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Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Face First Three-Game Week

October 18, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


This Week's Games GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild Tues., Oct. 18, 8 p.m. Wells Fargo Arena Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Watch: AHLLive.com Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Wells Fargo Arena. All-Time Series: 9-2-0-0 Road, 18-4-0-0 Overall NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild Noteworthy: In 11 meetings between the Wild and Griffins at Wells Fargo Arena, Grand Rapids is outscoring Iowa 36-22.

Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS Fri., Oct. 21. 7 p.m. Van Andel Arena Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Watch: AHLLive.com Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Van Andel Arena. All-Time Series: 19-8-1-2 Home, 29-23-3-5 Overall NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks Noteworthy: Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Griffins have roasted Rockford to the tune of 15-2-1-1 over their 19 regular season and playoff meetings at Van Andel Arena.

Cleveland Monsters at GRIFFINS Sat., Oct. 22. 7 p.m. Van Andel Arena Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7 p.m. Watch: AHLLive.com Season Series: First of 12 meetings overall, first of six at Van Andel Arena. All-Time Series: 22-12-1-1 Home, 38-24-3-7 Overall NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets Noteworthy: During the offseason, the Monsters dropped their Lake Erie moniker and became the Cleveland Monsters. Grand Rapids' 2015-16 campaign ended with a 4-2 series loss in the Central Division Finals to the eventual Calder Cup Champion Lake Erie Monsters. The Griffins, who lost Games 1 and 6 of that series, were the only team to defeat the Monsters during their 15-2 run to the title.

Last Week's Results Fri., Oct. 14 Chicago Wolves 1 at GRIFFINS 3 1-0-0-0 (2 points, T1st Central Division) Sat., Oct. 15 GRIFFINS 4 at Chicago Wolves 2 2-0-0-0 (4 points, T1st)

Svechnikov Debuts: In just his second regular season game as a Griffin, rookie Evgeny Svechnikov delivered his first professional goal last Saturday at Chicago. The Red Wings' first round draft pick and 19th overall selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Svechnikov is tied with former Detroit first rounder Jakub Kindl (2005 NHL Entry Draft) for second among highest Detroit draft picks to play in Grand Rapids. Dylan Larkin, selected 15th overall in 2014, remains at the top of the list. Svechnikov, who made his Griffins debut last season during the Calder Cup Playoffs, also became the 11th Detroit draft choice to play for Grand Rapids in the season after he was drafted.

Around the AHL: A number of former Griffins players and coaches found themselves on season-opening rosters in the AHL. The list includes: Mattias Backman (Texas), Tyler Barnes (Rockford), Chad Billins (Utica), Sheldon Brookbank (Cleveland), Chris Conner (Lehigh Valley), Scott Czarnowczan (Iowa), Landon Ferraro (Chicago), Bryan Helmer (Hershey - vice president of hockey operations), Jeff Hoggan (Iowa), Kerry Huffman (Lehigh Valley - assistant coach), Doug Janik (Springfield - assistant coach), Jakub Kindl (Springfield), Derek King (Rockford - assistant coach), Andy Miele (Lehigh Valley), Chris Mueller (Tucson), Kevin Porter (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), Joel Rechlicz (Bakersfield), Mike Stothers (Ontario - head coach) and Mark Zengerle (Lehigh Valley).

Opening Night Sellout: The Griffins sold out last Friday's home opener against Chicago to mark the franchise's 21st consecutive sellout on opening night and the 164th overall sellout of Van Andel Arena. Now in their 21st season playing at the "Freezer on Fulton," the Griffins have enjoyed the raucous crowd support, showing an 85-61-1-2-15 record (0.573) while outscoring opponents 486-443 (2.96-2.70 average per game) in sold-out home games.

A Rivalry Rekindled: After matching up a total of 12 times in the regular season and six times in the postseason in 2015-16, the Griffins and the 2016 Calder Cup champion Cleveland Monsters will meet on Saturday for the first of 12 games overall this year. Grand Rapids won last year's regular season series against Cleveland with a 7-4-0-1 record as five of the 12 matchups were decided in overtime or a shootout.

Captains: Fifth-year Griffin and 14th-year professional Nathan Paetsch has been named the 11th captain in Griffins history. The fastest defenseman in franchise history to accumulate 100 points as a Griffin, Paetsch has skated in 288 career games in a Griffins sweater and totaled 125 points (20-105 - 125), second all time among Grand Rapids blueliners behind Travis Richards (56-182 - 238). Should he appear in 12 more contests, Paetsch can join the short list of eight other players who have played in 300 or more games. Eighth-year Griffin Brian Lashoff along with newcomers Matthew Ford and Ben Street will serve as assistant captains.

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