Griffins Game #14 * Road Game #6 * AHL Game #204

Season Series: 2-0-0-0 Home Series: 1-0-0-0 Road Series: 1-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 83-55-11-11 All-Time Home Series: 47-21-7-5 All-Time Road Series: 36-34-4-6

Griffins at IceHogs
Third of 10 meetings overall, second of five at the BMO Center...The Griffins have wins in 16 of the last 22 games against Rockford…In the last five seasons, Grand Rapids has a 25-17-2-0 overall record (.591) against the IceHogs, including a 14-8-0-0 mark (.636) at the BMO Center... Rockford is Grand Rapids’ third-most frequent opponent, as tonight’s game marks the 161st meeting between the two franchises…Rockford is 32nd in the AHL with 2.27 goals per game and 21st with 3.09 goals allowed per game…Grand Rapids ranks first with 4.00 goals per game and fifth with 2.23 goals allowed per outing…The IceHogs are 1-4-0-0 at home and 3-2-0-1 on the road…The Griffins are 7-0-0-1 at home and 3-1-1-0 on the road…Rockford’s power play is tied for 11th at 20.4% and its penalty kill places 13th at 83.6%...The Griffins’ penalty kill ranks first at 93.0% and their power play comes in at third (25.8%)…Ypsilanti, Michigan, native Gavin Hayes leads Rockford with 14 points (8-6—14) in 11 games. His 14 points are tied for ninth in the AHL and his eight goals are tied for seventh…Rockford’s Jiri Felcman (3-8—11) ranks among the AHL rookies in points (T3rd), goals (T10th) and assists (T3rd)…Rockford’s roster features a pair of first-round picks from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Sacha Boisvert (18th by CHI) and Marek Vanacker (27th by CHI)…Rockford’s head coach Jared Nightingale played two games with the Griffins in 2014-15 and is the younger brother of current Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale. Nightingale also served as a three-year captain of the Toledo Walleye under Griffins head coach Dan Watson.

Last Time Out
On a night where Dominik Shine moved to second all time in points in franchise history, the Griffins took a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday at Van Andel Arena to extend their point streak to nine games (8-0-0-1). Just two nights after taking second place for the most goals scored in team history, Shine passed Travis Richards (238) with a second-period tally to secure the second-most points as a Griffin. The captain also recorded an assist and now stands with 240 points, trailing only Michel Picard (380). In support of the win, Dylan James (1-1–2) and Carter Bear (0-2–2) each picked up two points, and Sutter Muzzatti scored in his first game back after rehabbing an injury that kept him out since early October. Between the pipes, Trey Augustine made 25 saves to extend his point streak to five games (4-0-1).

This Date in Griffins History
2002: Houston’s Compaq Center is the site of the 500th regular season game in Griffins history, which ends in a 2-2 tie with the Aeros. Grand Rapids sets a franchise record by scoring a power play goal for the ninth consecutive game

Sounds Like A Broken Record
With 22 points (10-1-1-1) through their first 13 games, the Griffins are off to their third-best start in the franchise’s 31 seasons, outscoring opponents 52-29. Over the first 13 games of the last three seasons under coach Dan Watson, the Griffins are a combined 30-5-2-2 (.821). The team is also currently on a nine-game point streak (8-0-0-1). At home, the Griffins are 7-0-0-1 with a plus-18 margin compared to 3-1-1-0 on the road with a plus-five margin.

Complimentary Hockey 
The Griffins are first in the AHL with 4.00 goals per game and fifth with 2.23 goals allowed per contest. Grand Rapids is 9-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and has outscored its opponents 24-9 in the third period. The Griffins have a plus-18 margin at home (33-15) and a plus-five margin on the road (19-14). The team has allowed less than three goals in nine of the 13 games this year (69.2%), while scoring four or more goals 10 times (76.9%).

Historic Week 
Last night against Milwaukee, Dominik Shine moved to second all time in points as a Griffin (239), passing Travis Richards and trailing Michel Picard (380). In a 6-2 win over the Texas Stars on Wednesday, Shine became the first player in team history to score four goals in a regular-season game. Two Griffins have scored four goals in a playoff game, the last more than 25 years ago (Derek King, 4/21/01 vs. CLE). In addition, Shine’s second goal of the contest surpassed Francis Pare (102) for the second most in team history. With 106 goals as a Griffin, he now trails only Michel Picard (158). Shine’s four-career hat tricks have all come in the last 12 months, and three have come against Texas. 

