This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS (10-0-0-1) at Rockford IceHogs (7-7-1-1) // Wed., Nov. 19 // 8 p.m. EST // BMO Center

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 2-0-0-0 Overall, 1-0-0-0 Road. Third of 10 meetings overall, second of five at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 76-52-11-11 Overall, 32-32-5-6 Road 

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: After beginning the season with a 6-2-0-0 record, the IceHogs have since went 1-5-1-1 and are on a three-game winless skid (0-2-1-0).  

GRIFFINS vs. Charlotte Checkers (8-4-1-0) // Fri., Nov. 21 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena 
GRIFFINS vs. Charlotte Checkers // Sat., Nov. 22 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena 

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. on Friday and 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Van Andel Arena 

All-Time Series: 18-17-0-1 Overall, 8-10-0-0 Home

NHL Affiliation: Florida Panthers

Noteworthy: Friday’s game marks the Checkers’ first visit to Van Andel Arena since April 14, 2017. The Griffins have not made the trip to Charlotte since Dec. 18, 2016. 

Hot Like the Sun: The Griffins have continued their franchise-record start with a 10-0-0-1 ledger. The perfect 8-0 start was the best by an AHL team in four years, and Grand Rapids was the league’s last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. The 21 points through 11 games beat the previous record of 19 points in 2000-01 (9-1-1), a record that stood for 25 years. The Griffins’ 4-0-0-1 start on the road is the best since 2007-08 (5-0), and the 6-0 start at home is the best since 2009-10 (8-0).

Firing on all Cylinders: The Griffins rank first in the AHL with 4.09 goals per game and have outscored their opponents 45-24. The 45 goals are the second-most in franchise history through the team’s first 11 games (47 in 2005-06). The Griffins have outscored their opponents 27-10 at home, while possessing an 18-14 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (18-10). Despite ranking first in goals, the Griffins place 14th in shots per game (28.9) and have reached 30 or more shots just three times (27.3%). John Leonard leads the team with 10 goals and Dominik Shine ranks second with six.

Historic Run: John Leonard has 14 points and 10 goals through his first nine games as a Griffin. His career-high six-game goal streak from Oct. 11-Nov. 2 tied with teammate Austin Watson, Jiri Hudler, Kip Miller and Pavol Demitra for the third-longest run in franchise history. Leonard’s active career-best nine-game point streak is tied with Riley Barber’s franchise-record run of nine games to begin both a season and a Griffins career. His 10 goals are the second-most by a Griffin through his first nine games of an AHL season, while his 14 points tie for second (see chart below). Leonard is first in the AHL in goals, third in points per game (1.56), and tied for 13th in points. Last season, he ranked among the league leaders in points (61, T10th), goals (36, T2nd), power-play goals (10, T9th), short-handed goals (5, T1st) and shots (252, 2nd). Throughout his six-year AHL career since 2020-21, Leonard has 185 points (93-92—185) in 258 games.

Loaded Ammo: Third-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is off to a fast start with a team-high 11 assists in 11 games, which is tied for ninth on the circuit. His 11 assists are tied for the second-most by a Griffin through the first 11 games of an AHL season (see chart below). He logged a career-high six-game assist streak (1-7—8) from Oct. 24-Nov. 12 and is currently on a career-best seven-game point streak (2-7—9) from Oct. 24-Nov. 14. Last season, Lombardi posted career-high numbers in goals (19), assists (21), and points (40) in just 44 games, as he was limited due to an upper-body injury. Lombardi was the 113th overall pick by Detroit in 2022 and has 80 points (26-54—80) in 127 games with Grand Rapids since the spring of 2023. 

Special Powers: The Griffins scored on the power play in four straight games from Nov. 1-12 (6-for-16, 37.5%), which included a season-high three power-play goals (3-for-5) on Nov. 9 at Chicago. Grand Rapids’ power play is tied for sixth in the AHL at 25.0% (9-for-36). The Griffins have allowed a shorthanded goal in two of the past three games and the four shorthanded goals allowed this season are tied for the league lead. However, their penalty kill ranks first in the AHL at 89.2% (33-for-37) and has allowed a power-play goal in just three of the 11 games. The 37 times shorthanded are the fewest in the league.

Defense Wins Championships: The Griffins’ defense is one of the best in the AHL, as it ranks fourth with 2.18 goals allowed per contest. The 24 goals allowed are the second-fewest in franchise history through the team’s first 11 games, trailing only last season’s 23. In addition, the team’s penalty kill places first at 89.2% (33-for-37). Despite ranking fourth in goals allowed, the Griffins place 27th with 30.9 shots allowed per game. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.75 GAA with a .939 save percentage, while rookie Michal Postava possesses a 2.15 GAA and a .936 save percentage. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (515), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107). Last season, the Griffins finished ninth in the AHL with 2.82 goals allowed per game but spent much of the campaign in the top five for goals allowed per contest.

The Well is not Dry: Sheldon Dries, a nine-year veteran, had a goal in three straight games from Nov. 2-12 and is on an active five-game point streak from Nov. 1-14 (3-3—6). His nine points (4-5—9) in nine games place fourth on the roster and are the second-most in his AHL career (10 pts. in 9 GP in 2023-24 with Abbotsford). With the Griffins since 2024-25, the Macomb, Michigan, native has 49 points (29-20—49) in 74 regular-season games. Dries is no stranger to West Michigan, as he served as a three-time captain at Western Michigan University and totaled 84 points (44-40—84) in 148 games at the university from 2013-17.

Good Problem to Have: The Griffins’ roster features eight veterans, including forwards Sheldon Dries, John Leonard, Dominik Shine and Austin Watson, and defensemen Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, William Lagesson and Ian Mitchell. With eight veterans, the Griffins are two over the playing limit and are required to scratch two of them each game due to the AHL’s development rule. Even with two of them scratched for each contest, the veterans on the team have combined for 56 points (26-30—56) in 66 games, which accounts for 47% of the scoring for the team and 59% of the goals. Leonard ranks first among the veterans with 14 points (10-4—14) in nine games, while Shine (6-4—10 in 9 GP) ranks second, and Dries (4-5—9 in 9 GP) places third.

Future is Bright: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, registered his first shutout of the season on Oct. 24 behind 30 saves in a 4-0 win over Manitoba. It marked his fourth AHL shutout, eighth as a pro, and the first since Oct. 11, 2024. Cossa is off to a 4-0 start this season with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. Last season, Cossa was named to his first AHL All-Star Classic and ranked among the AHL regular-season leaders in games played (41, T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), GAA (2.45, 11th), save percentage (.911, T13th), and wins (21, T10th). The 6-foot-7 goaltender also made his NHL debut with Detroit on Dec. 9 at Buffalo and came away with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and three stops in the shootout in a relief effort. In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 48-25-14 mark with four shutouts to go along with a 2.48 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 88 outings. 

Shine On, Captain: On Oct. 9, Dominik Shine was named the 19th captain in franchise history. He is in his 10th season with Grand Rapids, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). Shine competed in his 500th pro game on Wednesday against Toronto. Shine has five points (3-2—5) in his last four outings and ranks third on the team with 10 points (6-4—10) in nine games. His six goals are also tied for 16th in the AHL. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (492), sixth in goals (81), ninth in assists (113), eighth in points (194), sixth in penalty minutes (557), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for fifth in game-winners (13), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and sixth in shots (817). 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:  
Erik Gustafsson—Tied for fifth among defensemen in assists (8)
William Lagesson—Tied for seventh in plus-minus (+9), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+9)
John Leonard—First in goals (10), tied for 13th in points (14), tied for third in game-winners (3)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for ninth in assists (11)
Michal Postava—Eighth in GAA (2.15), second in save percentage (.936)

Milestones: On Wednesday, Erik Gustafsson competed in his 850th pro game, Dominik Shine skated in his 500th pro contest and Eduards Tralmaks appeared in his 200th pro outing. Also on Wednesday, Austin Watson bagged his 300th pro point during a two-point game (1-1—2). 
Sebastian Cossa—Two wins from 50 as a Griffin 
Sheldon Dries—Two games from 350 in the AHL
Justin Holl—One point from 200 as a pro
John Leonard—One goal from 100 as a pro
Ian Mitchell—Two points from 100 in the AHL
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11
Eduards Tralmaks—Two games from 100 in the AHL
Antti Tuomisto—Three games from 200 as a pro 
William Wallinder—One point from 100 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins