GRIFFINS TREATED TO ADMIRALS AND WOLVES

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Wed., Nov. 1 // 8 p.m. EDT // UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Milwaukee Admirals at GRIFFINS // Sun., Nov. 5 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday and at 3:35 p.m. on Sunday
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: First and second of 10 meetings overall, first of five at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and first of five at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 37-32-5-5-5 Road, 48-27-2-1-2 Home, 85-59-7-6-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: The Griffins and Admirals were pitted against each other in the Central Division Semifinals each of the last two postseasons, and both times Grand Rapids swept the best-of-five series.

Chicago Wolves at GRIFFINS // Fri., Nov. 3 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: The U Too (Chicago), AHLLive.com
Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Home, 1-0-0-0 Overall. Second of eight meetings overall, second of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 40-22-2-4-2 Home, 80-51-2-6-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Vegas Golden Knights
Noteworthy: In the first meeting of the season between the teams last Friday at Van Andel Arena, Matt Lorito scored his first career hat trick and the Griffins notched three goals in the third period to rally from a one-goal deficit and win 5-3.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Oct. 25 Tucson Roadrunners 3 at GRIFFINS 1 2-4-0-1 (5 points, T6th Central)
Fri., Oct. 27 Chicago Wolves 3 at GRIFFINS 5 3-4-0-1 (7 points, 5th)
Sat., Oct. 28 GRIFFINS 3 at Rockford IceHogs 4 3-5-0-1 (7 points, 6th)


Off and Running: The defending Calder Cup champion Griffins are 3-5-0-1 to begin the 2017-18 campaign. Playing three games in four nights last week, Grand Rapids finished 1-2. In the first-ever meeting against the Tucson Roadrunners last Wednesday at Van Andel Arena, the Roadrunners scored twice on 10 power play opportunities and skated away with a 3-1 win. On Friday, in a rematch of the 2017 Central Division Finals against Chicago, Matt Lorito tallied a hat trick and the Griffins scored three times in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit and win 5-3. Playing at Rockford last Saturday for the second time in as many weeks, Grand Rapids built a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes but the IceHogs recorded three power play goals in the third period and won 4-3. This week, Grand Rapids’ schedule begins and ends with the Milwaukee Admirals, as the Griffins travel to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Wednesday before the Admirals return the favor on Sunday. Sandwiched in between is a home game against the Chicago Wolves on Friday.

Follow the Leaders:
Points: Matt Lorito (4-3—7), Dominic Turgeon (4-3—7), Turner Elson (3-4—7), Matt Puempel (2-5—7), Colin Campbell (2-5—7)
Goals: Lorito, Turgeon (4)
Assists: Puempel, Campbell, Ben Street (5)
PIM: Dan Renouf, Dylan McIlrath (17)
Plus-Minus: Puempel (+6)
Goaltender Wins: Jared Coreau (3)
Goals Against Average: Coreau (2.95)
Save Percentage: Coreau (0.909)

This Week’s Promotions: Friday against Chicago is Local First Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union, featuring a post-game auction of the Griffins' state-of-Michigan-themed jerseys. Also on Friday, there will be $2 beers and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last. On Sunday against Milwaukee, the first 2,500 fans will receive a replica championship banner, courtesy of DTE Energy.

Last Week’s Notes: Last Wednesday marked the first-ever meeting against the Tucson Roadrunners and the first time Grand Rapids hosted a team from Arizona since its inaugural campaign on Jan. 11, 1997, when the International Hockey League’s Phoenix Roadrunners beat the Griffins 3-2 in a shootout...Tucson converted twice on 10 power play opportunities, which was the most chances by a Griffins opponent since March 15, 2014 at Oklahoma City…Grand Rapids snapped a four-game winless streak, during which it totaled five goals, with the 5-3 win against Chicago on Friday…Following the victory against Chicago, the Griffins improved to 15-3-1-0 (0.816) versus the Wolves since the start of the 2015-16 season…Evgeny Svechnikov scored his first goal of the year at 2:16 of the third period against Chicago…Rockford scored three power play goals in the third period on Saturday, one off the franchise record for most power play goals by a Griffins opponent in a single period.

Bertuzzi Assigned: The Detroit Red Wings on Monday assigned forward Tyler Bertuzzi to the Griffins. Bertuzzi has yet to make his 2017-18 season debut due to injury. Bertuzzi was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the AHL’s most valuable player in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs while helping Grand Rapids win the Calder Cup. His 19 points (9-10—19) in 19 games tied for sixth in the league and his 50 penalty minutes were an AHL high. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound winger added 37 points (12-25—37) and 37 PIM in 48 regular season games with the Griffins in 2016-17. Detroit’s third choice, 58th overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Bertuzzi averaged 9:06 of ice time in seven appearances with the Red Wings last season, debuting on Nov. 8 at Philadelphia to become the 157th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL.

Matt Trick: Matt Lorito recorded his first hat trick as a professional during last Friday’s 5-3 win against the Wolves. Grand Rapids’ leading scorer with 56 points last season, Lorito was making his return to the lineup after missing the previous three games due to injury. The last Griffin with three goals in a game, regular season or playoffs, was Mitch Callahan on May 8, 2017, in Game 4 of the Central Division Finals versus Chicago. Anthony Mantha scored the last regular season hat trick for Grand Rapids, notching three power play goals at Iowa on Oct. 18, 2016. Lorito added two assists on Saturday at Rockford to finish with five points on the weekend.

Puemp It Up: Acquired by the Red Wings via a trade on Oct. 21, Matt Puempel made his Griffins debut last Wednesday against Tucson. He contributed three assists during last Friday’s win, his first three-point game in the AHL since he notched three assists on Dec. 26, 2015 when he was with the Binghamton Senators. Puempel scored his first goal as a Griffin during the first period last Saturday at Rockford.

Saarijarvi Debuts: Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi made his AHL debut with the Griffins last Saturday at Rockford and picked up his first AHL point while assisting on Axel Holmstrom’s first-period goal. Detroit’s second choice, 73rd overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Saarijarvi is skating in his first full professional season. He’s also played in three games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, accounting for one assist and a plus-one rating.

McCarron Recalled: Following last Friday’s game against Chicago, the Griffins recalled defenseman Patrick McCarron from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. McCarron did not play on Saturday at Rockford. McCarron is skating in his first full professional season and has logged one goal in five games with the Walleye. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound blueliner played four seasons at Cornell University, where he accumulated 50 points (12-38—50) in 123 career games from 2013-17 and was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team as a senior. McCarron has one career appearance with the Griffins, playing in the 2016-17 regular season finale at Milwaukee and tallying his first pro point on an assist.

No Candy Hangover: The Griffins post a 4-3-0-0 all-time record when playing on Nov. 1, also known as All Saints’ Day or the day after Halloween.

November Wins: Historically, the month of November has been a fruitful one for Grand Rapids, as the Griffins have posted a 0.500 record or better in the month 16 times in franchise history. Since the 2012-13 season, Grand Rapids has tallied a combined 38-14-1-2 (0.718) record in the 11th month of the year.

Man Down: Tucson converted twice on 10 power play opportunities in last Wednesday’s game at Van Andel Arena, marking the most chances by a Griffins opponent since March 15, 2014 at Oklahoma City. In three games last week, opponents scored eight times in 21 power play chances (38.1%), including Rockford, which recorded four goals on the man-advantage on Saturday.

Limiting the Big Innings: Grand Rapids allowed three goals in the third period last Saturday at Rockford, the sixth time in 27 periods this season the Griffins have surrendered three or more tallies. In comparison, Grand Rapids allowed three or more goals 10 times in 228 regular season periods during 2016-17.

In Memoriam: During last Wednesday’s matchup against Tucson, the Griffins debuted “HDV” jersey patches worn in honor of Helen DeVos, the Grand Rapids philanthropist and mother of Griffins co-owner and CEO Dan DeVos who passed away on Oct. 18. Grand Rapids will wear the patches for the rest of the season.

Line It Up: The line of Turner Elson, Colin Campbell and Dominic Turgeon continues to produce offensively through the season’s first nine games, as the trio tie for the team lead in scoring with seven points apiece.

Rookies Relate: Rookie Dominik Shine potted his first pro goal in the second period last Wednesday against Tucson. Shine, a native of Pinckney, Mich., who played college hockey at Northern Michigan and led the WCHA in goals with 20 as a senior in 2016-17, also skated in eight games with the Griffins at the end of last season. Fellow rookie Luke Esposito picked up the primary assist on Shine’s goal to record his first point as a pro.

Milestones: In addition to Eric Tangradi, who played in his 500th game as a pro on Oct. 14 at Stockton, several other Griffins are nearing benchmarks, including goaltender Tom McCollum (298 GP as a pro), Ben Street (297 AHL points) and Matthew Ford (198 pro assists).

Up and Down: With a 3-5-0-1 record through nine games, take a look at how the statistics compare between the Griffins’ three wins and six (including overtime and shootout) losses. Seven of the nine games have been decided by two or more goals. Grand Rapids has scored five or more goals in all three of its victories.

Back-to-Backs: The Griffins will play back-to-back games a total of 24 times this season. Compare the statistics for when Grand Rapids has played on consecutive nights:

Oldest Rivalries in the Books: Grand Rapids’ two opponents this week, Milwaukee and Chicago, are the most frequent adversaries in franchise history. With both rivalries dating to the International Hockey League days, the Griffins have faced the Admirals 164 times in the regular season, the most of any opponent, and the Wolves 141 times, second most.

No Hard Feelings, Right?: Chicago overtook Grand Rapids in the Central Division standings on the final day of the 2016-17 regular season to claim its sixth division crown as an AHL member. The Griffins, however, would get the last laugh by knocking out the Wolves in five games in the Central Division Finals on their way to their second Calder Cup in the last five seasons.

No Hard Feelings, Right? Part II: The Griffins and Admirals were pitted against each other in the Central Division Semifinals each of the last two postseasons, and both times Grand Rapids swept the best-of-five series. En route to the Calder Cup last season, the Griffins twice claimed overtime wins against the Admirals, including the series-clinching victory in Game 3 at Milwaukee. The Admirals return 12 players on their roster who competed in last season’s playoff series while the Griffins bring back 15 players.

Chicago Notes: Since the 2015-16 season, the Griffins are 15-3-1-0 (0.816) in their last 19 games against Chicago, including an 8-1-1-0 mark (0.850) in their last 10 at Van Andel Arena…After spending the last four seasons as the primary affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, the Wolves and Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL’s newest expansion franchise, announced a new affiliation over the summer…Chicago and Vegas also signed a multi-year ECHL partnership with Quad City, where longtime Griffins general manager Bob McNamara (1996-2011) serves as the Mallards’ president, GM and alternate governor.

Milwaukee Notes: Since the 2013-14 season, Grand Rapids posts a 26-13-1-0 record (0.663) against Milwaukee…That comes on the heels of a 18-24-4-4 (0.440) record the Griffins tallied against the Admirals from the 2006-07 season to 2012-13...Nineteen Admirals alumni played for the Nashville Predators during their run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final…Milwaukee has the league’s best penalty-killing unit, allowing just two opponent goals on 29 opportunities (93.1%)…Wednesday will be only the Admirals’ third home game of the season as Milwaukee is 4-1-0-0 on the road…Emil Pettersson leads the team with 10 points (3-7—10), while goaltender Anders Lindback shows a 5-1-0 record, a 2.34 goals against average and a 0.909 save percentage in six games…Grand Rapids assistant coaches Ben Simon (18 GP in 2003-04) and Bruce Ramsay (3 GP in 1995-96) had cups of coffee on the side of Lake Michigan during their playing days…Grand Rapids earned 14 out of a possible 24 points against Milwaukee in the 2016-17 season series while the Admirals collected 11 points.

Coaching Connections: Rocky Thompson was named the 10th head coach in Wolves history in June, succeeding Craig Berube, who is now an associate head coach with the St. Louis Blues. Thompson served on Todd Nelson’s staff as an assistant with the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons from 2010-14. In those four seasons, the Barons posted a 161-105-10-32 (0.591) record and advanced to the postseason every year, including a trip to the 2013 Western Conference Finals. Thompson was elevated to an assistant with the parent Edmonton Oilers for the 2014-15 campaign, a season that saw Nelson take over the NHL club on an interim basis in Dec. 2014.

Chicago Connections: Former Griffin Teemu Pulkkinen ties for second in the AHL in points with 13 (6-7—13) in eight games with the Wolves…Pulkkinen was selected by Vegas in the expansion draft…From 2012-15, Pulkkinen skated in 119 games with the Griffins, scoring 121 points (65-56—121)…He led the league with 34 goals in 2014-15 and that total ties for the fourth most in a single season in franchise history…Pulkkinen’s career 0.165 shooting percentage ranks fourth all time in Griffins history…A 2013 Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids, Pulkkinen appeared in 40 postseason games and tallied 34 points (22-12—34), which ties for third most in club playoff history…His nine playoff power play goals are the most in team history while his 22 goals are second most…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.

Championship Effects: Since 2001-02, the year Grand Rapids joined the AHL, nine Calder Cup champions have gone on to qualify for the postseason in the following season, including the Griffins, who reached the conference semifinals in 2014 after winning the franchise’s first championship in 2013. Only one team in this 16-year span repeated as champions (Hershey in 2009 and 2010).

Walleye Report: Under second-year head coach Dan Watson, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye are 3-2-1-0 to begin the new season. Christian Hilbrich paces the team in scoring with five points (2-3—5). Griffins-contracted Kevin Tansey and Red Wings-contracted Zach Nastasiuk tie for second on the team with four points apiece. Griffins-contracted Pat Nagle shows a 3-0-1 record in five games between the pipes while ranking fourth in the league with a 1.93 goals against average and ninth with a 0.930 save percentage.