MILWAUKEE -- Sebastian Cossa became just the sixth netminder in franchise history to play in 100 games and picked up his fourth shutout of the season with 26 saves in the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Admirals at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday.

The Griffins’ 26-1-0-1 record and 53 points stood as the best in league history through 28 games. Grand Rapids notched its 15th straight win to tie the longest streak in franchise history, and tied the sixth-longest run in the AHL’s 90-year history. Cossa’s four shutouts became the most by a Griffin since Eddie Pasquale in 2016-17, and the team recorded shutouts in consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 15-17, 2018. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard grabbed an assist to extend his point streak to four games, while Sheldon Dries (1-1—2) tallied his fourth-straight multi-point outing. 

The Griffins saw a great opportunity in the first period, despite it remaining scoreless, when Dominik Shine picked up a turnover along the near boards, carried it across the left circle and fired it toward Matthew Murray, but the shot was stopped at 13:05. With 2:09 left, Daniel Carr was awarded a penalty shot, and Cossa made the glove save to keep Milwaukee off the board. 

The scoring opened at 13:31 of the second frame, putting the Griffins up 1-0 while on the power play. Brandsegg-Nygard knocked a back-handed feed from the left circle to Erik Gustafsson at the top of the slot, and he fired a one-timer past the right post. Grand Rapids notched its second of the night on the man advantage just 34 seconds later, when Gustafsson ripped one toward the net, and Dries potted the rebound on the doorstep. Grand Rapids killed off 1:31 of a 5-on-3 with 4:21 left in the slate, and kept Milwaukee off the board. 

With 56 seconds remaining in the contest, Murray headed to the bench to give the Admirals an extra attacker, and with 34 seconds on the clock, Austin Watson threw a puck from the Griffins’ zone into the empty net to seal the 3-0 shutout for Grand Rapids. 

Notes

• Dan Watson recorded his 100th win as Grand Rapids’ head coach, tying Danton Cole (172 games) for the second-fastest to reach the mark.
• The Griffins power play ranks eighth in the league at 22.7%, while its penalty kill sits in second place at 86.6%.
• Grand Rapids’ 119 all-time victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe.
• The Griffins improved to 19-0 when scoring the game’s first goal.
• Gustafsson (1-1—2) notched his 10th point in six games
• With an assist, Ondrej Becher extended his point streak to three games.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 0 2 1 - 3

Milwaukee 0 0 0 - 0

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Gustafsson Gr (tripping), 10:44; Wiesblatt Mil (roughing), 15:18.

2nd Period-1, Grand Rapids, Gustafsson 2 (Brandsegg-Nygård, Dries), 13:31 (PP). 2, Grand Rapids, Dries 10 (Gustafsson, Becher), 14:05 (PP). Penalties-Watson Gr (fighting), 10:17; Marino Mil (fighting), 10:17; Kemell Mil (goaltender interference), 12:47; Lind Mil (high-sticking), 13:39; Hillebrand Gr (roughing, fighting), 15:10; Lind Mil (fighting), 15:10; Shine Gr (tripping), 15:39.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Watson 6 (Cossa), 19:26 (EN). Penalties-Carr Mil (tripping), 10:00.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 11-17-14-42. Milwaukee 8-10-8-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 2 / 4; Milwaukee 0 / 3.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 15-1-0 (26 shots-26 saves). Milwaukee, Murray 9-8-2 (41 shots-39 saves).

A-7,969

Three Stars

1. GR Cossa (SO, W, 26 saves) 2. GR Gustafsson (goal, assist) 3. MIL Element

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 26-1-0-1 (53 pts.) / Wed., Dec. 31 vs. Milwaukee 6 p.m.

Milwaukee: 12-13-2-0 (26 pts.) / Tue., Dec. 30 vs. Rockford 6:30 p.m. CST

Photo by Brianna Nevins/Milwaukee Admirals