Griffins Game #39 * Home Game #17 * AHL Game #557

Season Series: 1-3-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-2-0-0
All-Time Series: 63-33-1-1-7 All-Time Home Series: 33-14-1-1-5 All-Time Road Series: 30-19-0-0-2

Griffins vs. Moose
Fifth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena…Manitoba has won the last three in the series, including a 4-2 victory in the most recent meeting on Nov. 29 at Van Andel Arena…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 19-9 against Manitoba and outscored them 91-67…On home ice in that span, the Griffins are 10-4 with a 49-36 scoring advantage…Grand Rapids has claimed five of the last seven meetings at Van Andel Arena…Matt Puempel recorded his first AHL hat trick and Joe Veleno netted his first pro goal on Oct. 25 vs. Manitoba…Chris Terry leads the Griffins with 10 points (4-6—10) in four games this season vs. Manitoba…Jansen Harkins is the series’ top scorer with 11 points in four appearances (2-9—11)…Grand Rapids has scored on 6 of 13 power play opportunities…Moose forward Derek Hulak skated in 35 regular season games with the Griffins last season and tallied four points (1-3—4) before showing a goal and an assist in four games during the Central Division Semifinals against Chicago…Dylan McIlrath was born in Winnipeg and Calvin Pickard lives there in the offseason.

Last Game (Wednesday): Griffins 3 at Admirals 2 - Recap
The Griffins finished their four-game road trip with a 2-2 record...Grand Rapids collected its second straight 3-2 win at Milwaukee (Dec. 28)...Dominic Turgeon netted the game-winner at 15:34 of the second period with his second career shorthanded goal...Turgeon’s marker was the first SHG by Grand Rapids since April 6, 2019 at San Jose...Turner Elson assisted on Turgeon’s GWG and added a goal of his own...Joe Hicketts notched his second goal of the season...Calvin Pickard collected his 11th win after turning aside 29 shots.

Status Update
After playing 11 of their last 13 games on the road, the Griffins return to Van Andel Arena tonight to face the Manitoba Moose and kick off a season-high eight-game homestand. Grand Rapids will face five different opponents during the eight games.

Staycation
Tonight begins an eight-game homestand that lasts through Jan. 25. It is the team’s lengthiest since an eight-game stretch from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2006 (4-3-0-1 record). In fact, the only longer homestand Grand Rapids has enjoyed is nine games from Oct. 26-Nov. 18, 2004 (4-4-1-0 record). The Griffins have dropped six in a row in West MI and have been shut out in consecutive home games (Dec. 27 vs. MIL, Dec. 31 vs. CHI) for just the third time in franchise history (Jan. 23-27, 2016 and Nov. 10-19, 2010). Grand Rapids owns a goal drought of 160:36 at Van Andel Arena, having been blanked since Eric Tangradi scored at the 4:24 mark of the second period of their 2-1 shootout loss to Rockford on Dec. 6. Chris Terry (6-8—14) and Matt Puempel (6-7—13) lead the team in scoring at home this season. Since the 2016-17 season, Grand Rapids is 13-6-0-1 (0.675) on home ice in January.

Knuble Named Honorary Coach
USA Hockey announced on Tuesday that Mike Knuble will serve as one of two honorary head coaches for the 2020 BioSteel All-American Game on Jan. 20 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. Scott Gomez is the other coach. Knuble, a Kentwood, Mich., native is in his seventh season as an assistant coach for the Griffins and represented Team USA at the 2006 Winter Olympics as well as the 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2005 IIHF World Championships.

Ford, Terry Heading to All-Star Classic
The AHL announced on Jan. 3 that Chris Terry has been selected to the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. Terry joins Matthew Ford on the all-star team, after the Griffins’ captain was named as one of the two playing captains on Dec. 18. Terry, in his 11th season as a pro and second in Grand Rapids, has earned his fourth straight AHL All-Star bid and fifth overall (2012). He becomes the sixth Griffin ever to be named an all-star in back-to-back years (Matt Lorito 2017-18, Xavier Ouellet 2015-16, Gustav Nyquist 2012-13, Niklas Kronwall 2004-05, Michel Picard 1997-98 in the IHL) and only the third Grand Rapids forward to earn consecutive AHL selections, joining Lorito and Nyquist. 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).

World Juniors
Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno represented their respective countries at the recently concluded 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. Veleno, 19, helped Canada win the gold medal after leading the team in average time on ice (19:13) and placing sixth with six points (1-5—6) in six games. As captain of Germany, Seider, 18, led the club’s defensemen in scoring and tied for second overall on the team with six points (0-6—6) in seven games. He led the tournament in average ice time (25:20). Germany defeated Kazakhstan in a three-game series to avoid relegation. This marked the second consecutive year a player 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.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel, in his seventh pro year, notched his second career AHL hat trick, with both coming this season, in last Sunday’s loss at San Antonio. He recorded his first on Oct. 25 vs. Manitoba in what was his 301st AHL game and netted his second in his 19th game after that. The last player with two or more hat tricks in one season was Teemu Pulkkinen in 2014-15 when he netted two in the regular season (Jan. 29 at Iowa, March 4 vs. Oklahoma City) and one in the postseason (May 6 vs. Rockford). Despite missing 11 games this season, Puempel ranks second on the Griffins in both points (25) and goals (12).

Rotating Roster
Kevin Poulin made his Griffins debut on Jan. 4 and became the fifth goaltender to log minutes for Grand Rapids this season, the team’s most since five suited up during the 2014-15 campaign (Pat Nagle, Jonas Gustavsson, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum). Including those five goalies, the Griffins have used 38 players already at 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 62 times.

Red Wings Report
There have been 12 players who have played for both Detroit and Grand Rapids this season – Madison Bowey, Dennis Cholowski, Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard (conditioning), Joe Hicketts, Taro Hirose, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Calvin Pickard, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov and Filip Zadina. Lashoff, Smith and Zadina remain on recall.

This Date in Griffins History
2001: A come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over Cincinnati gives the Griffins a franchise-record eight-game winning streak.
2002: Despite missing 10 regulars from their lineup, the Griffins crush the Chicago Wolves by a 7-3 count at Allstate Arena. Kip Miller sets a franchise record with six points on the night (2 goals, 4 assists), while Chris Bala inks his name in the record books with five assists.
2003: Syracuse breaks its team-record 14-game winless streak with a 3-2 triumph over the Griffins at Van Andel Arena.
2008: Goaltender Jimmy Howard and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson are selected to play for the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team at the 2008 All-Star Classic in Binghamton, N.Y.
2018: The Griffins defeat the league’s best team on its own ice for the second straight game, as a 5-1 win at Manitoba marks the Moose’s second regulation loss in 21 games at Bell MTS Place and the team’s largest margin of defeat on the season.

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 980-675-27-60-114 (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’ 320 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third, behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 321 and Toronto’s 337 while the Griffins’ 695 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (696), Providence (703) and Toronto (730)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

$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.

College Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union: Presented by Michigan First Credit Union, college students can buy online using their school .edu email address or 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 if purchasing in-person. Visit griffinshockey.com/college to sign up for College Night alerts.

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.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins