Texas Stars (28-24-4-3) vs. GRIFFINS (31-17-5-4)

Griffins Game #58 * Home Game #32 * AHL Game #891

Season Series: 3-2-0-0 Home Series: 2-1-0-0 Road Series: 1-1-0-0
All-Time Series: 28-14-2-3 All-Time Home Series: 15-6-0-3 All-Time Road Series: 13-8-2-0

Griffins vs. Stars
Sixth of eight meetings overall, fourth of four at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 3-2 in the season series, winning the last three matchups…In the last meeting on Feb. 22 at Van Andel Arena, Derek Hulak scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of a shootout to help Grand Rapids to a 4-3 victory…In the last 15 meetings between the teams in West Michigan, the Griffins are 11-3-0-1…Since the 2013-14 campaign, Grand Rapids is 18-7-1-1 in 27 games overall vs. Texas…Chris Terry headlines scoring for the Griffins with six points (4-2—6 in 5 GP) in the series…Patrik Rybar is 1-0-0 with a 2.77 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage vs. Texas while Harri Sateri is 2-2-0 with a 3.28 GAA and a 0.882 save percentage…The Stars sit second in the league with a power play efficiency of 24.7% and have converted on 7 of 20 chances (35.0%) against the Griffins…Hulak, in his first season as a Griffin, made his AHL debut with the Stars during the 2013-14 campaign and helped Texas win the 2014 Calder Cup…Appearing in 142 regular season games with the Stars from 2013-16, he compiled 86 points (39-47—86), a plus-18 rating and 42 PIM…Hulak added one goal in 10 Calder Cup Playoff contests.

Last Time Out (Friday): Griffins 4 at IceHogs 5 OT
Grand Rapids rallied back from a three-goal first-period deficit to force overtime and earn a point…Matt Puempel (21, 22) lit the lamp twice, his fourth multi-goal game of the season…Puempel leads the Griffins with six points (3-3—6 in 7 GP) in the season series…Turner Elson (14) and Wade Megan (15) also scored in regulation…Elson’s goal marked his 30th point of the season, equaling his career high…Grand Rapids is 3-1-4-0 in the 10-game season series against Rockford…The IceHogs have won all four of the matchups this season that have gone into overtime.

Status Update
The Griffins are in third place in the Central Division with 71 points, trailing Iowa by one and Chicago by two. Grand Rapids shows an overall record of 31-17-5-4 and has picked up points in seven of its last nine outings (5-2-2-0) and in 12 of its last 16 (10-4-2-0). After playing only once last week, the Griffins return to action with home games against Texas and Iowa tonight and Friday, respectively, before heading to Milwaukee on Saturday. Grand Rapids is in a stretch of facing 20 consecutive division foes (3-2-2-0 record so far). Tonight’s contest against Texas is the Griffins’ 1,800th regular season game.

Friendly Confines
The Griffins have points in 13 of their last 15 contests at home (11-2-1-1). With a 21-5-2-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins lead the league in home points (47) while tying for the most wins (21) and placing third in points percentage (0.758). Grand Rapids is a +21 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.19 goals and operating at 19.38% on the power play, compared to -13, 2.69 and 9.17% on enemy ice. Chris Terry (12-16—28), Carter Camper (9-19—28) and Filip Zadina (12-14—26) lead the team in scoring at home. Harri Sateri is 13-2-1 at Van Andel Arena with a 2.28 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage while Patrik Rybar is 8-3-4 with a 2.29 GAA and a 0.918 save mark.

And 1
The Griffins have played five consecutive one-goal games, which ties for their longest such streak of the season (Nov. 16-26), and show a 2-1-2-0 record. For the season, Grand Rapids is 13-3-5-4 in games decided by a single tally.

Griffins in General
Grand Rapids became the first team in the Western Conference 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 958-646-27-56-112 (0.587) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 298 regular season wins and 645 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (308 / 665) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (295 / 637).

Wade For It
In 20 GP in 2019, Wade Megan leads Grand Rapids in points (20), goals (12) and plus-minus (+10), while placing fourth in assists (8).

Hicketts On A Roll
Third-year defenseman Joe Hicketts is on a four-game assist streak (0-5—5), which establishes new career highs for both point and assist streaks. Previously, his best assist streak was two, set six times, and point streak was three. With Filip Hronek on recall with Detroit, Hicketts is Grand Rapids’ top defenseman in point production with 20 (2-18—20).

Happy Camper
Carter Camper has recorded five points (1-4—5) during his five-game point streak, which ties for his longest this season (Dec. 21-31). Camper joins Chris Terry (six-game streak from Nov. 24-Dec. 5, five-game streak Dec. 21-31), as the only Griffins with two or more point streaks of at least five games this season.

Puemped Up
Matt Puempel paces the team with 15 multi-point efforts in 52 GP. The sixth-year pro leads Grand Rapids with seven power play goals while ranking second in both goals (22) and points (44). His team-high 188 shots are fourth in the league. Puempel has reached the 20-goal plateau for the third time in his AHL career and in back-to-back campaigns after depositing 23 last season (22 with Grand Rapids, 1 with Hartford). He needs just two more points to become the 40th player in franchise history to record 100 or more points in a Griffins uniform.

You’re A Wizard, Harri
Harri Sateri has points in nine of his last 11 starts (7-2-2) and shows a 2.15 GAA and a 0.926 save percentage in that span. The Finnish netminder’s 18 wins on the season, which matches his AHL career best (2013-14 with Worcester), tie for 11th in the league.

Rybar Supports
Patrik Rybar has points in nine of his last 12 games (7-3-2) and shows a 2.21 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar ranks fifth in the AHL with a 2.36 overall GAA.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr
The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry ties for 12th on the league’s goal leaderboard with 24 as part of a team-high 47 points. The 10th-year pro has achieved 20 goals for the sixth time in his AHL career. Terry earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

Page Turner
Turner Elson places fifth on the team in scoring with 30 points (14-16—30) and has two goals in the last three games. His 30 points equal his career high, which he attained twice previously entering this season (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Elson’s 16 assists match his career-high total from 2015-16 and his 14 goals are three shy of his career best from 2014-15.

Dennis the Menace
Since being assigned to Grand Rapids on Feb. 14, rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski leads the team with a plus-eight rating in the last six games while tying for second with four assists in that span.

This Date in Griffins History
Grand Rapids is 2-3-1-2-1 all time when playing on March 6, including a 1-1-0-1-0 mark on home ice.
2002: The Griffins experience their first-ever scoreless tie at Houston, giving them consecutive shutouts for the first time in their history and setting a franchise mark with nine on the season.
2004: Two goals by Michel Picard propel Grand Rapids to a 2-1 win at San Antonio. With the victory, the Griffins become the first team to secure a spot in the 2004 Calder Cup playoffs and clinch a postseason berth on their earliest date ever.
2015: With the Griffins less than a second from earning a franchise-record eighth straight road win, Milwaukee’s Viktor Stalberg scores with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation before denting twine 15 seconds into overtime, giving the Admirals a shocking 3-2 victory.

PROMOTIONS

Game presented by Custer

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

Winning Wednesday presented by Farm Bureau Insurance: Every time the Griffins win at home on Wednesday, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the next Wednesday game. To redeem a Winning Wednesday ticket, please visit the box office following the Winning Wednesday game, The Zone during normal business hours, or the Van Andel Arena box office prior to the next Wednesday game beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans who exchange their Winning Wednesday ticket at The Zone on a non-game day will receive 20% off the purchase of one item (excluding jerseys). One discount per person present.

Post-Game Parties at Peppino’s: After every Wednesday game, join Griffins players and staff for the official post-game party at Peppino’s Sports Grille downtown.

Pepsi Reading Goals Redemption Date: Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free upper level tickets to any of the following games: March 6 and 31; April 10.

Library Nights: For all Wednesday and Sunday games, fans can present their Grand Rapids Public Library card or Kent District Library card at the Van Andel Arena box office on the night of the game or at The Zone anytime during the store’s regular business hours to purchase either an Upper Level Faceoff ticket for $14, an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $17, or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $20. Limit four tickets per card per person, subject to availability.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins