GRIFFINS HOST FRIDAY MATCHUP AGAINST ROCKFORD

This Week’s Games
Fri., Nov. 6 Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Oct. 30 GRIFFINS 1 at Toronto Marlies 6 1-6-0-0, 2 pts. (8th, Central Division)

Rocky Reunion: William Nylander scored two goals, while Garret Sparks stopped 38 of 39 shots as the Toronto Marlies defeated the Griffins 6-1 on Friday at Ricoh Coliseum. Toronto needed just 1:46 to take the lead, scoring on its first shot on target. Richard Panik entered the zone on the left wing, passing from below the goal line to William Nylander on the right of Jared Coreau. Nylander fired a snapshot from the slot, beating Coreau on his blocker side. The Marlies would add to their lead on the power play with 11:15 remaining in the opening frame. Ryan Rupert received a pass from Matt Frattin and fired a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. The Griffins controlled the play early in the second period thanks to three consecutive Marlies penalties in a span of 1:33. Despite outshooting Toronto 10-2 at one point, the Griffins were unable to convert on a lengthy 5-on-3. The swing in momentum proved to be short-lived. After Josh Leivo entered the zone on a 2-on-1, his pass from the right circle found Nylander, who was positioned just in front of the crease. Coreau stopped the initial effort, but the rebound bounced off of Martin Frk’s skate and in with 8:11 remaining. Despite being outshot 17-10 in the middle frame, the Marlies took a 4-0 lead with 3:18 remaining. After Panik’s turnaround shot was blocked by a screening Leivo, T. J. Brennan was able to backhand the rebound in over a sprawling Coreau. Grand Rapids at last got onto the scoresheet with a power play goal 18 seconds into the third period. Andy Miele made a short backhanded pass to Andreas Athanasiou, who gained the zone and scored on a wrist shot from the left circle that snuck between Garret Sparks’ right arm and body. However, this was as close as the Griffins would get, with the Marlies adding two late insurance goals. Tyler Bertuzzi was assessed a match penalty for slew-footing Kasperi Kapanen with 1:15 remaining in regulation. Sam Carrick also received a game misconduct for abuse of the officials in the same sequence. Grand Rapids went 1 for 7 on the power play, while Toronto scored twice on nine opportunities.

Griffins Leaders: Defenseman Ryan Sproul leads the team in scoring with five points (1-4—5), followed by Andy Miele (1-3—4) in second. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet and right wing Anthony Mantha tie for the lead in shots with 21, while Martin Frk’s 11.1% shooting percentage ranks first.

Bertuzzi Suspended: Left wing Tyler Bertuzzi has been suspended for two games as a consequence of a match penalty for slew-footing assessed in a game at Toronto on Oct. 30. Bertuzzi will miss games on both Friday, Nov. 6 vs. Rockford and Wed., Nov. 11 vs. Iowa.

Gaining Momentum: After being held scoreless in his first four games of the season, center Andy Miele has notched four points (1-3—4) in his last three games from Oct. 21-30. Miele, 27, ranked first on the Griffins in scoring and second overall in the AHL during the 2014-15 regular season with 70 points (26-44—70) in 71 games.

Cleary’s Debut: After being assigned to the Griffins on Oct. 8, right wing Daniel Cleary made his debut with Grand Rapids last Friday in Toronto. A 17-year veteran of the NHL with 938 games worth of NHL experience, Cleary had not played in the AHL since the 1999-00 season, when he racked up 74 points (22-52—74) and 108 penalty minutes in 58 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Trigger Shy: Through seven contests this season, the Griffins have yet to score the first goal in a game.

Shots Fired: The Griffins currently suffer from an inconsistency in terms of shots and goals. Grand Rapids fires off an average of 34.86 shots per game, which ranks second in the league behind only the Ontario Reign (35.00), but only averages 1.43 goals per game (29th).

Sixty Minutes or Less: The Griffins and Portland Pirates are the only teams in the league to have not played into overtime.

It’s All Coming Back To Me: After squaring off against the Toronto Marlies last Friday, whom the Griffins eliminated during the 2015 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Grand Rapids will now face off against its opponent from the semifinals of the same playoffs, the Rockford IceHogs. The Griffins knocked out the IceHogs by a 4-1 series margin, before eventually losing to the Utica Comets in the conference finals, 4-2. In all, 24 players from the series between Grand Rapids and Rockford return to the teams’ rosters this season, including 14 skaters and two goaltenders from the Griffins and seven skaters and one goalie from the IceHogs.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye split their Friday-Sunday set against the Brampton Beast, earning a 4-1 victory on Friday and losing 5-2 on Sunday. In Friday’s tilt, Marek Tvrdon earned his second game-winning goal for the Walleye after being reassigned from Grand Rapids to Toledo on Oct. 19. Sunday’s loss saw former Western Michigan Bronco Shane Berschbach net both of Toledo’s goals, while Jake Paterson gave up four tallies before the Beast added an empty-net goal at 18:45 of the third period. The Walleye will at long last open the home portion of their schedule this Saturday at the Huntington Center against the Adirondack Thunder.

Scouting Report

Fri., Nov. 6 vs. Rockford IceHogs (6-3-0-1) – 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: 16-7-1-2 Home, 24-20-3-5 Overall. Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Ted Dent (5th season). Notes: The Griffins and IceHogs last faced off in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, where Grand Rapids eliminated Rockford from the playoffs, 4-1...Rockford ranks third in the Central Division, seventh in the Western Conference and ties for 10th overall...The highest-ranking active Rockford skater is center Marko Dano, who owns seven points (1-6—7) and a plus-eight rating in nine games...Goaltender Michael Leighton is again the primary man between the pipes for the IceHogs this season, showing a 5-2-1-1 record, a 2.44 goals against average and a 0.913 save percentage. Leighton has played the third-most minutes of any goaltender in the league so far (443:03)...Rookie Tanner Kero is currently on recall with the Chicago Blackhawks but owns eight points (6-2—8) in seven games, tying for third overall among league rookies...Rockford’s power play ranks 29th overall (9.5%), while its penalty killing record ties for 20th (80.4%).

This Week’s Games
Fri., Nov. 6 Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Oct. 30 GRIFFINS 1 at Toronto Marlies 6 1-6-0-0, 2 pts. (8th, Central Division)

Rocky Reunion: William Nylander scored two goals, while Garret Sparks stopped 38 of 39 shots as the Toronto Marlies defeated the Griffins 6-1 on Friday at Ricoh Coliseum. Toronto needed just 1:46 to take the lead, scoring on its first shot on target. Richard Panik entered the zone on the left wing, passing from below the goal line to William Nylander on the right of Jared Coreau. Nylander fired a snapshot from the slot, beating Coreau on his blocker side. The Marlies would add to their lead on the power play with 11:15 remaining in the opening frame. Ryan Rupert received a pass from Matt Frattin and fired a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. The Griffins controlled the play early in the second period thanks to three consecutive Marlies penalties in a span of 1:33. Despite outshooting Toronto 10-2 at one point, the Griffins were unable to convert on a lengthy 5-on-3. The swing in momentum proved to be short-lived. After Josh Leivo entered the zone on a 2-on-1, his pass from the right circle found Nylander, who was positioned just in front of the crease. Coreau stopped the initial effort, but the rebound bounced off of Martin Frk’s skate and in with 8:11 remaining. Despite being outshot 17-10 in the middle frame, the Marlies took a 4-0 lead with 3:18 remaining. After Panik’s turnaround shot was blocked by a screening Leivo, T. J. Brennan was able to backhand the rebound in over a sprawling Coreau. Grand Rapids at last got onto the scoresheet with a power play goal 18 seconds into the third period. Andy Miele made a short backhanded pass to Andreas Athanasiou, who gained the zone and scored on a wrist shot from the left circle that snuck between Garret Sparks’ right arm and body. However, this was as close as the Griffins would get, with the Marlies adding two late insurance goals. Tyler Bertuzzi was assessed a match penalty for slew-footing Kasperi Kapanen with 1:15 remaining in regulation. Sam Carrick also received a game misconduct for abuse of the officials in the same sequence. Grand Rapids went 1 for 7 on the power play, while Toronto scored twice on nine opportunities.

Griffins Leaders: Defenseman Ryan Sproul leads the team in scoring with five points (1-4—5), followed by Andy Miele (1-3—4) in second. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet and right wing Anthony Mantha tie for the lead in shots with 21, while Martin Frk’s 11.1% shooting percentage ranks first.

Bertuzzi Suspended: Left wing Tyler Bertuzzi has been suspended for two games as a consequence of a match penalty for slew-footing assessed in a game at Toronto on Oct. 30. Bertuzzi will miss games on both Friday, Nov. 6 vs. Rockford and Wed., Nov. 11 vs. Iowa.

Gaining Momentum: After being held scoreless in his first four games of the season, center Andy Miele has notched four points (1-3—4) in his last three games from Oct. 21-30. Miele, 27, ranked first on the Griffins in scoring and second overall in the AHL during the 2014-15 regular season with 70 points (26-44—70) in 71 games.

Cleary’s Debut: After being assigned to the Griffins on Oct. 8, right wing Daniel Cleary made his debut with Grand Rapids last Friday in Toronto. A 17-year veteran of the NHL with 938 games worth of NHL experience, Cleary had not played in the AHL since the 1999-00 season, when he racked up 74 points (22-52—74) and 108 penalty minutes in 58 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Trigger Shy: Through seven contests this season, the Griffins have yet to score the first goal in a game.

Shots Fired: The Griffins currently suffer from an inconsistency in terms of shots and goals. Grand Rapids fires off an average of 34.86 shots per game, which ranks second in the league behind only the Ontario Reign (35.00), but only averages 1.43 goals per game (29th).

Sixty Minutes or Less: The Griffins and Portland Pirates are the only teams in the league to have not played into overtime.

It’s All Coming Back To Me: After squaring off against the Toronto Marlies last Friday, whom the Griffins eliminated during the 2015 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Grand Rapids will now face off against its opponent from the semifinals of the same playoffs, the Rockford IceHogs. The Griffins knocked out the IceHogs by a 4-1 series margin, before eventually losing to the Utica Comets in the conference finals, 4-2. In all, 24 players from the series between Grand Rapids and Rockford return to the teams’ rosters this season, including 14 skaters and two goaltenders from the Griffins and seven skaters and one goalie from the IceHogs.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye split their Friday-Sunday set against the Brampton Beast, earning a 4-1 victory on Friday and losing 5-2 on Sunday. In Friday’s tilt, Marek Tvrdon earned his second game-winning goal for the Walleye after being reassigned from Grand Rapids to Toledo on Oct. 19. Sunday’s loss saw former Western Michigan Bronco Shane Berschbach net both of Toledo’s goals, while Jake Paterson gave up four tallies before the Beast added an empty-net goal at 18:45 of the third period. The Walleye will at long last open the home portion of their schedule this Saturday at the Huntington Center against the Adirondack Thunder.

Scouting Report

Fri., Nov. 6 vs. Rockford IceHogs (6-3-0-1) – 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: 16-7-1-2 Home, 24-20-3-5 Overall. Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks. Head Coach: Ted Dent (5th season). Notes: The Griffins and IceHogs last faced off in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, where Grand Rapids eliminated Rockford from the playoffs, 4-1...Rockford ranks third in the Central Division, seventh in the Western Conference and ties for 10th overall...The highest-ranking active Rockford skater is center Marko Dano, who owns seven points (1-6—7) and a plus-eight rating in nine games...Goaltender Michael Leighton is again the primary man between the pipes for the IceHogs this season, showing a 5-2-1-1 record, a 2.44 goals against average and a 0.913 save percentage. Leighton has played the third-most minutes of any goaltender in the league so far (443:03)...Rookie Tanner Kero is currently on recall with the Chicago Blackhawks but owns eight points (6-2—8) in seven games, tying for third overall among league rookies...Rockford’s power play ranks 29th overall (9.5%), while its penalty killing record ties for 20th (80.4%).