San Jose Barracuda (23-8-2-3) vs. GRIFFINS (24-13-3-4)

Griffins Game #45 * Home Game #23 * AHL Game #658

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 2-1-0-1 All-Time Home Series: 1-1-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 1-0-0-1

Griffins vs. Barracuda
First of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena…San Jose’s 0.708 points percentage leads the Western Conference…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 in last year’s two-game series…In the last meeting on March 30, 2018 in West Michigan, 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 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.

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.

Last Game (Wednesday): Moose 1 at Griffins 2 OT - Read the full recap here
Grand Rapids improved to 5-1-0-0 in the eight-game season series…Grand Rapids has won 10 of the last 11 regular season meetings vs. Manitoba...Carter Camper netted the game-winner 3:37 into overtime, his second OT goal against the Moose this season (Nov. 17)...Camper’s goal marked his 10th of the campaign and he became the sixth Griffin to reach the double-digit goal plateau...Wade Megan banked his ninth of the season and extended his goal streak to three...Harri Sateri turned aside 29 shots and earned his third consecutive victory...Grand Rapids’ seven power play opportunities were the most since recording seven on Jan. 17, 2018 vs. Milwaukee...The Griffins are 4-3 in overtime this season.

Status Update
Following a 2-1 overtime victory on Wednesday, the Griffins have won three straight games and lead the Central Division by two points with a 24-13-3-4 record (55 points). During their three-game winning streak, Grand Rapids has let in only two goals. Grand Rapids is 5-2-0-2 in 2019 and has collected points in 12 of its last 14 outings (9-2-1-2). The Griffins conclude a four-game homestand with a two-game set against the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Barracuda tonight and tomorrow before pausing for the AHL all-star break.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins are on a six-game point streak at Van Andel Arena (5-0-0-1), their second-longest home streak of the season after picking up points in eight in a row from Nov. 17-Dec. 15. Grand Rapids has accumulated points in 14 of its last 15 (11-1-1-2) at the Van and with a 15-3-1-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins rank among the AHL’s home leaders with a 0.773 points percentage (1st), 34 points (T2nd) and 15 wins (T3rd). Grand Rapids is a +18 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.41 goals and operating at 20.22% on the power play, compared to -11, 2.68 and 8.25% on enemy ice.

Griffins in General
The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee last Saturday marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 951-642-27-54-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 291 regular season wins and 629 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (299 / 644) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (289 / 622).

Wading Back In
Wade Megan is on a three-game goal streak that ties for the longest by a Griffin this season and is one shy of equaling his career high. The first-year Griffin has factored in to six of Grand Rapids’ last eight goals and his 11 points (6-5—11) and plus-eight rating in 2019 are both team highs. Since being assigned by Detroit on Jan. 3 following a nearly month’s stay in the NHL, Megan has points in seven of his nine games back in Grand Rapids’ lineup, including in three consecutive (4-2—6).

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 clean sheet on North American soil after stopping 24 shots in last Saturday’s home victory against Milwaukee. He ranks third in the AHL with a 2.30 overall GAA.

You’re a Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri is on a three-game winning streak and is good for a 1.31 GAA and a 0.961 save percentage (99 of 103) in that stretch. The Finnish netminder has points in 12 of his last 14 starts (10-2-2) and has allowed two goals or fewer in five of his last seven, including each of his last three. Sateri’s 14 wins on the season tie for seventh in the league.

Spreading the Wealth
The Griffins boast six players with 10 or more goals, which ties with Iowa for the most in the Central Division.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel leads the team with 13 multi-point efforts on the season and has points in six of his last seven games (4-6—10). The sixth-year pro compiled his 100th career AHL tally last Saturday vs. Milwaukee and both his 100th AHL assist and 200th point on Jan. 12 vs. Belleville. He places second on the team in both goals (17) and points (36). Puempel’s team-high 144 shots are second in the league.

(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 10th 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). Terry has missed the last four games due to injury.

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.

This Date in Griffins History
2004: Hugo Boisvert scores with 4:06 remaining to force a 1-1 tie at Milwaukee, extending the second-longest unbeaten streak in Griffins history to 11 games (7-0-4-0). Amazingly, the 11 games were played in a span of just 17 days.
2006: Donald MacLean scores the Griffins’ 68th power play goal of the season – in the team’s 46th game – during the first period of a 3-2 win over San Antonio, breaking the franchise record of 67 set over 80 contests in 2002-03. In the process, MacLean becomes the fastest player in franchise history to reach 30 goals.

PROMOTIONS

Game presented by MedExpress Urgent Care

Y2K Night presented by MedExpress Urgent Care: The Griffins will relive the 2000s with music, videos and in-game elements that feature the decade.

$2 Beers and $2 Hot Dogs: Fans can enjoy $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Get in the D-ZONE presented by Coppercraft Distillery: Every Friday night is a Griffins D-Zone night. Avoid the concession lines and get your $2 beers and $2 hot dogs served to you in your seats. Call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com/dzone today to purchase a package of four or more D-Zone tickets for any Friday night game.

Free Ride Friday on the Rapid: Ride the Rapid to and from any Friday game and enjoy complimentary fare by showing your ticket to the game. Visit ridetherapid.org for schedule information, routes and maps.

College Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union: College students can show their ID at every Friday game to purchase an Upper Level Faceoff ticket for $13 (or $12 in advance at The Zone) or an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $16 (or $15 in advance at The Zone). Limit one ticket per ID.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins