GRIFFINS HOST CLASH WITH MONSTERS BEFORE WEEKEND SET IN OKLAHOMA CITY

This Week’s Games
Wed., Dec. 10 Lake Erie Monsters at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Fri., Dec. 12 GRIFFINS at Oklahoma City Barons 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Dec. 13 GRIFFINS at Oklahoma City Barons 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Tue., Dec. 2 GRIFFINS 2 at Toronto Marlies 4 9-8-2-0, 20 pts. (4th, Midwest Division)
Fri., Dec. 5 Oklahoma City Barons 4 at GRIFFINS 1 9-9-2-0, 20 pts. (5th)
Sat., Dec. 6 GRIFFINS 4 at Rockford IceHogs 0 10-9-2-0, 22 pts. (T4th)
Sun., Dec. 7 GRIFFINS 2 at Milwaukee Admirals 1 SO 11-9-2-0, 24 pts. (T4th)

Four-Game Split: Grand Rapids won two of its four games last week and currently ties with the Lake Erie Monsters for fourth in the Midwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference. Last Tuesday, the Toronto Marlies snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Griffins. On Friday, Grand Rapids fell to the Oklahoma City Barons at Van Andel Arena by a 4-1 margin. The loss ended a four-game home winning streak for the Griffins. Teemu Pulkkinen was the only skater able to score for Grand Rapids despite a handful of good scoring chances. The Griffins’ fortunes shifted on Saturday when they hit the road to take on the Midwest Division-leading Rockford IceHogs. Grand Rapids posted a 4-0 shutout over the home team with an unbreakable performance by second-year goaltender Jared Coreau. Coreau’s 31 saves provided the netminder with the first shutout of his professional career, and it was the first time Rockford was held scoreless at home since a 4-0 loss to Peoria on March 16, 2013. Coreau’s performance earned him a bid in Sunday’s game in Milwaukee, where he backstopped the Griffins to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Admirals. With Coreau pulled in favor of an extra attacker, Pulkkinen scored the game-tying goal with 50 seconds left in regulation and neither team found the back of the net in overtime, leading to the Griffins’ first shootout of the season. Andy Miele and Mitch Callahan both scored for Grand Rapids in the skills competition, while only Patrick Cehlin connected for the Admirals.

Amway 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 Lake Erie Monsters on Nov. 12 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to Wednesday’s rematch with the Monsters. 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. Additionally, the first 300 fans to visit the Amway table in Section A will receive a gift. Fans can also enjoy a buy-one, get-one-free deal on a 16 oz. Pepsi all night long at any concession stand that sells fountain drinks. (Winning Wednesday and BOGO Pepsi offers exclude Dec. 31 game.)

Wednesday is Hockey Night: For all Wednesday games from December through March (excluding Dec. 31), show your Griffins ticket at participating Arena District restaurants and bars to enjoy Happy Hour specials before the game and Hockey Night specials afterward. Visit griffinshockey.com/hockeynight for a list of participating establishments.

Pepsi Reading Goals: Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free Upper Level tickets to any one of the following games: Dec. 10 and 27; and Jan. 21.

Griffins Leaders: Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen not only paces the Griffins in scoring with 25 points (11-14—25), but he also ties for second in scoring in the league with Oklahoma City’s Jason Williams (9-16—25). Pulkkinen’s linemates Andy Miele (8-10—18) and Mitch Callahan (8-10—18) tie for second in scoring on the team, posting a matching eight goals and 10 assists apiece. Pulkkinen produces 1.14 points per-game (1st), while Miele cranks out 0.95 (2nd) and Callahan 0.82 (3rd). Among the team’s active skaters, Miele’s shooting percentage (25.8%) ranks first, followed by Pulkkinen’s 13.4%. Second-year Griffins defenseman Alexey Marchenko boasts the best plus/minus rating at plus-nine and Callahan follows suit with a plus-seven rating.

Callahan Can: Left wing Mitch Callahan has been on a tear as of late, accruing points in nine of his last 12 games. From Nov. 12-Dec. 7, the Whittier, Calif., native picked up six goals and eight assists. On Sunday, Callahan connected in the third round of the shootout to secure a win over the Milwaukee Admirals. In his 2013-14 campaign, Callahan surpassed his previous two-year point total (17-12—29, 2011-13) with 44 points (2-6-18—44) in 70 games with Grand Rapids. In his first 22 games last season, Callahan tallied nine goals and four assists. In his first 22 games this season, Callahan has eight goals and 10 assists.

A Tale for the Ages: 22-year-old Teemu Pulkkinen leads the Griffins in scoring with 25 points (11-14—25) in 22 games, while 34-year-old former Griffin (2002-03) and Stanley Cup Champion (2002, Detroit) Jason Williams leads the Oklahoma City Barons in scoring with 25 points (9-16—25) in 20 games. When Williams played for the Griffins in the 2002-03 season, his only campaign with Grand Rapids, he was 22-years-old at the time, the same age as Pulkkinen is now (Pulkkinen was 10 years old in 2002). Both Pulkkinen and Williams tie for second among the AHL’s points leaders. Williams went scoreless in his first six games as a Griffin but exploded in his next 16 games, amassing 13 goals and nine assists from 1/11/03-2/16/03. In the same amount of games this season (22), Pulkkinen has picked up 11 goals and 14 assists. Williams earned three assists and third-star honors in last Friday’s matchup between the two teams at Van Andel Arena, and Pulkkinen and Williams will once again square off this Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma City.

GR Turned OK: Current Barons head coach Todd Nelson was an assistant coach in Grand Rapids during the 2002-03 season when Jason Williams played for the team. Nelson, who played for the Griffins himself for three full seasons (1996-98, 1999-00) and part of a fourth (2001-02), was the first player to ever be signed by the Griffins franchise.

Coreau the Wall: Second-year netminder Jared Coreau has had a milestone week and a half, as he earned his first victory as a Griffin on Nov. 29, his first professional shutout on Dec. 6 and his first AHL shootout win on Dec. 7. On Nov. 28, he posted a sturdy 35-save performance against the Adirondack Flames for his first Griffins victory (6-1). Saturday’s shutout was a 4-0 blasting of the Midwest Division-leading Rockford IceHogs. The Perth, Ontario, native faced 31 shots in his blanking of Rockford and followed that performance up with a 21-save, 2-1 decision over the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday. Coreau blocked two out of three of the Admirals’ shooters in the skills competition. Coreau’s 2014-15 campaign is a turnaround compared to his rookie season, when he registered a 4.03 goals against average and a 1-12-6 record in 20 games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and a 4.39 GAA and a 0-4-0 record in five games with the Griffins. In his second-year reincarnation, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound goaltender has turned out a 4-2-0 record with Toledo and a 3-0-0 record with Grand Rapids (0.64 GAA).

Long Time, No See: Jared Coreau’s shutout on Saturday in Rockford was the first on the road for the Griffins during the regular season in two years, dating to Tom McCollum’s 20-save, 3-0 win at Chicago on Dec. 7, 2012.

The Midwest: With the top three teams in the Midwest Division on multi-game losing streaks, the points spread between the five teams has thinned. The Rockford IceHogs (16-6-2-1, 35 pts.) continue to rank first but have lost their last two games, including a 4-0 shutout to the Griffins on Saturday. The Chicago Wolves (13-9-3-0, 29 pts.) are on a three-game losing streak but rank second in the division, just two points ahead of the third-place Milwaukee Admirals (12-7-0-3, 27 pts.). The Admirals, who have dropped five games in a row, have three games in hand to the Wolves. The Lake Erie Monsters (10-8-2-2, 24 pts.) tie with the Griffins (11-9-2-0, 24 pts.) for fourth place. The Monsters have secured points in their last six contests (5-0-1-0) and Grand Rapids has now won two in a row.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye (14-3-0-1, 29 pts.) won their fifth consecutive contest on Saturday with a 6-2 victory over the Elmira Jackals. Alden Hirschfeld, Martin Frk and Tyler Barnes (game-winner) all earned goals in the game, while Detroit-contracted Marek Tvrdon walked away with two assists on the night. Toledo ranks second in the North Divison, three points behind the first-place Fort Wayne Komets (16-4-0-0, 32 pts.).

Winged Domination: The Detroit Red Wings have had an impressive start to their season; the team ties for first in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference and ties for second overall in the league with 39 points. Nineteen former Griffins currently comprise the Wings’ roster. Goaltender Petr Mrazek appeared between the pipes for Detroit in its 3-1 win at Carolina on Sunday, when former Griffin and Red Wing Andrej Nestrasil faced his old squad for the first time. Nestrasil was claimed off of waivers by the Hurricanes just last month after picking up two assists in 13 games with Detroit earlier this season. Left wing Tomas Tatar leads all former Griffins in scoring for the Wings with 20 points (12-8—20) in 28 games this season.

Christmas Bonis: The Griffins on Monday assigned forward Kyle Bonis to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Since his recall from Toledo on Nov. 23, Bonis has appeared in two contests with Grand Rapids, making his Griffins debut in a 4-3 overtime loss at Rochester on Nov. 28. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward has also collected 14 points (10-4—14) in 14 games with the Walleye this season and currently ranks second on the team in goals and ties for fifth in points. Prior to being signed to a one-year contract by the Griffins on Aug. 14, the Lindsay, Ontario, native picked up 45 points (25-20—45) in 65 games with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades during 2013-14 and ranked among team leaders in scoring (4th), goals (2nd) and assists (8th). In addition, Bonis went scoreless in three AHL appearances with the Charlotte Checkers last season and also tallied two points (1-1—2) in six games with the Norfolk Admirals late in 2012-13.

Scouting Report

Wed., Dec. 10 vs. Lake Erie Monsters (10-8-2-2) – 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: 29-19-2-6 Overall, 18-10-0-1 Home. Season Series: 3-3-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Seventh of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche. Head Coach: Dean Chynoweth (2nd season). Notes: The Monsters and Griffins are on pace with one another in points (24), tying for fourth in the Midwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference…Lake Erie has picked up points in its last six outings and posts a 6-2-1-1 record in its last 10 games...Defenseman Stefan Elliot leads the Monsters in scoring with 16 points (5-11—16) in 22 appearances, followed in second by center Colin Smith (6-9—15) and in third by left wing Michael Schumacher (4-10—14). Elliot ties for sixth overall in scoring among AHL blueliners…Right wing Daniel Maggio has amassed the most penalty minutes (78) on the team…The Monsters allow an average of 3.32 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league. They average 2.91 goals for per game (9th)…This is the final matchup between Grand Rapids and Lake Erie at Van Andel Arena this season. The two teams have already met four times in Grand Rapids and twice in Cleveland.

Fri., Dec. 12 at Oklahoma City Barons (14-4-2-2) – Cox Convention Center – 8 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 13 at Oklahoma City Barons – Cox Convention Center – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 11-8-1-1 Overall, 5-4-1-0 Road. Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Second and third of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Cox Convention Center. NHL Affiliation: Edmonton Oilers. Head Coach: Todd Nelson (5th season). Notes: Courtesy of a 10-game point streak (9-0-0-1), the Barons have surpassed the San Antonio Rampage (14-6-2-0, 30 pts.) for first in the West Division. The team also ranks third in the Western Conference and ties for fourth overall in the league…Oklahoma City handed Grand Rapids a 4-1 loss last Friday at Van Andel Arena… Former Griffins defenseman Todd Nelson is the head coach of the Barons. Nelson was the first player ever signed by Grand Rapids… Former Stanley Cup champion (2002 Detroit) and Griffin (2002-03) Jason Williams leads the Barons in scoring with 25 points (9-16—25) in 20 games. Williams is a 15-year pro and has played in 455 NHL games throughout his career…The Barons’ power play ranks second in the league with a 25.3% success rate…Including Games 4 and 5 of the 2013 Western Conference Finals, the Griffins have won their last four games at the Cox Convention Center.

This Week’s Games
Wed., Dec. 10 Lake Erie Monsters at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Fri., Dec. 12 GRIFFINS at Oklahoma City Barons 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Dec. 13 GRIFFINS at Oklahoma City Barons 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Tue., Dec. 2 GRIFFINS 2 at Toronto Marlies 4 9-8-2-0, 20 pts. (4th, Midwest Division)
Fri., Dec. 5 Oklahoma City Barons 4 at GRIFFINS 1 9-9-2-0, 20 pts. (5th)
Sat., Dec. 6 GRIFFINS 4 at Rockford IceHogs 0 10-9-2-0, 22 pts. (T4th)
Sun., Dec. 7 GRIFFINS 2 at Milwaukee Admirals 1 SO 11-9-2-0, 24 pts. (T4th)

Four-Game Split: Grand Rapids won two of its four games last week and currently ties with the Lake Erie Monsters for fourth in the Midwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference. Last Tuesday, the Toronto Marlies snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Griffins. On Friday, Grand Rapids fell to the Oklahoma City Barons at Van Andel Arena by a 4-1 margin. The loss ended a four-game home winning streak for the Griffins. Teemu Pulkkinen was the only skater able to score for Grand Rapids despite a handful of good scoring chances. The Griffins’ fortunes shifted on Saturday when they hit the road to take on the Midwest Division-leading Rockford IceHogs. Grand Rapids posted a 4-0 shutout over the home team with an unbreakable performance by second-year goaltender Jared Coreau. Coreau’s 31 saves provided the netminder with the first shutout of his professional career, and it was the first time Rockford was held scoreless at home since a 4-0 loss to Peoria on March 16, 2013. Coreau’s performance earned him a bid in Sunday’s game in Milwaukee, where he backstopped the Griffins to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Admirals. With Coreau pulled in favor of an extra attacker, Pulkkinen scored the game-tying goal with 50 seconds left in regulation and neither team found the back of the net in overtime, leading to the Griffins’ first shootout of the season. Andy Miele and Mitch Callahan both scored for Grand Rapids in the skills competition, while only Patrick Cehlin connected for the Admirals.

Amway 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 Lake Erie Monsters on Nov. 12 can redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to Wednesday’s rematch with the Monsters. 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. Additionally, the first 300 fans to visit the Amway table in Section A will receive a gift. Fans can also enjoy a buy-one, get-one-free deal on a 16 oz. Pepsi all night long at any concession stand that sells fountain drinks. (Winning Wednesday and BOGO Pepsi offers exclude Dec. 31 game.)

Wednesday is Hockey Night: For all Wednesday games from December through March (excluding Dec. 31), show your Griffins ticket at participating Arena District restaurants and bars to enjoy Happy Hour specials before the game and Hockey Night specials afterward. Visit griffinshockey.com/hockeynight for a list of participating establishments.

Pepsi Reading Goals: Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free Upper Level tickets to any one of the following games: Dec. 10 and 27; and Jan. 21.

Griffins Leaders: Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen not only paces the Griffins in scoring with 25 points (11-14—25), but he also ties for second in scoring in the league with Oklahoma City’s Jason Williams (9-16—25). Pulkkinen’s linemates Andy Miele (8-10—18) and Mitch Callahan (8-10—18) tie for second in scoring on the team, posting a matching eight goals and 10 assists apiece. Pulkkinen produces 1.14 points per-game (1st), while Miele cranks out 0.95 (2nd) and Callahan 0.82 (3rd). Among the team’s active skaters, Miele’s shooting percentage (25.8%) ranks first, followed by Pulkkinen’s 13.4%. Second-year Griffins defenseman Alexey Marchenko boasts the best plus/minus rating at plus-nine and Callahan follows suit with a plus-seven rating.

Callahan Can: Left wing Mitch Callahan has been on a tear as of late, accruing points in nine of his last 12 games. From Nov. 12-Dec. 7, the Whittier, Calif., native picked up six goals and eight assists. On Sunday, Callahan connected in the third round of the shootout to secure a win over the Milwaukee Admirals. In his 2013-14 campaign, Callahan surpassed his previous two-year point total (17-12—29, 2011-13) with 44 points (2-6-18—44) in 70 games with Grand Rapids. In his first 22 games last season, Callahan tallied nine goals and four assists. In his first 22 games this season, Callahan has eight goals and 10 assists.

A Tale for the Ages: 22-year-old Teemu Pulkkinen leads the Griffins in scoring with 25 points (11-14—25) in 22 games, while 34-year-old former Griffin (2002-03) and Stanley Cup Champion (2002, Detroit) Jason Williams leads the Oklahoma City Barons in scoring with 25 points (9-16—25) in 20 games. When Williams played for the Griffins in the 2002-03 season, his only campaign with Grand Rapids, he was 22-years-old at the time, the same age as Pulkkinen is now (Pulkkinen was 10 years old in 2002). Both Pulkkinen and Williams tie for second among the AHL’s points leaders. Williams went scoreless in his first six games as a Griffin but exploded in his next 16 games, amassing 13 goals and nine assists from 1/11/03-2/16/03. In the same amount of games this season (22), Pulkkinen has picked up 11 goals and 14 assists. Williams earned three assists and third-star honors in last Friday’s matchup between the two teams at Van Andel Arena, and Pulkkinen and Williams will once again square off this Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma City.

GR Turned OK: Current Barons head coach Todd Nelson was an assistant coach in Grand Rapids during the 2002-03 season when Jason Williams played for the team. Nelson, who played for the Griffins himself for three full seasons (1996-98, 1999-00) and part of a fourth (2001-02), was the first player to ever be signed by the Griffins franchise.

Coreau the Wall: Second-year netminder Jared Coreau has had a milestone week and a half, as he earned his first victory as a Griffin on Nov. 29, his first professional shutout on Dec. 6 and his first AHL shootout win on Dec. 7. On Nov. 28, he posted a sturdy 35-save performance against the Adirondack Flames for his first Griffins victory (6-1). Saturday’s shutout was a 4-0 blasting of the Midwest Division-leading Rockford IceHogs. The Perth, Ontario, native faced 31 shots in his blanking of Rockford and followed that performance up with a 21-save, 2-1 decision over the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday. Coreau blocked two out of three of the Admirals’ shooters in the skills competition. Coreau’s 2014-15 campaign is a turnaround compared to his rookie season, when he registered a 4.03 goals against average and a 1-12-6 record in 20 games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and a 4.39 GAA and a 0-4-0 record in five games with the Griffins. In his second-year reincarnation, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound goaltender has turned out a 4-2-0 record with Toledo and a 3-0-0 record with Grand Rapids (0.64 GAA).

Long Time, No See: Jared Coreau’s shutout on Saturday in Rockford was the first on the road for the Griffins during the regular season in two years, dating to Tom McCollum’s 20-save, 3-0 win at Chicago on Dec. 7, 2012.

The Midwest: With the top three teams in the Midwest Division on multi-game losing streaks, the points spread between the five teams has thinned. The Rockford IceHogs (16-6-2-1, 35 pts.) continue to rank first but have lost their last two games, including a 4-0 shutout to the Griffins on Saturday. The Chicago Wolves (13-9-3-0, 29 pts.) are on a three-game losing streak but rank second in the division, just two points ahead of the third-place Milwaukee Admirals (12-7-0-3, 27 pts.). The Admirals, who have dropped five games in a row, have three games in hand to the Wolves. The Lake Erie Monsters (10-8-2-2, 24 pts.) tie with the Griffins (11-9-2-0, 24 pts.) for fourth place. The Monsters have secured points in their last six contests (5-0-1-0) and Grand Rapids has now won two in a row.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye (14-3-0-1, 29 pts.) won their fifth consecutive contest on Saturday with a 6-2 victory over the Elmira Jackals. Alden Hirschfeld, Martin Frk and Tyler Barnes (game-winner) all earned goals in the game, while Detroit-contracted Marek Tvrdon walked away with two assists on the night. Toledo ranks second in the North Divison, three points behind the first-place Fort Wayne Komets (16-4-0-0, 32 pts.).

Winged Domination: The Detroit Red Wings have had an impressive start to their season; the team ties for first in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference and ties for second overall in the league with 39 points. Nineteen former Griffins currently comprise the Wings’ roster. Goaltender Petr Mrazek appeared between the pipes for Detroit in its 3-1 win at Carolina on Sunday, when former Griffin and Red Wing Andrej Nestrasil faced his old squad for the first time. Nestrasil was claimed off of waivers by the Hurricanes just last month after picking up two assists in 13 games with Detroit earlier this season. Left wing Tomas Tatar leads all former Griffins in scoring for the Wings with 20 points (12-8—20) in 28 games this season.

Christmas Bonis: The Griffins on Monday assigned forward Kyle Bonis to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Since his recall from Toledo on Nov. 23, Bonis has appeared in two contests with Grand Rapids, making his Griffins debut in a 4-3 overtime loss at Rochester on Nov. 28. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward has also collected 14 points (10-4—14) in 14 games with the Walleye this season and currently ranks second on the team in goals and ties for fifth in points. Prior to being signed to a one-year contract by the Griffins on Aug. 14, the Lindsay, Ontario, native picked up 45 points (25-20—45) in 65 games with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades during 2013-14 and ranked among team leaders in scoring (4th), goals (2nd) and assists (8th). In addition, Bonis went scoreless in three AHL appearances with the Charlotte Checkers last season and also tallied two points (1-1—2) in six games with the Norfolk Admirals late in 2012-13.

Scouting Report

Wed., Dec. 10 vs. Lake Erie Monsters (10-8-2-2) – 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: 29-19-2-6 Overall, 18-10-0-1 Home. Season Series: 3-3-0-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 Home. Seventh of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche. Head Coach: Dean Chynoweth (2nd season). Notes: The Monsters and Griffins are on pace with one another in points (24), tying for fourth in the Midwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference…Lake Erie has picked up points in its last six outings and posts a 6-2-1-1 record in its last 10 games...Defenseman Stefan Elliot leads the Monsters in scoring with 16 points (5-11—16) in 22 appearances, followed in second by center Colin Smith (6-9—15) and in third by left wing Michael Schumacher (4-10—14). Elliot ties for sixth overall in scoring among AHL blueliners…Right wing Daniel Maggio has amassed the most penalty minutes (78) on the team…The Monsters allow an average of 3.32 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league. They average 2.91 goals for per game (9th)…This is the final matchup between Grand Rapids and Lake Erie at Van Andel Arena this season. The two teams have already met four times in Grand Rapids and twice in Cleveland.

Fri., Dec. 12 at Oklahoma City Barons (14-4-2-2) – Cox Convention Center – 8 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 13 at Oklahoma City Barons – Cox Convention Center – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 11-8-1-1 Overall, 5-4-1-0 Road. Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Second and third of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Cox Convention Center. NHL Affiliation: Edmonton Oilers. Head Coach: Todd Nelson (5th season). Notes: Courtesy of a 10-game point streak (9-0-0-1), the Barons have surpassed the San Antonio Rampage (14-6-2-0, 30 pts.) for first in the West Division. The team also ranks third in the Western Conference and ties for fourth overall in the league…Oklahoma City handed Grand Rapids a 4-1 loss last Friday at Van Andel Arena… Former Griffins defenseman Todd Nelson is the head coach of the Barons. Nelson was the first player ever signed by Grand Rapids… Former Stanley Cup champion (2002 Detroit) and Griffin (2002-03) Jason Williams leads the Barons in scoring with 25 points (9-16—25) in 20 games. Williams is a 15-year pro and has played in 455 NHL games throughout his career…The Barons’ power play ranks second in the league with a 25.3% success rate…Including Games 4 and 5 of the 2013 Western Conference Finals, the Griffins have won their last four games at the Cox Convention Center.