Shine On, Captain 
Dominik Shine is in his 11th season with the Griffins and his second as captain, becoming just the second player in team history to reach 11 seasons (Brian Lashoff 14). Shine has 11 points (9-2—11) in his last four outings, including two hat tricks, and 16 points (10-6—16) in his last eight outings since Oct. 11. In the AHL rankings, Shine is tied for first in points and second in goals. On Wednesday, Shine (106) logged four goals, surpassing Francis Pare (102) for second all time in team history and now trails only Michel Picard (158). On Oct. 24, he collected his third-career hat trick, which included his 100th goal as a Griffin. His third goal on Oct. 24 was also his 11th unassisted tally, giving him sole possession of the franchise record. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (536), second in goals (106), second in points (240), fifth in assists (134), fifth in penalty minutes (598), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), third in game-winners (17), first in unassisted goals (11), and third in shots (942).

Putting Up Points
Carter Bear—Seven points (1-6—7) in last four games
Dylan James—Six points (2-4—6) in last three games
Dominik Shine—11 points (9-2—11) in last four games, including two hat tricks

BOO-YA
Third-year defenseman Shai Buium enjoyed a career-high five-game point streak from Oct. 18-Nov. 1 (1-4—5). The 23-year-old is currently tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in points (1-8—9) and tied for ninth in assists (8). Last season, Buium was limited to just 36 games due to rehabbing an upper-body injury. Throughout his AHL career, the San Diego, California, native has 48 points (6-42—48) and 34 penalty minutes in 117 appearances. Buium was the 36th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Caution: Bear Attacks
Rookie Carter Bear is currently on a four-game point streak (1-6—7) from Oct. 24-Nov. 6 and enjoyed a five-game point streak from Oct. 10-21 (2-3—5). Bear now has 12 points (3-9—12) in his last 10 appearances. He made his pro debut on Oct. 9 against the Manitoba Moose and scored his first pro goal the following night at the Milwaukee Admirals. Bear was the 13th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. During his four-year junior career in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips, the 20-year-old totaled 218 points (102-116—218) and a plus-98 rating in 195 regular-season games, adding 26 points (7-19—26) in 32 playoff outings. Last season, Bear led Everett to a WHL title and was named to the WHL Second All-Star Team with 77 points (36-41—77) in 53 regular-season games. Bear also won a bronze medal with Team Canada U20 at the 2026 World Junior Championship.

Kiis This
Rookie Jesse Kiiskinen is tied for third on the team with 11 points (6-5—11) in 13 games and logged a four-game point streak (1-3—4) from Oct. 21-Nov. 1. In a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Oct. 11, Kiiskinen posted four points (3-1—4), which included his first-career hat trick. Kiiskinen completed the first hat trick by a Griffins rookie since Tyler Bertuzzi in the 2016 playoffs and became the first Griffins rookie in the regular season since Chad Billins in 2013. In addition to his natural hat trick, the 21-year-old was the first Griffins rookie to show four points in a game since Simon Edvinsson (1-3—4) on Feb. 15, 2023, at the Rockford IceHogs. Among AHL rookies, Kiiskinen is tied for third in points, second in goals and tied for 12th in plus-minus (+4).

First-Year Fun
Rookie goaltender Trey Augustine is on a five-game point streak since Oct. 17 (4-0-1), collecting his first pro win behind 27 saves on Oct. 17 at Rockford. The 21-year-old is 4-1-2 this season with a 2.66 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Augustine, the 2025-26 Richter Award winner as the NCAA's best goaltender, comes to Grand Rapids after an illustrious career at Michigan State, winning three Big Ten titles. As a Spartan from 2023-26, Augustine went 66-25-7 with nine shutouts, a 2.40 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 99 appearances. In the all-time rankings at Michigan State, Augustine places second in SV%, fifth in GAA, sixth in saves (2.838), sixth in wins and sixth in shutouts. The South Lyon, Michigan, native is also the winningest goaltender in Team USA history at the World Junior Championship, collecting a 12-1-1 record and two gold medals across three tournaments. 

Ready When Called
Netminder Carter Gylander made his AHL season debut on Oct. 24 in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters, earning his 50th pro win. Gylander is now on a 10-game point streak with Grand Rapids (9-0-1), dating back to Dec. 7, 2024. Last season, he went 7-0-1 with the Griffins to go along with a 1.62 GAA and a .942 save percentage. Throughout his 12-game AHL career, Gylander has a 10-1-1 ledger with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage. Gylander has spent the majority of his three-year career in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye, accumulating a 40-20-10 record with a 2.72 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 70 regular-season games.    

Very Special
The Griffins’ special-team units are off to a solid start, as the power play ranks third at 25.8% and the penalty kill places first at 93.0%. Grand Rapids has scored a power-play goal in each of its last nine games, showing a 27.7% conversion rate (13-for-47). John Leonard is tied for sixth in the AHL with four power-play tallies. The Griffins killed 28-straight penalties from Oct. 9-21 and have allowed just three power-play goals in their last 11 contests (44-for-47, 93.6%). This season, the team has allowed just four power-play goals (53-for-57).

Mr. Postman 
Netminder Michal Postava, currently with the Detroit Red Wings, was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for October for the first time in his career. The 24-year-old went 4-0 in October with a 1.25 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. Postava is off to a 5-0 start with a 1.20 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage. In the AHL rankings, Postava places second in GAA, second in save percentage and tied for third in wins. He was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 11, 2026, when he went 2-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage. The fifth-year pro has yet to allow more than three goals in 30 regular-season outings in the AHL. Postava made his NHL debut with the Red Wings in a relief effort on Oct. 22 at Vancouver. He then collected his first NHL win during his first start on Oct. 26 at Edmonton (4-3 SOW, 25 saves). Postava is 22-6-0 in his AHL regular-season career with a 1.62 GAA, a .940 save percentage and four shutouts. 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker 
Trey Augustine—Tied for first among rookie goalies in games played (7), tied for first among rookie goalies in wins (4), sixth among rookie goalies in GAA (2.66), fourth among rookie goalies in save percentage (.907)
Carter Bear—Tied for 13th in assists (9), tied for third in plus-minus (+9), tied for 10th among rookies in goals (3), second among rookies in assists (9), second among rookies in points (12), first among rookies in plus-minus (+9)
Jacob Bryson—Tied for ninth among defensemen in assists (8), tied for ninth among defensemen in points (9)
Shai Buium—Tied for ninth among defensemen in assists (8), tied for ninth among defensemen in points (9)
Cameron Butler—Tied for second in penalty minutes (48)
Justice Christensen—Tied for 12th among rookies in plus-minus (+4), tied for sixth among rookies in penalty minutes (20)
Noah Dower Nilsson—Tied for 10th among rookies in goals (3), tied for third among rookies in power-play goals (2)
Kienan Draper—Tied for 12th among rookies in plus-minus (+4)
Dylan James—Tied for seventh among rookies in goals (4), tied for fifth among rookies in assists (7), tied for third among rookies in points (11), tied for ninth among rookies in plus-minus (+5)
Alex Kannok Leipert—Tied for 12th among defensemen in plus-minus (+6)
Jesse Kiiskinen—Second among rookies in goals (6), tied for third among rookies in points (11), tied for 12th among rookies in plus-minus (+4)
William Lagesson—Tied for 12th in plus-minus (+7), tied for third among defensemen in goals (4), tied for ninth among defensemen in points (9), tied for sixth among defensemen in plus-minus (+7)
x John Leonard—Tied for sixth in power-play goals (4), tied for sixth in game-winners (2)
x Michal Postava—Tied for third in wins (5), second in GAA (1.20), second in save percentage (.955)
Dominik Shine—Tied for first in points (17), second in goals (10), tied for 13th in power-play goals (3), tied for sixth in game-winners (2)

Milestones
Last night against Milwaukee, Dominik Shine moved to second all time in points as a Griffin (239), passing Travis Richards and trailing Michel Picard (380). On Wednesday against Texas, Shine became the first player in team history to score four goals in a regular-season game and surpassed Francis Pare (102) for second-most goals in team history. 
Ronnie Attard—One point from 100 as a pro
x Sheldon Dries—Three points from 300 in the AHL
Jesse Kiiskinen—Three points from 100 as a pro
x Michal Postava—Three wins from 100 as a pro
Wilmer Skoog—Three points from 100 in the AHL

Photo by Matt David Creative