GRIFFINS BATTLE ICEHOGS AND GULLS IN GRAND RAPIDS, TRAVEL TO CHICAGO

This Week’s Games
Wed., Nov. 18 Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Fri., Nov. 20 San Diego Gulls at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Nov. 21 GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Nov. 11 Iowa Wild 2 at GRIFFINS 5 2-7-0-0, 4 pts. (8th, Central Division)
Fri., Nov. 13 GRIFFINS 2 at Lake Erie Monsters 3 SO 2-7-0-1, 5 pts. (8th)
Sat., Nov. 14 GRIFFINS 1 at Lake Erie Monsters 5 2-8-0-1, 5 pts. (8th)

.500 Week: Despite losing two of three games last week, the Griffins collected three of six possible points. Wednesday saw the Griffins defeat the Iowa Wild at Van Andel Arena, 5-2, to extend their winning streak over Iowa to eight consecutive games dating back to the 2013-14 season. Mitch Callahan and Nathan Paetsch both tallied their first goals of the season, while Eric Tangradi potted two goals, including an empty-netter, and Colin Campbell picked up the game-winner. Before scoring five goals in Wednesday’s victory, Grand Rapids had only 11 goals through eight games played. On Friday, Nick Jensen and Anthony Mantha scored to help the Griffins overcome a two-goal deficit against the Lake Erie Monsters and send the game into overtime. After the extra minutes weren’t enough to settle the score, Lake Erie’s Kerby Rychel was the only skater to connect in the shootout to give the Monsters a 3-2 victory over Grand Rapids. Saturday’s contest wasn’t as closely-contested, as strong performances from Lake Erie’s Josh Anderson (two goals) and Joonas Korpisalo (37 saves) saw the Monsters secure a 5-1 win. Campbell was the lone goal scorer for Grand Rapids, tallying his third goal of the season and setting a new season high in goals scored while wearing a Griffins sweater.

Winning Wednesday: 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 Iowa Wild on Nov. 11 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to Wednesday’s game versus Rockford. 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.

Griffins Leaders: Center Andy Miele continues to lead the Griffins in scoring with seven points (1-6—7) in 11 games, while defenseman Ryan Sproul (1-5—6) ranks second and left wing Eric Tangradi (3-2—5) ranks third. The most penalized player on the team is center Louis-Marc Aubry (29 PIM), followed by Miele (24 PIM). Right wing Anthony Mantha has peppered the opponents with the most shots at 33, and Tangradi’s 13.0% shooting percentage is the highest on Grand Rapids.

The Week Ahead: Grand Rapids (2-8-0-1) has more regulation losses than all three of its opponents this week combined, as the IceHogs (9-3-1-1) and San Diego Gulls (9-3-0-1) have three regulation losses each and the Chicago Wolves (8-1-1-1) have only one. Cumulatively, Grand Rapids’ opponents combine for a 26-7-2-3 record.

The Positives: Center Andy Miele (+1) and right wing Colin Campbell (+2) are the only two Griffins to register a positive rating.

Shootout Memories: Before Friday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Lake Erie Monsters, the Griffins’ last shootout was on March 12, 2015 at Charlotte, which resulted in a 2-1 loss. Coincidentally, Grand Rapids’ last win in a skills contest was against the Monsters on Dec. 20, 2014 (4-3 SOW).

Cookin’ Soupy: After tallying just three goals in 57 games with Grand Rapids over the course of his first two seasons, former Lake Superior Laker Colin Campbell has been heating up, having already scored three goals this season to match his career total as a Griffin. Campbell tallied his first marker on Oct. 10 at San Diego, before scoring a goal in both Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over Iowa and Saturday’s 5-1 loss at Lake Erie.

Jurco Assigned for Conditioning: The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday assigned right wing Tomas Jurco to the Griffins for conditioning. A native of Kosice, Slovakia, Jurco has appeared in four games with Detroit this season, tallying one assist and four penalty minutes. The 22-year-old has spent the last three seasons as a member of the Wings, compiling 33 points (11-22—33) and a plus-six rating in 103 regular season games. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound forward has made a total of 10 playoff appearances as a Red Wing, and he picked up a goal and an assist over the course of seven games in Detroit’s first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Jurco last played for Grand Rapids during the 2013-14 season, when he split his sophomore professional campaign between Detroit (8-7—15, 36 GP) and its AHL affiliate (13-19—32, 32 GP). Despite only suiting up in 32 games with the Griffins that season, Jurco set career highs in assists, points and plus/minus (+10), compared to his 2012-13 debut in Grand Rapids when he notched 28 points (14-14—28) in 74 regular season games and 14 points (8-6—14) in 24 postseason games en route to capturing the Calder Cup. During his time in Grand Rapids, Jurco skated as a member of the Slovakian Olympic Team at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, where he tallied one goal and two penalty minutes in four games.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye (5-5-0-2) experienced a similar week as the Griffins, earning three out of six potential points with a loss, win and shootout loss. Friday saw the Walleye rally back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 3-2 advantage over the Monarchs. After Manchester evened matters at three apiece, former Griffin Joel Chouinard scored a go-ahead goal at 6:04 of the third, but Toledo allowed the Monarchs to score two late third-period goals to surrender a 5-4 win to the home team. The Walleye exacted revenge on Saturday with a 6-2 win at Verizon Wireless Arena, including a 36-save performance by goaltender Jake Paterson. The final game of the weekend three-in-three went the way of Manchester on Sunday via a 10-round shootout with Jeff Lerg in net for Toledo.

Scouting Report

Wed., Nov. 18 vs. Rockford IceHogs (9-3-1-1) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 16-8-1-2 Home, 24-21-3-5 Overall. Season Series: Second of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Ted Dent (5th season). Notes: The Rockford IceHogs rank second in the Central Division, fifth in the Western Conference and eighth overall...The IceHogs are on a 10-game point streak (8-0-1-1)...Defenseman Ville Pokka (2-8—10) leads all Rockford skaters in scoring, followed by a four-way tie for second place between right wing Ryan Hartman (4-4—8), left wing Bryan Bickell (3-5—8), left wing Jeremy Morin (3-5—8) and center Marko Dano (1-7—8)...Michael Leighton continues to provide the main services between the pipes for Rockford, tying for 15th among league goaltenders with a 2.31 goals against average. Leighton, who owns an 8-2-1 record, is on a four-game winning streak...The IceHogs’ power play ranks 24th overall (12.3%), just slightly above Grand Rapids’ 12.2%, while their power play ranks 19th (81.2%).

Fri., Nov. 20 vs. San Diego Gulls (9-3-0-1) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Season Series: Second of two meetings overall, first and last at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Anaheim Ducks. Head Coach: Dallas Eakins (1st season). Notes: The San Diego Gulls are the former Norfolk Admirals, who relocated to California during the offseason as part of the AHL’s western expansion…Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins preceded Todd Nelson as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers last season before his firing from the job in December…Friday’s game against San Diego marks the franchise’s first time visiting Grand Rapids and last time this season...The Gulls rank third in the Pacific Division, fourth in the Western Conference and seventh overall...Rookie Brandon Montour ranks first among league defensemen in scoring, second among AHL rookies and ties for eighth overall with 15 points (3-12—15) in 13 games...San Diego has scored the first goal eight times this season and holds a 7-0-0-1 record when doing so...The Gulls’ power play (27.8%) is currently the best in the league, while their penalty killing record (85.5%) clocks in at 10th...Former Griffin Chris Mueller ranks second among active Gulls scorers with 11 points (3-8—11) and 22 PIM in 13 games. A former Michigan State Spartan, Mueller made his pro debut with Grand Rapids in 2007-08 after wrapping up his collegiate career at MSU.

Sat., Nov. 21 at Chicago Wolves – Allstate Arena – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 33-27-0-2-0 Road, 65-48-2-5-2 Overall. Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Allstate Arena. NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues. Head Coach: John Anderson (14th season). Notes: The Chicago Wolves rank first in the Central Division, first in the Western Conference and second overall...The Wolves are currently on a nine-game point streak (7-0-1-1)...Center Pat Cannone, who ranked second in scoring on the Wolves last season, sits atop the team’s scoring leaders with 14 points (5-9—14) and a plus-11 rating in 11 games. He also leads the league in plus/minus...Chicago averages the second-fewest amount of penalty minutes per game in the AHL (10.82)...The Wolves have not lost a game when scoring the first goal (6-0-0-0)...The last time the Griffins and Wolves faced off was on Feb. 28, when Petr Mrazek authored a 27-save shutout at Allstate Arena to lead Grand Rapids to a 5-0 victory.

This Week’s Games
Wed., Nov. 18 Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Fri., Nov. 20 San Diego Gulls at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Nov. 21 GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Nov. 11 Iowa Wild 2 at GRIFFINS 5 2-7-0-0, 4 pts. (8th, Central Division)
Fri., Nov. 13 GRIFFINS 2 at Lake Erie Monsters 3 SO 2-7-0-1, 5 pts. (8th)
Sat., Nov. 14 GRIFFINS 1 at Lake Erie Monsters 5 2-8-0-1, 5 pts. (8th)

.500 Week: Despite losing two of three games last week, the Griffins collected three of six possible points. Wednesday saw the Griffins defeat the Iowa Wild at Van Andel Arena, 5-2, to extend their winning streak over Iowa to eight consecutive games dating back to the 2013-14 season. Mitch Callahan and Nathan Paetsch both tallied their first goals of the season, while Eric Tangradi potted two goals, including an empty-netter, and Colin Campbell picked up the game-winner. Before scoring five goals in Wednesday’s victory, Grand Rapids had only 11 goals through eight games played. On Friday, Nick Jensen and Anthony Mantha scored to help the Griffins overcome a two-goal deficit against the Lake Erie Monsters and send the game into overtime. After the extra minutes weren’t enough to settle the score, Lake Erie’s Kerby Rychel was the only skater to connect in the shootout to give the Monsters a 3-2 victory over Grand Rapids. Saturday’s contest wasn’t as closely-contested, as strong performances from Lake Erie’s Josh Anderson (two goals) and Joonas Korpisalo (37 saves) saw the Monsters secure a 5-1 win. Campbell was the lone goal scorer for Grand Rapids, tallying his third goal of the season and setting a new season high in goals scored while wearing a Griffins sweater.

Winning Wednesday: 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 Iowa Wild on Nov. 11 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to Wednesday’s game versus Rockford. 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.

Griffins Leaders: Center Andy Miele continues to lead the Griffins in scoring with seven points (1-6—7) in 11 games, while defenseman Ryan Sproul (1-5—6) ranks second and left wing Eric Tangradi (3-2—5) ranks third. The most penalized player on the team is center Louis-Marc Aubry (29 PIM), followed by Miele (24 PIM). Right wing Anthony Mantha has peppered the opponents with the most shots at 33, and Tangradi’s 13.0% shooting percentage is the highest on Grand Rapids.

The Week Ahead: Grand Rapids (2-8-0-1) has more regulation losses than all three of its opponents this week combined, as the IceHogs (9-3-1-1) and San Diego Gulls (9-3-0-1) have three regulation losses each and the Chicago Wolves (8-1-1-1) have only one. Cumulatively, Grand Rapids’ opponents combine for a 26-7-2-3 record.

The Positives: Center Andy Miele (+1) and right wing Colin Campbell (+2) are the only two Griffins to register a positive rating.

Shootout Memories: Before Friday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Lake Erie Monsters, the Griffins’ last shootout was on March 12, 2015 at Charlotte, which resulted in a 2-1 loss. Coincidentally, Grand Rapids’ last win in a skills contest was against the Monsters on Dec. 20, 2014 (4-3 SOW).

Cookin’ Soupy: After tallying just three goals in 57 games with Grand Rapids over the course of his first two seasons, former Lake Superior Laker Colin Campbell has been heating up, having already scored three goals this season to match his career total as a Griffin. Campbell tallied his first marker on Oct. 10 at San Diego, before scoring a goal in both Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over Iowa and Saturday’s 5-1 loss at Lake Erie.

Jurco Assigned for Conditioning: The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday assigned right wing Tomas Jurco to the Griffins for conditioning. A native of Kosice, Slovakia, Jurco has appeared in four games with Detroit this season, tallying one assist and four penalty minutes. The 22-year-old has spent the last three seasons as a member of the Wings, compiling 33 points (11-22—33) and a plus-six rating in 103 regular season games. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound forward has made a total of 10 playoff appearances as a Red Wing, and he picked up a goal and an assist over the course of seven games in Detroit’s first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Jurco last played for Grand Rapids during the 2013-14 season, when he split his sophomore professional campaign between Detroit (8-7—15, 36 GP) and its AHL affiliate (13-19—32, 32 GP). Despite only suiting up in 32 games with the Griffins that season, Jurco set career highs in assists, points and plus/minus (+10), compared to his 2012-13 debut in Grand Rapids when he notched 28 points (14-14—28) in 74 regular season games and 14 points (8-6—14) in 24 postseason games en route to capturing the Calder Cup. During his time in Grand Rapids, Jurco skated as a member of the Slovakian Olympic Team at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, where he tallied one goal and two penalty minutes in four games.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye (5-5-0-2) experienced a similar week as the Griffins, earning three out of six potential points with a loss, win and shootout loss. Friday saw the Walleye rally back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 3-2 advantage over the Monarchs. After Manchester evened matters at three apiece, former Griffin Joel Chouinard scored a go-ahead goal at 6:04 of the third, but Toledo allowed the Monarchs to score two late third-period goals to surrender a 5-4 win to the home team. The Walleye exacted revenge on Saturday with a 6-2 win at Verizon Wireless Arena, including a 36-save performance by goaltender Jake Paterson. The final game of the weekend three-in-three went the way of Manchester on Sunday via a 10-round shootout with Jeff Lerg in net for Toledo.

Scouting Report

Wed., Nov. 18 vs. Rockford IceHogs (9-3-1-1) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 16-8-1-2 Home, 24-21-3-5 Overall. Season Series: Second of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Ted Dent (5th season). Notes: The Rockford IceHogs rank second in the Central Division, fifth in the Western Conference and eighth overall...The IceHogs are on a 10-game point streak (8-0-1-1)...Defenseman Ville Pokka (2-8—10) leads all Rockford skaters in scoring, followed by a four-way tie for second place between right wing Ryan Hartman (4-4—8), left wing Bryan Bickell (3-5—8), left wing Jeremy Morin (3-5—8) and center Marko Dano (1-7—8)...Michael Leighton continues to provide the main services between the pipes for Rockford, tying for 15th among league goaltenders with a 2.31 goals against average. Leighton, who owns an 8-2-1 record, is on a four-game winning streak...The IceHogs’ power play ranks 24th overall (12.3%), just slightly above Grand Rapids’ 12.2%, while their power play ranks 19th (81.2%).

Fri., Nov. 20 vs. San Diego Gulls (9-3-0-1) – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Home. Season Series: Second of two meetings overall, first and last at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Anaheim Ducks. Head Coach: Dallas Eakins (1st season). Notes: The San Diego Gulls are the former Norfolk Admirals, who relocated to California during the offseason as part of the AHL’s western expansion…Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins preceded Todd Nelson as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers last season before his firing from the job in December…Friday’s game against San Diego marks the franchise’s first time visiting Grand Rapids and last time this season...The Gulls rank third in the Pacific Division, fourth in the Western Conference and seventh overall...Rookie Brandon Montour ranks first among league defensemen in scoring, second among AHL rookies and ties for eighth overall with 15 points (3-12—15) in 13 games...San Diego has scored the first goal eight times this season and holds a 7-0-0-1 record when doing so...The Gulls’ power play (27.8%) is currently the best in the league, while their penalty killing record (85.5%) clocks in at 10th...Former Griffin Chris Mueller ranks second among active Gulls scorers with 11 points (3-8—11) and 22 PIM in 13 games. A former Michigan State Spartan, Mueller made his pro debut with Grand Rapids in 2007-08 after wrapping up his collegiate career at MSU.

Sat., Nov. 21 at Chicago Wolves – Allstate Arena – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 33-27-0-2-0 Road, 65-48-2-5-2 Overall. Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Allstate Arena. NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues. Head Coach: John Anderson (14th season). Notes: The Chicago Wolves rank first in the Central Division, first in the Western Conference and second overall...The Wolves are currently on a nine-game point streak (7-0-1-1)...Center Pat Cannone, who ranked second in scoring on the Wolves last season, sits atop the team’s scoring leaders with 14 points (5-9—14) and a plus-11 rating in 11 games. He also leads the league in plus/minus...Chicago averages the second-fewest amount of penalty minutes per game in the AHL (10.82)...The Wolves have not lost a game when scoring the first goal (6-0-0-0)...The last time the Griffins and Wolves faced off was on Feb. 28, when Petr Mrazek authored a 27-save shutout at Allstate Arena to lead Grand Rapids to a 5-0 victory.