GRIFFINS (36-19-6-4) at San Antonio Rampage (27-32-6-1)

Griffins Game #66 * Road Game #32 * AHL Game #1012

Season Series: 5-2-0-0 Home Series: 4-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 49-28-1-5-2 All-Time Home Series: 26-12-1-3-1 All-Time Road Series: 23-16-0-2-1

Griffins at Rampage
Eighth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at the AT&T Center…Grand Rapids has won 13 of the last 15 meetings overall, outscoring the Rampage 59-30 in that span…Grand Rapids is 5-2 in its last seven trips to San Antonio…The Griffins have been shut out in two of three games at the AT&T Center this season...Matt Puempel’s goal at 3:33 of the first period on Tuesday snapped Grand Rapids’ scoreless stretch in San Antonio at 129:30...Filip Zadina (2-4—6 in 7 GP) and Wade Megan (4-1—5 in 5 GP) lead Grand Rapids in the season series…Patrik Rybar is 3-0-0 with a 2.35 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage against San Antonio while Harri Sateri is 2-2-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a 0.921 save mark.

San Antonio Connections
Second-year Griffin Turner Elson spent the 2016-17 season with San Antonio and scored three points (1-2—3) while being limited to 13 games due to injury…First-year Griffin Wade Megan appeared in 115 games with the Rampage from 2012-15 and totaled 31 points (20-11—31)…While making his AHL debut with the Rampage on March 28, 2013, against Grand Rapids, Megan scored his first pro goal against Petr Mrazek…Rampage netminder Jared Coreau suited up for Grand Rapids from 2013-18 and ranks among the franchise’s all-time goalie leaders with 148 GP (4th), 8614:11 minutes (4th), a 2.44 GAA (T8th), 85 wins (4th), 13 shutouts (3rd), 3930 saves (4th), a 0.918 save percentage (T7th) and seven shootout wins (T5th)…Backstopping the team to its second Calder Cup in 2017, Coreau started all 19 games during the championship run and posted a 2.84 GAA and a 0.909 save mark to go along with a 15-4 record…In four career appearances against the Griffins, which have all come this season, Coreau is 1-1-2 with a 1.94 GAA, a 0.939 save percentage and one shutout.

Last Game (Saturday): Griffins 3 at Stars 2 - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids scored twice in the third period to come back and defeat Texas and finish 5-3-0-0 in the season series...Dominik Shine (6) scored the game-winner at 15:53 of the third period and Carter Camper (15) notched the game-tying goal at 12:05 of the third while on the power play...Dominic Turgeon (6) also lit the lamp...Camper skated in his 500th AHL game and has goals in back-to-back contests...Harri Sateri stopped 23 of 25 shots while making his fourth consecutive start...Chase Pearson made his professional debut...Grand Rapids finished 1-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill...33 PIM marked a season high.

Status Update
Following last night’s win, the Griffins have moved into sole possession of second place in the Central Division standings with 82 points and a 36-19-6-4 overall record. They trail first-place Chicago by four points. Grand Rapids has earned points in 13 of its last 17 outings (10-4-3-0) and in 18 of its last 24 (15-6-3-0). The Griffins are 3-1 in their season-high six-game, 11-day road trip, which continues this afternoon at San Antonio before wrapping up at Iowa on Tuesday. Grand Rapids is in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (8-4-3-0 record so far).

Road Trippin’
Grand Rapids will play seven of its final 11 games in enemy territory, including its current six-game road swing that lasts until Tuesday. The Griffins have won four of their last five and have points in 12 of their last 17 contests on foreign ice (9-5-2-1). Chris Terry (13-11—24) and Matt Puempel (12-11—23) pace the team in scoring in away games. Grand Rapids is a +22 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.21 goals and operating at 18.62% on the power play, compared to –9, 2.74 and 9.76% on the road.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel became the 177th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL, and the ninth this season, when he made his debut with Detroit during the Red Wings’ 3-2 overtime win at Vegas last night. In 8:03 of ice time, Puempel recorded three shots.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
With 27 goals (T9th in AHL) and 57 points (T11th) – both team highs – Chris Terry has surpassed the 50-point mark in his seventh consecutive full AHL season. Owning 497 career AHL points, he needs three more to become the 96th player in league history to amass 500 or more.

Page Turner
Sixth-year pro Turner Elson has set new career highs this season in both points (34) and assists (18), and needs one more goal to match his career best of 17 set in 2014-15 with Adirondack.

Wade For It
In 24 GP in 2019, Wade Megan ranks among Grand Rapids’ leaders with 23 points (2nd), 12 goals (1st), a plus-nine rating (T1st) and 11 assists (5th). He has tallied six points (2-4—6) in the last six games.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in seven of his last eight appearances (4-1-3) and in his last 16 games he is 10-3-3 with a 2.32 GAA and a 0.918 save percentage. With 21 victories – which tie for 11th in the AHL – the Finnish netminder has reached the 20-win mark for the first time in his AHL career.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar is 6-3-0 in his last nine starts, showing a 2.00 GAA and a 0.931 save percentage with a pair of shutouts in that time. In his first season in North America, Rybar ties for third in the league with a 2.29 overall GAA.

Suite Life
This afternoon marks the seventh of nine road games the Griffins will play in the month of March. This season is the eighth consecutive in which Grand Rapids hits the road for seven or more contests in March (7 in 2017-18, 10 in 2016-17, 8 in 2015-16, 7 in 2014-15, 9 in 2013-14, 11 in 2012-13 and 9 in 2011-12). Despite the lack of home games, the Griffins have posted an overall winning record in March in 10 straight years, combining for an 83-44-7-8 (0.637) mark since 2008-09.

Griffins in General
The Griffins were the second team in the Western Conference to reach 80 points following a 2-1 shootout win at San Antonio on March 19...Grand Rapids became the first in the West 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 overtime win 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 963-648-27-57-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 303 regular season wins and 656 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (313 / 676) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (299 / 647).

This Date in Griffins History
The Griffins are 3-2-0-0-1 all time when playing on March 24, including a 1-1-0-0-1 mark on road ice.
2000: Behind Kevin Miller’s second hat trick of the season, Grand Rapids becomes the first IHL team to clinch a playoff berth and sets a team record for wins (41, since surpassed) with a 5-3 home triumph over Milwaukee.

Photo by Darren Abate/San Antonio Rampage