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Game Notes: Griffins at Rampage - Feb. 28, 2020

Grand Rapids Griffins (26-24-3-4) at San Antonio Rampage (22-21-7-5)

Game Time: 8 p.m. EST at the AT&T Center

Game Day Preview - February 28 at San Antonio Rampage

Griffins Game #58 * Road Game #29 * AHL Game #858

Season Series: 2-3-0-0 Home Series: 1-2-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 52-31-1-5-2 All-Time Home Series: 27-14-1-3-1 All-Time Road Series: 25-17-0-2-1

Griffins at Rampage
Sixth of eight meetings overall, third of four at the AT&T Center…San Antonio has claimed the last three matchups, all by one goal, after the Griffins enjoyed a six-game winning streak in the series from Feb. 15, 2019-Jan. 3, 2020…Three games is San Antonio’s longest winning streak against Grand Rapids since reeling off four straight from Oct. 16, 2015-March 22, 2016…Grand Rapids has won 16 of the last 21 and outscored the Rampage 79-48…The Griffins have won seven of their last 10 at the AT&T Center, including three of the last four…Grand Rapids has scored on the power play in the last three meetings and gone 4-for-20 (20%) in the series…Chase Pearson (2-3—5 in 5 GP) and Chris Terry (1-4—5 in 5 GP) lead the team in the series…Calvin Pickard, who earned his 100th AHL win on Nov. 20 vs. San Antonio, appeared in 21 games with the Rampage during the 2015-16 season and posted a 9-8-4 record to go along with a 2.75 GAA, a 0.917 save percentage and one shutout…Turner Elson spent the 2016-17 with San Antonio and scored three points (1-2—3) while being limited by injury to 13 games…Zach Nastasiuk was a second-round draft selection, 48th overall, by Detroit in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and skated in 65 games with the Griffins from 2013-18, tallying 14 points (4-10—14) and four PIM...After playing San Antonio three times in their first 55 games, last Saturday marked the first of three consecutive and four of their next five the Griffins will play against the Rampage...The last time Grand Rapids played the same opponent three straight times was Feb. 1-4, 2018 when the Griffins visited Cleveland for three games in four days and took home five out of a possible six points.

Last Time Out (Sunday): Rampage 2 at Griffins 1 - Recap
San Antonio has won three straight meetings against the Griffins for the first time since claiming four in a row from Oct. 16, 2015-March 22, 2016…Grand Rapids is 2-3 in the season series and four of the five matchups have been decided by one goal…Calvin Pickard stopped 23 shots while making his first appearance since Feb. 11…Michael Rasmussen tallied his sixth goal of the season and third on the power play.

Status Update
The Griffins have dropped back-to-back contests after enjoying a season-high four-game winning streak from Feb. 14-20. Grand Rapids is in third place in the Central Division, two points ahead of both Chicago and Rockford, and three in front of San Antonio. The Griffins have recorded points in 15 of their last 20 outings overall (12-5-1-2) and in 12 of their last 15 divisional battles (10-3-1-1). Beginning tonight, the Griffins will play their next four games on foreign ice to conclude a stretch of facing seven of nine on the road. Grand Rapids has won three straight away contests and four of the last five.

Net Nagle
In seven February games, Pat Nagle shows a 5-1 record to go along with a 1.86 GAA and a 0.936 save mark. Among goalies with 300 or more minutes in the month, Nagle ranks fourth in GAA. Despite a season-high 37 saves in his most recent appearance last Saturday, the former Ferris State Bulldog’s career-high five-game winning streak was snapped. After qualifying to rank among the Griffins’ all-time goaltending leaders by virtue of playing his 20th career game, Nagle currently stands fifth in franchise charts with a 2.19 GAA and is tied for third with a 0.921 save percentage. (Twenty-five goalies have reached that 20-game plateau in team history.) He has appeared in 17 games for Grand Rapids this season after totaling only eight games in the AHL – including three with the Griffins – during his first eight pro seasons. If Nagle had enough minutes to qualify (about 120 shy), his 2.13 overall season GAA would be fourth in the AHL.

Movin’ On Up
The Griffins have points in 15 of their last 20 games, helping them climb from last in the division on Jan. 6 into their current position of third. Grand Rapids holds a +9 goal differential during the stretch and is led in scoring by Chris Terry (6-8—14), Taro Hirose (0-14—14), Chase Pearson (4-7—11) and Michael Rasmussen (4-7—11). Pat Nagle (7-2, 2.00 GAA, 0.930%) and Calvin Pickard (5-3-1, 2.59 GA, 0.911%, 1 SO) have shared crease duties.

Back Up, Terr
2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry netted his 19th goal of the year last Saturday and is bidding for his fourth consecutive AHL season of 20 or more. His goal was also his 10th on the power play, marking the third time in the last four campaigns he’s reached double figures. Overall, he places eighth in the AHL in points (48) while pacing the Griffins in goals (19), assists (29), multi-point games (14) and power play goals (10).

Tar-Oh!
Rookie Taro Hirose’s 24 points and 20 assists are both team highs since Dec. 3 – the date of his first assignment by Detroit to GR. The former Michigan State Spartan has an assist in 10 of his last 12 outings, picking up 13 in that span.

Russian Influence
Evgeny Svechnikov’s team-high eight points (5-3—8) in nine February appearances beats his outputs from December (2-2—4 in 11 GP) and January (1-2—3 in 10 GP) combined.

Lashoff 500
One of only three players in franchise history to be a part of Grand Rapids’ 2017 and 2013 Calder Cup championship teams, defenseman Brian Lashoff needs six more games to become only the second player in franchise history with 500 or more regular season games played (Travis Richards, 655). In fact, Lashoff’s 494 career regular season appearances rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and places 10th all time in league history.

GamesPlayerTeamPlayed From-To
981Bill Needham
Cleveland Barons
1956-71
753Arnie Kullman
Hershey Bears1948-60
608Howie Yanosik
Hershey Bears
1957-67
570Paul Larivee
Providence Reds
1952-62
534Pete Backor
Pittsburgh Hornets
1945-54
531Roger DeJordy
Hershey Bears
1962-70

517

Pete Kapusta
Providence Reds
1946-55
513Stan Smrke
Rochester Americans
1957-67
496Bob Leduc
Providence Reds
1964-72
494Brian LashoffGrand Rapids Griffins2008-present

Hicks Mix
Defenseman Joe Hicketts needs one more point to become the 43rd player to record 100 or more points in a Griffins uniform. With 99 points (15-84—99) in 252 games, he can also become only the sixth blueliner in team history to reach the century mark and the third-fastest.

DefensemanGames Needed to Reach 100 Pts
Robbie Russo
197
Nathan Paetsch
213
Travis Richards
282
Derek Meech
297
Brian Lashoff
461

This Date in Griffins History
2003: Joey MacDonald breaks Ian Gordon’s team record with his ninth straight road win, a 3-2 decision at San Antonio.
2015: The Griffins equal a franchise record with their seventh consecutive road win, a 5-0 triumph at Chicago.
2016: Minutes after having his face bloodied by a high stick, Andy Miele returns to the ice late in overtime during the ensuing four-minute power play and scores the game-winning goal for a 4-3 victory over Chicago. Miele’s blast from the point 4:25 into the extra session caps off the Griffins’ rally from a 3-1 third-period deficit and gives them their AHL-best 21st home win of the season.
2018: The Griffins claw out a 3-2 victory over Tucson, improving to 12-1-0-2 in their last 15 games and 21-4-0-3 in their last 28.


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