GRIFFINS VS. ICEHOGS

Game 1 Wed., May 6 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.
Game 2 Fri., May 8 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.
Game 3 Wed., May 13 GRIFFINS at IceHogs 8 p.m.
Game 4 Thu., May 14 GRIFFINS at IceHogs 8 p.m.
*Game 5 Sun., May 17 GRIFFINS at IceHogs 5 p.m.
*Game 6 Tue., May 19 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.
*Game 7 Wed., May 20 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.

* If necessary. All times are Eastern and subject to change. All games on Newsradio WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM and AHLLive.com.

Feels Like The First Time: This Western Conference Semifinal matchup marks the first time in history that the Griffins and IceHogs have met in the postseason. The teams both had four wins and four losses in the season series, with Grand Rapids owning a 4-3-0-1 record overall, a 2-1-0-1 record at Van Andel Arena and a 2-2-0-0 record at BMO Harris Bank Center. In a race that came down to their final game of the regular season, the Griffins (46-22-6-2, 100 pts.) finished just one point ahead of the IceHogs (46-23-5-2, 99 pts.) in the standings to earn their second Midwest Division crown in three seasons, simultaneously claiming the Western Conference’s second seed and the home-ice advantage in Round 1 and 2. Grand Rapids is 24-20-3-5 all time against Rockford, but each team has enjoyed a significant advantage on its home ice. Versus the IceHogs, the Griffins are 16-7-1-2 at Van Andel Arena but just 8-13-2-3 on the road. Grand Rapids boasted the league’s most prolific offense this season with 249 goals, while Rockford’s defense was the third-stingiest on the circuit, allowing only 180. Each club’s special teams units mirrored their counterparts during the regular season. Grand Rapids and Rockford each converted 17.0% of its power play chances, while the Griffins’ 86.4% penalty killing rate edged out the IceHogs’ 86.0% mark.

History Made: Grand Rapids became the 11th team in AHL history to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2, knocking out the Toronto Marlies in the first round of the playoffs. The Griffins, who lost Games 1 and 2 at Ricoh Coliseum before winning three straight at Van Andel Arena, became the first team since the 2013 Providence Bruins to accomplish the feat, in the process improving to 5-1 overall and 5-0 at home when facing playoff elimination under Jeff Blashill. Grand Rapids is also 3-0 in winner-take-all contests during the three-year tenure of Blashill, who has now won six of seven playoff series at the Griffins’ helm.

Coaching Resume: For the first time in franchise history, the Griffins have reached the second round of the playoffs in three consecutive years. This is also the second time in Jeff Blashill’s coaching history that he has brought a team back from a 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series. He also did it with the USHL’s Indiana Ice in 2010.

Regular Season Series Notes: Andy Miele led both teams in scoring in the season series, registering eight points (4-4—8), eight penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in eight games. Defenseman Nick Jensen was the second-highest series scorer with six assists in eight games, along with the best plus/minus rating at plus-five. Rockford’s Pierre-Cedric Labrie logged 21 penalty minutes, earning 12 alone on March 14 at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins employed the services of Tom McCollum (2.18 GAA, 3-3-0 record, 0.933 save percentage, 6 GP) and Jared Coreau (0.94 GAA, 1-0-1 record, 0.975 save percentage, 1 SO, 2 GP) between the pipes, while Rockford used Michael Leighton (2.41 GAA, 3-3-0 record, 0.923 save percentage, 6 GP) and Antti Raanta (3.00 GAA, 1-0-1 record, 0.900 save percentage, 3 GP).

Pulkkinen’s Impact: Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen has been a dominant force for the Griffins since his return from the Detroit Red Wings on April 24. In five playoff games, the Vantaa, Finland, native owns a league-leading six goals, stringing together a four-game goal streak from April 25-May 2 and being held scoreless only during Game 5 versus Toronto. Pulkkinen’s 22 career points with Grand Rapids tie him with Slava Butsayev for sixth on the all-time playoff scoring leaders list, while his 14 goals tie Kevin Miller for third, behind only 16 goals from both Derek King and Tomas Tatar. Pulkkinen won the AHL’s Willie Marshall Award as the league’s leading goal scorer for the 2014-15 campaign (34), despite playing in 27 fewer games than
the three next-highest scorers, and was named to the 2014-15 AHL First All-Star Team on April 9. Most notably, Pulkkinen owns 29 goals in his last 26 AHL games.

Brawl Bros: While fans certainly recall the Griffins’ historic 11-6 win at Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013, during which Grand Rapids set franchise records for goals and penalty minutes (139) thanks to a line brawl during the second period, most of the combatants have since moved on. Not a single current Rockford player participated in that game, while only six active Griffins – Louis-Marc Aubry, Brennan Evans, Jeff Hoggan, Brian Lashoff, Tom McCollum and Nathan Paetsch – took part, with Lashoff being the only one who was involved in the melee.

Return to Sender: Five members of Rockford’s regular season roster are currently on recall with the Chicago Blackhawks in their quest for the Stanley Cup:

• Kyle Cumiskey (2-18—20 in 54 GP)
• Joakim Nordstrom (9-7—16 in 23 GP)
• Teuvo Teravainen (6-19—25 in 39 GP)
• Scott Darling (14-8-2, 2.20 GAA, 0.927 save percentage, 2 shutouts)
• Antti Raanta (8-1-1, 2.39 GAA, 0.918 save percentage, 2 shutouts)

Around the Block: Rockford goaltender Michael Leighton backstopped the IceHogs to three straight victories over the Texas Stars, eliminating the defending Calder Cup Champions from the playoffs during the quarterfinals. Leighton was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and turned pro during the 2001-02 season, when he produced a 2.14 goals against average in 52 games with the Norfolk Admirals. Since then, Leighton has played for numerous NHL teams, including the Blackhawks (2002-04), Nashville Predators (2006-07), Philadelphia Flyers (2006-07, 2009-11, 2012-13) and Carolina Hurricanes (2007-10). The 14-year pro has 16 games’ worth of NHL playoff experience and 22 games of AHL playoff experience. Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum is in his sixth season as a Griffin but just received his first professional playoff start in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against Toronto.

Forever Young: Captain Jeff Hoggan was the heart and soul behind the Griffins’ resurgence over the Toronto Marlies in Round 1, stringing together a three-game assist streak from April 25-29 before being held scoreless in Games 4 and 5. The oldest skater in the AHL, Hoggan had four assists in the first round and now ties for eighth overall (9-12—21) on the Griffins’ all-time highest-scoring playoff leaders list, along with the likes of Kevin Miller (14-7—21 in 21 GP), Tomas Jurco (13-8—21 in 32 GP), Riley Sheahan (9-12—21 in 32 GP) and Tomas Tatar (16-5—21 in 24 GP). Hoggan also currently leads all playoff skaters in penalty minutes with 22 in five games.

Nosek Emerges: After going scoreless in Game 1 and Game 2 at Ricoh Coliseum, Griffins center Tomas Nosek has been absolutely electric since his return to Van Andel Arena. The Pardubice, Czech Republic, native potted two assists in Wednesday’s 5-2 win and then earned a shorthanded and power play goal in Saturday’s 5-4 victory. During the regular season, Nosek ranked eighth on the team in scoring with 34 points (11-23—34) in 55 games with a plus-17 rating.

Little Bert: After joining the Griffins for two games at the end of the regular season following his Guelph Storm being eliminated from the playoffs, left wing Tyler Bertuzzi has had a huge impact on Grand Rapids in his three postseason matches. Missing both games in Toronto due to the flu bug, Bertuzzi returned to the lineup last Wednesday and notched the game-winning goal and assist. On Saturday, he once again scored what proved to be the game-winning goal and ties for the lead league in game-winners along with Portland’s Francis Wathier. Bertuzzi was Detroit’s third choice (58th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and is the nephew of long-time NHL player Todd Bertuzzi.

Ailment: In Game 2 versus Toronto, Zach Nastasiuk took an illegal check to the head from Marlies defenseman Viktor Loov and missed the rest of the game after being helped off the ice. Loov was received a two-game suspension for his actions and Nastasiuk has yet to return to the lineup due to his injury.

Eligible Support: Three players were eligible to return to the Griffins upon the Detroit Red Wings’ elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs: forward Tomas Jurco, defenseman Alexey Marchenko, and goaltender Petr Mrazek. Marchenko was the only player to rejoin Grand Rapids in their quest for the Calder and has notched an assist in both games since his return. Jurco (Slovakia) and Mrazek (Czech Republic) both chose to represent their countries at the World Championship. Landon Ferraro, who ranked third on the Griffins in scoring during the regular season with 42 points (27-15—42) in 70 games, played in one NHL game too many due to his appearance in the Wings’ Game 7 versus Tampa Bay. The Trail, B.C., native would be required to clear waivers if assigned to Grand Rapids.

The Faithful Few: Seven members of the Griffins’ 2013 Calder Cup championship roster are still members of the active roster: forwards Louis-Marc Aubry, Jeff Hoggan and Teemu Pulkkinen: defensemen Brennan Evans, Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch; and goaltender Tom McCollum. While Mitch Callahan also was part of the championship run in 2013, he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in February and will not play during the playoffs.

Playoff Facts and Figures: Grand Rapids has won 14 of its 25 total previous playoff series and owns a combined 68-63 record during those games, going 33-34 on home ice and 35-29 on the road. The Griffins have lost their last five road playoff games, three during the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals versus Texas in addition to the two games to Toronto during Round 1, and had won five series in a row until falling 4-2 to the eventual 2014 champions. Grand Rapids is now 4-3 in best-of-five series and 10-8 in best-of-seven series.

Bench Bosses: Jeff Blashill led the Griffins to the playoffs for the third straight time and to the team’s second division title in his three seasons behind the bench. Born in Detroit and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the 41-year-old Blashill helped Grand Rapids record a 46-22-6-2 record (100 pts.), exceeding results from both of his previous two campaigns as head coach. Previously, he led the Griffins to a 42-26-4-4 (92 pts.) record in 2012-13 and a 46-23-2-5 (99 pts.) record last season. Blashill’s perseverance was put to the test early on this season, as the Griffins ranked either fourth or fifth in the Midwest Division from Oct. 24-Dec. 19, including a five-game home losing streak to begin the season and a 3-6-1-0 record in their first 10 games. Blashill’s squad turned its fortunes around with a franchise record 19-game point streak (15-0-3-1) from Feb. 4-March 20, including a nine-game winning streak from Feb. 14– March 4, and eventually ran to a division title and to the second overall seed in the conference. In 2012-13, his first season as a head coach at the pro level, Blashill led the Griffins to the Calder Cup, marking the first championship in the franchise’s 17-year history. Ted Dent is in his fourth season as head coach for the Rockford IceHogs and the ninth overall as a coach for the Chicago Blackhawks’ (NHL) American Hockey League Affiliate, including his eighth in Rockford with the IceHogs. During his first three seasons as head coach of the IceHogs, Dent helped guide Rockford to a 112-95-9-12 (.537) record. Dent has been instrumental in helping develop 48 different players that were called up during the past seven seasons from Rockford to the Blackhawks, including Stanley Cup Champions Bryan Bickell, Dave Bolland, Brandon Bollig, Troy Brouwer, Dustin Byfulgien, Corey Crawford, Colin Fraser, Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Antti Niemi, Andrew Shaw, Brandon Saad, Ben Smith and Kris Versteeg. There were six different players in 2012-13 who skated for both the IceHogs and Blackhawks and helped Chicago earn the organization's second Stanley Cup in four seasons. Overall, 17 former IceHogs have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup after playing under Dent in Rockford. Last season, three IceHogs players made their NHL debuts with Chicago and a total of nine different skaters saw time with the parent club. Prior to working with the Blackhawks’ organization, Dent was the head coach of the Columbia Inferno (ECHL) for one season in 2005-06. During the 2004-05 season, Dent was the assistant coach of the Kelly Cup Champion Trenton Titans (ECHL). Dent played parts of four seasons in pro hockey and the centerman’s top season came during the 1993-94 campaign during which he potted 30g-54a-84pts in 67 games with the Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL). In 194 career games at the professional level, Dent totaled 198 points. Dent played his college hockey at St. Lawrence University graduating with a B.S. in Sports Management in 1992. During his time at St. Lawrence, the Saints won the ECAC Championship in 1989 and 1992, advancing to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.

Playoff Roster: The following 27 players are eligible to suit up for the Griffins in the postseason: goaltenders Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum and Jake Paterson; defensemen Brennan Evans, Joe Hicketts, Nick Jensen, Brian Lashoff, Alexey Marchenko, Xavier Ouellet, Nathan Paetsch and Ryan Sproul; and forwards Andreas Athanasiou, Louis-Marc Aubry, Tyler Bertuzzi, Chris Bruton, Mitch Callahan, Colin Campbell, Alden Hirschfeld, Jeff Hoggan, Anthony Mantha, Andy Miele, Zach Nastasiuk, Tomas Nosek, Kevin Porter, Teemu Pulkkinen, Marek Tvrdon and Mark Zengerle.

Experience Counts: Sixteen players on the Griffins roster had AHL postseason experience entering the playoffs— Louis-Marc Aubry (0-1—1 in 14 GP), Andreas Athanasiou (0-1—1 in 6 GP), Mitch Callahan (7-9—16 in 32 GP), Colin Campbell (0-0—0 in 3 GP), Brennan Evans (2-7—9 in 48 GP), Jeff Hoggan (17-18—35 in 72 GP), Nick Jensen (0-1—1 in 10 GP), Brian Lashoff (1-5—6 in 26 GP), goaltender Tom McCollum (0-0 record, 3.50 GAA in 1 GP), Andy Miele (1-2—3 in 3 GP), Zach Nastasiuk (0-1—1 in 7 GP), Xavier Ouellet (0-0—0 in 8 GP), Nathan Paetsch (2-18—20 in 59 GP), Kevin Porter (0-7—7 in 12 GP), Teemu Pulkkinen (8-8—16 in 24 GP) and Ryan Sproul (2-3—5 in 10 GP). Three skaters had professional postseason experience at other levels; Chris Bruton (0-3—3 in 4 GP; ECHL), Alden Hirschfeld (0-1—1 in 5 GP; ECHL) and Tomas Nosek (4-4—8 in 13 GP; Czech).

2014-15 Griffins vs. IceHogs

Griffins Records: 4-3-0-1 Overall, 2-1-0-1 in Grand Rapids, 2-2-0-0 in Rockford
IceHogs Records: 4-3-1-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 in Grand Rapids, 2-1-1-0 in Rockford

Oct. 29 – IceHogs 2, Griffins 1 – Van Andel Arena
In the Griffins’ first home Wednesday game of the season, Joakim Nordstrom scored off a defensive-zone turnover by the Griffins with less than two minutes remaining to steal 2-1 victory for Rockford. Mitch Callahan had the Griffins’ lone goal just 10 seconds into the game, which held up all season as the team’s fastest goal from the start of a game, but the contest turned into a classic goaltender battle as Tom McCollum and Michael Leighton combined to stop 63 of 66 shots. Detroit Red Wings forward Stephen Weiss made his Griffins debut on a conditioning stint and played in two periods before leaving the game for precautionary reasons.

Nov. 8 – Griffins 1, IceHogs 3 – BMO Harris Bank Center
Grand Rapids logged its sixth consecutive game without a victory in a 3-1 loss to Rockford, despite snapping a scoreless drought of over 115 minutes with Landon Ferraro’s second goal of the season. All three of the opposition’s goals were scored by Mark McNeill, who notched the IceHogs’ insurance tally with an empty net goal.

Dec. 6 – Griffins 4, IceHogs 0 – BMO Harris Bank Center
Goaltender Jared Coreau turned aside 31 shots and earned his second win in as many games, all the while registering his first professional shutout to spark his second-season turnaround. Kevin Porter, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha and Landon Ferraro all logged goals for the Griffins, who posted their first road shutout since a 3-0 victory at Oklahoma City in Game 5 of the 2013 Western Conference Finals.

Dec. 31 – IceHogs 3, Griffins 2 SO – Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids hosted the IceHogs for the 18th annual New Year’s Eve game at Van Andel Arena, which saw the visitors eventually triumph in a highly-thrilling shootout despite a monstrous 47-save performance from Jared Coreau. After winning their previous two games by a combined 16-3 tally, the Griffins found scoring harder to come by but were helped to a point by Coreau’s showing, including 25 saves in the first period alone. Grand Rapids got off to a lead just 34 seconds into the game with a goal from Teemu Pulkkinen, before Andy Miele added another 4:23 into the second period. Rockford’s relentless attack eventually cracked Coreau when the IceHogs scored twice within a span of 110 seconds midway through the second, setting up the eventual shootout. No shooters connected for the Griffins and only Peter Regin solved Coreau for Rockford, awarding the visitors with the extra point. The IceHogs’ 50 shots on goal established a season high and their 25 shots in the first period were three more than any opponent has ever recorded in a single period at Van Andel Arena.

March 7 – Griffins 3, IceHogs 2 OT – BMO Harris Bank Center
Just 24 hours after losing to Milwaukee in overtime following a game-tying goal in the last second of regulation, Andy Miele scored 1:27 into the extra session against Rockford to earn a bounce back overtime win. With the victory, the Griffins extended their point streak to 15 games (12-0-3-0) and had collected points in 19 of their last 20 contests at the time.

March 14 – IceHogs 1, Griffins 3 – Van Andel Arena
With a 3-1 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins extended their franchise-record point streak to 18 games (14-0-3-1). Tom McCollum made 27 saves to backstop Grand Rapids to its sixth consecutive home win, improving to 7-0-2-0 in its last nine at home and 18-1-3-1 overall since Jan. 23. It was McCollum’s 186th regular season game in a Griffins sweater, tying Jimmy Howard for second on the all-time list behind Joey MacDonald (210). After a scoreless first period, Rockford’s Matt Carey put the puck past McCollum 14:09 into the second to give the IceHogs their only lead of the evening, before late-period goals from Ryan Sproul (17:41) and Kevin Porter (19:09) put the Griffins up heading into the third. Captain Jeff Hoggan then scored with just over five minutes remaining in the game to put the contest out of reach.

April 1 – IceHogs 1, Griffins 6 – Van Andel Arena
The Griffins roasted the IceHogs, 6-1, in the final regular season matchup at Van Andel Arena, earning two very valuable points over their division rival to put Grand Rapids five points ahead of Rockford in the division race. Between the pipes, Tom McCollum improved his record to 12-1-3 in his last 16 games with the Griffins and Jeff Blashill became the first coach in franchise history to lead the team to three 90-point seasons (Bruce Cassidy and Danton Cole each had two squads hit that milestone). With a two-goal night, Andy Miele seized the team’s scoring lead from Teemu Pulkkinen, who was on recall with Detroit, and Nathan Paetsch missed on the Griffins’ second penalty shot attempt of the season.

April 3 – Griffins 2, IceHogs 6 – BMO Harris Bank Center
The IceHogs proved that they are not to be trifled with, turning the tables on the Griffins’ rout two days prior and defeating Grand Rapids 6-2 at BMO Harris Bank Center. The Griffins’ loss came just a day after clinching a berth into the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs. After Rockford got off to a two-goal lead midway through the first period, Jeff Hoggan put Grand Rapids within one heading into the first intermission. However, the team fell behind by two once again just 31 seconds into the middle frame, before Nathan Paetsch kept the Griffins’ chase alive with a goal at 17:11 of the same period. Rockford remained resilient and captured two goals just 30 seconds apart in the third period (9:43, 10:13) in addition to an empty netter from Ross Hartman to secure the final margin.

Tale of the Tape: Here’s how the two rivals stacked up in key categories during the regular season:

Game 1 Wed., May 6 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.
Game 2 Fri., May 8 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.
Game 3 Wed., May 13 GRIFFINS at IceHogs 8 p.m.
Game 4 Thu., May 14 GRIFFINS at IceHogs 8 p.m.
*Game 5 Sun., May 17 GRIFFINS at IceHogs 5 p.m.
*Game 6 Tue., May 19 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.
*Game 7 Wed., May 20 IceHogs at GRIFFINS 7 p.m.

* If necessary. All times are Eastern and subject to change. All games on Newsradio WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM and AHLLive.com.

Feels Like The First Time: This Western Conference Semifinal matchup marks the first time in history that the Griffins and IceHogs have met in the postseason. The teams both had four wins and four losses in the season series, with Grand Rapids owning a 4-3-0-1 record overall, a 2-1-0-1 record at Van Andel Arena and a 2-2-0-0 record at BMO Harris Bank Center. In a race that came down to their final game of the regular season, the Griffins (46-22-6-2, 100 pts.) finished just one point ahead of the IceHogs (46-23-5-2, 99 pts.) in the standings to earn their second Midwest Division crown in three seasons, simultaneously claiming the Western Conference’s second seed and the home-ice advantage in Round 1 and 2. Grand Rapids is 24-20-3-5 all time against Rockford, but each team has enjoyed a significant advantage on its home ice. Versus the IceHogs, the Griffins are 16-7-1-2 at Van Andel Arena but just 8-13-2-3 on the road. Grand Rapids boasted the league’s most prolific offense this season with 249 goals, while Rockford’s defense was the third-stingiest on the circuit, allowing only 180. Each club’s special teams units mirrored their counterparts during the regular season. Grand Rapids and Rockford each converted 17.0% of its power play chances, while the Griffins’ 86.4% penalty killing rate edged out the IceHogs’ 86.0% mark.

History Made: Grand Rapids became the 11th team in AHL history to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2, knocking out the Toronto Marlies in the first round of the playoffs. The Griffins, who lost Games 1 and 2 at Ricoh Coliseum before winning three straight at Van Andel Arena, became the first team since the 2013 Providence Bruins to accomplish the feat, in the process improving to 5-1 overall and 5-0 at home when facing playoff elimination under Jeff Blashill. Grand Rapids is also 3-0 in winner-take-all contests during the three-year tenure of Blashill, who has now won six of seven playoff series at the Griffins’ helm.

Coaching Resume: For the first time in franchise history, the Griffins have reached the second round of the playoffs in three consecutive years. This is also the second time in Jeff Blashill’s coaching history that he has brought a team back from a 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series. He also did it with the USHL’s Indiana Ice in 2010.

Regular Season Series Notes: Andy Miele led both teams in scoring in the season series, registering eight points (4-4—8), eight penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in eight games. Defenseman Nick Jensen was the second-highest series scorer with six assists in eight games, along with the best plus/minus rating at plus-five. Rockford’s Pierre-Cedric Labrie logged 21 penalty minutes, earning 12 alone on March 14 at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins employed the services of Tom McCollum (2.18 GAA, 3-3-0 record, 0.933 save percentage, 6 GP) and Jared Coreau (0.94 GAA, 1-0-1 record, 0.975 save percentage, 1 SO, 2 GP) between the pipes, while Rockford used Michael Leighton (2.41 GAA, 3-3-0 record, 0.923 save percentage, 6 GP) and Antti Raanta (3.00 GAA, 1-0-1 record, 0.900 save percentage, 3 GP).

Pulkkinen’s Impact: Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen has been a dominant force for the Griffins since his return from the Detroit Red Wings on April 24. In five playoff games, the Vantaa, Finland, native owns a league-leading six goals, stringing together a four-game goal streak from April 25-May 2 and being held scoreless only during Game 5 versus Toronto. Pulkkinen’s 22 career points with Grand Rapids tie him with Slava Butsayev for sixth on the all-time playoff scoring leaders list, while his 14 goals tie Kevin Miller for third, behind only 16 goals from both Derek King and Tomas Tatar. Pulkkinen won the AHL’s Willie Marshall Award as the league’s leading goal scorer for the 2014-15 campaign (34), despite playing in 27 fewer games than
the three next-highest scorers, and was named to the 2014-15 AHL First All-Star Team on April 9. Most notably, Pulkkinen owns 29 goals in his last 26 AHL games.

Brawl Bros: While fans certainly recall the Griffins’ historic 11-6 win at Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013, during which Grand Rapids set franchise records for goals and penalty minutes (139) thanks to a line brawl during the second period, most of the combatants have since moved on. Not a single current Rockford player participated in that game, while only six active Griffins – Louis-Marc Aubry, Brennan Evans, Jeff Hoggan, Brian Lashoff, Tom McCollum and Nathan Paetsch – took part, with Lashoff being the only one who was involved in the melee.

Return to Sender: Five members of Rockford’s regular season roster are currently on recall with the Chicago Blackhawks in their quest for the Stanley Cup:

• Kyle Cumiskey (2-18—20 in 54 GP)
• Joakim Nordstrom (9-7—16 in 23 GP)
• Teuvo Teravainen (6-19—25 in 39 GP)
• Scott Darling (14-8-2, 2.20 GAA, 0.927 save percentage, 2 shutouts)
• Antti Raanta (8-1-1, 2.39 GAA, 0.918 save percentage, 2 shutouts)

Around the Block: Rockford goaltender Michael Leighton backstopped the IceHogs to three straight victories over the Texas Stars, eliminating the defending Calder Cup Champions from the playoffs during the quarterfinals. Leighton was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and turned pro during the 2001-02 season, when he produced a 2.14 goals against average in 52 games with the Norfolk Admirals. Since then, Leighton has played for numerous NHL teams, including the Blackhawks (2002-04), Nashville Predators (2006-07), Philadelphia Flyers (2006-07, 2009-11, 2012-13) and Carolina Hurricanes (2007-10). The 14-year pro has 16 games’ worth of NHL playoff experience and 22 games of AHL playoff experience. Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum is in his sixth season as a Griffin but just received his first professional playoff start in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against Toronto.

Forever Young: Captain Jeff Hoggan was the heart and soul behind the Griffins’ resurgence over the Toronto Marlies in Round 1, stringing together a three-game assist streak from April 25-29 before being held scoreless in Games 4 and 5. The oldest skater in the AHL, Hoggan had four assists in the first round and now ties for eighth overall (9-12—21) on the Griffins’ all-time highest-scoring playoff leaders list, along with the likes of Kevin Miller (14-7—21 in 21 GP), Tomas Jurco (13-8—21 in 32 GP), Riley Sheahan (9-12—21 in 32 GP) and Tomas Tatar (16-5—21 in 24 GP). Hoggan also currently leads all playoff skaters in penalty minutes with 22 in five games.

Nosek Emerges: After going scoreless in Game 1 and Game 2 at Ricoh Coliseum, Griffins center Tomas Nosek has been absolutely electric since his return to Van Andel Arena. The Pardubice, Czech Republic, native potted two assists in Wednesday’s 5-2 win and then earned a shorthanded and power play goal in Saturday’s 5-4 victory. During the regular season, Nosek ranked eighth on the team in scoring with 34 points (11-23—34) in 55 games with a plus-17 rating.

Little Bert: After joining the Griffins for two games at the end of the regular season following his Guelph Storm being eliminated from the playoffs, left wing Tyler Bertuzzi has had a huge impact on Grand Rapids in his three postseason matches. Missing both games in Toronto due to the flu bug, Bertuzzi returned to the lineup last Wednesday and notched the game-winning goal and assist. On Saturday, he once again scored what proved to be the game-winning goal and ties for the lead league in game-winners along with Portland’s Francis Wathier. Bertuzzi was Detroit’s third choice (58th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and is the nephew of long-time NHL player Todd Bertuzzi.

Ailment: In Game 2 versus Toronto, Zach Nastasiuk took an illegal check to the head from Marlies defenseman Viktor Loov and missed the rest of the game after being helped off the ice. Loov was received a two-game suspension for his actions and Nastasiuk has yet to return to the lineup due to his injury.

Eligible Support: Three players were eligible to return to the Griffins upon the Detroit Red Wings’ elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs: forward Tomas Jurco, defenseman Alexey Marchenko, and goaltender Petr Mrazek. Marchenko was the only player to rejoin Grand Rapids in their quest for the Calder and has notched an assist in both games since his return. Jurco (Slovakia) and Mrazek (Czech Republic) both chose to represent their countries at the World Championship. Landon Ferraro, who ranked third on the Griffins in scoring during the regular season with 42 points (27-15—42) in 70 games, played in one NHL game too many due to his appearance in the Wings’ Game 7 versus Tampa Bay. The Trail, B.C., native would be required to clear waivers if assigned to Grand Rapids.

The Faithful Few: Seven members of the Griffins’ 2013 Calder Cup championship roster are still members of the active roster: forwards Louis-Marc Aubry, Jeff Hoggan and Teemu Pulkkinen: defensemen Brennan Evans, Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch; and goaltender Tom McCollum. While Mitch Callahan also was part of the championship run in 2013, he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in February and will not play during the playoffs.

Playoff Facts and Figures: Grand Rapids has won 14 of its 25 total previous playoff series and owns a combined 68-63 record during those games, going 33-34 on home ice and 35-29 on the road. The Griffins have lost their last five road playoff games, three during the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals versus Texas in addition to the two games to Toronto during Round 1, and had won five series in a row until falling 4-2 to the eventual 2014 champions. Grand Rapids is now 4-3 in best-of-five series and 10-8 in best-of-seven series.

Bench Bosses: Jeff Blashill led the Griffins to the playoffs for the third straight time and to the team’s second division title in his three seasons behind the bench. Born in Detroit and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the 41-year-old Blashill helped Grand Rapids record a 46-22-6-2 record (100 pts.), exceeding results from both of his previous two campaigns as head coach. Previously, he led the Griffins to a 42-26-4-4 (92 pts.) record in 2012-13 and a 46-23-2-5 (99 pts.) record last season. Blashill’s perseverance was put to the test early on this season, as the Griffins ranked either fourth or fifth in the Midwest Division from Oct. 24-Dec. 19, including a five-game home losing streak to begin the season and a 3-6-1-0 record in their first 10 games. Blashill’s squad turned its fortunes around with a franchise record 19-game point streak (15-0-3-1) from Feb. 4-March 20, including a nine-game winning streak from Feb. 14– March 4, and eventually ran to a division title and to the second overall seed in the conference. In 2012-13, his first season as a head coach at the pro level, Blashill led the Griffins to the Calder Cup, marking the first championship in the franchise’s 17-year history. Ted Dent is in his fourth season as head coach for the Rockford IceHogs and the ninth overall as a coach for the Chicago Blackhawks’ (NHL) American Hockey League Affiliate, including his eighth in Rockford with the IceHogs. During his first three seasons as head coach of the IceHogs, Dent helped guide Rockford to a 112-95-9-12 (.537) record. Dent has been instrumental in helping develop 48 different players that were called up during the past seven seasons from Rockford to the Blackhawks, including Stanley Cup Champions Bryan Bickell, Dave Bolland, Brandon Bollig, Troy Brouwer, Dustin Byfulgien, Corey Crawford, Colin Fraser, Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Antti Niemi, Andrew Shaw, Brandon Saad, Ben Smith and Kris Versteeg. There were six different players in 2012-13 who skated for both the IceHogs and Blackhawks and helped Chicago earn the organization's second Stanley Cup in four seasons. Overall, 17 former IceHogs have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup after playing under Dent in Rockford. Last season, three IceHogs players made their NHL debuts with Chicago and a total of nine different skaters saw time with the parent club. Prior to working with the Blackhawks’ organization, Dent was the head coach of the Columbia Inferno (ECHL) for one season in 2005-06. During the 2004-05 season, Dent was the assistant coach of the Kelly Cup Champion Trenton Titans (ECHL). Dent played parts of four seasons in pro hockey and the centerman’s top season came during the 1993-94 campaign during which he potted 30g-54a-84pts in 67 games with the Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL). In 194 career games at the professional level, Dent totaled 198 points. Dent played his college hockey at St. Lawrence University graduating with a B.S. in Sports Management in 1992. During his time at St. Lawrence, the Saints won the ECAC Championship in 1989 and 1992, advancing to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.

Playoff Roster: The following 27 players are eligible to suit up for the Griffins in the postseason: goaltenders Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum and Jake Paterson; defensemen Brennan Evans, Joe Hicketts, Nick Jensen, Brian Lashoff, Alexey Marchenko, Xavier Ouellet, Nathan Paetsch and Ryan Sproul; and forwards Andreas Athanasiou, Louis-Marc Aubry, Tyler Bertuzzi, Chris Bruton, Mitch Callahan, Colin Campbell, Alden Hirschfeld, Jeff Hoggan, Anthony Mantha, Andy Miele, Zach Nastasiuk, Tomas Nosek, Kevin Porter, Teemu Pulkkinen, Marek Tvrdon and Mark Zengerle.

Experience Counts: Sixteen players on the Griffins roster had AHL postseason experience entering the playoffs— Louis-Marc Aubry (0-1—1 in 14 GP), Andreas Athanasiou (0-1—1 in 6 GP), Mitch Callahan (7-9—16 in 32 GP), Colin Campbell (0-0—0 in 3 GP), Brennan Evans (2-7—9 in 48 GP), Jeff Hoggan (17-18—35 in 72 GP), Nick Jensen (0-1—1 in 10 GP), Brian Lashoff (1-5—6 in 26 GP), goaltender Tom McCollum (0-0 record, 3.50 GAA in 1 GP), Andy Miele (1-2—3 in 3 GP), Zach Nastasiuk (0-1—1 in 7 GP), Xavier Ouellet (0-0—0 in 8 GP), Nathan Paetsch (2-18—20 in 59 GP), Kevin Porter (0-7—7 in 12 GP), Teemu Pulkkinen (8-8—16 in 24 GP) and Ryan Sproul (2-3—5 in 10 GP). Three skaters had professional postseason experience at other levels; Chris Bruton (0-3—3 in 4 GP; ECHL), Alden Hirschfeld (0-1—1 in 5 GP; ECHL) and Tomas Nosek (4-4—8 in 13 GP; Czech).

2014-15 Griffins vs. IceHogs

Griffins Records: 4-3-0-1 Overall, 2-1-0-1 in Grand Rapids, 2-2-0-0 in Rockford
IceHogs Records: 4-3-1-0 Overall, 2-2-0-0 in Grand Rapids, 2-1-1-0 in Rockford

Oct. 29 – IceHogs 2, Griffins 1 – Van Andel Arena
In the Griffins’ first home Wednesday game of the season, Joakim Nordstrom scored off a defensive-zone turnover by the Griffins with less than two minutes remaining to steal 2-1 victory for Rockford. Mitch Callahan had the Griffins’ lone goal just 10 seconds into the game, which held up all season as the team’s fastest goal from the start of a game, but the contest turned into a classic goaltender battle as Tom McCollum and Michael Leighton combined to stop 63 of 66 shots. Detroit Red Wings forward Stephen Weiss made his Griffins debut on a conditioning stint and played in two periods before leaving the game for precautionary reasons.

Nov. 8 – Griffins 1, IceHogs 3 – BMO Harris Bank Center
Grand Rapids logged its sixth consecutive game without a victory in a 3-1 loss to Rockford, despite snapping a scoreless drought of over 115 minutes with Landon Ferraro’s second goal of the season. All three of the opposition’s goals were scored by Mark McNeill, who notched the IceHogs’ insurance tally with an empty net goal.

Dec. 6 – Griffins 4, IceHogs 0 – BMO Harris Bank Center
Goaltender Jared Coreau turned aside 31 shots and earned his second win in as many games, all the while registering his first professional shutout to spark his second-season turnaround. Kevin Porter, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha and Landon Ferraro all logged goals for the Griffins, who posted their first road shutout since a 3-0 victory at Oklahoma City in Game 5 of the 2013 Western Conference Finals.

Dec. 31 – IceHogs 3, Griffins 2 SO – Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids hosted the IceHogs for the 18th annual New Year’s Eve game at Van Andel Arena, which saw the visitors eventually triumph in a highly-thrilling shootout despite a monstrous 47-save performance from Jared Coreau. After winning their previous two games by a combined 16-3 tally, the Griffins found scoring harder to come by but were helped to a point by Coreau’s showing, including 25 saves in the first period alone. Grand Rapids got off to a lead just 34 seconds into the game with a goal from Teemu Pulkkinen, before Andy Miele added another 4:23 into the second period. Rockford’s relentless attack eventually cracked Coreau when the IceHogs scored twice within a span of 110 seconds midway through the second, setting up the eventual shootout. No shooters connected for the Griffins and only Peter Regin solved Coreau for Rockford, awarding the visitors with the extra point. The IceHogs’ 50 shots on goal established a season high and their 25 shots in the first period were three more than any opponent has ever recorded in a single period at Van Andel Arena.

March 7 – Griffins 3, IceHogs 2 OT – BMO Harris Bank Center
Just 24 hours after losing to Milwaukee in overtime following a game-tying goal in the last second of regulation, Andy Miele scored 1:27 into the extra session against Rockford to earn a bounce back overtime win. With the victory, the Griffins extended their point streak to 15 games (12-0-3-0) and had collected points in 19 of their last 20 contests at the time.

March 14 – IceHogs 1, Griffins 3 – Van Andel Arena
With a 3-1 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins extended their franchise-record point streak to 18 games (14-0-3-1). Tom McCollum made 27 saves to backstop Grand Rapids to its sixth consecutive home win, improving to 7-0-2-0 in its last nine at home and 18-1-3-1 overall since Jan. 23. It was McCollum’s 186th regular season game in a Griffins sweater, tying Jimmy Howard for second on the all-time list behind Joey MacDonald (210). After a scoreless first period, Rockford’s Matt Carey put the puck past McCollum 14:09 into the second to give the IceHogs their only lead of the evening, before late-period goals from Ryan Sproul (17:41) and Kevin Porter (19:09) put the Griffins up heading into the third. Captain Jeff Hoggan then scored with just over five minutes remaining in the game to put the contest out of reach.

April 1 – IceHogs 1, Griffins 6 – Van Andel Arena
The Griffins roasted the IceHogs, 6-1, in the final regular season matchup at Van Andel Arena, earning two very valuable points over their division rival to put Grand Rapids five points ahead of Rockford in the division race. Between the pipes, Tom McCollum improved his record to 12-1-3 in his last 16 games with the Griffins and Jeff Blashill became the first coach in franchise history to lead the team to three 90-point seasons (Bruce Cassidy and Danton Cole each had two squads hit that milestone). With a two-goal night, Andy Miele seized the team’s scoring lead from Teemu Pulkkinen, who was on recall with Detroit, and Nathan Paetsch missed on the Griffins’ second penalty shot attempt of the season.

April 3 – Griffins 2, IceHogs 6 – BMO Harris Bank Center
The IceHogs proved that they are not to be trifled with, turning the tables on the Griffins’ rout two days prior and defeating Grand Rapids 6-2 at BMO Harris Bank Center. The Griffins’ loss came just a day after clinching a berth into the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs. After Rockford got off to a two-goal lead midway through the first period, Jeff Hoggan put Grand Rapids within one heading into the first intermission. However, the team fell behind by two once again just 31 seconds into the middle frame, before Nathan Paetsch kept the Griffins’ chase alive with a goal at 17:11 of the same period. Rockford remained resilient and captured two goals just 30 seconds apart in the third period (9:43, 10:13) in addition to an empty netter from Ross Hartman to secure the final margin.

Tale of the Tape: Here’s how the two rivals stacked up in key categories during the regular season: