Griffins Close out March with Three-Game Week
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Close out March with Three-Game Week

Published on March 23, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (44-13-3-1) vs. Milwaukee Admirals (26-26-4-3) // Tue., March 24 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 6-2-2-0 Overall, 3-1-1-0 Home. Eleventh of 12 meetings overall, sixth of six at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 123-89-7-11-8 Overall, 67-41-2-4-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: This game was originally scheduled for March 13 but due to unsafe ice conditions at Van Andel Arena it was rescheduled for Tuesday.

GRIFFINS at Cleveland Monsters (33-22-6-1) // Thu., March 26 // 7 p.m. // Rocket Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 4-2-0-0 Overall, 1-1-0-0 Away. Seventh of eight meetings overall, third of four at Rocket Arena

All-Time Series: 82-43-9-14 Overall, 34-24-5-10 Away

NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Noteworthy: Cleveland's Luca Pinelli is tied for fifth among AHL rookies with 38 points (11-27-38) in 58 games. However, against the Griffins, Pinelli has just one assist in five contests.

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves (29-19-6-6) // Sat., March 28 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: 5-2-0-1 Overall, 2-1-0-0 Home. Nine of 10 meetings overall, fourth of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 109-93-2-8-6 Overall, 53-41-2-6-4 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Wolves, who rank second in the Central Division, enter the week on a four-game losing skid and are 2-7-0-1 in their last 10 outings.

Are We Talking About Playoffs?: With the Hershey Bears' 4-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs on Feb. 27, the Griffins clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Feb. 27 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 has clinched a first-round bye and has a magic number of two to clinch the division title, a feat not accomplished since the 2014-15 season. The Griffins have led the Central Division for the entire season and are 22 points above second-place Chicago. The Griffins have dropped to second place in the AHL and trail the Providence Bruins by three points in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded to the AHL's regular-season champions. Grand Rapids is 34-9-3-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 165-101, suffering its first regulation defeat against the division on Jan. 9 against Texas. The Griffins' 34 wins are the most divisional victories since 2016-17 (40-20-1-3). Eight of the remaining 11 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (72.7%).

Battling Through: The Griffins have lost five of their last seven games and seven of the last 11 contests since Feb. 25. In those 11 games, Grand Rapids has averaged 2.82 goals per game while allowing 2.91 goals. The Griffins have continued their historic campaign with a 44-13-3-1 ledger and 92 points through 61 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 21-6-1-1 on the road and 23-7-2-0 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 (92) and has a 22-point cushion over Chicago for first place in the Central Division.

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 with 11 games remaining. John Leonard ranks among the single-season leaders in shorthanded goals (4, T3rd), game-winners (8, 5th), unassisted goals (4, T5th), shootout percentage (.750, T6th) and shooting percentage (.221, 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 rank eighth in GAA (2.17), tied for eighth in wins (24) and tied for seventh in shutouts (5). Fellow goaltender Michal Postava ranks second in GAA (1.86) and second in save percentage (.932).

Ups and Downs: Grand Rapids has been held to under three goals in five of its last seven games and has scored more than three goals three times in its last 11 outings. However, the Griffins have played with 12 forwards just six times in their last 16 games due to roster limitations. The Griffins now rank fourth in the AHL with 3.36 goals per game. The team has outscored its opponents 205-128 and is 33-1 when scoring the game's first goal. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 100-62 at home, while possessing a 105-66 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (81-41). John Leonard leads the team and ranks third in the AHL with 29 goals, while Dominik Shine ranks second on the roster with 21 and Sheldon Dries places third with 20. Three of the Griffins' top four scorers, Shine, Dries and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, remain on recall to the Detroit Red Wings. The Griffins have only played 11 games this season with all of our top four scorers - Leonard, Shine, Dries and Brandsegg-Nygard - in the lineup, going 9-1-1-0 (.864). The last of those was on Jan. 17, when the team hit the season's midpoint with its 36th game.

Busy Times: The Griffins concluded their final three-in-three of the season on Sunday. The team was set to play a three-in-three two weekends ago, but the March 13 game was postponed due to unsafe ice conditions at Van Andel Arena. That game was rescheduled for Tuesday, March 24. As a result of this rescheduling, the Griffins will play four games in five nights (March 20-24) for the first time since the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season (May 11-15, 2021), when protocols forced the rescheduling of a game from April 9 to May 11, and just the second time since the final weekend of the 2010-11 campaign (April 6-10, 2011). Grand Rapids played four games in five nights on five occasions in 2010-11 before the AHL eliminated those sequences beginning with the 2011-12 season.

Hitting the Road: Only four of the final 11 games for the Griffins will be in Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena. In addition, only two of the eight regular-season games in April will be played at home. Grand Rapids has fared well on the road with a 21-6-1-1 record. The Griffins are currently on a two-game losing skid on the road for the first time this season. The Griffins, who have outscored their opponents 105-66 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 seven remaining road games are tied for the second most in the AHL.

Important Starts: Playing with a lead has been crucial for the Griffins this season, as they are 33-1 when scoring the game's first goal compared to 11-12-3-1 when conceding the opening tally. In addition, Grand Rapids is 20-0 when leading after the first period and 3-6-2-1 when trailing after the opening frame. When trailing after the second stanza, the Griffins are just 4-10-0-1 compared to 31-0 when leading after the second.

Start Them Young: Eddie Genborg (YEN-borg), the 44th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wing in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, was signed to an amateur tryout by the Griffins for the remainder of the season and made his AHL debut last Friday at Rockford. The 18-year-old recently finished his Swedish Hockey League campaign with Timra IK, producing 25 points (9-16-25), 24 penalty minutes and a plus-eight rating in 43 outings. Genborg ranked third in points among U20 skaters in Sweden's top pro league. He also won a gold medal with Team Sweden at this year's World Junior Championship, logging eight points (3-5-8) in seven games. The Trollhättan, Sweden, native played his entire youth career in his home country with Linkoping from 2020-25.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:

x Michael Brandsegg-Nygard-Tied for 13th in plus-minus (+24), tied for third in game-winners (6), tied for seventh among rookies in goals (16), tied for 12th among rookies in assists (21), tied for eighth among rookies in points (37), third among rookies in plus-minus (+24), tied for eighth among rookies in power-play goals (5), tied for seventh among rookies in shots (121), first among rookies in game-winners (6)

Sebastian Cossa-Second in GAA (2.17), third in save percentage (.921), second in shutouts (5), second in wins (24), 12th in games played (34), 10th in minutes played (2018:03)

Erik Gustafsson-Tied for 15th among defensemen in power-play goals (2)

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

William Lagesson-Sixth in plus-minus (+28), third among defensemen in plus-minus (+28)

John Leonard-Third in goals (29), tied for first in shorthanded goals (4), first in game-winners (8)

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

x Dominik Shine-Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+25)

Austin Watson-Fifth in penalty minutes (144)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2026


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