DIVISION-LEADING GRIFFINS PREP FOR HOMESTAND

This Week’s Games
Iowa Wild at GRIFFINS // Wed., Jan. 4 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: ESPN 96.1 FM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: 1-0-0-1 Home, 2-0-0-1 Overall. Fourth of eight meetings overall, third of four at Van Andel Arena.
All-Time Series: 10-2-0-1 Home, 20-4-0-1 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: Iowa snapped an eight-game winless streak at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 2 with a 4-3 shootout win.

Charlotte Checkers at GRIFFINS // Fri., Jan. 6 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 2-2-0-0 Overall. Fifth of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena.
All-Time Series: 6-8-0-0 Home, 16-15-0-1 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes
Noteworthy: Of the 52 AHL and IHL teams that Grand Rapids has played during its 21-year history, only nine can claim a winning record at Van Andel Arena. The Checkers are 8-6 lifetime in Grand Rapids, as they are the only active AHL team with a winning record at the Van (minimum of two games).

Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS // Sat., Jan. 7 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: 2-1-0-0 Home, 3-1-0-0 Overall. Fifth of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at Van Andel Arena.
All-Time Series: 21-9-1-2 Home, 32-24-3-5 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Griffins are 15-3-1-1 in 20 regular season games against the IceHogs at Van Andel Arena.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Dec. 28 GRIFFINS 3 at Cleveland Monsters 2 19-7-1-2 (41 points, 1st Central Division)
Fri., Dec. 30 GRIFFINS 0 at Cleveland Monsters 4 19-8-1-2 (41 points, 1st)
Sat., Dec. 31 Rockford IceHogs 2 at GRIFFINS 5 20-8-1-2 (43 points, 1st)

Opening Faceoff: The Grand Rapids Griffins have won six of their last seven and have points in 14 of the last 16 contests (11-2-1-2). Leading the Central Division, Grand Rapids places second in the Western Conference (0.002 percentage points behind Ontario) and third in the AHL with a 20-8-1-2 record (0.694). The Griffins continue their four-game homestand this week with games against Iowa, Charlotte and Rockford. All three opponents this week occupy the bottom of the division and rank 24th or below in the league.

Last Week’s Recap: Following a week off for the holiday break, the Griffins were back in action Wednesday at Cleveland and picked up where they left off, winning their fifth consecutive game with a 3-2 victory. Wrapping up a two-game set against Cleveland on Friday, Grand Rapids was shut out for the second time this season, 4-0, despite allowing only 15 shots on goal. On Saturday, the Griffins closed 2016 on a high note, defeating Rockford 5-2 in the team’s 20th annual New Year’s Eve Celebration game.

This Week’s Promotions: Wednesday against Iowa will be a 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. All fans who were in attendance for the Griffins’ win against the Milwaukee Admirals on Dec. 21 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to this game. For Friday’s game against Charlotte, fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs/$2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last. Saturday against Rockford is Superhero Night presented by Comerica Bank. Additionally, the first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a goalie helmet bank, courtesy of Comerica Bank.

All-Star Coach: Head coach Todd Nelson has earned the honor to coach the Central Division in the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, to be held Jan. 29-30 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. Thanks to Grand Rapids’ 5-2 win last Saturday against Rockford, the Griffins clinched the best points percentage (0.694) in the division through the end of play on Dec. 31, meriting Nelson’s accolade. In his seventh season as an AHL head coach, Nelson will be making his second trip to the AHL All-Star Classic as a coach, after he previously served as co-coach for the Western Conference at the 2012 All-Star Classic in Atlantic City, N.J. Nelson will become the third head coach in Griffins history to coach in an all-star game, joining Jeff Blashill in 2014 and Bruce Cassidy in 2002 (AHL) and 2001 (IHL).

Start It Up: The Griffins’ 0.694 points percentage marks the franchise’s third-best start through 31 games that trails only the 2000-01 (22-6-3, 0.758) and 2013-14 (22-7-1-1, 0.742) teams. It is also head coach Todd Nelson’s best start to a season since his 2011-12 Oklahoma City Barons squad was 21-7-1-2 (0.726) through 31 games.

December to Remember: The Griffins showed a 9-2-1-1 (0.769) mark in the last month of the calendar year, the third-best December record in the franchise’s 21-year history. Only the 2015-16 (10-2-0-0, 0.833) and the 2000-01 (12-3-0, 0.800) teams had a more prosperous December.

Sellouts: During last Saturday’s 5-2 win over Rockford, the Griffins played in front of a capacity crowd of 10,834 to mark the 165th sellout of Van Andel Arena in the franchise’s 21-year history. Over the course of their play at the “Freezer on Fulton,” the Griffins have enjoyed the raucous crowd support, showing an 86-61-1-2-15 record (0.576) while outscoring opponents 491-445 (2.98-2.70 average per game) in sold-out home games. Grand Rapids has also sold out four consecutive New Year’s Eve games.

Follow the Leader(s): Matt Lorito (10-22—32), Mitch Callahan (9-14—23), Kyle Criscuolo (9-12—21) and Ben Street (6-15—21) lead the team in points...Lorito’s 32 points are fourth in the league and 22 assists are third...Criscuolo’s 21 points (9-12—21) tie for 10th among rookies…Robbie Russo’s 18 points (5-13—18) are the most among team defensemen and tie for 15th among league blueliners…Evgeny Svechnikov paces the club with 32 penalty minutes while Eric Tangradi and Nick Jensen are tied with a team-best +8 rating.

On the Power Play: The Griffins place second in the league with a power play percentage of 27.0% (37/137) and have recorded at least one goal while on the man advantage in 19 of the last 22 games. Grand Rapids has converted on the power play in 10 of its last 11 home contests and are 17 for 54 (31.5%) during that stretch. The Griffins have relied on the power play for 35.6% of their goals (37 of 104), the fourth-highest percentage in the AHL behind only Toronto’s 39.8% (33 of 83), Tucson’s 37.3% (31 of 83) and Utica’s 36.5% (27 of 74). The power play has been keyed by first-year Griffin Matt Lorito, who ties for second in the league in both power play points (4-14—18) and power play assists (14), and Martin Frk, who ties for fifth in power play goals as six of his 10 markers on the year have come on the man advantage.

Limiting Chances: The Griffins averaged 2.08 goals against in 13 December games. After giving up 20 shots in the third period at Cleveland on Dec. 6 and 21 in the first period versus Chicago on Dec. 7, the Griffins have averaged 22.11 shots against in the last nine games. Grand Rapids allowed only 15 shots against in last Friday’s loss at Cleveland, marking the fewest shots against since the Griffins surrendered 15 at Peoria on Dec. 18, 2010. The Griffins conceded a single shot on goal in the third period to tie a franchise record for fewest shots against in a road period (occurred three times previously, most recently in the third period on Nov. 16, 2008 at Milwaukee).

Pasquale’s Rare Loss: Goaltender Eddie Pasquale’s two regulation losses this season have been separated by over two months as he lost last Friday for the first time since Oct. 29 at Charlotte and saw his career-high nine-game point streak (6-0-3) come to an end. The first-year Griffin and sixth-year pro ranks 11th with a 2.24 goals against average and ties for 13th with a 0.919 save percentage.

Bringing the Heet: In his first season back in North America, goaltender Cal Heeter has lost just once this year, going a combined 13-1 between the ECHL’s Walleye and the Griffins, including a perfect 3-0 in Grand Rapids. The fifth-year pro spent the latter part of the 2014-15 season and all of 2015-16 between Zagreb Medvescak (KHL) and Hamburg (DEL).

Coreau Wins: Goaltender Jared Coreau earned his second NHL victory last Thursday at Ottawa after Anthony Mantha scored the game-winner in overtime. The win marked the third time in Detroit Red Wings history that both the goalie who earned the victory and the player who scored the game-winning goal had started the season as Griffins. During the 2014-15 season, the duet was accomplished by Teemu Pulkkinen and Petr Mrazek (5-1 win at Pittsburgh on March 15) and by Landon Ferraro and Mrazek (2-0 win at Carolina on April 11), but in both of those games the winning goal was scored during the first period.

First Things First: Dan Renouf added his name to the list of rookies who have scored their first professional goal with the Griffins this season. A product of Maine University, Renouf’s initial marker came in second period of last Saturday’s win against Rockford and proved to be the game-winner. He joins Joe Hicketts (Nov. 12 at Milwaukee) and Kyle Criscuolo (Oct. 18 at Iowa) among rookies whose first goals have been game-winners. Dylan Sadowy (Dec. 9 vs. Milwaukee), Dominic Turgeon (Nov. 26 at Cleveland) and Evgeny Svechnikov (Oct. 15 at Chicago) also recorded their first pro goals earlier this season.

Penalty Killing: After allowing seven opponent power play goals in 13 opportunities (53.9%) from Dec. 2-7, Grand Rapids has killed 27 of its last 30 penalties (90.0%) spanning the previous nine games.

Current Streaks: Robbie Russo has two multi-point games in his last four outings…Tomas Nosek has five goals and six points in the last six games…Rookie defenseman Dan Renouf has three points (1-2—3) in the last four contests…Eric Tangradi has three points (1-2—3) in the last three games.

Rookie Production: The Griffins have played eight rookies this season, which already surpasses last year’s total of seven. Those eight rookies have combined for 66 points (26-40—66), which equates to 25.0% of the team’s goals (26/104), 23.1% of the assists (40/173) and 23.9% of the points (66/276).

Home Sweet Home: The Griffins have points in seven consecutive home games (5-0-0-2) dating back to the Friday after Thanksgiving. Grand Rapids will play eight games within friendly confines in January, tied for the most home games in a month this season (November).

Milestones: Notching career goal No. 87 last Wednesday, Mitch Callahan has tied Tomas Tatar for third in franchise history and is 15 behind Francis Pare for second...Callahan’s 166 points (87-79—166) are eighth most in team history, 13 behind Jiri Hudler for seventh...Matt Lorito needs two points to reach 100 as a pro...With an assist in last Saturday’s win, captain Nathan Paetsch recorded his 115th career helper to pass Jiri Hudler and place sixth all-time in team history…Paetsch is 15 behind Derek King for fifth.

Cool Ranch Lorito: Fourth in the AHL with 32 points (10-22—32), first-year Griffin and second-year pro Matt Lorito has six assists (0-6—6) in the last six games. The longest he has gone without a point is three games and that occurred back on Oct. 22-29. In fact, Lorito’s 1.03 points/game are the highest on the team. Lorito is on pace for 78 points, which would be ninth most in a single season in team history, and 54 assists, which would be the fourth highest season total.

Goal Scoring: The Griffins are averaging nearly a full goal more than opponents as they tie for seventh in goals for (3.35) and rank second in goals against (2.45). Grand Rapids has a plus-28 goal differential, tied for third best in the AHL.

Showing Discipline: The Griffins are the least penalized team in the league, averaging just 9.16 penalty minutes per contest. In fact, Grand Rapids is on pace to log 696 PIM, which would break the franchise record for fewest PIM in a season set by the 2014-15 team with 869. Evgeny Svechnikov has 32 PIM and is on track for 78 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). Svechnikov has recorded two PIM total in the last nine games.

Magic Numbers: The Griffins are 17-2-1-1 when scoring the game’s first goal, 13-1 when leading after one period and 16-1-1-0 when leading after two periods…Grand Rapids is 20-1-0-1 when scoring three goals or more and 0-7-1-1 when scoring two or less.

Prophetic Promotions: When Iowa comes to town on Wednesday, it will mark the sixth Winning Wednesday promotion of the season. The promotion, in which each fan in attendance receives a free ticket to the next Wednesday game if the Griffins win, has proved to be prophetic as Grand Rapids has won 11 of its last 14 home Wednesday contests including four of five this season.

Three in Detroit: Jared Coreau, Nick Jensen and Anthony Mantha remain on recall with the Detroit Red Wings. Coreau, the 158th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL, shows a 2-1-1 record, a 3.43 GAA and a 0.889 save percentage. Jensen, the 159th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL, has skated in five games, recording two assists and two PIM. Mantha is on a six-game point streak and has 16 points (9-7—16), a plus-10 rating and 12 PIM in 22 games.

Walleye Report: Under first-year head coach Dan Watson, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye have points in eight of their last 10 and continue to lead the league with a 24-5-0-1 record (0.817). Rookie Tylor Spink (12-22—34) and former Griffin A.J. Jenks (13-20—33) lead the team in scoring while second-year pro Jake Paterson, Detroit’s second pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, is 14-4 while ranking fifth with a 2.35 goals against average and placing eighth with a 0.918 save percentage. Griffins-contracted Cal Heeter, who is on recall in Grand Rapids, is 10-1 between the pipes and shows a 3.03 GAA and a 0.898 save percentage.

Reunion of Sorts: Former Griffins Jeff Hoggan and Teemu Pulkkinen are expected to be among Iowa’s contingent on Wednesday along with head coach Derek Lalonde. Hoggan, whose unprecedented four-year run as the team’s captain began with the 2012-13 Calder Cup Championship, has seven points (4-3—7), a plus-two rating and 15 PIM in 27 games with Iowa after beginning the season on a professional tryout. He was signed to a standard player’s contract and was named one of Iowa’s alternate captains on Dec. 9. Hoggan ranks among the Griffins’ all-time playoff leaders with 59 games played (T1st), 124 shots (2nd), 27 points (4th), 56 penalty minutes (5th), 16 assists (T7th) and 11 goals (T9th). He also places among the team’s all-time regular season leaders with eight unassisted goals (T3rd) and 557 shots (10th). In his first season with the Wild, Pulkkinen leads the team in goals (11), points (11-9—20) and power play goals (4). The league’s top goal scorer and an AHL First Team All-Star in 2014-15 with Grand Rapids, Pulkkinen ranks among the Griffins’ all-time playoff leaders with 22 goals (1st), nine power play goals (1st), 34 points (2nd), three first goals (T2nd), 123 shots (3rd), 40 games played (10th) and 42 penalty minutes (T10th). He also places among the team’s all-time regular season leaders with a 0.165 shooting percentage (4th) and 19 power play goals (T8th). Lalonde is in his first season at the helm of the Wild after spending the last two years with the Toledo Walleye, the ECHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and Griffins. Under Lalonde’s direction, the Walleye won the North Division title twice and compiled a 97-35-7-5 regular season record (0.715), including a league-best 50-15-5-2 mark (0.743) in 2014-15.

Getting Wild: Since incurring a 3-1 loss to the Iowa Wild on March 8, 2014 at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins have points in nine consecutive home games against Iowa (8-0-0-1) to improve their all-time series record within friendly confines to 10-2-0-1. Iowa snapped an eight-game winless streak at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 2 with a 4-3 shootout win. Including the two previous renditions of AHL franchises in Iowa – Stars (4-0-1-1 record from 2005-08) and Chops (1-0-0-0 record from 2008-09) – the Griffins post a 15-2-1-2 record (0.825) all-time at Van Andel Arena against foes from the Hawkeye State.

Back-to-Backs: The Griffins will play back-to-back games a total of 27 times this season. Compare the statistics for when the Griffins have played on consecutive nights:

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics for the Griffins during their 20 wins and 11 (including overtime and shootout) losses: