GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- With their 10th-straight victory, the Grand Rapids Griffins tied the best 23-game start in the AHL’s 90 year history (21-1-0-1, 43 pts.), as they bested the Rockford IceHogs 1-0 at Van Andel Arena on Saturday.

The Griffins became the first team in league history to win 21 of their first 23 games, and their 10-game win streak stood as the fourth longest in franchise history. John Leonard notched his 200th AHL point with his league-leading 19th goal of the season. Sebastian Cossa recorded 20 saves, and became the first netminder since Calvin Pickard to record three shutouts in his first 13 starts of the season, and his six-career shutouts tied Daniel Larsson and Pokey Reddick for eighth on the Griffins’ all-time list.  

Grand Rapids killed off a minute of a 5-on-3 with 1:16 remaining in the opening period. After killing the IceHogs’ two-man advantage, and still down a skater with eight seconds on the clock, Leonard forced a turnover, skated down on an odd-man rush, and slapped one in from the top of the left circle with one second to spare to capture a 1-0 lead.

The best opportunity for Grand Rapids in the second slate came 2:06 in, when William Wallinder let a shot fly from the left point, and Eduards Tralmaks attempted to stuff the rebound past the right pad of Drew Commesso, but he was denied and neither team capitalized in the period.

The IceHogs had a chance to tie the game when Marcel Marcel was awarded a penalty shot at 9:56 in the final frame, but he shot it wide and the Griffins stayed ahead. With 3:48 to go, Rockford pulled Commesso for a two-man advantage while on the power play, and the Griffins nearly extended their lead to 2-0 with an empty-netter at 19:10, but it was called offsides. Grand Rapids ultimately kept Rockford off the score sheet and came away with a 1-0 victory.

Notes

• Griffins’ Captain Dominik Shine was honored in a pre-game ceremony, as he became just the third player in franchise history to skate in 500 games.
• Grand Rapids’ 21-1-0-1 ledger stood as a franchise record, while its 12-1 start on home ice also stood as a franchise best.
• Wallinder skated in his 150th game as a Griffin.

Box Score

Rockford 0 0 0 - 0

Grand Rapids 1 0 0 - 1

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Leonard 19   19:59 (SH). Penalties-Engelbert Rfd (holding), 9:09; Tralmaks Gr (holding), 17:43; Shine Gr (cross-checking), 18:44.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Korchinski Rfd (tripping), 1:27; Slaggert Rfd (tripping), 6:13; Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (holding), 16:12.

Shots on Goal-Rockford 7-10-3-20. Grand Rapids 9-12-5-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Rockford 0 / 3; Grand Rapids 0 / 3.

Goalies-Rockford, Commesso 6-8-2 (26 shots-25 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 12-1-0 (20 shots-20 saves).

A-7,621

Three Stars

1. GR Cossa (W, SO, 20 saves) 2. GR Leonard (game-winner) 3. RFD Commesso (L, 25 saves)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 21-1-0-1 (43 pts.) / Sun., Dec 14 at Chicago 4 p.m. EST

Rockford: 11-13-2-1 (25 pts.) / Sat., Dec. 20 at Manitoba 2 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins