Griffins Game #44 * Road Game #21 * AHL Game #697

Season Series: 1-1-0-0 Home Series: 1-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 19-18-0-1 All-Time Home Series: 9-11-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 10-7-0-1

Griffins at Checkers
Third of four meetings overall, first of two at the Bojangles Coliseum…Tonight’s game marks the Griffins’ first trip to Charlotte since Dec. 18, 2016...Last season, Charlotte reached the Calder Cup Finals before falling 4-2 to Abbotsford...Tonight is just the 39th meeting between the two franchises...The Checkers are 12-8-2-0 at home this season compared to 13-6-1-0 on the road...Charlotte is on a two-game losing skid and is 7-2-1-0 in its last 10 contests...Grand Rapids is 17-1-1-1 on the road compared to 17-5-1-0 at home...The Griffins are on a two-game winning streak and are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 games...Charlotte’s power play ranks 19th at 17.3% and its penalty kill places second at 84.8%...Grand Rapids’ penalty kill ranks first at 86.2% and its power play places 14th at 19.4%...The Checkers rank fourth with 3.38 goals per game while the Griffins rank first with 3.51 goals per outing...Defensively, Charlotte ranks ninth with 2.81 goals allowed per game and Grand Rapids is first with 1.93 goals allowed...Charlotte ranks first with 24.6 shots allowed and sixth with 30.3 shots for per game...Charlotte’s netminder Cooper Black ranks 13th in GAA (2.54), tied for third in wins (17) and sixth in minutes played (1532:28)...Last season with Charlotte, John Leonard paced the team in points (61) and goals (36), and ranked third in assists (25). Leonard then led the team in points (14) and goals (8) during its run to the Calder Cup Finals.

Last Time Out
Tyler Angle (1-1—2) recorded his third multi-point effort of the season en route to the Griffins’ 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday at Panther Arena. The Griffins improved their league-best record to 34-6-2-1 through 43 games (71 pts.), and their road ledger stood at 17-1-1-1. Sheldon Dries potted a goal for his 300th pro point, while Eduards Tralmaks grabbed his 18th tally of the season to extend his point streak to four games. Austin Watson notched the game-winner while shorthanded in the second period, and Sebastian Cossa tallied 24 saves to boost his record to 19-4-2. Grand Rapids also improved to 25-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. 

This Date in Griffins History
2004: Griffins earn a 3-2 win over Chicago, tying the franchise record of 10 consecutive home games without a loss (7-0-3-0).

Record Setters
Below is a list of team and league records that the Griffins have either set or tied this season. 
- Best record in AHL history through 25 games (23-1-0-1, 47 pts.), 30 games (27-1-1-1, 56 pts.) and 40 games (32-5-2-1, 67 pts.), while tying for the best start through 35 games (29-3-2-1, 61 pts.)
- Reached the 60-point mark in just 32 games, three games faster than any team in AHL history
- AHL record 17-game road points streak from Oct. 10-Jan. 23 (15-0-1-1)
- Tied franchise-record 15-game winning streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27, which also tied for sixth-longest in AHL history
- Tied franchise-record 19-game points streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 7 (18-0-1-0)
- Franchise-record start with an 8-0 record and was the league’s last undefeated team for first time since 2000-01 IHL season
- Started 6-0 at home for first time since 2009-10 (8-0)
- Franchise record for largest margin of victory (9) on Nov. 25 at Texas (10-1 W) 
- Franchise record for fewest shots in a game (10) on Jan. 17 versus Milwaukee 

Steady The Ship
Despite dropping six of 10 games from Jan. 7-30, the Griffins are now on a two-game winning streak and have continued their league-record start with a 34-6-2-1 ledger and 71 points through 43 games. Grand Rapids surpassed the 2005-06 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (31-5-3-1, 66 pts.) for the best start in AHL history through 40 games. Grand Rapids also reached 60 points three games faster than any team in the AHL’s 90-year history (2005-06, W-B/Scranton, 29-3-2-1, 61 pts. in 35 games). The team saw its franchise-record tying 15-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27 come to an end in overtime on Dec. 31, which also tied for the sixth-longest run in AHL history. In addition, the Griffins’ 19-game point streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 7 (18-0-1-0) ended on Jan. 9, which tied for the longest run in franchise history. The Griffins are 17-1-1-1 on the road and 17-5-1-0 at home. The 17-game points streak on the road from Oct. 10-Jan. 23 (15-0-1-1) set a new AHL record, eclipsing the 2010-11 Milwaukee Admirals’ 16-game run (10-0-4-2). Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in points (71), has a 19-point cushion over Chicago for first place in the Central Division, and is 35 points up on a playoff spot. 

What’s The Password?
The Griffins’ defense remains the best in the AHL, as it ranks first with 1.93 goals allowed per contest. Providence is the closest to Grand Rapids with 2.00 goals allowed per game. Grand Rapids posted its seventh shutout of the season on Jan. 21 against Milwaukee, which are the most since the team registered eight in 2016-17. The Griffins shut out their opponent in two straight games from Jan. 17-21 in addition to posting consecutive shutouts from Dec. 21-27. Prior to this season, the last time Grand Rapids logged two straight shutouts was Feb. 15-17, 2018. The Griffins have allowed more than two goals just nine times in their last 37 games but have averaged 3.20 goals allowed in their last five outings. In fact, the team has allowed more than two goals just 11 times all season (25.6%). In addition, the team’s penalty kill is first in the AHL at 86.2%. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.99 GAA with a .926 save percentage, while rookie netminder Michal Postava possesses a 1.63 GAA and a .940 save percentage. Grand Rapids also has three of the top six plus-minus ratings among defensemen. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (517) (currently with Detroit), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107), totaling 1,130 appearances. 

Slowed Down a Smidge
Grand Rapids was shut out for the first time this season on Jan. 9 against Texas and has been held to under three goals in seven of the last 11 games. The Griffins now have 15 goals in their last five contests (3.00 per game) and finished January with 32 goals (2.46 per game). At the start of January, the Griffins averaged 3.93 goals per game. Despite the slow January, Grand Rapids still ranks first in the AHL with 3.51 goals per game. The team has outscored its opponents 151-83 and is 25-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 67-41 at home, while possessing a 84-42 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (61-29). In addition to ranking first in goals, the Griffins place 11th in shots per game (29.1). John Leonard leads the team and ranks second in the AHL with 26 goals, while Eduards Tralmaks ranks second on the roster with 18 and Sheldon Dries places third with 16. 

Leaders of the Pack 
The Griffins have led the Central Division for the entire season, and are 19 points above second-place Chicago and 35 points up on a playoff spot. Grand Rapids is 27-5-2-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 124-71, suffering its first regulation defeat against the division on Jan. 9 against Texas. The Griffins’ 27 wins against the division have already eclipsed last year’s mark of 26 wins and are the most divisional victories since 2023-24 (30). Twenty-one of the remaining 29 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (70.0%). The Griffins will see the most games against the Milwaukee Admirals (5) and Rockford IceHogs (5).  

January at a Glance 
The Griffins finished January with a 7-5-1-0 record and a plus-two scoring margin (32-30). Prior to January, Grand Rapids had just one loss in regulation and three total defeats in any fashion. The Griffins also logged 2.46 goals per game, which was the lowest goal total of any month this season (October: 4.00, November: 4.08, December: 3.73). The team also endured two three-game losing skids in January, which tied for the longest losing streaks of the campaign. The power play went just 5-for-38 (13.2%) and the penalty kill finished 26-for-30 (86.7%). John Leonard led the team with 10 points (6-4—10) in 11 games, while Sebastian Cossa went 3-3-1 with a 2.86 GAA and a .906 save percentage and Michal Postava finished 4-2-0 with two shutouts, a 1.27 GAA and a .943 save percentage between the pipes. 

Just Getting Started 
Rookie netminder Michal Postava tied a franchise record by becoming the 10th netminder in team history to post back-to-back shutouts from Jan. 17-21. He collected his first AHL shutout on Jan. 17 with 10 saves in a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee and followed that performance with a 19-save blanking of Milwaukee last Wednesday. His 10 saves set a new franchise record for fewest in a shutout. Postava logged a shutout streak of 156:20 from Jan. 9-25, which was 3:47 short of breaking the franchise record by Jared Coreau in 2014-15 (160:06). After beginning the campaign 5-0, the 23-year-old suffered his first AHL defeat on Jan. 9 against Texas. Postava is now 8-2-0 with a 1.63 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage in 12 games. Last season, Postava became a Czech Extraliga champion with Kometa Brno, showing a league-best .940 save percentage with a 1.97 GAA and a 10-7 record in 17 playoff games. During the regular season with Kometa Brno, Postava ranked among the Czech Extraliga leaders in save percentage (.921, 5th), GAA (2.39, 11th), wins (23, 4th), games played (42, T2nd) and shutouts (3, T7th). As an undrafted free agent, Postava signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings last summer. 

Shine On, Captain
Dominik Shine posted two points (1-1—2) in his return to the ice last Saturday after being sidelined for seven of the previous nine games from Jan. 9-30 due to rehabbing an injury. The captain ranks among the team leaders in points (29, 3rd), goals (15, 4th), assists (14, T5th) and plus-minus rating (+16, T6th). On Dec. 7 at Toronto, Shine became just the third player in franchise history to reach 500 games with the team, scoring a goal in the process. 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). On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (513), fourth in goals (90), seventh in assists (123), fourth in points (213), fifth in penalty minutes (583), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for fourth in game-winners (14), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and third in shots (873). 

The Lombardi Trophy 
Last Saturday in Chicago, Amadeus Lombardi tied his career high with three points (1-2—3). This marked the second time he’s posted three points this season and was his fourth multi-point outing of the campaign. The third-year pro was sidelined for 20 straight games from Nov. 22-Jan. 9 due to rehabbing an injury. Since his return on Jan. 13, Lombardi has six points (2-4—6) in 10 games. Last season, the Aurora, Ontario, native, logged a career-high 40 points (19-21—40) in 44 games with the Griffins. With Grand Rapids since the spring of 2023, Lombardi has 87 points (29-58—87) in 139 outings. He was the 113th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

The Brick Wall 
Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, collected his fourth shutout of the season on Dec. 27 at Milwaukee in just his 16th game. His four shutouts are the most by a Griffin since 2016-17 (Eddie Pasquale). He then showed a career-high 47 saves on Jan. 2 against Chicago, which tied Jared Coreau’s franchise record for saves in a home game. Cossa won two straight AHL Goaltender of the Month awards (November and December), becoming the first netminder in franchise history to receive the honor twice in the same season. The 23-year-old also became just the third goaltender in team history to win the award twice in any fashion, joining Jared Coreau (Feb. 2018, Dec. 2015) and Jimmy Howard (Dec. 2007, March 2006). Cossa has a 19-4-2 record with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He enjoyed a career-high 10-game win streak from Nov. 25-Dec. 27, showing a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save percentage, and a 14-game point streak from Nov. 25-Jan. 13 (12-0-2). In the AHL rankings, Cossa ranks second in GAA, tied for second in save percentage, first in shutouts, tied for first in wins and eighth in minutes played (1475:01). In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 63-29-16 mark with seven shutouts to go along with a 2.40 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 109 outings, becoming just the sixth netminder to reach the century mark with the team.   

Going for Gold 
On Jan. 6, Team Latvia announced that forward Eduards Tralmaks will represent the country at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 6-22. Tralmaks becomes the seventh player to participate in an Olympics while playing for the Griffins. Tralmaks is also the sixth current or former Griffin to be named to an Olympic roster for 2026, joining USA’s Dylan Larkin, Germany’s Moritz Seider, Czechia’s Filip Hronek and Radim Simek, and Slovakia’s Tomas Tatar. Tralmaks, a native of Riga, Latvia, has 24 points (18-6—24), six penalty minutes and a plus-20 rating in 43 games with the Griffins this season. He ranks among the team leaders in goals (2nd), points (T4th), and plus-minus rating (T2nd), while tying for ninth in the AHL in plus-minus rating. Tralmaks has competed for Team Latvia at the two previous World Championships in 2024 and 2025, showing a combined nine points (4-5—9) in 14 games. At last year's World Championship, Tralmaks led Latvia in points (3-4—7) and assists, while ranking second in goals in seven games. Also in 2024-25, he potted one goal in three Olympic qualifying games with Latvia. 

Sparkling Stars 
On Jan. 15, the AHL announced that Griffins goaltender Sebastian Cossa and forwards John Leonard and Dominik Shine will serve as the team’s representatives at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, to be held Feb. 10-11 at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois. They will join their head coach, Dan Watson, who was previously announced as the coach for the Central Division. The three all-star player selections are the most for the Griffins since 2013 (Chad Billins, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist). Including Watson, the four all-star representatives are the most in team history since four players were chosen for the 2004 event in Grand Rapids (Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Travis Richards, Nathan Robinson). Cossa becomes the first Griffins goalie to earn consecutive all-star selections, and the first Griffins player since Chris Terry (2019 and 2020). This is also Leonard’s second straight all-star selection, as he was chosen for last year’s event as a member of the Charlotte Checkers, while captain Shine will compete in his first-ever all-star game.  

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard—Tied for third in game-winners (5), tied for ninth among rookies in assists (16), tied for 14th among rookies in points (24), third among rookies in plus-minus (+16), tied for 11th among rookies in shots (83), first among rookies in game-winners (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Second in GAA (1.99), tied for second in save percentage (.926), first in shutouts (4), tied for first in wins (19), tied for ninth in games played (25), eighth in minutes played (1475:01)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for ninth in power-play goals (7)
x Erik Gustafsson—Tied for 14th in plus-minus (+18), tied for 13th among defensemen in assists (18), tied for fifth among defensemen in plus-minus (+18), tied for seventh among defensemen in power-play goals (2)
Justin Holl—Tied for ninth in plus-minus (+20), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+20)
Alex Kannok Leipert—Tied for third in shorthanded assists (2), tied for second among defensemen in shorthanded assists (2)
William Lagesson—Tied for fifth in plus-minus (+24), second among defensemen in plus-minus (+24)
John Leonard—Second in goals (26), tied for 11th in points (40), tied for second in shorthanded goals (3), tied for 12th in shots (112), first in game-winners (8)
Ian Mitchell—Tied for 10th among defensemen in plus-minus (+16)
Eduards Tralmaks—Tied for 13th in goals (18), tied for ninth in plus-minus (+20)
Antti Tuomisto—Tied for 13th among defensemen in goals (6), tied for seventh among defensemen in plus-minus (+17)
William Wallinder—Tied for 13th among defensemen in plus-minus (+15) 

Milestones 
On Tuesday in a 5-2 win at Milwaukee, Sheldon Dries secured his 300th pro point with a goal during his 100th game as a Griffin.  
William Lagesson—One game from 400 as a pro
Ian Mitchell—Two games from 300 as a pro
Dominik Shine—Five goals from claiming third on the all-time franchise goals list (95), one unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins