GRIND TIME

This Week’s Games
Wed., Jan. 27 Toronto Marlies at GRIFFINS 11 a.m. ESPN 96.1 / AHLLive.com
Fri., Jan. 29 Toronto Marlies at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Jan. 30 GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sun., Jan. 31 AHL All-Star Skills Competition 8 p.m. Fox Sports Detroit

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 20 GRIFFINS 3 at Lake Erie Monsters 2 24-12-1-1, 50 points (2nd, Central Division)
Fri., Jan. 22 Rochester Americans 5 at GRIFFINS 3 24-13-1-1, 50 points (4th)
Sat., Jan. 23 Rochester Americans 2 at GRIFFINS 0 24-14-1-1, 50 points (4th)

Opening Faceoff: Despite dropping three of their last four, the Griffins are 22-6-1-0 in their last 29 games. Good for 24-14-1-1 (0.625) overall, Grand Rapids is currently situated fourth in the Central Division, 0.058 percentage points behind first-place Rockford. Due up for the Griffins this week is a Wednesday-Friday home set with the league-leading Toronto Marlies and a trip to Milwaukee to take on the Admirals before a well-timed all-star break. When the calendar flips to February, the Griffins will have played 14 games in January’s 31 days and will welcome the upcoming five-day break from games.

This Week’s Promotions: The Griffins host their 15th annual matinee game presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan on Wednesday against Toronto. On Friday against Toronto, fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs and $2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Matinee Games: The Griffins have hosted a matinee game every year since the 2001-02 campaign. Grand Rapids owns a 9-4-0-1 (0.679) record in home games with an early start and have outscored opponents 39-34 in those 14 games.

All-Star Nods: Defenseman Xavier Ouellet and forward Jeff Hoggan (playing captain) have been selected to participate in the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic held on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y. Ouellet receives his second consecutive all-star nod, but was unable to play in the 2015 All-Star Classic because he was on recall with the Detroit Red Wings. He becomes just the fourth Griffins defenseman ever to be selected to play in two all-star games, joining Niklas Kronwall (2004 and 2005), Travis Richards (2001 IHL and 2004) and John Gruden (2000 IHL and 2002). Selected as one of two playing captains, along with Syracuse’s Mike Angelidis, Hoggan will be making his first career all-star appearance. Hoggan becomes the third Griffin to be chosen as a playing captain for an All-Star Classic, joining Kip Miller (2007, PlanetUSA) and Travis Richards (2004, PlanetUSA).

All-Star Information: The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic will be held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y. The skills competition on Jan. 31 will air live at 8 p.m. EST on Fox Sports Detroit. The all-star game on Feb. 1 will also air live at 7 p.m. EST on Fox Sports Detroit Plus.

Win Some and Lose Some: The Griffins own a 24-14-1-1 (.625) record through 40 games. Take a look at how Grand Rapids’ numbers stack up between its 24 wins and 16 (including overtime and shootout) losses:

Movin’ On Up: On Nov. 18, almost 10 weeks ago, Grand Rapids stood in last place in the league with a 0.227 winning percentage. Since that date, which marked the beginning of the Griffins’ 22-6-1-0 stretch, Grand Rapids (0.625) has vaulted all the way up to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference and No. 8 in the AHL.

Busy, Busy: January is the most frenetic month of the season on the ice for the Griffins. When the month is all said and done, Grand Rapids will have played 14 games in the 31-day month including four sets of back-to-back games (Jan. 8-9, 12-13, 22-23, 29-30).

Back-to-Backs: The Griffins have played 12 sets of back-to-backs thus far. Compare the statistical differences between the first and second games:

Whoa, Nellie: Named the franchise’s 10th head coach on June 19, 2015, Todd Nelson has already attached his name to several records in Griffins lore. In the first few months under Nelson’s watch, Grand Rapids has set franchise records for overall win streak (15, Nov. 18-Dec. 26) and home win streak (14, Nov. 11-Jan. 15). Additionally, the Griffins’ 0.833 winning percentage (10-2-0-0) in the month of December marked the most successful December ever in the franchise’s 20 seasons. Now in his sixth season as an AHL head coach, including five spent in Oklahoma City with the Barons, Nelson claimed his 200th career AHL win (200-125-13-35) in Grand Rapids’ 3-2 overtime win against Lake Erie on Jan. 20.

Making the Grade: Eric Tangradi became the 153rd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with the Red Wings during Detroit’s 4-2 victory at the New York Islanders on Monday. He did not record a point in 6:55 of ice time. Tangradi also became the 899th player in Red Wings history. Tangradi was assigned back to Grand Rapids on Tuesday. The first-year Griffin set a team-best this season when he recorded an eight-game point streak from Nov. 27-Dec. 26. Tangradi’s team-leading 16 goals are buoyed by his fourth career hat trick recorded on Dec. 5 against Lake Erie, one of three Griffins to net three goals in a game this season (Colin Campbell, Dec. 26 at LE; Tomas Jurco, Nov. 20 vs. San Diego). League wide, Tangradi is tied for fifth in goals (16) and tied for 20th in points (31).

Sorry, Not Sorry: In addition to putting together their own winning streak of 15 games earlier this season (Nov. 18-Dec. 26), which set a franchise record, the Griffins have also made a habit out of being able to stop the streaks of their opponents. Consider the significant runs that Grand Rapids has been responsible for halting this season: Rockford’s 10-game point streak on Nov. 18 (3-2 W), Milwaukee’s 11-game point streak and franchise-record 10-game winning streak on Nov. 27 (6-0 W) and Charlotte’s 12-game point streak on Jan. 12 (5-3 W).

Against the Best: The Griffins own a 20-10-1-1 (0.656) record against teams with a winning record this season, including an 8-5-0-0 (0.615) mark against teams with a winning percentage greater than 0.600 as of Jan. 26. Grand Rapids has also posted a 21-7-1-1 (0.733) record against its Central Division rivals. Thus far, the division has shown to be one of the toughest in the AHL as four Central teams rank in the top 10 of the overall league standings.

Making Moves: On Sunday, the Detroit Red Wings recalled forward Eric Tangradi and Nick Jensen and assigned forward Joakim Andersson to the Griffins. Tangradi leads Grand Rapids in both goals (16) and points (31) while appearing in 36 games. Jensen has contributed eight points (2-6—8) in 39 games and was the hero against Lake Erie on Jan. 15, delivering the game-winning goal in overtime. Andersson has played in 26 games with the Red Wings this season, tallying three points (1-2—3). He played four seasons as a Griffin and registered 101 points (38-63—101) between 2008-13. Andersson was a member of Grand Rapids’ 2013 Calder Cup championship team. On Tuesday, Andersson was recalled to Detroit and Tangaradi and Jensen were assigned back to Grand Rapids.

0 to 100: Tallying an assist in Jan. 20’s overtime win against Lake Erie, Andy Miele recorded his 100th point as a Griffin. Doing so in 109 regular season games, Miele became the ninth fastest player in franchise history to hit the century mark reached by a total of 32 players previously. The second-year Griffin leads the team with 22 assists overall and is second in points (8-22—30).

Road Redemption: After dropping their first five away games, the Griffins have won nine of their last 13 on the road, including a six-game winning streak that lasted from Nov. 21-Dec. 26. Grand Rapids has put together streaks of five consecutive wins or more on foreign ice in each of the last four seasons (2014-15: 7; 2013-14: 5; 2012-13: 6). On the road this season, the Griffins recorded their largest margin of victory in a 6-0 victory at Milwaukee on Nov. 27, mounted their biggest comeback in a 4-3 overtime win at Iowa on Dec. 13 after dipping into an early 3-0 deficit, matched a season high for goals scored during a 7-3 win at Lake Erie on Dec. 26, snapped the Checkers 12-game point streak in a 5-3 win at Charlotte on Jan. 12 and overcame a 2-1 third-period deficit to defeat Lake Erie in overtime on Jan. 20.

Goal Scoring: Partly attributable to the Griffins’ current eighth-place standing in the AHL is the fact they rank in the top 10 for both goals for (3.03, seventh) and goals against (2.48, fifth) per game.

Magic Numbers: The Griffins are 22-2-1-0 when scoring three or more goals and 17-3-0-0 when allowing two goals or fewer…Grand Rapids is 11-1-0-0 when leading after one period, 15-2-0-0 when leading after two and 19-3-1-0 when striking first.

Griffins Leaders: Eric Tangradi (16-15—31) and Andy Miele (8-22—30) continue to pace the offense, ahead of Anthony Mantha (11-15—26), Martin Frk (14-10—24), Mark Zengerle (5-17—22) and Robbie Russo (2-16—18).

Fantastic Frk: Martin Frk has found a groove lately, accumulating points in 14 of the last 20 contests (11-10—21), including five multi-point efforts. His stretch of consecutive three-point games (Dec. 19 vs. Texas and Dec. 26 at Lake Erie) marked the second Griffin this season to deliver back-to-back three-point efforts (Andy Miele, Nov. 25 vs. Iowa and Nov. 27 at Milwaukee). Over the last 20 games (Dec. 9-Jan. 23) he is tied for the league lead with 11 goals. To top it off, his four-game goal streak lasting Dec. 18-27 set a Griffins’ long this year.

On the Plus Side: Among the 19 Griffins skaters who have appeared in 10 or more games this season, 15 find themselves with a positive plus/minus rating. Rookie Robbie Russo leads the team at plus-23, which ranks third in the league.

Stone Wall: Goaltender Jared Coreau has been nothing short of magnificent during the team’s recent 22-6-1-0 stretch that dates back to Nov. 18. Since that date, consider the accomplishments of the third-year pro: matching a career high (Dec. 31, 2014 vs. RFD) by recording 47 saves in a 3-2 victory over Lake Erie on Dec. 16, shutting out Milwaukee in a 6-0 win on Nov. 27 by executing 22 saves, tallying his second bagel of the season behind 23 saves in a 3-0 blanking of Milwaukee on Dec. 31, and shutting out Lake Erie in a 1-0 win on Jan. 15. Coreau is responsible for all three Griffins’ shutouts this season. In a 3-2 loss at Lake Erie on Dec. 27, Coreau had his career best 11-game winning streak snapped, leaving him just one shy of tying Jimmy Howard’s record for a Grand Rapids goalie. Overall for the season, Coreau’s 20 wins are two off the league lead and he also ranks inside the top five for save percentage (0.931, second) and GAA (2.14, fourth).

Russo’s Rookie Relevance: Rookie defenseman Robbie Russo registered just one assist and a single point through his first seven professional games this season. However, his eighth career game, Nov. 18 against Rockford, proved to be his coming out party as Russo exploded for a three-point night including scoring – in game-winning fashion – his first professional goal. Since Nov. 18, Russo is tied for second on the team with 15 assists in 29 games. Russo’s seven-game assist streak (Dec. 5-19) set a Griffins’ best this season and his plus-23 rating ranks third in the league.

No. 152: Center Tomas Nosek became the 152nd Griffin to play in the NHL after he debuted with the Red Wings during Detroit’s 3-2 win over Nashville on Dec. 26. Nosek played in six games for Detroit and did not record a point. The Red Wings assigned him back to the Griffins on Jan. 5. Nosek has collected five points (3-2—5) in his first nine games back in Grand Rapids.

Mantha Mania: Ranking third on the team in points (11-15—26), Anthony Mantha has twice this season produced a three-game goal streak (Jan. 9-13, Dec. 16-19).

Milestones: Nathan Paetsch appeared in his 500th career minor professional game on Jan. 20 at Lake Erie and currently stands at 502 minor pro games and 721 total pro games…Anthony Mantha (97) and Colin Campbell (97) and are quickly approaching their 100th games in a Griffins sweater.

Points in Bunches: The Griffins have combined to produce 57 multi-point games this season, led by eight from Eric Tangradi. Mark Zengerle and Andy Miele both set a Griffins’ season-high when they both contributed three assists at Iowa on Nov. 25.

Back in Action: Goaltender Tom McCollum, Mitch Callahan, Andreas Athanasiou and Xavier Ouellet all returned from injuries last week. On Jan. 20 against Lake Erie, Callahan scored the game-tying goal during a third period power play while playing in his first game since Dec. 16. McCollum was active against the Monsters on Jan. 20 but did not play. He made his first start between the pipes since Dec. 5 on Jan. 22 against Rochester and set a season best with 44 saves in a 5-3 loss. Athanasiou, who was out since Dec. 27, returned to the lineup Jan. 22 against Rochester and has not recorded a point in his two games back. In his first action since Jan. 5, Ouellet did not record a point on Jan. 23 against Rochester.

Climbing the Charts: With 41 saves against Lake Erie on Dec. 5, Tom McCollum earned his 92nd win as a Griffin, which ranks second in franchise history behind only Joey MacDonald (109). McCollum, who needs three more appearances to equal MacDonald’s mark of 210, has broken the 5,000-save barrier this season and, with 5,157 stops, stands behind only MacDonald (5,362) in club archives.

Goaltender of the Month: Jared Coreau was selected as the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for December, as announced by the AHL on Jan. 4. In 11 December starts, Coreau posted a 9-2-0 record along with a 1.92 goals against average and a 0.938 save percentage. He becomes the fifth Griffins goaltender to earn monthly league (AHL/IHL) accolades and the first since Jimmy Howard in December 2007. Coreau recorded his second shutout of the season and the fifth of his three-year professional career in Dec. 31’s 3-0 win over Milwaukee. Two of Coreau’s three shutouts this year have come against the Admirals (Nov. 27, Dec. 31).

Walleye World: A recent 7-3-0-0 stretch has the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye atop the North Division standings with a 24-11-1-3 record (52 points). The Walleye lead second-place Kalamazoo (16-19-4-1) by 15 points points. Former Griffins Shane Berschbach (13-23—36) and A.J. Jenks (12-18—30) pace the offense. Rookie netminder Jake Paterson, Detroit’s second pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, shows a 5-7-1-1 record with a 2.58 GAA and 0.916 save percentage as an understudy to former Michigan State Spartan Jeff Lerg (18-4-0-2, 1.90 GAA, 0.934%). While spending 15 games with the Griffins, Paterson made his first career AHL start on Jan. 13 at Charlotte and recorded 38 saves in a 4-3 loss.

Home Cooking: With a 4-3 overtime loss against Chicago on Jan. 17, the Griffins had their franchise-record 14-game home winning streak snapped. Grand Rapids’ stretch tied for the fourth-longest home streak in the AHL since 1998-99. In addition, Jared Coreau had his franchise-record 12-game winning streak between the pipes on home ice come to an end during Jan. 17’s defeat.

Longest Home Winning Streaks in Griffins History:

Record Setters: The Griffins posted a franchise-record 15-game winning streak from Nov. 18-Dec. 26 before Lake Erie halted the historic run on Dec. 27 by defeating Grand Rapids 3-2. Grand Rapids’ 15-game run marked the longest streak in the AHL since Norfolk set the standard by rattling off 28 in a row on its way to winning the Calder Cup in the 2011-12 season.

Elite Status: The Griffins’ 15-game streak allowed them to join some rare company among professional hockey in North America. Consider that the Griffins’ 15-game run tied for the third longest in the AHL since 1992 and that just three teams in the 98-year history of the NHL have recorded winning streaks of 15 or longer (17, 1992-93 Pittsburgh; 15, 1981-82 New York Islanders and 2012-13 Pittsburgh).

Only on the West Side: Grand Rapids has twice put together winning streaks of at least 11 games in the last 11 seasons, while its parent club in Detroit has never won more than nine consecutive games in its 90 seasons of play (seven times, most recently Oct. 18-Nov. 9, 2007).

November and December to Remember: The Griffins posted a 10-2-0-0 record in the final month of the calendar year after starting December with an 8-8-0-1 mark and closing at 18-10-0-1. In fact, Grand Rapids’ 0.833 winning percentage in December marked the most prosperous December in the franchise’s 20-year history, just edging out the 2000-01 team (12-3-0-0, 0.800%). The strong December record comes on the heels of a fruitful November, where the Griffins’ 7-2-0-1 tally marked their second-most successful November over the last 10 years. The Griffins’ November winning percentage of 0.750 under Todd Nelson was eclipsed in the last decade by only Jeff Blashill’s 0.8333 mark (10-2-0-0) during his second month at Grand Rapids’ helm in 2012.






Longest Winning Streaks in Griffins History:

Longest AHL Winning Streaks Since 1992:

Scouting Report

Wednesday, Jan. 27 vs. Toronto Marlies (34-8-2-0) – Van Andel Arena – 11 a.m.
Friday, Jan. 29 vs. Toronto Marlies – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 at 10:35 a.m. on Wednesday, WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. on Friday Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through espn.com, woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 18-11-1-1 Home, 31-27-3-2 Overall. Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 0-1-0-0 Overall. Second and third of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs. Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe. Notes: The Toronto Marlies rank first in the North Division, first in the Eastern Conference and first in the AHL with a 34-8-2-0 (0.795) record…Toronto is 9-1-0-0 in its last 10 games, including winning the last three…The Marlies are 19-3-1-0 on the road…Toronto owns a league-best goal differential of +67…T.J. Brennan is tied for first in the league with 42 points (17-25—42) while Mark Arcobello is not far behind in fifth place with 37 points (16-21—37)…The Marlies rank 12th in the power play (17.6%) and fifth in the penalty kill (85.7%)…Toronto leads the league in goals for (3.95) and ranks fourth in shots for (32.50) per game…Antoine Bibeau is the leading goaltender, appearing in 20 games and showing a 15-4-0 record, a 2.97 GAA and a 0.899 save percentage…The Griffins defeated the Marlies in a decisive game five to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals in the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs…In the first meeting between the teams this season, Toronto came away with a 6-1 victory over Grand Rapids on Oct. 30 in Toronto.

Saturday, Jan. 30 at Milwaukee Admirals (26-13-3-0) – BMO Harris Bradley Center – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 33-28-5-5-5 Road, 77-52-7-6-7 Overall. Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Road, 4-1-0-0 Overall. Sixth of eight meetings overall, third of four at BMO Harris Bradley Center. NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Dean Evason (4th season). Notes: The Milwaukee Admirals rank third in the Central Division, fourth in the Western Conference and sixth in the AHL with a 26-13-3-0 (0.655) record…The Admirals are 4-4-2-0 in their last 10 games and are unbeaten (3-0-1-0) in their last four…Milwaukee is 14-8-0-0 inside the Bradley Center but are only outscoring visitors 66-63 in 22 home games…The Admirals rank are sixth in the power play (20.0%) and 14th in the penalty kill (83.9%)…Goaltender Marek Mazanec ranks seventh in GAA (2.33) while rookie Juuse Saros stands in 11th place (2.49)…Frederick Gaudreau (9-18—27) and rookie Max Gortz (9-17—26) lead the team in points…Grand Rapids is 4-1-0-0 against Milwaukee this season and Jared Coreau has shut out the Admirals twice…In the last meeting between the teams, Jan. 8 at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins earned a 4-2 win behind goals from Nathan Paetsch, Tomas Nosek, Louis-Marc Aubry and Martin Frk and 31 saves from Coreau…Aubry (4-1—5), Eric Tangradi (3-1—4) and Andy Miele (2-2—4) lead Grand Rapids in points against Milwaukee.

This Week’s Games
Wed., Jan. 27 Toronto Marlies at GRIFFINS 11 a.m. ESPN 96.1 / AHLLive.com
Fri., Jan. 29 Toronto Marlies at GRIFFINS 7 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sat., Jan. 30 GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals 8 p.m. WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM / AHLLive.com
Sun., Jan. 31 AHL All-Star Skills Competition 8 p.m. Fox Sports Detroit

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 20 GRIFFINS 3 at Lake Erie Monsters 2 24-12-1-1, 50 points (2nd, Central Division)
Fri., Jan. 22 Rochester Americans 5 at GRIFFINS 3 24-13-1-1, 50 points (4th)
Sat., Jan. 23 Rochester Americans 2 at GRIFFINS 0 24-14-1-1, 50 points (4th)

Opening Faceoff: Despite dropping three of their last four, the Griffins are 22-6-1-0 in their last 29 games. Good for 24-14-1-1 (0.625) overall, Grand Rapids is currently situated fourth in the Central Division, 0.058 percentage points behind first-place Rockford. Due up for the Griffins this week is a Wednesday-Friday home set with the league-leading Toronto Marlies and a trip to Milwaukee to take on the Admirals before a well-timed all-star break. When the calendar flips to February, the Griffins will have played 14 games in January’s 31 days and will welcome the upcoming five-day break from games.

This Week’s Promotions: The Griffins host their 15th annual matinee game presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan on Wednesday against Toronto. On Friday against Toronto, fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs and $2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Matinee Games: The Griffins have hosted a matinee game every year since the 2001-02 campaign. Grand Rapids owns a 9-4-0-1 (0.679) record in home games with an early start and have outscored opponents 39-34 in those 14 games.

All-Star Nods: Defenseman Xavier Ouellet and forward Jeff Hoggan (playing captain) have been selected to participate in the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic held on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y. Ouellet receives his second consecutive all-star nod, but was unable to play in the 2015 All-Star Classic because he was on recall with the Detroit Red Wings. He becomes just the fourth Griffins defenseman ever to be selected to play in two all-star games, joining Niklas Kronwall (2004 and 2005), Travis Richards (2001 IHL and 2004) and John Gruden (2000 IHL and 2002). Selected as one of two playing captains, along with Syracuse’s Mike Angelidis, Hoggan will be making his first career all-star appearance. Hoggan becomes the third Griffin to be chosen as a playing captain for an All-Star Classic, joining Kip Miller (2007, PlanetUSA) and Travis Richards (2004, PlanetUSA).

All-Star Information: The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic will be held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y. The skills competition on Jan. 31 will air live at 8 p.m. EST on Fox Sports Detroit. The all-star game on Feb. 1 will also air live at 7 p.m. EST on Fox Sports Detroit Plus.

Win Some and Lose Some: The Griffins own a 24-14-1-1 (.625) record through 40 games. Take a look at how Grand Rapids’ numbers stack up between its 24 wins and 16 (including overtime and shootout) losses:

Movin’ On Up: On Nov. 18, almost 10 weeks ago, Grand Rapids stood in last place in the league with a 0.227 winning percentage. Since that date, which marked the beginning of the Griffins’ 22-6-1-0 stretch, Grand Rapids (0.625) has vaulted all the way up to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference and No. 8 in the AHL.

Busy, Busy: January is the most frenetic month of the season on the ice for the Griffins. When the month is all said and done, Grand Rapids will have played 14 games in the 31-day month including four sets of back-to-back games (Jan. 8-9, 12-13, 22-23, 29-30).

Back-to-Backs: The Griffins have played 12 sets of back-to-backs thus far. Compare the statistical differences between the first and second games:

Whoa, Nellie: Named the franchise’s 10th head coach on June 19, 2015, Todd Nelson has already attached his name to several records in Griffins lore. In the first few months under Nelson’s watch, Grand Rapids has set franchise records for overall win streak (15, Nov. 18-Dec. 26) and home win streak (14, Nov. 11-Jan. 15). Additionally, the Griffins’ 0.833 winning percentage (10-2-0-0) in the month of December marked the most successful December ever in the franchise’s 20 seasons. Now in his sixth season as an AHL head coach, including five spent in Oklahoma City with the Barons, Nelson claimed his 200th career AHL win (200-125-13-35) in Grand Rapids’ 3-2 overtime win against Lake Erie on Jan. 20.

Making the Grade: Eric Tangradi became the 153rd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with the Red Wings during Detroit’s 4-2 victory at the New York Islanders on Monday. He did not record a point in 6:55 of ice time. Tangradi also became the 899th player in Red Wings history. Tangradi was assigned back to Grand Rapids on Tuesday. The first-year Griffin set a team-best this season when he recorded an eight-game point streak from Nov. 27-Dec. 26. Tangradi’s team-leading 16 goals are buoyed by his fourth career hat trick recorded on Dec. 5 against Lake Erie, one of three Griffins to net three goals in a game this season (Colin Campbell, Dec. 26 at LE; Tomas Jurco, Nov. 20 vs. San Diego). League wide, Tangradi is tied for fifth in goals (16) and tied for 20th in points (31).

Sorry, Not Sorry: In addition to putting together their own winning streak of 15 games earlier this season (Nov. 18-Dec. 26), which set a franchise record, the Griffins have also made a habit out of being able to stop the streaks of their opponents. Consider the significant runs that Grand Rapids has been responsible for halting this season: Rockford’s 10-game point streak on Nov. 18 (3-2 W), Milwaukee’s 11-game point streak and franchise-record 10-game winning streak on Nov. 27 (6-0 W) and Charlotte’s 12-game point streak on Jan. 12 (5-3 W).

Against the Best: The Griffins own a 20-10-1-1 (0.656) record against teams with a winning record this season, including an 8-5-0-0 (0.615) mark against teams with a winning percentage greater than 0.600 as of Jan. 26. Grand Rapids has also posted a 21-7-1-1 (0.733) record against its Central Division rivals. Thus far, the division has shown to be one of the toughest in the AHL as four Central teams rank in the top 10 of the overall league standings.

Making Moves: On Sunday, the Detroit Red Wings recalled forward Eric Tangradi and Nick Jensen and assigned forward Joakim Andersson to the Griffins. Tangradi leads Grand Rapids in both goals (16) and points (31) while appearing in 36 games. Jensen has contributed eight points (2-6—8) in 39 games and was the hero against Lake Erie on Jan. 15, delivering the game-winning goal in overtime. Andersson has played in 26 games with the Red Wings this season, tallying three points (1-2—3). He played four seasons as a Griffin and registered 101 points (38-63—101) between 2008-13. Andersson was a member of Grand Rapids’ 2013 Calder Cup championship team. On Tuesday, Andersson was recalled to Detroit and Tangaradi and Jensen were assigned back to Grand Rapids.

0 to 100: Tallying an assist in Jan. 20’s overtime win against Lake Erie, Andy Miele recorded his 100th point as a Griffin. Doing so in 109 regular season games, Miele became the ninth fastest player in franchise history to hit the century mark reached by a total of 32 players previously. The second-year Griffin leads the team with 22 assists overall and is second in points (8-22—30).

Road Redemption: After dropping their first five away games, the Griffins have won nine of their last 13 on the road, including a six-game winning streak that lasted from Nov. 21-Dec. 26. Grand Rapids has put together streaks of five consecutive wins or more on foreign ice in each of the last four seasons (2014-15: 7; 2013-14: 5; 2012-13: 6). On the road this season, the Griffins recorded their largest margin of victory in a 6-0 victory at Milwaukee on Nov. 27, mounted their biggest comeback in a 4-3 overtime win at Iowa on Dec. 13 after dipping into an early 3-0 deficit, matched a season high for goals scored during a 7-3 win at Lake Erie on Dec. 26, snapped the Checkers 12-game point streak in a 5-3 win at Charlotte on Jan. 12 and overcame a 2-1 third-period deficit to defeat Lake Erie in overtime on Jan. 20.

Goal Scoring: Partly attributable to the Griffins’ current eighth-place standing in the AHL is the fact they rank in the top 10 for both goals for (3.03, seventh) and goals against (2.48, fifth) per game.

Magic Numbers: The Griffins are 22-2-1-0 when scoring three or more goals and 17-3-0-0 when allowing two goals or fewer…Grand Rapids is 11-1-0-0 when leading after one period, 15-2-0-0 when leading after two and 19-3-1-0 when striking first.

Griffins Leaders: Eric Tangradi (16-15—31) and Andy Miele (8-22—30) continue to pace the offense, ahead of Anthony Mantha (11-15—26), Martin Frk (14-10—24), Mark Zengerle (5-17—22) and Robbie Russo (2-16—18).

Fantastic Frk: Martin Frk has found a groove lately, accumulating points in 14 of the last 20 contests (11-10—21), including five multi-point efforts. His stretch of consecutive three-point games (Dec. 19 vs. Texas and Dec. 26 at Lake Erie) marked the second Griffin this season to deliver back-to-back three-point efforts (Andy Miele, Nov. 25 vs. Iowa and Nov. 27 at Milwaukee). Over the last 20 games (Dec. 9-Jan. 23) he is tied for the league lead with 11 goals. To top it off, his four-game goal streak lasting Dec. 18-27 set a Griffins’ long this year.

On the Plus Side: Among the 19 Griffins skaters who have appeared in 10 or more games this season, 15 find themselves with a positive plus/minus rating. Rookie Robbie Russo leads the team at plus-23, which ranks third in the league.

Stone Wall: Goaltender Jared Coreau has been nothing short of magnificent during the team’s recent 22-6-1-0 stretch that dates back to Nov. 18. Since that date, consider the accomplishments of the third-year pro: matching a career high (Dec. 31, 2014 vs. RFD) by recording 47 saves in a 3-2 victory over Lake Erie on Dec. 16, shutting out Milwaukee in a 6-0 win on Nov. 27 by executing 22 saves, tallying his second bagel of the season behind 23 saves in a 3-0 blanking of Milwaukee on Dec. 31, and shutting out Lake Erie in a 1-0 win on Jan. 15. Coreau is responsible for all three Griffins’ shutouts this season. In a 3-2 loss at Lake Erie on Dec. 27, Coreau had his career best 11-game winning streak snapped, leaving him just one shy of tying Jimmy Howard’s record for a Grand Rapids goalie. Overall for the season, Coreau’s 20 wins are two off the league lead and he also ranks inside the top five for save percentage (0.931, second) and GAA (2.14, fourth).

Russo’s Rookie Relevance: Rookie defenseman Robbie Russo registered just one assist and a single point through his first seven professional games this season. However, his eighth career game, Nov. 18 against Rockford, proved to be his coming out party as Russo exploded for a three-point night including scoring – in game-winning fashion – his first professional goal. Since Nov. 18, Russo is tied for second on the team with 15 assists in 29 games. Russo’s seven-game assist streak (Dec. 5-19) set a Griffins’ best this season and his plus-23 rating ranks third in the league.

No. 152: Center Tomas Nosek became the 152nd Griffin to play in the NHL after he debuted with the Red Wings during Detroit’s 3-2 win over Nashville on Dec. 26. Nosek played in six games for Detroit and did not record a point. The Red Wings assigned him back to the Griffins on Jan. 5. Nosek has collected five points (3-2—5) in his first nine games back in Grand Rapids.

Mantha Mania: Ranking third on the team in points (11-15—26), Anthony Mantha has twice this season produced a three-game goal streak (Jan. 9-13, Dec. 16-19).

Milestones: Nathan Paetsch appeared in his 500th career minor professional game on Jan. 20 at Lake Erie and currently stands at 502 minor pro games and 721 total pro games…Anthony Mantha (97) and Colin Campbell (97) and are quickly approaching their 100th games in a Griffins sweater.

Points in Bunches: The Griffins have combined to produce 57 multi-point games this season, led by eight from Eric Tangradi. Mark Zengerle and Andy Miele both set a Griffins’ season-high when they both contributed three assists at Iowa on Nov. 25.

Back in Action: Goaltender Tom McCollum, Mitch Callahan, Andreas Athanasiou and Xavier Ouellet all returned from injuries last week. On Jan. 20 against Lake Erie, Callahan scored the game-tying goal during a third period power play while playing in his first game since Dec. 16. McCollum was active against the Monsters on Jan. 20 but did not play. He made his first start between the pipes since Dec. 5 on Jan. 22 against Rochester and set a season best with 44 saves in a 5-3 loss. Athanasiou, who was out since Dec. 27, returned to the lineup Jan. 22 against Rochester and has not recorded a point in his two games back. In his first action since Jan. 5, Ouellet did not record a point on Jan. 23 against Rochester.

Climbing the Charts: With 41 saves against Lake Erie on Dec. 5, Tom McCollum earned his 92nd win as a Griffin, which ranks second in franchise history behind only Joey MacDonald (109). McCollum, who needs three more appearances to equal MacDonald’s mark of 210, has broken the 5,000-save barrier this season and, with 5,157 stops, stands behind only MacDonald (5,362) in club archives.

Goaltender of the Month: Jared Coreau was selected as the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for December, as announced by the AHL on Jan. 4. In 11 December starts, Coreau posted a 9-2-0 record along with a 1.92 goals against average and a 0.938 save percentage. He becomes the fifth Griffins goaltender to earn monthly league (AHL/IHL) accolades and the first since Jimmy Howard in December 2007. Coreau recorded his second shutout of the season and the fifth of his three-year professional career in Dec. 31’s 3-0 win over Milwaukee. Two of Coreau’s three shutouts this year have come against the Admirals (Nov. 27, Dec. 31).

Walleye World: A recent 7-3-0-0 stretch has the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye atop the North Division standings with a 24-11-1-3 record (52 points). The Walleye lead second-place Kalamazoo (16-19-4-1) by 15 points points. Former Griffins Shane Berschbach (13-23—36) and A.J. Jenks (12-18—30) pace the offense. Rookie netminder Jake Paterson, Detroit’s second pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, shows a 5-7-1-1 record with a 2.58 GAA and 0.916 save percentage as an understudy to former Michigan State Spartan Jeff Lerg (18-4-0-2, 1.90 GAA, 0.934%). While spending 15 games with the Griffins, Paterson made his first career AHL start on Jan. 13 at Charlotte and recorded 38 saves in a 4-3 loss.

Home Cooking: With a 4-3 overtime loss against Chicago on Jan. 17, the Griffins had their franchise-record 14-game home winning streak snapped. Grand Rapids’ stretch tied for the fourth-longest home streak in the AHL since 1998-99. In addition, Jared Coreau had his franchise-record 12-game winning streak between the pipes on home ice come to an end during Jan. 17’s defeat.

Longest Home Winning Streaks in Griffins History:

Record Setters: The Griffins posted a franchise-record 15-game winning streak from Nov. 18-Dec. 26 before Lake Erie halted the historic run on Dec. 27 by defeating Grand Rapids 3-2. Grand Rapids’ 15-game run marked the longest streak in the AHL since Norfolk set the standard by rattling off 28 in a row on its way to winning the Calder Cup in the 2011-12 season.

Elite Status: The Griffins’ 15-game streak allowed them to join some rare company among professional hockey in North America. Consider that the Griffins’ 15-game run tied for the third longest in the AHL since 1992 and that just three teams in the 98-year history of the NHL have recorded winning streaks of 15 or longer (17, 1992-93 Pittsburgh; 15, 1981-82 New York Islanders and 2012-13 Pittsburgh).

Only on the West Side: Grand Rapids has twice put together winning streaks of at least 11 games in the last 11 seasons, while its parent club in Detroit has never won more than nine consecutive games in its 90 seasons of play (seven times, most recently Oct. 18-Nov. 9, 2007).

November and December to Remember: The Griffins posted a 10-2-0-0 record in the final month of the calendar year after starting December with an 8-8-0-1 mark and closing at 18-10-0-1. In fact, Grand Rapids’ 0.833 winning percentage in December marked the most prosperous December in the franchise’s 20-year history, just edging out the 2000-01 team (12-3-0-0, 0.800%). The strong December record comes on the heels of a fruitful November, where the Griffins’ 7-2-0-1 tally marked their second-most successful November over the last 10 years. The Griffins’ November winning percentage of 0.750 under Todd Nelson was eclipsed in the last decade by only Jeff Blashill’s 0.8333 mark (10-2-0-0) during his second month at Grand Rapids’ helm in 2012.






Longest Winning Streaks in Griffins History:

Longest AHL Winning Streaks Since 1992:

Scouting Report

Wednesday, Jan. 27 vs. Toronto Marlies (34-8-2-0) – Van Andel Arena – 11 a.m.
Friday, Jan. 29 vs. Toronto Marlies – Van Andel Arena – 7 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 at 10:35 a.m. on Wednesday, WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. on Friday Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through espn.com, woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 18-11-1-1 Home, 31-27-3-2 Overall. Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home, 0-1-0-0 Overall. Second and third of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena. NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs. Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe. Notes: The Toronto Marlies rank first in the North Division, first in the Eastern Conference and first in the AHL with a 34-8-2-0 (0.795) record…Toronto is 9-1-0-0 in its last 10 games, including winning the last three…The Marlies are 19-3-1-0 on the road…Toronto owns a league-best goal differential of +67…T.J. Brennan is tied for first in the league with 42 points (17-25—42) while Mark Arcobello is not far behind in fifth place with 37 points (16-21—37)…The Marlies rank 12th in the power play (17.6%) and fifth in the penalty kill (85.7%)…Toronto leads the league in goals for (3.95) and ranks fourth in shots for (32.50) per game…Antoine Bibeau is the leading goaltender, appearing in 20 games and showing a 15-4-0 record, a 2.97 GAA and a 0.899 save percentage…The Griffins defeated the Marlies in a decisive game five to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals in the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs…In the first meeting between the teams this season, Toronto came away with a 6-1 victory over Grand Rapids on Oct. 30 in Toronto.

Saturday, Jan. 30 at Milwaukee Admirals (26-13-3-0) – BMO Harris Bradley Center – 8 p.m.
Radio: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Web Casts: Video web cast at AHLLive.com, free audio available through woodradio.com. All-Time Series: 33-28-5-5-5 Road, 77-52-7-6-7 Overall. Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Road, 4-1-0-0 Overall. Sixth of eight meetings overall, third of four at BMO Harris Bradley Center. NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators. Head Coach: Dean Evason (4th season). Notes: The Milwaukee Admirals rank third in the Central Division, fourth in the Western Conference and sixth in the AHL with a 26-13-3-0 (0.655) record…The Admirals are 4-4-2-0 in their last 10 games and are unbeaten (3-0-1-0) in their last four…Milwaukee is 14-8-0-0 inside the Bradley Center but are only outscoring visitors 66-63 in 22 home games…The Admirals rank are sixth in the power play (20.0%) and 14th in the penalty kill (83.9%)…Goaltender Marek Mazanec ranks seventh in GAA (2.33) while rookie Juuse Saros stands in 11th place (2.49)…Frederick Gaudreau (9-18—27) and rookie Max Gortz (9-17—26) lead the team in points…Grand Rapids is 4-1-0-0 against Milwaukee this season and Jared Coreau has shut out the Admirals twice…In the last meeting between the teams, Jan. 8 at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins earned a 4-2 win behind goals from Nathan Paetsch, Tomas Nosek, Louis-Marc Aubry and Martin Frk and 31 saves from Coreau…Aubry (4-1—5), Eric Tangradi (3-1—4) and Andy Miele (2-2—4) lead Grand Rapids in points against Milwaukee.