8-0 Griffins Travel to Chicago this Week
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

8-0 Griffins Travel to Chicago this Week

Published on November 4, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


This Week's Game

GRIFFINS (8-0-0-0) at Chicago Wolves (4-3-1-0) // Sun., Nov. 9 // 4 p.m. EST // Allstate Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 3:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Allstate Arena

All-Time Series: 104-91-2-8-5 Overall, 53-51-0-2-1 Road

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: At 8-0, the Griffins are the league's last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. They are also off to the best start by an AHL team in four years.

Scorching Hot: The Griffins have continued their franchise-record start with a perfect 8-0 ledger and are the league's last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. The 8-0 mark is also the best start by an AHL team in four years, when Utica set the league record at 13-0. The two best starts in Griffins history have come the last two seasons under Dan Watson, including 6-1-1-0 last campaign (tied with 6-1-1 start in 2000-01). Before totaling 13 and 16 points through eight games these last two seasons, the Griffins had gone 23 straight seasons (2001-24) without hitting at least 13 points through eight games. The Griffins are also 4-0 on the road for the first time since 2007-08 and 4-0 at home for the first time since 2009-10. Grand Rapids has trailed just twice this season for a total of 22:15 (4.6%), while it has led for 280:26 (57.8%) and been tied for 182:19 (37.6%).

Firing on all Cylinders: The Griffins rank first in the AHL with 4.25 goals per game and have outscored their opponents 34-16. The 34 goals are tied for the most in franchise history through the team's first eight games (2005-06). The Griffins have outscored their opponents 19-6 at home, while possessing a 15-10 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the second period (12-4) and has tallied the most goals in the third (14). John Leonard leads the team with nine goals and Dominik Shine ranks second with six.

Historic Run: John Leonard has 11 points and nine goals through his first seven games as a Griffin. His career-high six-game goal streak is tied with teammate Austin Watson, Jiri Hudler, Kip Miller and Pavol Demitra for the third-longest run in franchise history. Leonard's career-best seven-game point streak is closing in on Riley Barber's franchise-record run of nine games to begin both a season and a Griffins career. His nine goals are the second-most by a Griffin through his first seven games of an AHL season, while his 11 points tie for second (see chart below). Leonard ranks first in the AHL in goals, tied for third in points-per-game, and tied for 11th 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 182 points (92-90-182) in 256 games.

Loaded Ammo: Third-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is off to a fast start with a team-high nine assists in eight games, which are tied for fourth on the circuit. His nine assists are tied for the most by a Griffin through the first eight games of an AHL season (see chart below). He is also currently on a four-game assist streak (0-5-5), which is tied for his career high. 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 76 points (24-52-76) in 124 games with Grand Rapids since the spring of 2023. Prior to turning pro, Lombardi spent three seasons in the OHL with Flint from 2020-23 and produced a combined 161 points (63-98-161) in 134 regular-season games, adding 22 points (12-10-22) in 26 playoff outings.

Defense Wins Championships: The Griffins' defense is one of the best in the AHL, as it ranks third with 2.00 goals allowed per contest. The 16 goals allowed are the second-fewest in franchise history through the team's first eight games, trailing only last season's 14. In addition, the team's penalty kill places sixth at 86.2% (25-for-29). In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.75 GAA with a .939 save percentage, while rookie Michal Postava possesses a 2.22 GAA and a .934 save percentage. The Griffins have four defensemen that 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.

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 40 points (20-20-40) in 48 games, which accounts for 44% of the scoring for the team and 61% of the goals. Leonard ranks first among the veterans with 11 points (9-2-11) in seven games, while Shine (6-3-9 in 7 GP) ranks second, and Gustafsson (0-6-6 in 6 GP) places third.

Future is Bright: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, 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. Cossa is off to a 4-0 start this season with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. In the AHL rankings, he places ninth in GAA and seventh in save percentage. In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 48-25-14 mark with four shutouts to go along with a 2.48 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 88 outings.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

Sebastian Cossa-Ninth in GAA (1.75), tied for fifth in wins (4), seventh in save percentage (.939)

Sheldon Dries-Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+8)

Erik Gustafsson-Tied for sixth among defensemen in assists (6), tied for 11th among defensemen in points (6)

Justin Holl-Tied for eighth among defensemen in plus-minus (+7)

William Lagesson-Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+8), tied for fourth among defensemen in plus-minus (+8)

John Leonard-First in goals (9), tied for 11th in points (11), tied for first in game-winners (3)

Amadeus Lombardi-Tied for fourth in assists (9), tied for fifth in plus-minus (+9)

Michal Postava-Sixth in GAA (2.22) among rookie goalies, tied for fifth in wins (4), ninth in save percentage (.934)

Dominik Shine-Tied for sixth in goals (6)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 4, 2025


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