previously in the regular season, showing a 1-3 mark vs. Long Beach in the IHL, 1-1 vs. San Jose, 1-0-0-1 vs. Stockton, 1-0 vs. San Diego, 0-1 vs. Ontario and 0-1 vs. Bakersfield…Grand Rapids is 0-1 against the Pacific Division this season, falling 4-3 at home to Ontario on Nov. 16…Roy Sommer is in his league-record 21st season as an AHL head coach and all have been in the Sharks organization…Sommer is the AHL’s all-time head coaching leader in games coached and wins, entering 2018-19 with a 725 wins and 1,548 games coached…Rookie netminder Josef Korenar places second in the league with a 2.22 GAA…Korenar, Jacob Middleton and Francis Perron were selected to the Pacific Division team, which will be coached by Sommer, for the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic…San Jose leads the league with 2.58 goals against per game…Of the Barracuda’s 36 games, they have been leading after two periods in 22 of them (21-0-0-1 record)…Captain Matthew Ford is from West Hills in southern California.

Sommer Time in Grand Rapids: Oakland native Roy Sommer, who is in his 21st season as bench boss of the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, appeared in 54 games with the Grand Rapids Owls across two seasons (1977-78, 1979-80) and amassed 43 points (21-22—43). Sommer also played two seasons with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (1985-87), totaling 40 points (19-21—40) and 328 PIM in 92 games. His coaching career began as an assistant with the Lumberjacks during the 1987-88 season.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 23 wins and 20 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back to Backs: This weekend will mark the 15th of 26 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights. Grand Rapids has won 10 of its last 12 on the second night and five of the last six.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins