GRIFFINS SQUARE OFF AGAINST MONSTERS IN WEEKEND HOME-AND-HOME

This Week’s Games
Fri., Nov. 21 GRIFFINS at Lake Erie Monsters 7:30 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Nov. 22 Lake Erie Monsters at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Nov. 12 Lake Erie Monsters 3 at GRIFFINS 5 4-6-1-0, 9 pts. (5th, Midwest Division)
Fri., Nov. 14 Texas Stars 2 at GRIFFINS 3 5-6-1-0, 11 pts. (4th)
Sat., Nov. 15 Texas Stars 1 at GRIFFINS 2 6-6-1-0, 13 pts. (4th)

Last-Minute Men: The Griffins posted three consecutive wins at Van Andel Arena last week after losing six consecutive games and dropping the first five of their home schedule to begin the season. On Wednesday, the Griffins earned a 5-3 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters. Grand Rapids headed into the final period with a 4-0 lead, but the Monsters scored three unanswered tallies and had an opportunity to knot the score in the final minutes of the third stanza, when Grand Rapids captain Jeff Hoggan took a four-minute high-sticking penalty. With an extra skater and an empty net, Lake Erie turned up the pressure before Andreas Athanasiou sent the puck down the ice for a shorthanded, empty-net tally in the waning seconds of regulation. On Friday, the defending Calder Cup Champion Texas Stars made their return to Grand Rapids in what resultedas a thrilling 3-2 overtime win for the home team. In the Griffins’ first foray into the new 3-on-3 format late in overtime, Teemu Pulkkinen scored the game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds remaining to stun the Stars and erupt the crowd of 8,183 at Van Andel Arena. Saturday’s rematch with Texas was much of the same for the Griffins, who took another overtime victory with 40 seconds to go courtesy of a Kevin Porter breakaway goal. Anthony Mantha secured his first professional point with a tap-in goal off of a Pulkkinen feed during the second period, but Texas’ Mike Dalhuisen evened the score at one apiece with a blueline rifle off of a third-period faceoff to force overtime. The six points earned by Grand Rapids last week were much-needed, putting the Griffins back into fourth place in the Midwest Division

Saturday Night Promotions: Saturday’s game versus the Lake Erie Monsters is a Friends & Family 4-Pack game. Available for all Saturday games, each pack incudes four tickets and $12 in concession cash for a great low price. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2. In addition, 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: Nov. 22; Dec. 10 and 27; and Jan. 21.

Special Teams Dichotomy: Grand Rapids leads the league in penalty killing (92.2%), having allowed only four goals in 51 times shorthanded. The team’s power play, however, has suffered so far this season with a success rate of only 14.0% (22nd).

Mantha Mania: Right wing Anthony Mantha made his professional debut in Friday’s 3-2 overtime victory against the Texas Stars at Van Andel Arena. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound rookie prospect has been highly-touted ever since becoming the Red Wings’ first selection (20th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Mantha comes to the Griffins with an impressive resume, tallying 120 points (57-63—120) in 57 games with the QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs last season. For his efforts, he was named to the QMJHL’s First All-Star Team, earned the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player and was named the CHL Player of the Year. It didn’t take long for Mantha to make an impact in Grand Rapids, as he notched his first professional goal in Saturday’s rematch against Texas. Set up on a feed from Teemu Pulkkinen, Mantha made the tap-in to put the Griffins up 1-0 in the second. He also registered a game-high six shots in the contest.

Big Debut: The 20th overall selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Anthony Mantha became the second-highest Detroit draft pick to play for the Griffins when he debuted last Friday, behind only Jakub Kindl (19th overall in 2005).

Pul-cannon: Teemu Pulkkinen amassed six points (2-4—6) last week, including the game-winning overtime goal with just 0.8 seconds remaining in Friday’s 3-2 victory over the Texas Stars. In all, Pulkkinen has scored six goals and eight assists (14 pts.) in 13 games with the Griffins this season. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound right wing leads the team in goals, assists, points, shots (44), game-winning goals (3) and ties for first with Andy Miele in power play goals (3). His season thus far is a reprisal of last season’s performance, when he led the Griffins in scoring with 59 points (31-28—59) during the regular season and was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team. Currently on a three-game point streak, Pulkkinen’s longest streak as a Griffin was an eight-game stretch last season from Nov. 29-Dec. 18, when he gathered 10 points (3-7—10) during that time.

McCollum’s Mojo: Sixth-year Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum ranks ninth among AHL goaltenders with a 1.98 goals against average, in addition to a 3-4-1 record and a 0.916 save percentage. After returning to Grand Rapids following a brief backup stint in Detroit last week, McCollum posted a 23-save performance and earned first-star honors in the Griffins’ 2-1 overtime victory on Saturday.

Griffins Leaders: Vantaa, Finland, native Teemu Pulkkinen (6-8—14) leads Grand Rapids in scoring and didn’t slow down whatsoever last week, when he picked up six points (2-4—6) in three games. Detroit, Mich., native Andy Miele (5-4—9) ranks second on the team, while left wing Mitch Callahan (5-3—8) and center Andreas Athanasiou (2-6—8) tie for third. Pulkkinen and defenseman Xavier Ouellet have popped off the most shots so far, (44) and left wing Chris Bruton leads the squad with 33 penalty minutes.

The Midwest: The Griffins (6-6-1-0, 13 pts.) moved up to fourth place in the Midwest Division after earning six points last week, inching ahead of the fifth-place Lake Erie Monsters (4-7-1-2, 11 pts.). It’s a steep climb to the top of the division however, as the Rockford IceHogs (11-4-0-1, 23 pts.) rank first, the Chicago Wolves (10-3-2-0, 22 pts.) rank second and the Milwaukee Admirals (10-3-0-0, 20 pts.) rank third.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye are off to an impressive 8-2-0-1 start this season and rank second in the North Division, behind only the Fort Wayne Komets (10-2-0-0). The Walleye finished a home three-in-three with five of six points, concluding their weekend with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Reading Royals on Sunday, which snapped their six-game winning streak. On Friday, Toledo posted a 6-2 rout over the Komets at the Huntington Center after scoring four goals on 10 power play opportunities. Fort Wayne had its share of power plays as well, notching both of their goals amidst the nine power play chances they had. In all, Toledo (18) and Fort Wayne (43) accumulated 61 penalty minutes on the night. On Saturday, Jared Coreau backstopped the Walleye to a 4-3 win against the Orlando Solarbears with a 26-save performance. Griffins-contracted forward Kyle Bonis scored two goals in the contest and earned first-star honors. In Sunday’s six-round shootout loss, Bonis and Shane Berschbach both had goals in regulation despite the loss.

Remaining Suspension: The American Hockey League on Nov. 10 announced that Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Brennan Evans had been suspended for four games as a consequence of a kneeing incident in a Nov. 7 game at Milwaukee. Evans was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline). Having served three games of his suspension already, Evans will also miss Friday’s game in Lake Erie.

Frk to Toledo: The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday reassigned right wing Martin Frk from the Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. A native of Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, Frk has notched one goal and six penalty minutes in seven games with Grand Rapids this season. Last season, Frk earned 12 points (3-9—12) in 50 games with the Griffins and 13 points (5-8—13) in 15 games with the Walleye. The 21-year-old was Detroit’s second choice (49th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to turning pro, Frk spent three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, where he registered 163 points (73-90—163) in 152 games with the club. In the 2012-13 season, he produced 84 points (35-49—84) in 56 regular season games for the Mooseheads en route to capturing the QMJHL’s President Cup and the CHL Memorial Cup.

Scouting Report

Fri., Nov. 21 at Lake Erie Monsters (4-7-1-2) – Quicken Loans Arena – 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22 vs. Lake Erie Monsters – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:05 p.m. (Fri.) and TBD (Sat., joined in progress after 3:30 p.m. UM/Maryland game) Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 28-18-2-6 Overall, 17-10-0-1 Home, 11-8-2-5 Road. Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 1-2-0-0 Home, 1-0-0-0 Road. Fifth and sixth of 10 meetings overall, second of five at Quicken Loans Arena and fourth of five at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche. Head Coach: Dean Chynoweth (2nd season). Notes: Lake Erie is on a five-game losing streak, comprised of three regulation losses, an overtime loss and a shootout loss…The Griffins ended their season-high six-game losing streak against the Monsters last Wednesday with a 5-3 victory at Van Andel Arena...Center Colin Smith (4-7—11) leads the team in scoring and defenseman Stefan Elliot (4-5—9) and center Mike Sgarbossa (1-8—9) tie for second…Goaltender Calvin Pickard plays the primary role between the pipes for the Monsters. He owns a 3-4-4 record, one shutout and a 2.76 goals against average…Lake Erie ranks 23rd in power play (13.7%) and 27th in penalty killing (78.9%).

This Week’s Games
Fri., Nov. 21 GRIFFINS at Lake Erie Monsters 7:30 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Nov. 22 Lake Erie Monsters at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Nov. 12 Lake Erie Monsters 3 at GRIFFINS 5 4-6-1-0, 9 pts. (5th, Midwest Division)
Fri., Nov. 14 Texas Stars 2 at GRIFFINS 3 5-6-1-0, 11 pts. (4th)
Sat., Nov. 15 Texas Stars 1 at GRIFFINS 2 6-6-1-0, 13 pts. (4th)

In the Knick of Time: The Griffins posted three consecutive wins at Van Andel Arena last week after losing six consecutive games and dropping the first five of their home schedule to begin the season. On Wednesday, the Griffins earned a 5-3 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters. Grand Rapids headed into the final period with a 4-0 lead, but the Monsters scored three unanswered tallies and had an opportunity to knot the score in the final minutes of the third stanza, when Grand Rapids captain Jeff Hoggan took a four-minute high-sticking penalty. With an extra skater and an empty net, Lake Erie turned up the pressure before Andreas Athanasiou sent the puck down the ice for a shorthanded, empty-net tally in the waning seconds of regulation. On Friday, the defending Calder Cup Champion Texas Stars made their return to Grand Rapids in what resultedas a thrilling 3-2 overtime win for the home team. In the Griffins’ first foray into the new 3-on-3 format late in overtime, Teemu Pulkkinen scored the game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds remaining to stun the Stars and erupt the crowd of 8,183 at Van Andel Arena. Saturday’s rematch with Texas was much of the same for the Griffins, who took another overtime victory with 40 seconds to go courtesy of a Kevin Porter breakaway goal. Anthony Mantha secured his first professional point with a tap-in goal off of a Pulkkinen feed during the second period, but Texas’ Mike Dalhuisen evened the score at one apiece with a blueline rifle off of a third-period faceoff to force overtime. The six points earned by Grand Rapids last week were much-needed, putting the Griffins back into fourth place in the Midwest Division

Saturday Night Promotions: Saturday’s game versus the Lake Erie Monsters is a Friends & Family 4-Pack game. Available for all Saturday games, each pack incudes four tickets and $12 in concession cash for a great low price. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2. In addition, 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: Nov. 22; Dec. 10 and 27; and Jan. 21.

Special Teams Dichotomy: Grand Rapids leads the league in penalty killing (92.2%), having allowed only four goals in 51 times shorthanded. The team’s power play, however, has suffered so far this season with a success rate of only 14.0% (22nd).

Mantha Mania: Right wing Anthony Mantha made his professional debut in Friday’s 3-2 overtime victory against the Texas Stars at Van Andel Arena. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound rookie prospect has been highly-touted ever since becoming the Red Wings’ first selection (20th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Mantha comes to the Griffins with an impressive resume, tallying 120 points (57-63—120) in 57 games with the QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs last season. For his efforts, he was named to the QMJHL’s First All-Star Team, earned the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player and was named the CHL Player of the Year. It didn’t take long for Mantha to make an impact in Grand Rapids, as he notched his first professional goal in Saturday’s rematch against Texas. Set up on a feed from Teemu Pulkkinen, Mantha made the tap-in to put the Griffins up 1-0 in the second. He also registered a game-high six shots in the contest.

Big Debut: The 20th overall selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Anthony Mantha became the second-highest Detroit draft pick to play for the Griffins when he debuted last Friday, behind only Jakub Kindl (19th overall in 2005).

Pul-cannon: Teemu Pulkkinen amassed six points (2-4—6) last week, including the game-winning overtime goal with just 0.8 seconds remaining in Friday’s 3-2 victory over the Texas Stars. In all, Pulkkinen has scored six goals and eight assists (14 pts.) in 13 games with the Griffins this season. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound right wing leads the team in goals, assists, points, shots (44), game-winning goals (3) and ties for first with Andy Miele in power play goals (3). His season thus far is a reprisal of last season’s performance, when he led the Griffins in scoring with 59 points (31-28—59) during the regular season and was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team. Currently on a three-game point streak, Pulkkinen’s longest streak as a Griffin was an eight-game stretch last season from Nov. 29-Dec. 18, when he gathered 10 points (3-7—10) during that time.

McCollum’s Mojo: Sixth-year Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum ranks ninth among AHL goaltenders with a 1.98 goals against average, in addition to a 3-4-1 record and a 0.916 save percentage. After returning to Grand Rapids following a brief backup stint in Detroit last week, McCollum posted a 23-save performance and earned first-star honors in the Griffins’ 2-1 overtime victory on Saturday.

Griffins Leaders: Vantaa, Finland, native Teemu Pulkkinen (6-8—14) leads Grand Rapids in scoring and didn’t slow down whatsoever last week, when he picked up six points (2-4—6) in three games. Detroit, Mich., native Andy Miele (5-4—9) ranks second on the team, while left wing Mitch Callahan (5-3—8) and center Andreas Athanasiou (2-6—8) tie for third. Pulkkinen and defenseman Xavier Ouellet have popped off the most shots so far, (44) and left wing Chris Bruton leads the squad with 33 penalty minutes.

The Midwest: The Griffins (6-6-1-0, 13 pts.) moved up to fourth place in the Midwest Division after earning six points last week, inching ahead of the fifth-place Lake Erie Monsters (4-7-1-2, 11 pts.). It’s a steep climb to the top of the division however, as the Rockford IceHogs (11-4-0-1, 23 pts.) rank first, the Chicago Wolves (10-3-2-0, 22 pts.) rank second and the Milwaukee Admirals (10-3-0-0, 20 pts.) rank third.

Walleye World: The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye are off to an impressive 8-2-0-1 start this season and rank second in the North Division, behind only the Fort Wayne Komets (10-2-0-0). The Walleye finished a home three-in-three with five of six points, concluding their weekend with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Reading Royals on Sunday, which snapped their six-game winning streak. On Friday, Toledo posted a 6-2 rout over the Komets at the Huntington Center after scoring four goals on 10 power play opportunities. Fort Wayne had its share of power plays as well, notching both of their goals amidst the nine power play chances they had. In all, Toledo (18) and Fort Wayne (43) accumulated 61 penalty minutes on the night. On Saturday, Jared Coreau backstopped the Walleye to a 4-3 win against the Orlando Solarbears with a 26-save performance. Griffins-contracted forward Kyle Bonis scored two goals in the contest and earned first-star honors. In Sunday’s six-round shootout loss, Bonis and Shane Berschbach both had goals in regulation despite the loss.

Remaining Suspension: The American Hockey League last Monday announced that Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Brennan Evans had been suspended for four games as a consequence of a kneeing incident in a Nov. 7 game at Milwaukee. Evans was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline). Having served three games of his suspension already, Evans will also miss Friday’s game in Lake Erie.

Frk to Toledo: The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday reassigned right wing Martin Frk from the Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. A native of Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, Frk has notched one goal and six penalty minutes in seven games with Grand Rapids this season. Last season, Frk earned 12 points (3-9—12) in 50 games with the Griffins and 13 points (5-8—13) in 15 games with the Walleye. The 21-year-old was Detroit’s second choice (49th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to turning pro, Frk spent three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, where he registered 163 points (73-90—163) in 152 games with the club. In the 2012-13 season, he produced 84 points (35-49—84) in 56 regular season games for the Mooseheads en route to capturing the QMJHL’s President Cup and the CHL Memorial Cup.

Scouting Report

Fri., Nov. 21 at Lake Erie Monsters (4-7-1-2) – Quicken Loans Arena – 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22 vs. Lake Erie Monsters – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:05 p.m. (Fri.) and TBD (Sat., joined in progress after 3:30 p.m. UM/Maryland game) Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 28-18-2-6 Overall, 17-10-0-1 Home, 11-8-2-5 Road. Season Series: 2-2-0-0 Overall, 1-2-0-0 Home, 1-0-0-0 Road. Fifth and sixth of 10 meetings overall, second of five at Quicken Loans Arena and fourth of five at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Colorado Avalanche. Head Coach: Dean Chynoweth (2nd season). Notes: Lake Erie is on a five-game losing streak, comprised of three regulation losses, an overtime loss and a shootout loss…The Griffins ended their season-high six-game losing streak against the Monsters last Wednesday with a 5-3 victory at Van Andel Arena...Center Colin Smith (4-7—11) leads the team in scoring and defenseman Stefan Elliot (4-5—9) and center Mike Sgarbossa (1-8—9) tie for second…Goaltender Calvin Pickard plays the primary role between the pipes for the Monsters. He owns a 3-4-4 record, one shutout and a 2.76 goals against average…Lake Erie ranks 23rd in power play (13.7%) and 27th in penalty killing (78.9%).