GRIFFINS BATTLE ADMIRALS IN CENTRAL DIVISION SEMIFINALS

This Week’s Games
Milwaukee Admirals at GRIFFINS // Fri., April 21 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Milwaukee Admirals at GRIFFINS // Sun., April 23 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: ESPN 96.1 FM at 6:35 p.m. on Friday and 3:35 p.m. on Sunday
Watch: AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., April 12 Charlotte Checkers 1 at GRIFFINS 2 SO 45-23-1-5 (96 points, 2nd Central)
Fri., April 14 Charlotte Checkers 2 at GRIFFINS 3 OT 46-23-1-5 (98 points, 2nd)
Sat., April 15 GRIFFINS 5 at Milwaukee Admirals 1 47-23-1-5 (100 points, 2nd)

Setting the Stage: The Griffins qualified for the postseason for the 15th time in their 21-year history with a 47-23-1-5 record, claiming the second seed in the Central Division and finishing sixth overall in the AHL. Grand Rapids will face the third-seeded Milwaukee Admirals (43-26-4-3, 93 pts.) in the best-of-five Central Division Semifinals, marking the third time the teams have squared off in the postseason and their second consecutive first-round meeting. Grand Rapids won the season series against Milwaukee by way of a 7-5 record, including a 4-2 mark in Wisconsin. The Admirals are returning to the playoffs for the second straight season following a one-year absence that broke a string of 12 appearances in a row.

How We Got Here: Grand Rapids clinched a 2017 Calder Cup Playoff berth on March 26 with a 3-2 win at Milwaukee, becoming the third team in the AHL and first in the Central Division to book a trip to the postseason. The Griffins took over the top spot in the Central Division on Jan. 7 and would hold onto it until being unseated on April 8. Due to a combination of callups and injuries, the Griffins played without five of their top nine scorers and their leading defenseman for a seven-game stretch (March 29-April 9), during which Grand Rapids finished 1-5-0-1. The Griffins clinched home-ice advantage for the Central Division Semifinals with a 2-1 shootout win against Charlotte on April 12. Heading into the final game of the regular season, Grand Rapids had a chance to claim the Central Division crown as the Griffins trailed Chicago by just a point and owned the tiebreaker. The Griffins beat Milwaukee 5-1 and needed any Chicago loss to win the division, but the Wolves rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Charlotte 4-3 in overtime. With the division championship as well as the fourth and final playoff spot still to be decided on the final day of the regular season, Milwaukee sat comfortably in third. The Admirals were assured of the third seed on April 12 after Grand Rapids secured no worse than second. Milwaukee clinched its second straight playoff bid and 14th in the last 15 seasons following a 43-26-4-3 record. The Admirals jumped out of the gates to begin the year, earning points in 17 of their first 20 games and posting the league’s best points percentage. A 3-7-0-1 stretch from Dec. 21-Jan. 13 by Milwaukee combined with a 6-2 mark by Grand Rapids over that same time moved the Admirals out of first place.

2017 Calder Cup Playoffs - Central Division Semifinals - Best-of-Five

* If necessary
All times Eastern and subject to change
All games on ESPN 96.1 FM and AHLLive.com


Griffins at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena: This series will mark the Griffins’ first-ever playoff visits to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Admirals made their return to Panther Arena this season for the first time since 1986-87 after having played at the Bradley Center for the last 28 years. Grand Rapids is 2-2 all time in playoff games in Milwaukee, with both victories coming during last season’s Central Division Semifinals sweep. The city of Milwaukee has hosted Grand Rapids 84 times in the regular season since 1996, more than any other opposing city. The Griffins own a 37-32-5-5-5 record in Sud City.

Prior History: The Griffins and Admirals will renew a rivalry that dates back to the International Hockey League days. Since Milwaukee’s founding in 1977-78 and Grand Rapids’ inception in 1996-97, the teams have met a combined 164 times in the regular season, with the Griffins possessing an 85-59-7-6-7 edge. The 2017 Calder Cup Playoff meeting marks the third time ever these clubs have played in the postseason. Grand Rapids’ 2005-06 team, which accumulated a franchise-record and AHL-best 115 points, was swept in the 2006 Western Conference Finals by Milwaukee. The Griffins would enact a level of revenge exactly 10 years later, sweeping division-champion Milwaukee in last season’s Central Division Semifinals.

Going Way Back: The upcoming series between the Griffins and Admirals will actually mark the fourth series ever between pro teams from Grand Rapids and Milwaukee. The Grand Rapids Owls defeated the Admirals four games to three in the 1979 IHL Turner Cup Quarterfinals.

Milwaukee Connections: One player and two assistant coaches from Beer City USA have connections to Brew City. Griffins defenseman Conor Allen appeared in 31 games (1-5—6) for Milwaukee last season, while Ben Simon (18 GP in 2003-04) and Bruce Ramsay (3 GP in 1995-96) had cups of coffee on the other side of Lake Michigan during their playing days. In addition, forwards Ben Street and Matthew Ford know the Badger State well, as the pair helped the University of Wisconsin win the 2006 NCAA championship. Eric Tangradi and Adam Payerl were teammates from 2011-13 while playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Round 1 Rematch: The Griffins and Admirals will be reprising their first-round matchup last season, which resulted in Grand Rapids sweeping the Central Division champions. A combined 19 current Griffins and Admirals players participated in last year’s clash, including 10 for Grand Rapids and nine for Milwaukee. Grand Rapids will be playing the same opponent in consecutive postseasons for the fourth time in team history.

Bench Bosses: The 10th head coach in Griffins franchise history, Todd Nelson has guided the Griffins to playoff appearances in both of his seasons behind the bench. Nelson is in his seventh season as an AHL head coach, leading the Oklahoma City Barons from 2010-14 before serving as interim head coach of the Edmonton Oilers for majority of the 2014-15 campaign. Following in the footsteps of Danton Cole (2002-05), whom he served under as an assistant coach, Nelson is the second former Griffins player to be employed as Grand Rapids’ head coach. Consistency was the name of the game during Nelson’s second year in West Michigan, a season after the Griffins set a franchise record with a 15– and 13-game winning streak. The Griffins’ longest winning streak was five and losing streak was four this year, as Grand Rapids posted a 15-6-0-2 (0.696) record in games following a regulation loss. Grand Rapids’ 2017 Calder Cup Playoff berth marks the sixth time in as many full seasons as an AHL head coach that Nelson has led his team to the postseason. Dean Evason has directed the Admirals to four postseason appearances in his five seasons as their head coach. Milwaukee closed the campaign with 93 points, its second-most since 2011-12. Despite a 204-129-25-22 (0.599) record under Evason in the regular season, the Admirals are 1-9 under him in the postseason. Evason joined the Admirals following seven years of service to the Washington Capitals as an assistant (2005-12) and helped the Caps appear in the Stanley Cup Playoffs five times.

Between the Pipes: Both of Grand Rapids’ goalies with enough minutes to qualify placed among the league’s leaders in goals against average and save percentage. Jared Coreau placed 11th with a 2.33 GAA in 33 games and Eddie Pasquale was 13th with a 2.43 GAA in 29 games. Pasquale edged out his counterpart in save percentage, as his 0.919 tied for 11th and Coreau’s 0.917 tied for 14th. Seeing his first NHL action this season in Detroit, Coreau was 5-4-3 in 14 appearances, posting a 3.46 GAA and a 0.887 save percentage. In his career against Milwaukee, Coreau is 11-6 in 18 games and has a 1.97 GAA. Marek Mazanec was the only Milwaukee goalie with enough minutes to qualify, as creasemate Juuse Saros spent much of the campaign with the parent Nashville Predators. Mazanec appeared in 47 of 76 games for the Admirals, tallying a 27-17-3 record, a 2.65 GAA and a 0.912 save percentage. Playing four games for Nashville, Mazanec was 0-2 with a 4.72 GAA and a 0.839 save percentage. Saros accounted for a 13-2 mark in Milwaukee with a 1.86 GAA and a 0.934 save percentage and a 10-8 record with the Predators, adding a 2.35 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage. Rookie Jonas Gunnarsson also showed a 3-7-3 record in 16 games for Milwaukee.

Special Teams Breakdown: Grand Rapids’ special teams edge out Milwaukee, as the Griffins’ combined power play and penalty kill percentage is 107.2, compared to their adversary’s 104. The Griffins paced the league with a power play efficiency of 24.4% and ranked 11th on the penalty kill at 82.8%, while Milwaukee finished seventh on the power play (20.6%) and ninth on the penalty kill (83.4%). Grand Rapids produced 31.9% (80-251) of its goals from the power play, a league high, while Milwaukee relied on the power play for 26.7% (60-225) of its tallies. In 12 meetings between the teams this season, the Griffins were 13-for-60 (21.7%) on the man-advantage while the Admirals were 7-for-52 (13.5%).

Milwaukee vs. Everybody Else: Compare how the Griffins fared in their 12 games against Milwaukee and how they did in their other 64 games:

2016-17 Griffins vs. Admirals
Griffins Records: 7-5-0-0 Overall, 3-3-0-0 in Grand Rapids, 4-2-0-0 in Milwaukee
Admirals Records: 5-6-1-0 Overall, 3-3-0-0 in Grand Rapids, 2-3-1-0 in Milwaukee

Nov. 12 – Griffins 4, Admirals 3 OT – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Joe Hicketts scored his first professional goal 1:53 into overtime as the Griffins won their third consecutive game, defeating the Central Division-leading Admirals by a 4-3 final. Grand Rapids made the most of its opportunities early on, scoring three times on seven first-period shots only to surrender two goals in a 29-second span late in the second and the game-tying tally with 1:14 remaining in regulation to force the extra session. The Griffins converted on 1-of-5 power play opportunities while the penalty kill finished a perfect 6-for-6.

Nov. 23 – Admirals 3, Griffins 1 – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Tomas Jurco scored in his first game while on a conditioning assignment, but the Admirals used a pair of goals from Trevor Smith and a 28-save performance from Juuse Saros to sink Grand Rapids 3-1. Saros’ shutout bid was spoiled with 4:31 remaining by Jurco’s tally. Milwaukee finished 2-for-6 on the power play while Grand Rapids converted on 1-of-6 opportunities. Coreau stopped 23 of 26 shots in defeat.

Dec. 9 – Griffins 3, Admirals 1 – Van Andel Arena
In a battle of the Central Division’s top two teams at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins rode a dominant 35-17 shot advantage to a 3-1 victory over Milwaukee, who entered the game with the highest points percentage in the AHL. Jared Coreau missed earning a shutout in his return from the Red Wings by less than three minutes, but more importantly, his 16 saves helped the Griffins extend their point streaks to eight games overall and five games at home at the time. Grand Rapids’ franchise record-tying run of 13 consecutive games with a power play goal came to an end with a 0-for-3 performance.

Dec. 21 – Griffins 3, Admirals 0 – Van Andel Arena
Evgeny Svechnikov’s first two-goal game as a pro gave Grand Rapids more than enough offense and Eddie Pasquale shut the door on the other end with 27 saves to propel the Griffins to a 3-0 victory over the Admirals. Svechnikov’s goal 26 seconds into the game and Joe Hicketts’ clean hit on Mike Liambas in the first period that sent the Admiral into the glass set the tone early. Pasquale finished off his perfect performance to record his first AHL shutout since Dec. 6, 2013.

Jan. 13 – Griffins 3, Admirals 0 – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
The Western Conference-leading Griffins used a trio of power play goals and a 31-save shutout from Eddie Pasquale to blank Milwaukee. Special teams separated the two teams as the Griffins finished 3-for-6 on the man advantage, while the penalty kill stood tall in a 5-for-5 performance. Evgeny Svechnikov accounted for two goals and Mitch Callahan contributed the third.

Feb. 4 – Admirals 5, Griffins 4 – Van Andel Arena
The Admirals spoiled the return of Jimmy Howard to the Griffins, riding a pair of fortunate bounces in the early going to a 5-4 victory. Howard, assigned by the Red Wings for conditioning earlier in the day, made 24 saves in his first Griffins appearance in nearly eight years. Meanwhile, the Admirals, who totaled only seven goals in their first five clashes with Grand Rapids this season and just one over the previous three, broke a nine-game winless streak at Van Andel Arena that spanned just over two full years. Eric Tangradi scored at the 11:04 mark of the third period but the Griffins could not deliver the equalizer.

Feb. 24 – Admirals 5, Griffins 3 – Van Andel Arena
Down 4-0 early in the third period on a bevy of bounces that went the wrong way, the Griffins mounted a furious comeback to pull within one of Milwaukee, but the visitors eventually added an empty-net goal to escape the Van with a 5-3 victory. Tyler Bertuzzi cut the deficit to one with 5:59 remaining but Adam Payerl scored an empty-netter with 22 seconds left after Jared Coreau was pulled for the extra attacker. On a conditioning assignment by Detroit, Coreau finished with 24 saves in his first game action since Feb. 12.

Feb. 25 – Griffins 6, Admirals 2 – Van Andel Arena
The Griffins cast off Milwaukee, avenging the previous night’s defeat with a 6-2 victory before a sellout crowd on Star Wars Night. Grand Rapids scored two goals in each period and led 3-0 22:01 into the contest. Matt Lorito (2-1—3) and Martin Frk (1-2—3) both enjoyed three-point outings.

March 19 – Admirals 6, Griffins 3 – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Martin Frk’s goal from a tight angle gave Grand Rapids a 2-1 lead early in the second period, but the Admirals responded with four unanswered tallies en route to a 6-3 decision. Tied 1-1 and leading 16-13 in shots after one period, the Griffins were outshot 16-4 in the middle frame. Six different scorers accounted for Milwaukee’s goals, while Eric Tangradi lit the lamp twice.

March 26 – Griffins 3, Admirals 2 – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
The Griffins punched their ticket to the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 victory over Milwaukee. In a back-and-forth affair that saw the Admirals tie the game 8:58 into the third period, Evgeny Svechnikov scored what proved to be the game-winner with 8:26 remaining. Both sides finished 1-for-6 on the power play and Jared Coreau turned aside 23 shots.

March 29 – Admirals 3, Griffins 2 – Van Andel Arena
Adam Payerl’s goal early in the third period was upheld to be the difference for the Admirals in a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids. Despite a commanding 35-19 advantage in shots, a depleted Griffins lineup was able to convert only one of its seven power play chances against the Admirals. The Griffins played without four of their top six scorers as well as their most productive defenseman.

April 15 – Griffins 5, Admirals 1 – UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Behind Evgeny Svechnikov’s career-high four-point (1-3–4) performance and 36 saves from Eddie Pasquale, the Griffins hit the 100-point plateau in their regular season finale with a 5-1 rout of the Milwaukee Admirals. The Griffins rested regulars Nathan Paetsch, Robbie Russo, Ben Street, Brian Lashoff, Tomas Nosek, Matt Lorito and Matthew Ford. Grand Rapids notched two power play goals, while Milwaukee finished 0-for-7.

Tale of the Tape: Here’s how the two rivals stacked up in key categories during the regular season:

Regular Season Series Notes: Grand Rapids earned 14 out of a possible 24 points against Milwaukee in the season series while the Admirals collected 11 points. The Griffins outscored Milwaukee 40-31 in the 12 matchups as eight games were decided by two or more goals. Grand Rapids and Milwaukee were split in the four one-goal games, with each squad winning twice. Grand Rapids won four of the season’s first five meetings and allowed just seven goals in that span. The Admirals’ 5-4 victory on Feb. 4 at Van Andel Arena proved to be Milwaukee’s first win in West Michigan since Jan. 31, 2015, a span of nine regular season meetings. The Griffins owned the two largest margins of victory, winning 6-2 on Feb. 25 and 5-1 in the regular season finale. The Admirals’ biggest win came on March 19 in a 6-3 game as Grand Rapids gave up four goals in the middle period. Eddie Pasquale blanked the Admirals in consecutive starts (Dec. 21 and Jan. 13) and held a scoreless streak of 123:57 from Nov. 12-March 19. Evgeny Svechnikov led all scorers in the season series with 12 points (6-6—12) and a plus-six rating in 12 games. Svechnikov and Mitch Callahan tied for a team-best six goals and Tyler Bertuzzi had a team-high seven assists. Including the rookie Svechnikov, six Griffins registered seven points or more. Pasquale led the Griffins in wins (4-1), goals against (1.79) and save percentage (0.945). Pontus Aberg (6-2—8 in 9 GP) and Kevin Fiala (2-6—8 in 3 GP) led Milwaukee against the Griffins, but both are skating with Nashville during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Marek Mazanec was the goalie of record for eight games on Milwaukee’s end, showing a 3-4-1 record, a 3.50 GAA and a 0.887 save percentage.

Playoff Facts and Figures: Grand Rapids has won 16 of its 29 total playoff series and owns a combined 79-72 record during those games, going 38-38 on home ice and 41-34 on the road. Since the AHL moved to its current 16-team playoff format in 2005, Grand Rapids is one of only two teams to advance to the second round in four consecutive years. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has accomplished the feat twice. Despite the Griffins getting eliminated short of the Calder Cup Finals in each of the last three seasons, all three teams they lost to went on to either win the Cup (Texas in 2014 and Lake Erie in 2016) or appear in the finals (Utica in 2015). Grand Rapids is 5-3 all-time in best-of-five series, having won its last five. Overall, the Griffins’ all-time record in Game 1 of a series is 13-16.

Back for More: Three members of the Griffins’ 2013 Calder Cup championship team are still members of the active roster: forward Mitch Callahan and defensemen Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch. Grand Rapids returns 12 players from last year’s playoff roster that advanced to the Central Division Finals.

Experience Counts: Eighteen players on the Griffins’ roster have AHL postseason experience — Conor Allen (1-1—2 in 12 GP), Tyler Bertuzzi (14-6—20 in 23 GP), Mitch Callahan (7-11—18 in 41 GP), Colin Campbell (1-2—3 in 19 GP), Daniel Cleary (2-3—5 in 17 GP), goaltender Jared Coreau (2-2 record, 2.21 GAA in 4 GP), Matthew Ford (5-8—13 in 21 GP), Martin Frk (1-5—6 in 10 GP), Brian Lashoff (3-9—12 in 51 GP), Matt Lorito (3-4—7 in 11 GP), Dylan McIlrath (0-2—2 in 20 GP), Tomas Nosek (3-5—8 in 21 GP), Nathan Paetsch (3-24—27 in 84 GP), goaltender Eddie Pasquale (7-8 record, 2.42 GAA in 15 GP), Robbie Russo (1-4—5 in 9 GP), Ben Street (1-4—5 in 24 GP), Evgeny Svechnikov (0-1—1 in 2 GP) and Eric Tangradi (7-9—16 in 21 GP). Five skaters also have experience at the NHL level: Cleary (24-28—52 in 121 GP, Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008), Lashoff (0-0—0 in 8 GP), McIlrath (0-0—0 in 1 GP), Paetsch (0-0—0 in 1 GP) and Tangradi (0-1—1 in 3 GP).

Playoff Roster: The following 33 players are eligible to suit up for the Griffins in the postseason: goaltenders Jared Coreau, Cal Heeter and Eddie Pasquale; defensemen Conor Allen, Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek, Brian Lashoff, Patrick McCarron, Dylan McIlrath, Nathan Paetsch, Dan Renouf and Robbie Russo; and forwards Mike Borkowski, Tyler Bertuzzi, Mitch Callahan, Colin Campbell, Daniel Cleary, Kyle Criscuolo, Christoffer Ehn, Matthew Ford, Martin Frk, Axel Holmstrom, Matt Lorito, Tomas Nosek, Dylan Sadowy, Mathew Santos, Dominik Shine, Givani Smith, Ben Street, Evgeny Svechnikov, Eric Tangradi and Dominic Turgeon.

Aye, Aye Captain: Fifth-year Griffin and captain Nathan Paetsch will begin his fifth postseason in Grand Rapids. A 2013 Calder Cup champion, Paetsch has skated in all 59 of Grand Rapids’ games over that span. With one more playoff game played, Paetsch will become the franchise’s leader and break the current tie with Griffins legends Jeff Hoggan and Travis Richards.

Full Blast Bertuzzi: Tyler Bertuzzi will look to capture the same magic he has used in the last two postseasons that’s helped him build a playoff reputation. In 23 Calder Cup Playoff games through two seasons, Bertuzzi has 14 goals, the most among active Griffins and tied for fourth overall on the team’s charts. His six game-winning goals are the most in franchise history. Detroit’s 3rd choice, 58th overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Bertuzzi joined the Griffins at the end of the 2014-15 year after his OHL season in Guelph came to an end. In his first postseason action, Bertuzzi notched seven goals and 12 points in 14 games and followed that up with seven goals and eight points in nine games last season.

Long Runs: Over the previous four postseasons, no other AHL team has played as many games (59) or series (11) or won as many games (34) or series (8) as the Griffins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was second in each category.

Time to Shine: Goaltender Jared Coreau made his playoff debut during the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs and made three appearances in last season’s Central Division Finals against Lake Erie. The fourth-year pro shows a 2-2 postseason record, a 2.21 GAA and a 0.935 save percentage. Eddie Pasquale is 7-8 with a 2.42 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage in 15 career Calder Cup Playoff games. All of Pasquale’s postseason action came with St. John’s in 2012 as the IceCaps reached the conference final.