Griffins Game #30 * Road Game #16 * AHL Game #437

Season Series: 0-0-1-0 Home Series: 0-0-1-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 31-12-2-2 All-Time Home Series: 14-6-2-2 All-Time Road Series: 17-6-0-0

Griffins at Wild
Second of six meetings overall, first of three at Wells Fargo Arena...In the first meeting of the season at Van Andel Arena on Oct. 30, Joe Veleno scored at 13:04 of the third period to tie the game 3-3, but Gerald Mayhew netted the game-winner 12 seconds into overtime…A native of Wyandotte, Mich., and a Ferris State University product, Mayhew shows 13 points (9-4—13) and a plus-seven rating in 14 career GP against Grand Rapids...In the last 10 overall between the teams, Grand Rapids is 4-3-2-1…In the last 10 at Wells Fargo Arena, the Griffins are 6-4-0-0…While winning 20 of the first 24 all-time meetings, Grand Rapids outscored the Wild 91-43…Since then, the Griffins are 11-8-2-2 in the series and have been outscored 72-66…17 of the last 25 meetings have been decided by one goal, including 11 that have been tied after regulation.

Last Time Out (Tuesday): Griffins 3 at Gulls 2 SO - Recap
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.

Status Update
The Griffins have points in four of the last five games (3-1-0-1) and are 3-1 in their season-high six-game road swing, which concludes tonight and tomorrow at Iowa. Today begins a stretch of 13 consecutive games the Griffins will play against Central Division opponents. After tomorrow, Grand Rapids will be off for the holiday break until Dec. 27, when the Griffins return to Van Andel Arena for the first time since Dec. 6 and host Milwaukee. The Griffins’ last five games have been determined by one and the last time they played in six straight was Dec. 21, 2011-Jan. 11, 2012 when they did so in seven in a row (3-0-3-1 record).

Road Trippin’
The Griffins are 3-1 so far in their six-game road trip. The trip that spans 14 days and covers 4,243 miles started last Wednesday at San Diego, traversed through Bakersfield last weekend, went back to San Diego on Tuesday and concludes tonight and tomorrow at Iowa. Givani Smith leads the team in scoring during the road trip with five points (1-4—5), followed by Eric Tangradi (2-2—4) and Taro Hirose (2-2—4). Including this 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 have only led for 23:31 so far in the road trip but still post a 3-1 mark. Majority of that time (20:49) came during Tuesday’s SOW at San Diego. All four contests have been decided by one, and Grand Rapids has overcome a two-goal deficit twice.

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 53 times.

Lights Out
Since the third period at Chicago on Nov. 27, Grand Rapids’ penalty killers have gone 32 for its last 33 (97.0%), which includes warding off 21 consecutive penalties.

Goalvani
Givani Smith shows 13 points (4-9—13) in 18 AHL games this season and has already equaled his scoring production from his rookie campaign when he appeared in 64 contests (6-7—13). He leads all Griffins in December scoring with six points (1-5—6).

Tar-Oh!
Rookie Taro Hirose has played hero twice on the road trip so far, notching the overtime-winner on Dec. 13 at Bakersfield and netting the only goal in the shootout on Tuesday at San Diego. Hirose’s five points (3-2—5) in six games since Dec. 3 (date of assignment by Detroit) tie for second on the team in that span.

Seider, Veleno Head to WJC
The Red Wings on 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.

Ford Named Playing Captain
AHL President and CEO David Andrews announced on 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).

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 five points (3-2—5) in his first five outings during his return to a Griffins uniform. A 2017 Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids, Tangradi ranks among the team’s all-time leaders with 169 points (9th), 79 goals (5th), 22 PPG (T9th), 14 GWG (4th), three OT goals (T3rd) and eight unassisted goals (T3rd) in 205 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.

Back Up, Terr
Chris Terry ties for sixth in the AHL in points (28) while pacing the Griffins in goals (12), assists (16), multi-point games (9) and power play goals (8). In his 11th-year pro, Terry led 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.

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 977-670-27-59-114 (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 318 and Toronto’s 334 while the Griffins’ 688 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (689), Providence (701) and Toronto (724)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

This Date in Griffins History
1997: Grand Rapids hosts its 50th sellout (10,834 fans) as the Griffins drop a 4-2 decision to Las Vegas.
2002: Highlighted by Michel Picard’s 150th assist in a Grand Rapids uniform, the Griffins skate to a 3-1 win over San Antonio.
2013: Mitch Callahan’s overtime goal lifts the Griffins to a 3-2 win over Rockford, pushing Grand Rapids’ franchise-record start to an incredible 21-5-1-1. The Griffins win for the 19th time in their last 22 games, a stretch of success unmatched in the team’s 18 seasons.
2014: Thanks to a 4-3 shootout victory at Lake Erie, Jared Coreau ties the franchise record of six consecutive wins to begin a season, following Petr Mrazek in 2012-13 and Tom McCollum in 2013-14.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins