Hallo-winning

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS vs. Iowa Wild // Wed., Oct. 30 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of six meetings overall, first of three at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 14-6-1-2 Home, 31-12-1-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: The Griffins finished 2-2-1-1 in the 2018-19 season series.

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sat., Nov. 2 // 3 p.m. EDT // Bell MTS Place
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sun., Nov. 3 // 3 p.m. EST // Bell MTS Place
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Saturday (joined in progress following football) and at 2:35 p.m. on Sunday
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Road, 1-0-0-0 Overall. Second and third of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at Bell MTS Place
All-Time Series: 30-17-0-0-2 Road, 63-30-1-1-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids is 9-3 at Manitoba in the regular season since 2015-16.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Oct. 23 Milwaukee Admirals 0 at GRIFFINS 3 3-2-0-1 (7 pts., T3rd Central Division)
Fri., Oct. 25 Manitoba Moose 1 at GRIFFINS 4 4-2-0-1 (9 pts., T3rd Central)
Sat., Oct. 26 Texas Stars 4 at GRIFFINS 6 5-2-0-1 (11 pts., T2nd Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins have won three straight games to improve to 5-2-0-1 overall (11 points) and tie for second in the Central Division standings. Grand Rapids rounds out its four-game home stretch on Wednesday against division-leading Iowa before heading to Manitoba to play the Moose on Saturday and Sunday.

Getting Started: The Griffins’ 5-2-0-1 start marks their best since 2008-09 (4-1-2-1), when they also captured 11 points in their first eight games. The 2008-09 team went on to finish 43-25-6-6 and advance to the North Division Finals. Since 2008-09, the Griffins have also had three other 10-point starts: 5-3 in 2016-17, 4-2-1-1 in 2013-14, and 4-2-0-2 in 2010-11.

Last Week’s Notes:
Wednesday vs. Milwaukee - 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). Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. Manitoba – Grand Rapids has won 12 of the last 14 regular season meetings between the teams...The Griffins are 19-6 against the Moose since Manitoba rejoined the AHL in 2015-16...Matt Puempel notched his first career AHL hat trick and the first three-goal game by a Griffin since Wade Megan on Feb. 15, 2019 vs. San Antonio...Calvin Pickard turned aside 36 shots to earn his second straight win...Rookie Joe Veleno netted his first pro goal at 18:35 of the third period while on the power play...Jonathan Ericsson collected his first point (assist) as a Griffin since March 1, 2009 at TOR. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. Texas – Grand Rapids came back to win after being down three goals for the first time since a 4-3 shootout victory versus Iowa on Dec. 13, 2017 and it was the Griffins’ first such win in regulation since scoring five times in the third period of a 5-3 triumph over Cleveland on Nov. 25, 2016…Grand Rapids has won four straight games against Texas at Van Andel Arena…Fourteen skaters recorded at least a point and four logged multi-point games…Filip Larsson stopped 22 shots to earn the win in his Van Andel Arena debut…Larsson saved Conner Bleackley’s penalty shot attempt at 14:27 in the first period, the first penalty shot by an opponent since Nov. 14, 2018 vs. Rockford...Gregor MacLeod netted his first pro goal at 12:32 of the second period…Chris Terry scored the game-winner with 2:46 remaining while on the power play…Brian Lashoff recorded his 100th point as a Griffin on an assist to become the 42nd player in franchise history to reach the century mark. Recap | Highlights

Follow the Leaders:

Stringing Wins Together: During the Griffins’ three-game run, they are outscoring opponents 13-5. The power play has gone 3-for-12 (25.0%) in the stretch while the penalty kill is 8-for-10 (80.0%). Matt Puempel (4-2—6) and Chris Terry (2-3—5) lead the team in scoring the last three games.

Rock-tober: The Griffins have 11 points in October, marking only the second time in the last nine seasons the team has reached the double-digit point total in the first month of the season (2013-14, 12 points).

Lighting It Up: The Griffins are second in the AHL in power play efficiency at 27.0% (10-for-37) and have scored in six of eight games, including three multi-goal outings. Chris Terry (2-3—5) and Joe Hicketts (0-5—5) tie for the team lead in power play points.

Lashing Out: With an assist last Saturday, veteran defenseman Brian Lashoff became the 42nd player in franchise history to record 100 or more points in a Griffins uniform. He joins an even more exclusive list among team defensemen as only four other blueliners have reached the century mark as a Griffin: Travis Richards (238), Nathan Paetsch (142), Robbie Russo (103) and Derek Meech (102). Lashoff is the second player this season to achieve 100 points as a Griffin, joining captain Matthew Ford who accomplished the feat on Oct. 5.

Puemped Up: In his seventh year as a pro, Matt Puempel registered his first AHL hat trick in last Friday’s 4-1 victory against Manitoba. His only other pro hat trick came as a member of the New York Rangers on Dec. 29, 2016 at Arizona. A former first-round draft pick by Ottawa in 2011, Puempel notched his 50th goal as a Griffin in his 126th game last Friday and is tied with Ed Patterson (1997-98; 1999-01) for 22nd on the franchise’s all-time goal scoring chart with 51.

Pick-ing His Shots: Dating to the third period on Oct. 18 at Texas, Calvin Pickard has allowed just one goal while making 75 saves in his last 145:32 of action. In his last three starts, the 6-foot-1 netminder is 2-0-1 with a 1.30 GAA and a 0.957 save percentage with one shutout.

Adding to the List: Givani Smith became the 180th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Red Wings last Friday in their 2-0 loss against the Buffalo Sabres at Little Caesars Arena. Smith logged 11:01 of ice time and had two shots. In two games with the Red Wings, Smith is averaging 11:31 of ice time. A second-round selection, 46th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit, Smith shows four points (2-2—4) in four games with the Griffins this season.

Feeling at Home: As a four-game homestand concludes this week, the Griffins will have played five contests at Van Andel Arena in the month of October for the second time in the last 10 seasons (2017-18).

Back Up, Terr: Chris Terry paces the team in both points (11) and multi-point games (4) while tying for the lead in assists (7). 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 third on 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.

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 last week. 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.

Living Lars: 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). A sixth-round selection by Detroit in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Larsson has won two of his first three pro starts, including his Van Andel Arena debut last Saturday against Texas.

It’s Been a Minute: Assigned by Detroit last Wednesday, Jonathan Ericsson played later that night to mark 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 started his North American pro career with Grand Rapids, playing in 176 games for the Griffins from 2006-09.

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 970-658-27-58-113 (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’ 310 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are second behind Toronto’s 323 and the Griffins’ 672 points in that span tie Providence for second, trailing Toronto (701)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 90 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Milestones Within Reach:
Calvin Pickard – needs four wins to reach 100 in the AHL
Chris Terry – needs four assists to reach 300 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs two goals to reach 200 in the AHL

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ five wins and three (including OT and SO) losses:

Back-to-Back: This weekend will mark the fourth of 25 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights.

Iowa Notes: Current record 5-1-1-1, 12 points, 1st Central Division…The Griffins finished 2-2-1-1 in the 2018-19 season series, including 0-1-1-1 at Van Andel Arena…Chris Terry led Grand Rapids with five points (3-2—5) in six games in the 2018-19 series, while Brian Lashoff and Matt Puempel both contributed four points (1-3—4) in five games…While winning 20 of the first 24 all-time meetings, Grand Rapids outscored the Wild 91-43…Since then, the Griffins are 11-8-1-2 in the series and have been outscored 68-63…16 of the last 24 meetings have been decided by one goal, including 10 that have been tied after regulation…Iowa has won five in a row at Van Andel Arena, including one in overtime and one in a shootout.

Manitoba Notes: Current record 1-7-0-0, 2 points, 8th Central Division…The Moose are in their fifth season back in the AHL after taking a hiatus from 2011-15…Manitoba celebrates its 20th season in Winnipeg during the 2019-20 campaign…In the first meeting of the season last Friday at Van Andel Arena, Matt Puempel recorded his first AHL hat trick, Joe Veleno banked his first pro goal and Calvin Pickard posted 36 saves in a 4-1 Grand Rapids victory…The Griffins have claimed 12 of the last 14 regular season meetings with a 43-23 scoring margin…Since Manitoba rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 19-6 against the Moose and outscored them 82-51…On away ice in that span, the Griffins are 9-3 with a 35-19 scoring advantage…Dylan McIlrath was born in Winnipeg andPickard lives there during the offseason.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins