Road trip ends, homestand begins

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Wed., Jan. 8 // 8 p.m. EST // UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Road, 2-4-0-0 Overall. Seventh of 10 meetings overall, third of five at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
All-Time Series: 46-35-5-5-5 Road, 100-68-7-7-8 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: In the last meeting on Dec. 28 at Milwaukee, Turner Elson scored with 1:58 remaining in regulation to give the Griffins a 3-2 win.

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Fri., Jan. 10 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Sat., Jan. 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. both nights
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home, 1-3-0-0 Overall. Fifth and sixth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 33-14-1-1-5 Home, 63-33-1-1-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: Manitoba has won the last three in the series, including a 4-2 victory in the most recent meeting on Nov. 29 at Van Andel Arena.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Jan. 3 // GRIFFINS 5 at San Antonio Rampage 3 // 14-17-2-2 (32 pts., T7th Central Division)
Sat., Jan. 4 // GRIFFINS 0 at Texas Stars 4 // 14-18-2-2 (32 pts., 8th Central)
Sun., Jan. 5 // GRIFFINS 4 at San Antonio Rampage 5 // 14-19-2-2 (32 pts., 8th Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins finished this season’s only stretch of three games in three days last weekend with a 1-2 record and will conclude a four-game road trip on Wednesday at league-leading Milwaukee. Wednesday marks the midway point of the season. Grand Rapids will then kick off an eight-game homestand with a Friday-Saturday set against the Manitoba Moose.

Last Week’s Notes:

Friday at San Antonio – Second-year pro Tyler Spezia netted his first two-goal game in the AHL in his 15th game...Calvin Pickard, making his first AHL appearance since Dec. 13 at Bakersfield, collected his 10th win of the season after matching a season high with 40 saves as Grand Rapids allowed a season-high 43 shots...Rookie Chase Pearson picked up his second two-point game of the season behind a goal and an assist...Turner Elson (5) and Ryan Kuffner (6) also lit the lamp...Grand Rapids has won six in a row against San Antonio and 16 of the last 18. Recap | Highlights

Saturday at Texas – Kevin Poulin, signed to a professional tryout on Dec. 25, collected 23 saves in his Griffins debut...Poulin made his first AHL appearance since recording 35 saves for the Stockton Heat in a 4-2 win at Ontario on March 26, 2016…Grand Rapids was shut out at Texas for the second consecutive game...Jake Oettinger has stopped all 61 shots he’s faced against the Griffins this season...Grand Rapids is 1-2-0-1 in the season series...The Griffins outshot Texas 33-27 while finishing 0-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Recap | Highlights

Sunday at San Antonio – Matt Puempel recorded his second AHL hat trick and both have come this season (Oct. 25 vs. MB)…Eric Tangradi returned to the lineup after missing five games due to injury and extended his goal streak to four with a power play tally at 0:51 of the second period…Grand Rapids faced a season-high 44 shots…The Griffins had their six-game winning streak overall against the Rampage and three-game streak at the AT&T Center snapped…Grand Rapids played three games in three days for the first and only time of the season. Recap | Highlights

Follow the Leaders:

Staycation: Friday’s game against Manitoba begins an eight-game homestand that lasts through Jan. 25. It is the team’s longest homestand since an eight-game stretch from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2006 (4-3-0-1 record). In fact, the only longer homestand Grand Rapids has enjoyed is nine games from Oct. 26-Nov. 18, 2004 (4-4-1-0 record). The Griffins have been shut out in consecutive home games (Dec. 27 vs. Milwaukee, Dec. 31 vs. Chicago) for just the third time in franchise history and own a goal drought of 160:36 at Van Andel Arena, having been blanked since Eric Tangradi scored at the 4:24 mark of the second period of their 2-1 shootout loss to Rockford on Dec. 6. Chris Terry (6-8—14) and Matt Puempel (6-7—13) lead the team in scoring at home this season. Since the 2016-17 season, Grand Rapids is 13-6-0-1 (0.675) on home ice in January.

Red Wings Report: There have been 12 players who have played for both Detroit and Grand Rapids this season – Madison Bowey, Dennis Cholowski, Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard (conditioning), Joe Hicketts, Taro Hirose, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Calvin Pickard, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov and Filip Zadina. Lashoff, Smith and Zadina remain on recall.

Rotating Roster: Kevin Poulin made his Griffins debut last Saturday and became the fifth goaltender to log minutes for Grand Rapids this season, the team’s most since five suited up during the 2014-15 campaign (Pat Nagle, Jonas Gustavsson, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum). Including those five goalies, the Griffins have used 38 players already before the halfway mark this season. Here is how the current usage stacks up to the final player counts in recent seasons: 2018-19 – 41 players, 2017-18 – 32, 2016-17 – 39, 2015-16 – 37 and 2014-15 – 39. Since the AHL’s season began on Oct. 4, the Red Wings have recalled or assigned a player from or to Grand Rapids a total of 62 times.

Ford, Terry Heading to All-Star Classic: The AHL announced last Friday that Chris Terry has been selected to the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. Terry joins Matthew Ford on the all-star team, after the Griffins’ captain was named as one of the two playing captains on Dec. 18. Terry, in his 11th season as a professional and second in Grand Rapids, has earned his fourth straight AHL All-Star bid and fifth overall (2012). He becomes the sixth Griffin ever to be named an all-star in back-to-back years (Matt Lorito 2017-18, Xavier Ouellet 2015-16, Gustav Nyquist 2012-13, Niklas Kronwall 2004-05, Michel Picard 1997-98 in the IHL) and only the third Grand Rapids forward to earn consecutive AHL selections, joining Lorito and Nyquist. A SoCal native, Ford is in his third season as the Griffins’ captain, fourth in Grand Rapids and 12th in the AHL. He becomes the fourth Griffin to be chosen as a playing captain for an AHL All-Star Classic, joining Jeff Hoggan (2016, West), Kip Miller (2007, PlanetUSA) and Travis Richards (2004, PlanetUSA).

Seider, Veleno Finish at WJC: Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno represented their respective countries at the recently concluded 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. Veleno helped Canada take home the gold medal after ranking sixth on the team with six points (1-5—6) in six games. As captain of Germany, Seider led all team defensemen and tied for second overall on the club with six points (0-6—6) in seven games. Germany beat Kazakhstan in the best-of-three relegation series. This marked the second consecutive year a player left the Griffins mid-season to compete in the World Junior Championship after Filip Zadina represented the Czech Republic at the 2019 event. Tomas Tatar also suited up for Slovakia during his rookie campaign with Grand Rapids in 2009-10.

Time to Tango: Eric Tangradi shows eight points (6-2—8) in his first eight Griffins games of the season, finding the scoresheet in seven of those contests. After missing five games due to injury, he lit the lamp with a power play goal in his return to the lineup on Sunday at San Antonio. His current four-game goal streak is a team high this season. In his 11th year as a pro, Tangradi is making his return to the Griffins after signing a one-year contract with the club 90 minutes prior to the opening faceoff against Rockford on Dec. 6. A 2017 Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids, Tangradi ranks among the team’s all-time leaders with 172 points (9th), 82 goals (5th), 24 PPG (T6th), 14 GWG (4th), three OT goals (T3rd) and nine unassisted goals (3rd) in 208 games since 2015-16. Tangradi posted nine points (5-4—9) in 22 games for Astana Barys of the KHL this season and spent the 2018-19 campaign in the New Jersey organization.

Tar-Oh!: Rookie Taro Hirose has found the scoresheet in seven of his first 14 AHL games and his 10 points (4-6—10) since being assigned by Detroit on Dec. 3 are a team high.

Puemped Up: Matt Puempel, in his seventh pro year, notched his second career AHL hat trick, with both coming this season, in Sunday’s loss at San Antonio. He recorded his first on Oct. 25 vs. Manitoba in what was his 301st AHL game and netted his second in his 19th game after that. Despite missing 11 games this season, he ranks second on the Griffins in both points (25) and goals (12).

Back Up, Terr: 2020 AHL All-Star Classic selection Chris Terry tallied four points (0-4—4) during the recent three-game weekend. He ties for eighth in the AHL in points (34) while pacing the Griffins in goals (13), assists (21), multi-point games (12) and power play goals (8). In his 11th-year pro, Terry guided the Griffins with 61 points last season and the most recent player to lead GR in scoring in back-to-back seasons was Andy Miele in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Milestones Within Reach:
Dominic Turgeon – needs one game to reach 250 in the AHL/as a Griffin
Chris Terry – needs five points to reach 100 as a Griffin
Eric Tangradi – needs two points to reach 350 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs five games to reach 700 in the AHL
Matt Puempel – needs seven points to reach 250 in the AHL

Griffins in General: Grand Rapids is in the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings…Grand Rapids is 979-675-27-60-114 (0.583) in the regular season since 1996-97 to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013)…The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons…Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and advanced to at least the second round on five occasions…The Griffins’ 8-5 season-opening win at Chicago on Oct. 5 marked the club’s 750th win in the AHL…Grand Rapids’ 319 regular season wins since the 2012-13 campaign are third, behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 321 and Toronto’s 337 while the Griffins’ 693 points in that span are fourth, trailing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (696), Providence (703) and Toronto (730)…Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 92 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings.

Milwaukee Notes: Current record 24-6-4-2, 54 points, 1st Central Division…In the last meeting on Dec. 28 at Milwaukee, Turner Elson scored with 1:58 remaining in regulation to give the Griffins a 3-2 win…Grand Rapids’ win on Dec. 28 halted the Admirals’ three-game winning streak in the series…Since the Admirals moved to Panther Arena at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, the Griffins are 13-5 at Milwaukee in the regular season with a +12 scoring margin (57-45)…Grand Rapids is 4-6-0-0 in the last 10 overall against the Admirals…Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent in the regular season – 191st meeting on Wednesday – and the Griffins’ 100 victories against the Admirals are the most of any foe…Head coach Ben Simon skated in 18 games with the Admirals during the 2003-04 campaign and finished with four points (1-3—4)…Cole Schneider is the leading scorer in the series with six points (0-6—6) in six games.

Manitoba Notes: Current record 18-19-0-0, 36 points, 4th Central Division…Manitoba has won the last three in the series, including a 4-2 victory in the most recent meeting on Nov. 29 at Van Andel Arena…Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 19-9 against Manitoba and outscored them 91-67…On home ice in that span, the Griffins are 10-4 with a 49-36 scoring advantage…Grand Rapids has claimed five of the last seven meetings at Van Andel Arena…Matt Puempel recorded his first AHL hat trick and Joe Veleno netted his first pro goal on Oct. 25 vs. Manitoba…Chris Terry leads the Griffins with 10 points (4-6—10) in four games this season vs. Manitoba…Jansen Harkins is the series’ top scorer with 11 points in four appearances (2-9—11)…Grand Rapids has scored on 6 of 13 power play opportunities…Moose forward Derek Hulak skated in 35 regular season games with the Griffins last season and tallied four points (1-3—4) before showing a goal and an assist in four games during the Central Division Semifinals against Chicago…Dylan McIlrath was born in Winnipeg and Calvin Pickard lives there in the off-season.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 14 wins and 23 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back-to-Back: This weekend will mark the 13th of 25 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights.

Photo by Sam Iannamico/Griffins