CONTINUING THE MARCH

This Week’s Games
Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS // Fri., March 24 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Sat., March 25 // 8 p.m. // BMO Harris Bank Center
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. on Friday and 7:35 p.m. on Saturday
Watch: AHLLive.com both nights
Season Series: 3-1-0-0 Home, 2-1-0-0 Road, 5-2-0-0 Overall. Eighth and ninth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Van Andel Arena and fourth of five at BMO Harris Bank Center.
All-Time Series: 22-9-1-2 Home, 12-16-2-3 Road, 34-25-3-5 Overall.
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: Guaranteed at least a share of the 10-game season series against Rockford, Grand Rapids has won or tied the season series with its Illinois counterpart in five consecutive campaigns.

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Sun., March 26 // 4 p.m. // UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 3:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Road, 5-4-0-0 Overall. Tenth of 12 meetings overall, fifth of six at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
All-Time Series: 35-32-5-5-5 Road, 83-58-7-6-7 Overall.
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids leads the season series, but has lost three of the last four against Milwaukee.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., March 17 Chicago Wolves 4 at GRIFFINS 5 OT 39-17-1-4 (83 points, 1st Central)
Sat., March 18 GRIFFINS 3 at Chicago Wolves 2 OT 40-17-1-4 (85 points, 1st)
Sun., March 19 GRIFFINS 3 at Milwaukee Admirals 6 40-18-1-4 (85 points, 1st)

Opening Faceoff: Grand Rapids earned four out of a possible six points while playing three games in three nights against Central Division rivals last weekend. The Griffins defeated Chicago twice in overtime before having their four-game point streak snapped with a loss on Sunday at Milwaukee. Grand Rapids continues to lead the division while ranking third in the Western Conference and fourth in the AHL with a 0.675 points percentage. The Griffins are set up for three games this weekend, beginning with a home-and-home set against Rockford on Friday and Saturday and concluding at Milwaukee on Sunday.

This Week’s Promotions: Friday against Rockford is ‘90s Night and fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs/$2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Last Week’s Recap: To open a three-games-in-three-nights stretch, the Griffins defeated Chicago 5-4 in overtime on Friday. The Wolves grabbed a 4-3 lead with 1:51 remaining in regulation, but Tomas Nosek scored with just nine seconds left to force the extra session. Evgeny Svechnikov delivered the game-winner for Grand Rapids 1:51 into overtime. Rounding out the 10-game season series against Chicago on Saturday, Grand Rapids made it a weekend sweep of the Wolves with a 3-2 overtime victory as Ben Street provided the game-winning heroics. On Sunday, the Griffins took a 2-1 lead 1:10 into the second period before Milwaukee reeled off four straight goals in the stanza en route to a 6-3 decision.

Follow the Leader(s): Matt Lorito (19-33—52), Ben Street (23-28—51), Martin Frk (23-23—46), Evgeny Svechnikov (17-23—40) and Tomas Nosek (15-25—40) lead the team in points...Lorito’s 52 points tie for ninth in the AHL...Svechnikov ties for 10th among rookies in scoring…Rookie Dan Renouf has 57 PIM to pace the team…Captain Nathan Paetsch has a team-best plus-18 rating…Jared Coreau ties for ninth with a 2.29 GAA and places eighth with a 0.922 save percentage.

40 and Counting: Following last Saturday’s 3-2 overtime victory at Chicago, the Griffins reached the 40-win plateau for the fifth consecutive season and 14th time overall in the franchise’s 21-year history. Grand Rapids has qualified for the playoffs in 12 of the previous 13 seasons when notching 40 or more wins. The Griffins secured win No. 40 in the 62nd game of the season, tying last year’s club for the third-fastest the team has reached the benchmark. Only the 2000-01 (59 games) and 2005-06 (60 games) squads did so quicker.

Current Playoff Picture:

Currently in playoff position

Callahan Assigned: The Detroit Red Wings on Monday assigned forward Mitch Callahan to the Griffins. Appearing in four Red Wings games this season, Callahan averaged 6:48 of ice time and recorded two shots. Detroit’s sixth choice, 180th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the 6-foot, 195-pound winger has logged five career games in Detroit. He became the 144th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted on March 25, 2014 at Columbus. Skating in 53 Griffins games this season, the 25-year-old Callahan places among the team’s leaders with 36 points (7th), 14 goals (T7th), six power play goals (5th) and 22 assists (T9th).

Three in Detroit: Robbie Russo, Tomas Nosek and Ben Street are on recall with the Detroit Red Wings. The 161st Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL, Russo debuted with Detroit during the team’s 3-2 loss at Toronto on March 7. Russo has appeared in eight games while averaging 15:51 of ice time and showing a minus-two rating. Recalled on Sunday, Nosek made his season debut during last night’s 2-1 loss versus Buffalo. Playing in his seventh career NHL contest, Nosek logged six shots in 10:05 time on ice. Street was recalled today. Should he debut with the Red Wings, he will become the 162nd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL.

Home Sweet Home: Winners in six of their last seven on home ice, the Griffins are 22-8-0-2 at Van Andel Arena this season and their 46 points are tied for third in the league. The Griffins own a plus-43 goal differential inside friendly confines, the highest in the AHL. Friday against Rockford will be just the second home game in the last 11 contests.

On Track: Owning a 40-18-1-4 record (85 points), the Griffins are on pace to finish the season with 102 points. Grand Rapids has amassed 100 or more points five times previously (115 in 2005-06, 113 in 2000-01, 111 in 1999-00, 106 in 2002-03 and 100 in 2013-14).

Resiliency: Grand Rapids is coming off a regulation loss at Milwaukee in its last time out. In the 17 games following a regulation defeat this season, the Griffins post a 13-3-0-1 (0.794) record.

Rise and Shine: Dominik Shine made his professional debut with the Griffins during last Sunday’s loss at Milwaukee. On March 14, Shine was signed to an amateur tryout for the remainder of this season and to a standard player’s contract for 2017-18. An All-WCHA Third Team selection and the conference’s leading goal scorer this season as a senior, Shine became the seventh Northern Michigan Wildcat to suit up for the Griffins.

Coreau Climbs Charts: Goaltender Jared Coreau played in his 100th career game as a Griffin last Saturday and recorded 37 saves to earn the win. Coreau became the fifth netminder in team history to play in 100 or more contests. Tom McCollum is the all-time leader with 226 games played. Take a look at where some of Coreau’s numbers stack up in Grand Rapids’ all-time goaltending record book:

Fantastic Frk: Martin Frk is tied for the team lead with 23 goals and has set a career high with 12 power play tallies. Frk’s 12 power play goals are the most in a season by a Griffin since Jeremy Williams banked 14 in 2009-10. In fact, 12 PPGs tie with Carl Corazzini (2007-08), Glen Metropolit (1998-99) and Michel Picard (1996-97) for seventh-most in a single season in franchise history. One more and Frk can tie Jeff Nelson (1996-97) for sixth. Donald MacLean holds the team’s single-season power play goal record with 21, set in 2005-06. Frk logged 11 markers on the man advantage in 2015-16 and is the second player in team history to record consecutive seasons with double-digit power play goal totals (Eric Manlow in 2004-05 and 2005-06). Including his 27-goal haul from last season, Frk is the ninth player in franchise history to log consecutive 20-goal campaigns and the first since Teemu Pulkkinen in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Tomas Tatar recorded three-straight 20-goal seasons from 2010-13, the only player in team history to accomplish such a feat.

Hot Street: Ben Street scored his team-high fifth game-winning goal of the season in last Saturday’s 3-2 overtime victory at Chicago. A seventh-year pro and first-year Griffin, Street ties for the team lead with 23 overall goals, marking the third time in his AHL career that he has reached the 20-goal benchmark (27 in 2011-12 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; 28 in 2013-14 with Abbotsford). Street shows 10 points (6-4—10) in the last nine games.

Russian Influence: Rookie Evgeny Svechnikov banked his fourth game-winning goal during last Friday’s 5-4 overtime victory versus Chicago. His 17 overall tallies tie for 11th among AHL rookies. Detroit’s first choice, 19th overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Svechnikov’s 40 points (17-23—40) currently rank eighth on Grand Rapids’ all-time single-season rookie scoring list.

Current Streaks: Since Feb. 15, Eric Tangradi’s 20 points (8-12—20) in 14 games tie for second-most in the AHL...Tyler Bertuzzi is on a four-game point streak (1-4—5)…Martin Frk has four points in the last four games (2-2—4).

On the Power Play: The Griffins continue to lead the league with a power play percentage of 26.8% (72/269). Grand Rapids has relied on the power play for 32.9% of their goals (72 of 219), the second-highest percentage in the AHL behind only Tucson’s 33.8% (50 of 148). The power play has been keyed by Martin Frk (12-13—25), Ben Street (10-14—24), Tomas Nosek (7-17—24) and Matt Lorito (4-20—24), who lead the team in points. Frk ties for third in the league in power play tallies, as 12 of his 23 markers on the year have come with more skaters. Mitch Callahan has been on the ice 39 times during a power play goal, tops on the team. Of the Griffins’ 72 power play goals, 32 have been scored with five forwards on the ice, 24 with four forwards and one defensemen, 14 with three forwards and two defensemen, one with three forwards and one defenseman and one with six forwards. With 12 PPGs from Frk and 10 from Street, the Griffins have two or more players record double-digit PPG totals for the sixth time in franchise history and first since 2008-09 (Darren Haydar 16, Justin Abdelkader 10).

Chasing PP History: To put in perspective the success of the Griffins’ power play thus far, the franchise record for highest power play percentage in a season is 21.8%, set in 2005-06. Through 63 games, the 2005-06 team stood at 21.6% while on the man advantage (93/430). The 2005-06 club, which played 80 regular season games, also scored 120 PPG, the most in team history. The Springfield Indians hold the AHL record for highest power play percentage in a season, finishing at 26.78% in 1993-94.

The Puck Stops Here: Second in the league in goals against per game (2.52), the Griffins are on pace to allow only 191 goals total which would be the sixth-lowest amount ever in franchise history (166 in 2003-04, 177 in 2002-03, 178 in 2001-02, 185 in 2014-15, 187 in 2013-14).

Shots Fired: Martin Frk paces the league with 207 shots and is on track to finish with 249, which would be the fifth-most in franchise history and be the most since the 2007-08 season. As a team, the Griffins lead the AHL, averaging 33.16 shots per game.

Specialty Teams: In addition to having the league’s top power play unit, the Griffins tie for 10th in penalty killing at 82.7%. Grand Rapids is one of four teams to rank inside the top 10 in both power play and penalty kill. The Griffins’ combined power play and penalty kill percentage of 109.5 is the highest on the circuit.

Bookends: The Griffins lead the league with a plus-27 goal differential (67-40) in the first period and place third with a plus-26 differential (78-52) in the final frame. Grand Rapids is 32-4-1-1 (0.868) when striking first.

Showing Discipline: The Griffins are the least penalized team in the league, averaging just 10.2 penalty minutes per contest. In fact, Grand Rapids is on pace to log 776 PIM, which would break the franchise record for fewest PIM in a season set by the 2014-15 team with 869. Rookie Dan Renouf leads the team with 57 PIM and is on track for 68 this season, which would make him the first team PIM leader to not break the century mark (previous low: Brennan Evans, 111 PIM in 2013-14).

Magic Numbers: The Griffins are 32-4-1-1 when scoring the game’s first goal, 29-1 when leading after one period and 29-2-1-0 when leading after two periods…Grand Rapids is 39-5-0-2 when scoring three goals or more and 1-13-1-2 when scoring two or less.

All About Chances: The Griffins are averaging the most shots (33.16) and third-most goals (3.48) while surrendering the second-fewest goals (2.52) and the 16th-fewest shots (29.92).

Rookie Production: The Griffins have played nine rookies this season, which surpasses last year’s total of seven. Those nine rookies have combined for 145 points (55-90—145), which equates to 25.1% of the team’s goals (55/219), 24.4% of the assists (90/369) and 24.7% of the points (145/586).

Milestones: With 14 goals this season, Mitch Callahan has 92 in his career to rank third all-time in franchise history…He trails only Francis Pare (102) and Michel Picard (158) in the record books…Callahan’s 179 career points (92-87—179) are tied with Jiri Hudler for seventh all-time in team history…With three more penalty minutes, Callahan can become the ninth player in franchise history to log 400 or more career PIM…Captain Nathan Paetsch has 121 career assists to rank sixth all-time in team history…Paetsch is nine behind Derek King for fifth…Paetsch needs three games to reach 350 as a Griffin…Only four players have amassed 350 or more games in Grand Rapids.

Rockford Notes: Guaranteed at least a share of the 10-game season series against Rockford, Grand Rapids has won or tied the season series with its Illinois counterpart in five consecutive campaigns…Tomas Nosek, who is currently on recall with Detroit, leads Grand Rapids with nine points (4-5—9) in five games…The Griffins’ league-leading power play is operating at a 29.2% clip against Rockford…The IceHogs post a league-worst 0.328 points percentage on the road.

Milwaukee Notes: With a rivalry dating back to the International Hockey League days, the Griffins have faced the Admirals more than any other opponent in their history as the two clubs will meet up for the 162nd time on Sunday…Grand Rapids leads the season series 5-4-0-0 but has lost three of the last four against Milwaukee…Martin Frk leads the team with eight points (3-5—8) in nine games…Sunday will mark the 15th time in the last 18 regular season meetings that either the Admirals or Griffins were the division leaders at the time of the game.

Walleye Report: Under first-year head coach Dan Watson, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye have clinched a Kelly Cup Playoff berth and post the best record in the league with a 46-14-2-1 (0.754) mark. Rookie Tyson Spink (33-39—72), former Griffin Shane Berschbach (17-54—71) and rookie Tylor Spink (23-43—66) lead the team in scoring. Second-year pro Jake Paterson, Detroit’s second pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, is 31-11-1 while placing third with a 2.31 goals against average and fourth with a 0.916 save percentage. Griffins-contracted Cal Heeter is 12-1 between the pipes and shows a 3.01 GAA and a 0.898 save percentage.

Back-to-Backs: The Griffins will play games on consecutive days a total of 27 times this season and will face their second three-in-three this weekend. Compare the statistics for when the Griffins have played on successive nights:

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics for the Griffins during their 40 wins and 23 (including overtime and shootout) losses: