Griffins Game #7 * Home Game #3 * AHL Game #100

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 62-30-1-1-7 All-Time Home Series: 32-13-1-1-5 All-Time Road Series: 30-17-0-0-2

Griffins vs. Moose
First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena…The Griffins have claimed 11 of the last 13 regular season meetings with a 39-22 scoring margin…Since Manitoba rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 18-6 against the Moose and outscored them 78-50…On home ice in that span, the Griffins are 9-3 with a 43-31 scoring advantage…Grand Rapids finished 6-2 against the Moose in 2018-19 and Chris Terry was the series’ leading scorer with 10 points (6-4—10) in seven games…Dylan McIlrath was born in Winnipeg and Calvin Pickard lives there during the offseason...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.

Last Game (Wednesday): Admirals 0 at Griffins 3 - Recap
Calvin Pickard recorded 26 saves and picked up his first AHL shutout since Jan. 20, 2018 when he stopped 23 shots with the Toronto Marlies at Binghamton...Assigned by Detroit earlier in the day, Jonathan Ericsson made his season debut...Chris Terry scored his team-leading third goal of the year at 19:58 in the first period...Rookie Ryan Kuffner scored his second goal and first at Van Andel Arena at 8:57 in the second...Matt Puempel, skating in his 300th AHL game, added an empty-netter with 1:43 remaining...The Griffins’ last three shutouts have come against the Admirals (Jan. 19, 2019 and March 9, 2019).

Status Update
Behind a 3-0 victory against Milwaukee, which was the team’s first home win of the season, the Griffins moved above the 0.500 mark to 3-2-0-1. Grand Rapids continues its four-game homestand tonight against the Manitoba Moose before facing off against the Texas Stars tomorrow. The home run finishes up next Wednesday against the Central Division-leading Iowa Wild.

It’s Been a Minute
Assigned by Detroit earlier on Wednesday, Jonathan Ericsson played in his first Griffins game since March 1, 2009. He set a team record for longest time span between Griffins appearances at 3,888 days, or 10 years, 7 months and 22 days (March 1, 2009 to Oct. 23, 2019). The record had been held by Jimmy Howard at 2,831 days, or seven years, eight months and 28 days (May 6, 2009 to Feb. 4, 2017). Ericsson played in 176 games for Grand Rapids from 2006-09.

Feeling at Home
As a four-game homestand is underway, the Griffins are playing five contests at Van Andel Arena in the month of October for the second time in the last 10 seasons (2017-18).

Lighting It Up
The Griffins are fourth in the AHL in power play efficiency at 25.0% (7-for-28) and have scored in four of six games. Chris Terry (1-2—3), Michael Rasmussen (1-2—3), Joe Hicketts (0-3—3) and Evgeny Svechnikov (0-3—3) tie for the team lead in power play points.

Back Up, Terr
Chris Terry paces the team with three goals and ties Michael Rasmussen for team leadership with seven points. In his 11th-year pro, Terry led the Griffins with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead the Griffins in scoring in back-to-back seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

All That Ras
Second-year pro Michael Rasmussen ties for the team lead in points with seven (2-5—7). In his short Griffins career, the ninth overall selection in the 2017 draft is averaging a point per game with nine (4-5—9) in nine. He already has a team-high three multi-point outings this season.

First Things First
Grand Rapids’ roster currently features four recent Detroit first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017). Four of the Red Wings’ last six first rounders are on the west side of the state, with the exceptions being Dennis Cholowski (2016), who made Detroit’s roster following training camp, and Evgeny Svechnikov (2015), who was recalled on Tuesday. From 2002-15, the Griffins had only seven Detroit first rounders total suit up for them: Jakub Kindl (2005-11; 14-15), Niklas Kronwall (2003-06), Dylan Larkin (2015 playoffs only), Anthony Mantha (2014-15), Tom McCollum (2009-15), Riley Sheahan (2011-14) and Brendan Smith (2010-13). The Griffins’ opening night lineup had five Detroit first rounders in it, far surpassing the previous record of two. The Griffins had never seen more than three Red Wings first rounders suit up for the club at any point in the same season until this year. Adding in Matt Puempel (24th overall by Ottawa in 2011) and Dylan McIlrath (10th overall by the New York Rangers in 2010), Grand Rapids’ roster boasts six former first-round draft selections.

Between the Pipes
Filip Larsson became the fifth Griffins rookie goalie in the team’s AHL era (since 2001-02) to pick up the win in his AHL debut after his 24-save performance on Oct. 12 at Rockford, joining Petr Mrazek (Nov. 3, 2012 at Texas), Tom McCollum (Oct. 3, 2009 at Peoria), Jimmy Howard (Oct. 28, 2005 vs. Iowa) and Simon Lajeunesse (Dec. 12, 2001 at Utah). Eight-year pro Calvin Pickard has points in three of his four starts to open the season, including a 26-save shutout of Milwaukee on Wednesday.

This Date in Griffins History
2009: Behind captain Jamie Tardif’s second AHL hat trick, the Griffins finish off a perfect home-opening weekend and earn their first-ever sweep of a three-in-three at Van Andel Arena with a 6-1 thrashing of Abbotsford.

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 968-658-27-58-113 (0.585) 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’ 308 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are second behind Toronto’s 323 and the Griffins’ 668 points in that span are third, trailing Toronto (699) and Providence (671)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 89 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings…In fact, 27 Griffins alumni wore the Winged Wheel during the 2018-19 season.

Milestones Within Reach
Brian Lashoff – needs two points to reach 100 as a Griffin/in the AHL
Chris Terry – needs seven assists to reach 300 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs two goals to reach 200 in the AHL

Concession Specials for Remaining October Home Games*: Fans will enjoy nearly a dozen deeply discounted concession items from 6 p.m. through the conclusion of each game (while supplies last; stand locations vary). Specials include:

• $1 Items: Small Pepsi drink, soft-serve ice cream, popcorn, pretzel, cotton candy, churro;
• $2 Items: Hot dog, pizza slice, chips & cheese;
• $3 Taco Trio: Three street tacos, available at the Mex-To-Go stand located at section 126 (regularly $6.50);
• $6 Burger Basket: Cheeseburger with fries, available at stands located on the lower level and sections 104, 108 and 122 on the concourse (regularly $8.50).

* No alcohol sales permitted for these games

Time: 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena (doors open at 6 p.m.).

2020 Calendar Giveaway presented by Fox Motors: The first 2,500 fans will receive a 2020 Griffins calendar.

$2 Hot Dogs: Fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs 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 hot dogs and $2 Pepsi bottles 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