Division Champions Begin Final Month of Regular Season
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Division Champions Begin Final Month of Regular Season

Published on March 31, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (46-13-4-1) at Rockford IceHogs (26-33-3-2) // Wed., April 1 // 8 p.m. EDT // BMO Center

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EDT

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 6-2-0-0 Overall, 3-1-0-0 Away. Ninth of 10 meetings overall, fifth of five at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 80-54-11-11 Overall, 34-33-5-6 Away

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: Rockford is 7-2-1-0 in its last 10 games and is on a season-high four-game winning streak.

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose (30-26-5-1) // Fri., April 3 // 3 p.m. EDT // Canada Life Centre

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sat., April 4 // 3 p.m. EDT // Canada Life Centre

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 2:45 p.m. EDT on Friday and Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 4-1-1-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Away. Seventh and eighth of eight meetings overall, third and fourth of four at the Canada Life Centre

All-Time Series: 84-48-1-2-10 Overall, 39-27-0-0-3 Away

NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets

Noteworthy: Manitoba's power play ranks last in the AHL at 11.5% and its home power play also places 32nd in the league at 8.8%.

Not Done Yet: With a 5-2 win at the Cleveland Monsters last Thursday, the Griffins clinched the Central Division title, which marked their sixth division crown as a member of the AHL. It also marked the Griffins' first division title since 2014-15, when they won the Midwest, and the first Central Division title since 2002-03. The Griffins clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs on Feb. 27, which marked the earliest clinching date in franchise history (previously March 6) and the earliest for an AHL team since 1993, when the Binghamton Rangers clinched on Feb. 24 with 24 games remaining. Grand Rapids now has a magic number of six to clinch the Western Conference title, a feat not accomplished since the 2005-06 season. The Griffins have led the Central Division for the entire season and trail the Providence Bruins by two points in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded to the AHL's regular-season champions. Grand Rapids is 35-9-4-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 172-108, suffering its first regulation defeat against the division on Jan. 9 against Texas. The Griffins' 35 wins are the most divisional victories since 2016-17 (40-20-1-3).

Battling Through: The Griffins have lost six of their last 10 games and eight of the last 14 contests since Feb. 25. In those 14 games, Grand Rapids has averaged 3.07 goals per game while allowing 2.93 goals. The Griffins have continued their historic campaign with a 46-13-4-1 ledger and 97 points through 64 games and possessed the second-best record in the AHL's 90-year history through 55 games. Grand Rapids reached 90 points (56 games) for the first time since 2017-18 (93 pts., 76 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 22-6-1-1 on the road and 24-7-3-0 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 second in the AHL in points (97) and has a 10-point cushion over the Ontario Reign for first place in the Western Conference.

Rewrite the Record Book: With the historic season the Griffins have had, several players have already itched their names into the franchise's all-time single-season record book. John Leonard ranks among the single-season leaders in shorthanded goals (5, T1st), game-winners (8, 5th), unassisted goals (4, T5th), shootout percentage (.750, T6th) and shooting percentage (.210, 1st). Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is tied for ninth in game-winners (6), Amadeus Lombardi is tied for first in overtime goals (3), and Dominik Shine ranks second in shooting percentage (.210). In net, Sebastian Cossa is eighth in wins (25) and tied for seventh in shutouts (5). Fellow goaltender Michal Postava ranks second in GAA (1.86) and second in save percentage (.932).

Hitting the Road: Only two of the final nine games for the Griffins will be in Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids has fared well on the road with a 22-6-1-1 record. The Griffins, who have outscored their opponents 110-68 in foreign territory, rattled off a 17-game road points streak from Oct. 10-Jan. 23 (15-0-1-1), which set a new AHL record, eclipsing the 2010-11 Milwaukee Admirals' 16-game run (10-0-4-2).

The Ax Man: Rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka joined the Griffins on March 23 and has three points (2-1-3) in three games with Grand Rapids. He scored his first AHL goal during his season debut on March 24 against Milwaukee. Sandin-Pellikka made the Red Wings' roster out of training camp and produced 19 points (6-13-19), 16 penalty minutes and a minus-21 rating in 63 games with Detroit. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut on Oct. 9 against Montreal and later bagged his first NHL point with a goal on Oct. 17 against Tampa Bay. Last spring, Sandin-Pellikka joined the Griffins and competed in two regular-season games with one assist, adding three appearances in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. In 2024-25, he was named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year when he paced all SHL juniors in goals (12) and points (29).

The Well is not Dry: Sheldon Dries is on a three-game point streak (1-3-4) and has six points (3-3-6) in his last six AHL outings. Throughout 50 AHL games with this season, Dries has 40 points (21-16-40) and a career-high plus-22 rating. The Macomb, Michigan, native ranks second on the roster in points, tied for fourth in assists, and tied for third in goals. He was selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/ AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 21 when he logged six points (2-4-6) and a plus-eight rating in three games. Throughout his nine-year AHL career, Dries has 284 points (159-125-284), 270 penalty minutes and a plus-49 rating in 389 games. He made his Red Wings debut on March 12 at Tampa Bay and has appeared in five games with Detroit this season.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard-Tied for third in game-winners (6), tied for ninth among rookies in goals (16), tied for 14th among rookies in assists (21), tied for 10th among rookies in points (37), fifth among rookies in plus-minus (+22), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play goals (5), eighth among rookies in shots (128), first among rookies in game-winners (6)

Sebastian Cossa-Fifth in GAA (2.24), fourth in save percentage (.918), second in shutouts (5), second in wins (25), tied for 10th in games played (36), ninth in minutes played (2142:31)

Erik Gustafsson-Tied for 15th among defensemen in assists (25)

Alex Kannok Leipert-Tied for ninth in shorthanded assists (2), tied for fourth among defensemen in shorthanded assists (2)

William Lagesson-Fifth in plus-minus (+30), second among defensemen in plus-minus (+30)

John Leonard-Fourth in goals (30), first in shorthanded goals (5), first in game-winners (8)

Amadeus Lombardi-Tied for ninth in game-winners (5)

x Dominik Shine-Tied for 11th in plus-minus (+25)

Antti Tuomisto-Tied for 14th among defensemen in plus-minus (+20)

Austin Watson-Fifth in penalty minutes (146)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2026


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