Griffins Game #14 * Home Game #8 * AHL Game #251

Season Series: 0-1-0-0 Home Series: 0-1-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 18-18-0-1 All-Time Home Series: 8-11-0-0 All-Time Road Series: 10-7-0-1

Checkers at Griffins
Second of four meetings overall, second of two at Van Andel Arena…Last night’s game marked 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...Last season, Charlotte reached the Calder Cup Finals before falling 4-2 to Abbotsford...Tonight’s game marks just the 38th meeting between the two franchises...The Checkers are 5-3-0-0 on the road this season compared to 4-1-1-0 at home...Charlotte is on a five-game winning streak and is 6-3-1-0 in its last 10 contests...Grand Rapids has just one regulation defeat and is 6-1 at home, which is its best start at Van Andel Arena since 2009-10 (8-0)...Charlotte’s power play ranks 24th at 15.6% and its penalty kill places ninth at 83.8%...Grand Rapids’ penalty kill ranks second at 88.1% and its power play is tied for 11th at 22.2%...The Checkers are tied for 18th with 3.00 goals per game while the Griffins rank first with 3.92 goals per outing...Defensively, Charlotte ranks 11th with 2.71 goals allowed per game and Grand Rapids is third with 2.08 goals allowed...Charlotte’s netminder Cooper Black is tied for first in wins (7) and ranks seventh among rookie goaltenders in GAA (2.77)...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...Dustin Tokarski went 7-0 with Charlotte during the 2018-19 regular season with a 1.14 GAA and a .956 save percentage. Tokarski then helped Charlotte win its first and only Calder Cup in 2019 with a 5-0 record in the playoffs to go along with a 1.74 GAA and a .935 save percentage. 

Last Time Out
The Griffins' unbeaten streak came to an end as they suffered their first regulation loss of the season 2-1 to the Charlotte Checkers at Van Andel Arena on Friday. Despite the blemish to the Calder Cup runners-up, the Griffins’ 11-1-0-1 record stood as its best start in franchise history and they remained the last team in North American pro hockey to lose in regulation. Grand Rapids’ lone goal of the night came from Tyler Angel for his first of the season and as a Griffin.

This Date in Griffins History
2002: Marc Lamothe makes 32 saves to extend his personal unbeaten streak to 11 games, a new franchise record, and Dave Van Drunen scores with 26 ticks left in overtime for a 3-2 win over San Antonio. 

Hot Like the Sun
The Griffins have continued their franchise-record start with an 11-1-0-1 ledger and before last night’s defeat remained the only team in North American pro hockey without a regulation loss (NHL, AHL, ECHL, SPHL, FPHL). 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 23 points through 13 games are tied with the 2000-01 team for the most points through 13 outings. The Griffins’ 5-0-0-1 start on the road is the best since 2004-05 (7-0), and the 6-1 start at home is the best since 2009-10 (8-0). 

Firing on all Cylinders
The Griffins rank first in the AHL with 3.92 goals per game and have outscored their opponents 51-27. The 51 goals are the second-most in franchise history through the team’s first 13 games (52 in 2005-06). The Griffins have outscored their opponents 28-12 at home, while possessing an 23-15 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (21-11). In addition to ranking first in goals, the Griffins place eighth in shots per game (30.4) and have reached 30 or more shots five times (38.5%). John Leonard leads the team with 11 goals, and Dominik Shine and Eduards Tralmaks are tied for second with six. 

Historic Run
John Leonard has 17 points and 11 goals through his first 11 games as a Griffin. Leonard’s career-best 10-game point streak set a franchise record to begin both a season and a Griffins career. 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 is first in the AHL in goals, third in points per game (1.55), and tied for fourth 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 188 points (94-94—188) in 260 games.

Loaded Ammo
Third-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is off to a fast start with a team-high 11 assists in 13 games, which is tied for 10th on the circuit. He logged a career-high six-game assist streak (1-7—8) from Oct. 24-Nov. 12 and a career-best eight-game point streak (3-7—10) from Oct. 24-Nov. 19. 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 81 points (27-54—81) in 129 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 11th in the AHL at 22.2% (10-for-45). However, the Griffins have allowed a shorthanded goal in two of the past five games and the four shorthanded goals allowed this season are tied for the league lead. Their penalty kill ranks second in the AHL at 88.1% (37-for-42) and has allowed a power-play goal in just four of the 13 games. The 42 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 third with 2.08 goals allowed per contest. The 27 goals allowed are tied for the fewest in franchise history through the team’s first 13 games (27, 2024-25). In addition, the team’s penalty kill places second at 88.1% (37-for-42). Despite ranking third in goals allowed, the Griffins place 27th with 30.2 shots allowed per game. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.67 GAA with a .940 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.

Future is Bright
Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, is off to a 5-1-0 start this season with a 1.67 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. In the AHL rankings, Cossa ranks first in GAA, second in save percentage and tied for 14th in wins. He 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.  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 49-26-14 mark with four shutouts to go along with a 2.46 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 90 outings. 

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 63 points (28-35—63) in 78 games, which accounts for 47% of the scoring for the team and 57% of the goals. Leonard ranks first among the veterans with 17 points (11-6—17) in 10 games, while Shine (6-5—11 in 10 GP) ranks second, and Dries (4-5—9 in 9 GP) places third. 

The Well is not Dry 
Sheldon Dries, a nine-year veteran, had a goal in three straight games from Nov. 2-12 and a five-game point streak from Nov. 1-14 (3-3—6). His nine points (4-5—9) in 10 games are tied for the second-most in his AHL career (12 pts. in 10 GP in 2021-22 with ABB; 10 pts. in 10 GP in 2023-24 with ABB). With the Griffins since 2024-25, the Macomb, Michigan, native has 49 points (29-20—49) in 75 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. 

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 last Wednesday against Toronto. Shine has six points (3-3—6) in his last five outings and ranks third on the team with 11 points (6-5—11) in 10 games. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (493), sixth in goals (81), tied for eighth in assists (114), eighth in points (195), sixth in penalty minutes (559), 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 (820). 

AHL Leaderboard Tracker
Sebastian Cossa—First in GAA (1.67), second in save percentage (.940), tied for 14th in wins (5)
Erik Gustafsson—Tied for ninth among defensemen in assists (8), tied for 13th among defensemen in plus-minus (+7)
Justin Holl—Tied for 13th among defensemen in plus-minus (+7)
William Lagesson—Tied for seventh in plus-minus (+10), tied for fourth among defensemen in plus-minus (+10)
John Leonard—First in goals (11), tied for fourth in points (17), tied for third in game-winners (3), tied for 15th in plus-minus (+8)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for 10th in assists (11), tied for 15th in plus-minus (+8)

Milestones 
On Wednesday, John Leonard collected his 100th pro goal during a three-point night (1-2—3) at Rockford. 
Sebastian Cossa—One win from 50 as a Griffin 
Sheldon Dries—One game from 350 in the AHL
Justin Holl—One point from 200 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
Antti Tuomisto—One game from 200 as a pro 
William Wallinder—One point from 100 as a pro 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins