SCHEDULE FOR DIVISION FINALS VERSUS CHICAGO ANNOUNCED

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After completing a second straight first-round sweep of the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday, the Grand Rapids Griffins will continue their quest for the Calder Cup by facing their longtime rivals, the Chicago Wolves, in the best-of-seven Central Division Finals.

The second-seeded Griffins and division-champion Wolves – fresh off of rallying past the Charlotte Checkers by winning the final two games of their series – will stage their first postseason clash in 13 years. Games 1 and 2 will take place at Allstate Arena on Wednesday, May 3 and Friday, May 5 before the series turns to Van Andel Arena for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday, May 6 and Monday, May 8. The complete schedule is as follows:

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

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

While the Wolves (44-19-8-5, 101 pts.) surpassed the Griffins (47-23-1-5, 100 pts.) in the standings with just one week remaining in the regular season then held on to win the Central Division by a single point, it was Grand Rapids that held the upper hand in the season series.

The Griffins posted 4-1 records against Chicago both at home and on the road to claim eight of the 10 meetings overall, including each of the last five. However, three of Grand Rapids’ wins came in overtime, including 5-4 at Van Andel Arena on March 17 and 3-2 at Allstate Arena the following night to wrap up the regular season series.

Storylines of the series include:

• While Grand Rapids and Chicago have not met in the postseason since the Wolves’ 4-0 sweep in the 2004 West Division Semifinals, the Griffins have not had a more frequent playoff opponent. They posted a 1-3 series record against Chicago over a five-year span from 2000 to 2004, the high point being a sweep of the Wolves in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals and the low being a 4-2 loss to Chicago in the 2000 IHL Turner Cup Finals;
• The Griffins will have three players from their 2013 Calder Cup championship team – Mitch Callahan, Brian Lashoff and Nathan Paetsch – taking part in this series, while another member of that team, Chicago’s Landon Ferraro, has not played since mid-December due to injury. Chicago, which won IHL Turner Cups in 1998 and 2000 before claiming Calder Cups in 2002 and 2008, has one player on its roster from that last title team in left wing Brett Sterling, who returned to the Windy City this season following a three-year European campaign;
• While the Wolves have former Griffins Ferraro (270 GP from 2009-10/11-15) and Jared Nightingale (2 GP in 2014-15) on their roster, Grand Rapids’ ties to Chicago run much deeper. Head coach Todd Nelson was an assistant coach for the Wolves for two seasons (2006-08), finishing his tenure by hoisting their last Calder Cup, while assistant coach Ben Simon played three seasons (196 GP from 2001-03/04-05) at Allstate Arena and celebrated the team’s first Calder Cup in 2002. In addition, goaltender Eddie Pasquale played the majority of his rookie pro season (2010-11) with the Wolves, posting an 11-11-1 record with a 2.93 goals against average in 24 appearances, and defensemen Conor Allen and Robbie Russo (Westmont, Ill.) both call Chicagoland home;
• The Griffins have advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, a run matched or surpassed only by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2005-09 and 2011-16) since the AHL’s current 16-team playoff format was adopted in 2005. The Wolves, who missed the playoffs last spring, are coming off the franchise’s first series win since 2014 when they lost in the conference semifinals after winning the Midwest Division crown;
• If the Griffins are to reach the conference finals for the third time in five years and the seventh time in franchise history, they’ll need to topple a No. 1 seed for just the second time in their postseason history. In last year’s division semifinals, the fourth-seeded Griffins swept division-champion Milwaukee.

Tickets for all division finals games at Van Andel Arena will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. at all Star Tickets locations, including The Zone, online through griffinshockey.com/tickets, by phone through Star Tickets at (800) 585-3737, or via the Griffins app for iPhone or Android.

Available for all playoff home games, Playoff 4-Packs include four or more tickets at a savings of $3 per ticket plus no service fees. To purchase a Playoff 4-Pack, visit griffinshockey.com/playoff4pack or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2.

Fans who want to experience every Griffins game at Van Andel Arena during the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs can now purchase a Griffins Playoff SuperPass. Enjoy the same great seat at significant savings plus the convenience of the “pay-as-we-play” method of payment. To reserve your Griffins Playoff SuperPass, visit griffinshockey.com/superpass or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2.

Continuing a postseason tradition, the Griffins are extending their popular Friday promotion and will offer $2 beers and $2 hot dogs for all home playoff games for two hours after the doors open, while supplies last. In addition, 2,500 fans will receive Griffins playoff rally towels during the second round, compliments of Auto Value Parts Stores.

Peppino’s Sports Grille in downtown Grand Rapids will host watch parties for all Griffins road games during the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs, including Games 1 and 2 in Chicago. Fans can enjoy $2 short and $4 tall Bud Light specials, $5.99 all-American burger baskets and $8.99 one-topping deep dish pizzas.