When You're in Texas, Look Behind You

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Thu., Jan. 31 // 8 p.m. EST // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Road, 1-2-0-0 Overall. Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park
All-Time Series: 12-8-2-0 Road, 26-14-2-3 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars
Noteworthy: The Griffins are 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 at Texas, outscoring the Stars 34-25 in that span.

GRIFFINS at San Antonio Rampage // Fri., Feb. 1 // 8:30 p.m. EST // AT&T Center
Listen: ESPN 96.1 FM at 8:05 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Road, 2-1-0-0 Overall. Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at the AT&T Center
All-Time Series: 22-15-0-2-1 Road, 46-27-1-5-2 Overall
NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids has won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall against the Rampage, including six straight at Van Andel Arena and four of the last five at the AT&T Center.

Last Week’s Results
Wed., Jan. 23 Manitoba Moose 1 at GRIFFINS 2 OT 24-13-3-4 (55 points, 1st Central Division)
Fri., Jan. 25 San Jose Barracuda 4 at GRIFFINS 0 24-14-3-4 (55 points, T1st Central)
Sat., Jan. 26 San Jose Barracuda 2 at GRIFFINS 3 SO 25-14-3-4 (57 points, 1st Central)

Status Update: The Grand Rapids Griffins have totaled points in 13 of their last 16 outings (10-3-1-2), including wins in four of their last five, and pace the Central Division with 57 points and a 25-14-3-4 overall record. Following four days off from games due to the AHL all-star break, Grand Rapids heads to the Lone Star State this week to play the Texas Stars on Thursday and the San Antonio Rampage on Friday. The Griffins will then return to Van Andel Arena next week to begin a seven-game homestand, the team’s longest since a seven-game stretch from Nov. 29-Dec. 14, 2013.

Follow the Leader(s):
Points: Chris Terry (42)
Goals: Terry (23)
Assists: Carter Camper (23)
Plus-Minus: Jake Chelios (+15)
PIM: Dylan McIlrath (48)
Wins: Harri Sateri (15)
GAA: Patrik Rybar (2.38)
Save %: Rybar (0.910)

Last Week’s Notes:
Wednesday vs. Manitoba – Grand Rapids improved to 5-1-0-0 in the eight-game season series…Grand Rapids has won 10 of the last 11 regular season meetings vs. Manitoba...Carter Camper netted the game-winner 3:37 into overtime, his second OT goal against the Moose this season (Nov. 17)...Camper’s goal marked his 10th of the campaign and he became the sixth Griffin to reach the double-digit goal plateau...Wade Megan banked his ninth of the season and extended his goal streak to three...Harri Sateri turned aside 29 shots and earned his third consecutive victory...Grand Rapids’ seven power play opportunities were the most since recording seven on Jan. 17, 2018 vs. Milwaukee...The Griffins are 4-3 in overtime this season. Recap | Highlights

Friday vs. San Jose – Grand Rapids had its three-game point streak against San Jose snapped...The Griffins were shut out for the second time this season (Oct. 6 at SA) and for the first time at home since Nov. 3, 2017 vs. CHI...Chris Terry made his return to the lineup after missing the previous four games due to injury...Assigned by Detroit on Tuesday, Filip Hronek skated in his first AHL game since Dec. 11 at MIL...Patrik Rybar’s shutout streak was ended at 96:03 after Maxim Letunov’s goal at 3:38 of the second period…Friday’s battle between first-place teams was the first involving the Griffins since March 11, 2017, when they suffered a 1-0 shootout loss at San Jose…It was also the first game between first-place teams at Van Andel Arena since March 4, 2015, when the Griffins defeated Oklahoma City 7-1...Grand Rapids took its first home regulation loss since Dec. 19. Recap | Highlights

Saturday vs. San Jose – Grand Rapids rallied back from a two-goal deficit to win for the fourth time this season…The capacity crowd of 10,834 marked the Griffins’ fourth sellout of the season, their third since New Year’s Eve and their second in the last four games (Jan. 19)…Harri Sateri made 24 saves and stopped all three in the shootout to run his winning streak to four, matching a season high…Matt Puempel skated in his 100th game as a Griffin and was the only scorer for either side in the skills competition…Filip Zadina and Carter Camper both notched their 11th goals of the campaign…The Griffins will make the return trip to San Jose April 5-6. Recap | Highlights

Coming Up After the Break: Since joining the AHL in the 2001-02 season, the Griffins post a 288-203-7-16-27 (0.579) record in games played after the all-star break. Grand Rapids has tallied a 0.500 mark or better in each of the last eight seasons after the hiatus, including going 20-7-1-3 last season and a combined 84-37-4-7 (0.678) since 2014-15.

Road Trippin’: After a four-game winless stretch on the road (0-3-1-0) from Dec. 7-16, the Griffins have points in six of their last eight on foreign ice (4-2-1-1) and are a +3 in goal differential in that span.

Friendly Confines: The Griffins have points in seven of their last eight contests at Van Andel Arena (6-1-0-1). Twice already this season Grand Rapids has tallied a home point streak of at least six (6-0-1-1 from Nov. 17-Dec. 15 and 5-0-0-1 from Dec. 29-Jan. 23). Grand Rapids has totaled points in 15 of its last 17 (12-2-1-2) at the Van and with a 16-4-1-3 overall mark inside friendly confines, the Griffins rank among the AHL’s home leaders with a 0.750 points percentage (2nd), 36 points (2nd) and 16 wins (T2nd). Grand Rapids is a +15 in goal differential at home while averaging 3.25 goals and operating at 18.18% on the power play, compared to -11, 2.68 and 8.25% on enemy ice.

Griffins in General: The Griffins’ 3-0 win against Milwaukee on Jan. 19 marked the franchise’s 950th all-time regular season victory…Grand Rapids is 952-643-27-54-112 (0.586) in the regular season since 1996-97…Grand Rapids’ 292 regular season wins and 631 points since the 2012-13 campaign are both the second-most in the AHL in that time, trailing only Toronto (300 / 646) and just ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (290 / 624).

Wading Back In: Wade Megan leads the team with 11 points (6-5—11) in 10 January games. Since being assigned by Detroit on Jan. 3 following nearly a month’s stay in the NHL, Megan has points in seven of his 10 games back in Grand Rapids’ lineup, including six (4-2—6) in the last four.

Puemped Up: Matt Puempel leads the team with 13 multi-point efforts on the season and has points in six of his last nine games (4-6—10). His 10 points (4-6—10) in January place second on the club. The sixth-year pro ranks second on the Griffins in both goals (17) and points (36) and his team-leading 148 shots are second in the league.

You’re a Wizard, Harri: Harri Sateri is on a four-game winning streak to match his season high and is good for a 1.45 GAA and a 0.953 save percentage (123 of 129) in that stretch. He has let in two goals or less in each of his last four starts. The Finnish netminder has points in 13 of his last 15 starts (11-2-2) and in eight of his last nine (7-1-1). Sateri’s 15 wins on the season tie for sixth in the league.

Rybar Supports: Patrik Rybar has points in six of his last eight games (4-2-2) and shows a 2.20 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage with one shutout in that span. Rybar, who led the Czech Extraliga with seven shutouts last season, recorded his first clean sheet on North American soil after stopping 24 shots during Jan. 19’s 3-0 victory against Milwaukee. He ties for fifth in the AHL with a 2.38 overall GAA.

Seeing Stars: Making his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall, Chris Terry represented the Griffins at the recently concluded AHL All-Star Classic held in Springfield, Mass. On Sunday night, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern 17-14 in the all-star skills competition. On Monday, Terry finished with one goal in three games as the Central Division wrapped up round-robin play in the all-star challenge with a 1-2 record. The North Division won the challenge with a 1-0 shootout victory against the Atlantic in the championship round.

(Don’t) Put It In Reverse Terr: The AHL’s leading scorer from a season ago, Chris Terry is tied atop the league’s goal leaderboard with 23. The 10th-year pro has reached the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his AHL career and is on pace to become just the third Griffin ever to bank 40 or more goals in a single season. He is bidding to join Teemu Pulkkinen (34 in 2014-15) and Donald MacLean (56 in 2005-06) as the only Griffins to lead the league in goals. He ties for eighth in the league with 42 points overall. Competing for the Central Division at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, Terry earned his third consecutive AHL All-Star bid and fourth overall (2012).

AHL's Active Goal Leaders:
1) Chris Bourque (BRI) - 244
2) Chris Mueller (TOR) - 208
3) Chris Terry (GR) - 206

Happy Camper: Carter Camper has recorded an assist on each of the Griffins’ last five power play goals. He leads the team with 23 assists.

Page Turner: Turner Elson places fourth on the team with 28 points (12-16—28) and is just two shy of matching his career high of 30, which he has attained twice previously (2014-15 with Adirondack and 2015-16 with Stockton). Sixteen assists has already equaled his career best total from 2015-16. He has also bettered his output from his first season with the Griffins in 2017-18 (9-12—21 in 57 GP). Elson has all three of the Griffins’ shorthanded goals this season, which ties for second in the AHL. Three shorties is the most by a Griffin in a single season since Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek both collected three in 2014-15.

Milestones Within Reach:
Filip Hronek – needs one game played to reach 100 as a Griffin
Turner Elson – needs one game played to reach 100 as a Griffin and one point to reach 50 as a Griffin
Carter Camper – needs two goals to reach 100 in the AHL, needs one goal to reach 100 as a pro
Chris Terry – needs six games played to reach 700 as a pro
Derek Hulak – needs four points to reach 100 in the AHL
Matthew Ford – needs one point to reach 400 in the AHL

Texas Notes: Current record 22-17-3-2, 49 points, 5th Central Division…Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park…Grand Rapids is making its first trip to Cedar Park since a 3-1 loss in the season opener on Oct. 5, which also served as Ben Simon’s AHL head coaching debut…In the two teams’ last meeting on Dec. 1 at Van Andel Arena, Chris Terry and Colin Campbell each scored two goals while Harri Sateri made 28 saves for his fourth straight win, helping Grand Rapids to a 6-3 victory…Terry leads the team in scoring in the series with five points (3-2—5) and his last goal against the Stars on Dec. 1 marked his 500th point as a pro player…Sateri has started all three contests against the Stars and shows a 3.37 GAA and a 0.878 save percentage…The Griffins are 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 at Texas, outscoring the Stars 34-25 in that span…Since the 2013-14 campaign, Grand Rapids is 16-7-1-1 in 25 games overall vs. Texas…Texas goaltender Landon Bow is 4-1-1 with a 2.35 GAA and a 0.925 save percentage in seven career games against Grand Rapids…The Stars rank second in power play efficiency at 23.3% and have converted on 3 of 12 chances (25.0%) against the Griffins…The Stars have a handful of players with ties to the Mitten: Joel L’Esperance is a native of Brighton and played four seasons (2014-18) at Michigan Tech; Dallas native Colton Hargrove played at Western Michigan from 2012-15; Nicholas Caamano appeared in 154 games with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds from 2015-18; Erik Condra is a native of Trenton; Tony Calderone is from Trenton and played at the University of Michigan from 2014-18;Robbie Payne is from Gaylord, played college hockey at Northern Michigan from 2014-18, and played for the NAHL’s Kalamazoo Jr. K Wings from 2011-13; Shane Hanna played at Michigan Tech from 2013-17; and Ben Gleason is from Ortonville.

Texas Two-Step: Since the 2014-15 season, Grand Rapids is a combined 11-7-1-0 (0.605) against the two Texas teams on away ice with a +13 goal differential.

San Antonio Notes: Current record 22-21-2-0, 46 points, T6th Central Division…Fourth of eight meetings overall, second of four at the AT&T Center…Grand Rapids has won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall against the Rampage, including six straight at Van Andel Arena and four of the last five at the AT&T Center…In the last 11 matchups, the Griffins are outscoring their Texan counterpart 49-24…In the last meeting at the Van on Dec. 5, the Griffins notched a 4-2 win courtesy of two-point games from Filip Hronek and Turner Elson and a 25-save effort from Patrik Rybar…On Oct. 6, during Grand Rapids' first trip to the AT&T Center, the Rampage blanked the Griffins 4-0 to earn their first win over the Griffins since March 22, 2016 and snap GR’s eight-game winning streak in the series…With four points apiece, Hronek (2-2—4 in 2 GP) and Elson (1-3—4 in 3 GP) lead both teams in points…Rybar is 2-0-0 against the Rampage with a 2.50 GAA and a 0.911 save percentage while Harri Sateri is 0-1-0 with a 4.00 GAA and a 0.862 save mark…Grand Rapids’ power play is 4-for-12 (33.3%) against the Rampage this season…Second-year Griffin Turner Elson spent the 2016-17 season with San Antonio and scored three points (1-2—3) while being limited to 13 games due to injury…First-year Griffin Wade Megan appeared in 115 games with the Rampage from 2012-15 and totaled 31 points (20-11—31)…While making his AHL debut with the Rampage on March 28, 2013, against Grand Rapids, Megan scored his first pro goal against Petr Mrazek…Friday marks San Antonio’s last home game until March 1 as the club will then embark on its annual rodeo road trip…San Antonio leads the AHL with 18 home victories and ranks last with just four road wins…The Rampage are on a 13-game home point streak (12-0-1-0).

They Went to Jared: Acquired by the St. Louis Blues from the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 3, former Griffin Jared Coreau is 5-4-1 with a 3.15 GAA, a 0.889 save percentage and one shutout in 10 appearances with the San Antonio Rampage this season. Suiting up for Grand Rapids from 2013-18, Coreau ranks among the franchise’s all-time goalie leaders in nearly every major statistical category with 148 games played (4th), 8614:11 minutes (4th), a 2.44 GAA (T8th), 85 wins (4th), 13 shutouts (3rd), 3930 saves (4th), a 0.918 save percentage (T7th) and seven shootout wins (T5th). Backstopping the team to its second Calder Cup in 2017, Coreau started all 19 games during the championship run and posted a 2.84 GAA and a 0.909 save mark to go along with a 15-4 record.

Win Some, Lose Some: Compare the statistics between the Griffins’ 25 wins and 21 (including OT and SO) losses:

Back to Backs: This week will mark the 16th of 26 times total this season the Griffins will play on consecutive nights. Grand Rapids has won 11 of its last 13 on the second night and six of the last seven.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins