GRIFFINS MEET WOLVES IN CENTRAL DIVISION FINALS

Series Schedule:

2017 Calder Cup Playoffs – Central Division Finals – Best of Seven

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

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 division-champion Chicago Wolves in the best-of-seven Central Division Finals, marking the first postseason clash between the longtime rivals since 2004. The Griffins won the season series against Chicago by way of an 8-2 record, including finishing 4-1 at both Allstate and Van Andel Arena. Chicago secured a postseason berth for the 18th time in its 23 years of existence after claiming its 10th division crown overall and sixth while a member of the AHL. The Wolves missed the playoffs in the 2015-16 campaign and have never gone two consecutive years without a postseason bid. With the division semifinal win against Charlotte, Chicago won its first playoff series since the 2014 Western Conference Quarterfinal, as the Wolves are 3-4 in playoff series since winning the 2008 Calder Cup. Grand Rapids is 9-3 in playoff series over the last five years and won the 2013 Calder Cup.

How We Got Here: Entering the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs as the second seed in the Central Division, Grand Rapids swept Milwaukee in the division semifinals. The Griffins earned overtime victories in Games 1 and 3 to complete their second first-round sweep of the Admirals in as many years. Of the eight AHL division semifinal matchups, Grand Rapids was the only team to sweep. Regular season division champion Chicago fell behind fourth-seeded Charlotte 2-1 in the opening round’s best-of-five series but rallied to win the last two games on home ice to advance. At the all-star break, Grand Rapids led the division over second-place Chicago by three points with three games in hand. The Wolves, however, suffered just four regulation defeats from Jan. 22 through the end of the season and were able to chase down the Griffins for division supremacy. 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. Heading into the final game of the regular season, Grand Rapids still 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.

Playoff Facts and Figures: Grand Rapids has won 17 of its 30 total playoff series and owns a combined 82-72 record during those games, going 40-38 on home ice and 42-34 on the road. The Griffins have advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, a run matched or surpassed only by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2005-09 and 2011-16) since the AHL’s current 16-team playoff format was adopted in 2005. 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 11-10 all-time in best-of-seven series.

Prior History: The Griffins and Wolves will renew a rivalry that dates back to the International Hockey League days. Since Chicago’s founding in 1994-95 and Grand Rapids’ inception in 1996-97, the teams have met a combined 140 times in the regular season, with the Griffins possessing a 79-51-2-6-2 edge. The Griffins’ 140 meetings against Chicago are the second most of any opponent Grand Rapids has faced behind only 164 versus Milwaukee, and Grand Rapids’ 40 wins in the Second City are the most in any road city.

Postseason Past: In their history, the Griffins have not faced an opponent in the playoffs more often than the Chicago Wolves, as the two teams will meet for the fifth postseason series and first since 2004. Grand Rapids shows an 8-11 overall record against the Wolves, including a 1-3 mark in the four previous series.

Chicago Connections: Head coach Todd Nelson served as an assistant coach for the Wolves for two seasons (2006-08) and won the 2008 Calder Cup in his final season with Chicago. Assistant coach Ben Simon appeared in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of Chicago’s first Calder Cup title in 2002. Goaltender Eddie Pasquale made his AHL debut with Chicago in 2010-11, posting a 2.93 GAA in 24 outings. The next season, as a member of the St. John’s IceCaps, he was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team. A pair of Griffins defensemen, Conor Allen and Robbie Russo (Westmont, Ill.) call Chicagoland home. The Wolves’ Landon Ferraro played five seasons in Grand Rapids (2009-10, 2011-15), totaled 140 points (75-65—140) in 270 regular season games and helped the Griffins claim the 2013 Calder Cup. Chicago defenseman Jared Nightingale suited up for Grand Rapids for a pair of games during the 2014-15 season.

Championship Pedigree: The Griffins will have three players from their 2013 Calder Cup championship team – Mitch Callahan, Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch – taking part in this series, while another member of that team, Chicago’s Landon Ferraro, has not played since Dec. 10 due to injury. Chicago, which won IHL Turner Cups in 1998 and 2000 before claiming Calder Cups in 2002 and 2008, has one player on its roster from that last title team in left wing Brett Sterling, who returned to the Windy City this season following a three-year European tour.

Home-Ice Advantage: Chicago and Grand Rapids combined for 52 home wins this season, as the Wolves’ 27 victories at Allstate Arena tied for the most in the league. The Wolves had just seven regulation losses on home ice and three of those came at the hands of Grand Rapids, including a 7-1 decision on Dec. 15, which was Chicago’s largest margin of defeat this year. In fact, since the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign, Chicago is 66-38-7-3 (0.623) at home, but is just 3-8-2-0 (0.308) when Grand Rapids comes to town. In their last 13 contests at Van Andel Arena since 2014-15, the Wolves are 5-5-3 and have just three regulation wins.

Against Top Seeds: The Griffins own a 1-6 series record when facing off against a No. 1 seed in the postseason. Grand Rapids earned its first win versus a top seed in the 2016 Central Division Semifinals with a sweep of the division-champion Admirals. This Central Division Finals marks the second time in five postseason meetings between Grand Rapids and Chicago that either team was seeded on the one line (2000 IHL Turner Cup Finals, No. 1 Grand Rapids vs. No. 1 Chicago).

Central Division Semifinals Notes: The Griffins improved to 6-3 all time in best-of-five series...Grand Rapids has won nine straight first-round games dating back to the 2015 Western Quarterfinals against Toronto...Grand Rapids swept Milwaukee for the second consecutive season...The Griffins earned a series sweep for the fourth time ever (2016 Central Division Semifinals vs. Milwaukee, 2003 Western Conference Semifinals vs. Chicago and 2001 IHL Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Cleveland)...With the win in Game 3, Grand Rapids won its fifth straight game in which its opponent faced playoff elimination and improved to 4-0 in such games on the road since the beginning of its Calder Cup run in 2013…Since being swept in four games by Milwaukee in 2006, the Griffins have won their last six playoff games against the Admirals...Eric Tangradi’s goal at 0:25 of Game 2 was the Griffins’ fastest to start a playoff game since May 22, 2006, when Kent McDonell tallied 15 seconds into Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals at Milwaukee...Kyle Criscuolo’s overtime game-winner in Game 3 marked the second time Grand Rapids has clinched a series in overtime...The first time came in Game 5 of the 2006 North Division Semifinals against Toronto...Tyler Bertuzzi (2-2—4) and Evgeny Svechnikov (1-3—4) found the scoresheet in all three opening-round games and paced the Griffins with four points apiece...Jared Coreau turned aside 94 of 101 shots (0.931)...The crowd of 7,504 for Game 1 was the Griffins’ largest ever for a home playoff game played on or before April 21 as well as their largest for a Game 1 of a first-round series.

Playoff Debuts: Five Griffins made their Calder Cup Playoff debuts in the Central Division Semifinals: rookies Joe Hicketts, Dan Renouf, Dominic Turgeon and Kyle Criscuolo and third-year pro Axel Holmstrom.

Chicago vs. Everybody Else: Compare how the Griffins fared in their 10 games against Chicago and how they did in their other 66 games:

2016-17 Griffins vs. Wolves
Griffins Records: 8-2-0-0 Overall, 4-1-0-0 in Grand Rapids, 4-1-0-0 in Chicago
Wolves Records: 2-5-3-0 Overall, 1-2-2-0 in Grand Rapids, 1-3-1-0 in Chicago

Game 1 – Oct. 14 – Griffins 3, Wolves 1 – Van Andel Arena
A 27-save performance by Jared Coreau and two goals from Mitch Callahan propelled the Griffins to a 3-1 victory over Chicago in their 2016-17 season opener at a sold-out Van Andel Arena. The Griffins won their first season debut since 2013 and their first home opener since 2011.

Game 2 – Oct. 15 – Griffins 4, Wolves 2 – Allstate Arena
Evgeny Svechnikov scored his first professional goal as Grand Rapids swept an opening-weekend home-and-home series against the Wolves with a 4-2 victory. Anthony Mantha and Robbie Russo helped the Griffins stake a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Grand Rapids finished 1 for 6 on the power play, while the Wolves scored once on four opportunities. Jared Coreau turned aside 23 of 25 shots to earn his second win in as many games and Ville Husso stopped 24 of 28 shots in defeat.

Game 3 – Nov. 5 – Wolves 4, Griffins 2 – Van Andel Arena
Ivan Barbashev scored twice to pace the Wolves to a 4-2 victory over Grand Rapids. Chicago’s regulation win was its first on the road in this series since Jan. 21, 2015. Trailing 2-0 after the first period, Ben Street and Tyler Bertuzzi lit the lamp to help the Griffins even the score but Chicago would notch two tallies in the game’s final 7:40. Jared Coreau stopped 31 shots.

Game 4 – Dec. 7 – Griffins 6, Wolves 5 OT – Van Andel Arena
Matt Lorito scored 1:56 into overtime while Tomas Nosek and Joe Hicketts each scored twice during regulation as the Griffins prevailed 6-5 in a back-and-forth struggle against Chicago. Grand Rapids built a two-goal lead on two separate occasions but the Wolves had an answer each time. The Griffins finished 2 for 4 on the power play as they tied a franchise record with a power play tally for the 13th straight game.

Game 5 – Dec. 11 – Wolves 4, Griffins 1 – Allstate Arena
Evgeny Svechnikov opened the scoring for the Griffins less than three minutes into the second period, but Chicago responded with four unanswered markers in a 4-1 defeat. The result snapped the Griffins’ eight-game point streak. Chicago finished 0 for 2 on the power play, while the Griffins came away empty-handed in a 0 for 4 performance. Pheonix Copley turned away 27 of 28 shots to earn the victory and Jared Coreau blocked 16 of 19 shots in defeat.

Game 6 – Dec. 15 – Griffins 7, Wolves 1 – Allstate Arena
The Griffins used seven goals from seven different skaters to rout the Chicago Wolves 7-1 before a matinee crowd of 13,953. Kyle Criscuolo was among six Griffins with multi-point performances, netting what proved to be the game-winning goal in addition to contributing a pair of assists to earn first-star accolades. Jared Coreau turned aside 21 of 22 shots and Chicago had its six-game point streak snapped.

Game 7 – Jan. 20 – Griffins 3, Wolves 2 – Van Andel Arena
The Griffins built and then squandered a two-goal lead against Chicago, but they took advantage of a Wolves own-goal to take a 3-2 victory. At 17:38 of the second period, Evgeny Svechnikov fired a shot that sailed high off the glass and bounced out along the right side of the net, and as Ville Husso began to dive back to cover up the puck, defenseman Jordan Schmaltz inadvertently knocked it across the goal line with his stick after rushing in to try to move it out of harm’s way. Eddie Pasquale stopped 26 shots while Husso recorded 33 saves.

Game 8 – Feb. 3 – Griffins 5, Wolves 2 – Allstate Arena
After scoring four goals in their previous three games, the Griffins used a pair of tallies from Matt Lorito to defeat Chicago 5-2. Lorito was one of four Grand Rapids skaters to register multiple points. Eddie Pasquale made 30 saves to earn the victory and make it just 10 goals allowed over his last six starts.

Game 9 – March 17 – Griffins 5, Wolves 4 OT – Van Andel Arena
A heavyweight battle between the Central Division’s top two teams more than lived up to its billing on St. Patrick’s Day. Tomas Nosek forced overtime with nine seconds remaining in regulation and Evgeny Svechnikov scored 1:51 into the extra session to give the Griffins a heart-stopping 5-4 victory over Chicago. Jared Coreau stopped 25 shots for Grand Rapids while Jordan Binnington answered with 33 saves.

Game 10 – March 18 – Griffins 3, Wolves 2 OT – Allstate Arena
For the second time in as many nights, the top two teams in the Central Division required overtime. And once again, Grand Rapids came out on top as Ben Street netted the game-winner with 1:11 remaining in the extra session to clinch a 3-2 win over the Wolves. Making his 100th regular season appearance in a Grand Rapids uniform, Jared Coreau turned aside 37 shots and helped the Griffins hit the 40-win plateau for the fifth consecutive season.

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 16 out of a possible 20 points against Chicago in the season series while the Wolves collected seven points...The Griffins outscored Chicago 39-27 in the 10 matchups as six games were decided by two or more goals...Grand Rapids won all three games that required overtime...The Griffins won the final five meetings of the season...The Wolves’ 4-2 victory on Nov. 5 at Van Andel Arena proved to be Chicago’s first regulation win in West Michigan since Jan. 21, 2015...Grand Rapids owned the largest margin of victory, winning 7-1 in a matinee affair at Allstate Arena on Dec. 15...Grand Rapids scored at least one power play goal in eight of 10 matchups...Evgeny Svechnikov (5-5—10 in 10 GP) and Ben Street (4-6—10 in 7 GP) led the Griffins in scoring...League MVP Kenny Agostino had a series high 12 points (1-11—12 in 10 GP)...The league’s leading goal scorer, Wade Megan, had three goals in 10 games...Jared Coreau was the goalie of record in seven games, finishing 5-2 with a 2.27 GAA while Eddie Pasquale (2-0-0, 2.00 GAA, 0.933 save percentage) and Cal Heeter (1-0-0, 4.84 GAA, 0.878 save percentage) also saw action against the Wolves...Three Chicago goalies appeared in games against the Griffins: Ville Husso (0-2-1, 3.31 GAA, 0.895 save percentage), Jordan Binnington (1-1-2, 4.06 GAA, 0.884 save percentage) and Pheonix Copley (1-2-0, 3.49 GAA, 0.873 save percentage).

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 Chicago, Coreau is 7-3-1 in 11 games and has a 2.27 GAA. In the first-round sweep, Coreau started all three contests and compiled a 2.10 GAA while stopping 94 of 101 shots (0.931) to earn the first series win of his career. Jordan Binnington was the only active Chicago goalie with enough minutes to qualify in the regular season. He showed a 16-7-8-3 record, a 2.71 GAA and a 0.911 save percentage. Pheonix Copley appeared in 25 games with the Wolves before being traded to the Washington organization on Feb. 28. Rookie Ville Husso made 22 appearances in the regular season and tallied a 13-6-2 record, a 2.37 GAA and a 0.920 save percentage. Husso started all five games in the first round and finished with a 2.34 GAA and a 0.925 save percentage.

Special Teams Breakdown: Grand Rapids’ special teams edge out Chicago, as the Griffins’ combined power play and penalty kill percentage is 107.2, compared to their adversary’s 102.9. The Griffins paced the league with a power play efficiency of 24.4% and ranked 11th on the penalty kill at 82.8%, while Chicago finished eighth on the power play (20.3%) and 13th on the penalty kill (82.6%). Grand Rapids produced 31.9% (80-251) of its goals from the power play, a league high, while Chicago relied on the power play for 24.3% (61-251) of its tallies. In 10 meetings between the teams this season, the Griffins were 12 for 39 (30.8%) on the man-advantage and the Wolves were 7 for 34 (20.6%).

Bench Bosses: The 10th head coach in Griffins franchise history, Todd Nelson has guided the Griffins to the second round of the playoffs 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. Craig Berube is in his first season behind Chicago’s bench after serving as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013-15. Berube amassed a 75-58-28 mark (0.553) with the Flyers and helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs during his first season, a year in which he took over the head coaching reigns three games into the campaign. Prior to joining the Wolves, Berube spent 12 years as a coach in the Philadelphia organization. He was an assistant with the Phantoms from 2003-06 and helped the club win the 2005 Calder Cup. Berube served as head coach of the Phantoms for six games in 2006-07 before accepting an assistant role with the parent club and then returned to the AHL for the 2007-08 campaign. He was a Flyers assistant in 2006-07 and from 2008 until being elevated to head coach three games into the 2013-14 campaign.

Aye, Aye Captain: Fifth-year Griffin and captain Nathan Paetsch appeared in his 60th postseason game as a Griffin in Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals, moving past Jeff Hoggan and Travis Richards into sole possession of first place in franchise history. Paetsch has played in every Grand Rapids postseason game (62) since helping the franchise win the Calder Cup in 2013.

Full Blast Bertuzzi: Behind a pair of goals in the first round, Tyler Bertuzzi has 16 career Calder Cup Playoff markers and ties for second most in franchise history (see chart). Bertuzzi’s seventh game-winning goal of his playoff career, coming in Game 2’s second period, extended his franchise record. In the regular season, Bertuzzi averages one goal every 4.8 games (25 in 121 games), but in the postseason, he lights the lamp once every 1.6 games (16 in 26 games). 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.

They Went to Jared: Goaltender Jared Coreau started all three games during the sweep of Milwaukee and recorded a 2.10 GAA while stopping 94 of 101 shots (0.931). Since entering in relief in Game 4 of the 2016 Central Division Finals versus Lake Erie and earning the win, Coreau has started each of the last five postseason contests and in his career, shows a 5-2 postseason record, a 2.16 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage.

Long Runs: Over the previous five postseasons, no other AHL team has played as many games (62) or series (12) or won as many games (37) or series (9) as the Griffins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is second in each category.

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.

Affiliation Comparison: During the Red Wings’ remarkable 25-year playoff run from 1991-2016, Detroit had one stretch of getting out of the first round for five straight years (2007-11) and another in which they did it six straight years (1995-2000). While Grand Rapids has only three holdovers from the 2013 squad that started the Griffins’ streak, Detroit had eight players who played in the playoffs in both 1995 and 2000, and 10 players who played both in 2007 and 2011.

Experience Counts: Eighteen players on the Griffins’ roster had AHL postseason experience entering the playoffs — 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).