Griffins Claim 2-1 Overtime Victory to Take Down Chicago Wolves
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Claim 2-1 Overtime Victory to Take Down Chicago Wolves

Published on February 20, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Amadeus Lombardi (1-1-2) potted the game-winner in overtime to propel the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Friday at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins' magic number to clinch a playoff berth is now six points, and they improved to 29-0 when potting the game's first goal. Grand Rapids tallied its seventh win in its last eight outings, and bettered its league-best record to 39-7-2-1 with 81 points through 49 contests. Michal Postava tallied 31 saves for his 10th win of the campaign (10-3-0), and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard notched his 10th goal of the season. Ian Mitchell and Alex Kannok Leipert each bagged an assist.

From the neutral zone, Brandsegg-Nygard put the puck ahead for Sheldon Dries, who entered the Griffins' zone on a partial break and tried to backhand it in, but Amir Miftakhoh gloved it down at 9:22 in the first period. Justin Robidas popped one at the net from the right hashes with 53 seconds on the clock, but Postava robbed him on a post-to-post stop to keep the frame scoreless.

Just 2:29 into the second frame, Grand Rapids opened the scoring to claim a 1-0 lead. Kannok Leipert slapped a one-timer from the blue line at Miftakhov, and Brandsegg-Nygard knocked in the rebound on the door step to pot the only tally of the slate.

The Wolves tied the contest when Nikita Pavlychev tried to jam it in out front, the puck squeaked out to the right of Postava, and Ronan Seeley cracked it past the netminder with 7:12 to go in the final period. Lombardi tapped one from the high slot to Dominik Shine in the left circle, and he ripped one point-blank, but failed to find the back of the net on the power play at 15:13.

In overtime, Lombardi and Ondrej Becher flew down with a 2-on-1 chance, and the Ontario, Canada, native, powered in front of Jusso Valimaki, and slid the puck under Miftakhov's pads with 1:48 on the clock to claim the 2-1 overtime win.

Notes

*Jackson Jutting made his AHL debut.

Game Center

Chicago 0 0 1 0 - 1

Grand Rapids 0 1 0 1 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Shine Gr (slashing), 19:39.

2nd Period-1, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 10 (Kannok Leipert, Lombardi), 2:29. Penalties-Trikozov Chi (high-sticking), 8:18; Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (high-sticking), 17:28.

3rd Period-2, Chicago, Seeley 4 (Pavlychev, Philp), 12:48. Penalties-Trikozov Chi (interference), 3:35; Rychlovský Gr (hooking), 9:59; Philp Chi (delay of game), 13:50.

OT Period-3, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 7 (Mitchell), 3:12. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Chicago 10-12-8-2-32. Grand Rapids 6-9-5-2-22.

Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 0 / 3; Grand Rapids 0 / 3.

Goalies-Chicago, Miftakhov 9-5-5 (22 shots-20 saves). Grand Rapids, Postava 10-3-0 (32 shots-31 saves).

A-8,765

Three Stars

1. GR Lombardi (overtime-winner, assist)

2. GR Postava (OTW, 31 saves)

3. GR Brandsegg-Nygard (goal)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 39-7-2-1 (81 pts.) / Sat., Feb. 21 at Milwaukee 7 p.m. EST

Chicago: 25-11-6-5 (61 pts.) / Sat., Feb. 21 vs. Texas 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins

"Facebook" "Instagram" "Twitter" "YouTube"

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central