GRIFFINS (21-13-3-4) at Rockford IceHogs (16-17-3-5)

Griffins Game #42 * Road Game #22 * AHL Game #612

Season Series: 2-1-2-0 Home Series: 2-0-1-0 Road Series: 0-1-1-0
All-Time Series: 42-30-5-8 All-Time Home Series: 29-10-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 13-20-3-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Sixth of 10 meetings overall, third of five at the BMO Harris Bank Center…Each of the last four games have been decided by one goal, including two in overtime...Grand Rapids has points in nine of the last 10 meetings overall (6-1-2-1), including an eight-game streak that lasted from Dec. 23, 2017-Dec. 14, 2018…In the most recent matchup on New Year’s Eve at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins snapped a three-game winless streak (0-1-2-0) against Rockford with a 2-1 victory, thanks to Joe Hicketts tallying the game-winning goal with 4:44 remaining in regulation and Harri Sateri making 31 saves…In the last meeting in Illinois on Dec. 16, the IceHogs scored the game’s first two goals at 11:31 and 16:03 of the third period and goaltender Collin Delia recorded 37 saves to help Rockford to a 2-1 win...Chris Terry has a team-high four points (2-2—4) in five games vs. Rockford…Facing Rockford, Sateri is 1-0-1 with a 1.93 GAA and a 0.940 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 1-1-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage…Andrew Campbell (captain) and Delia were selected to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic…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...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.

Nightmare on Elm Street
The Griffins have perhaps felt Illinoyed playing at the BMO Harris Bank Center lately, as they are winless in their last eight trips (0-4-1-3) to the building that sits on Elm Street in downtown Rockford and have not come out with a victory since March 25, 2017 (4-0 W). On the flip side, Grand Rapids has points in seven in a row (6-0-1-0) over the ‘Hogs at Van Andel Arena and in 11 of the last 12 (10-1-1-0). Since the 2012-13 campaign, Grand Rapids is 23-4-2-1 (0.817) against the IceHogs at the Van and 11-13-1-4 (0.466) at Rockford.

Last Game (Wednesday): Griffins 2 at Wolves 5 - Read the full recap here
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.

Status Update
Following a 5-2 loss at Chicago on Wednesday, the Griffins were knocked down from their perch atop the Central Division standings and now tie Iowa for second with a 21-13-3-4 record (49 points), trailing the first-place Wolves by one. Grand Rapids is 2-2-0-2 to begin 2019 and shows points in nine of its last 11 outings (6-2-1-2). Grand Rapids finishes up its two-game tour through Illinois with a trip to the Rockford IceHogs tonight before returning to Van Andel Arena tomorrow to play the Milwaukee Admirals and kick off a four-game homestand.

Griffins in General
The Griffins need just two wins to notch 950 in franchise history in the regular season, showing a 948-642-27-54-112 all-time record (0.586) since 1996-97...Grand Rapids’ 288 regular season wins and 623 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (297 wins, 639 points) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (287 wins, 618 points).

Saari, Not Saari
Second-year pro Vili Saarijarvi shows four points (1-3—4) in the last two games, buoyed by his first career multi-point performance (1-2—3) in last Saturday’s 5-2 victory against Belleville. Both of the Finnish blueliner’s goals this season have come on the power play. Skating in all 41 games, Saarijarvi ranks third among team defensemen with 11 points (2-9—11).

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 12 multi-point efforts and places second in both goals (16) and points (32). The sixth-year pro banked both his 100th career AHL assist and his 200th AHL point last Saturday and needs just one more goal to reach 100 in the AHL.

Between the Pipes
Harri Sateri has points in 10 of his last 12 starts (8-2-2) and has allowed two goals or less in three of his last five. He stopped a season-high 41 shots in his last time out on Jan. 12 vs. Belleville, including 24 saves in the third period alone, which was one shy of matching the franchise record for saves in a single frame. Sateri’s 12 wins on the season tie for 10th in the league. Patrik Rybar had his season-high five-game point streak (3-0-2) snapped in Wednesday’s loss but still shows a 2.26 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage in his last six outings. Skating in his first season in North America, Rybar ranks fourth in the AHL with a 2.42 overall GAA. Griffin netminders have allowed two goals or less in six of the last 11 games.

Happy Camper
Carter Camper recorded an assist on each of Grand Rapids’ four power play goals last Saturday, the first four-assist game by a Griffin since Andy Miele on Dec. 19, 2014 vs. Toronto. It is the second time in his career Camper has logged four or more assists after posting a career-high five as a member of the Tucson Roadrunners on March 2, 2018 at Cleveland. His team-high 22 assists tie for 16th in the AHL.

(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. Over his last 23 contests since Nov. 24, Terry has accumulated 25 points (12-13—25), which is the fourth most in the league in that span. He is situated fifth 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).

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 four 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 16th in goals.

This Date in Griffins History
2003: Thanks to a 4-2 win over San Antonio at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins extend their lead atop the Central Division to 17 points, marking the largest margin in the team’s seven seasons.
2006: Donald MacLean’s second consecutive hat trick ties an AHL record, sets a franchise mark and sends the Griffins on to their fifth straight win, a 6-3 triumph over Iowa. With his team-record fourth hat trick of the campaign, MacLean becomes the first AHL player since Hartford’s John Tripp in 2002-03 to notch four hat tricks in one season. Mathias Tjarnqvist also scores three goals for the Stars, marking just the second time in Grand Rapids history that both a Griffins player and an opposing player tally hat tricks in the same game.
2008: The Griffins earn their 500th win in franchise history off two goals and an assist by Mark Hartigan during a 3-1 victory over Rochester.
2017: Tallies from Tyler Bertuzzi and Ben Street erase a two-goal, third-period deficit before Martin Frk scores on the power play 1:34 into overtime, as the Griffins steal a 3-2 victory at Iowa to close-out the first half of the season with a 25-10-1-2 mark.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins