Griffins Face Must-Win in Chicago
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Face Must-Win in Chicago

Published on May 18, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Jakub Rychlovský (left) vs. the Chicago Wolves
Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Jakub Rychlovský (left) vs. the Chicago Wolves
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS (3-3) at Chicago Wolves (5-2) // Tue., May 19 // Central Division Finals - Game 3 // 8 p.m. EDT // Allstate Arena // Wolves Lead Best-of-Five Series, 2-0

GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves // Thu., May 21 // Central Division Finals - Game 4 // 8 p.m. EDT // Allstate Arena (if necessary)

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Sat., May 23 // Central Division Finals - Game 5 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena (if necessary)

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EDT on Tuesday and Thursday, and 6:45 p.m. on Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

2025-26 Regular-Season Series: 6-3-0-1 Overall, 3-2-0-0 Home, 3-1-0-1 Road

All-Time Regular-Series: 110-94-2-8-6 Overall, 54-42-2-6-4 Home, 56-52-0-2-2 Road

All-Time Playoff Series: 14-17 Overall, 7-9 Home, 7-8 Road

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Game 2 Recap: Felix Unger Sorum's second goal of the game on Saturday, a deflection from the slot 5:14 into overtime, gave the Chicago Wolves a 4-3 victory over the Griffins in Game 2 of the Central Division Finals at Van Andel Arena and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. The Griffins jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening period, with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard factoring into each of the home team's tallies with a goal and two assists, but their rivals answered with a goal in each of the next three periods, including Cal Foote's tying marker with 6:04 remaining in regulation. Sheldon Dries and Eduards Tralmaks collected the other two Griffins goals. It required overtime, but this marked the first of Michal Postava's 31 combined appearances during the regular season and playoffs that he allowed more than three goals.

Game 1 Recap: Josiah Slavin's tally 6:48 into the third period on Thursday proved the difference, as the Chicago Wolves rallied to take down the Griffins 2-1 in Game 1 of the Central Division Finals at Van Andel Arena. Eduards Tralmaks recorded the Griffins' lone goal nearly 15 minutes into the second period for his second of the postseason, with Axel Sandin-Pellikka and William Lagesson earning their first assists of the playoffs. Michal Postava stopped 30 shots while making his fifth-consecutive start and now shows a .943 save percentage and 1.41 goals-allowed average during the postseason. The Griffins are 3-3 all time in best-of-five series after losing Game 1, most recently defeating the Manitoba Moose in four games (3-1) during the Central Division Semifinals.

Down But Not Out: The Griffins will attempt to become the 15th team in AHL history to rally from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series. Their 2015 edition was the 11th to accomplish the feat, coming back against the Toronto Marlies with three straight wins at Van Andel Arena after dropping the first two games of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on the road. Current Grand Rapids assistant coach Brian Lashoff was a defenseman on that squad. It's become a frequent accomplishment in the Central Division of late, with the Milwaukee Admirals pulling it off in the division semifinals both in 2025 against Rockford and 2024 versus Texas.

High Stakes: Throughout their 30 years as rivals in both the AHL and IHL, the Griffins and Wolves have met in the playoffs six times, with Chicago winning on four occasions. Each time these teams have clashed in the postseason, the winning team has gone on to either win the cup (three times) or lose to the eventual champion (three times). Over their five previous AHL playoff meetings, the winner reached the Calder Cup Finals three times and won the cup twice.

Last One Standing: The Griffins are the lone division champion remaining in the Calder Cup Playoffs, as they downed the Manitoba Moose 3-1 in the division semifinals, making this the first AHL postseason since 2014 in which three first-place clubs failed to win at least one playoff series. The Providence Bruins, who finished first in the AHL and Atlantic Division, were bounced by the Springfield Thunderbirds in the largest upset in AHL postseason history. The Thunderbirds finished 38 points below the Bruins in the regular season. The Toronto Marlies took care of the Laval Rocket, who were the top seed in the North Division, 3-2. Finally, the top team in the Pacific, the Ontario Reign, were downed 3-2 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. In addition to three of the four No. 1 seeds being eliminated, only three of the four two-seeds remain in the Chicago Wolves (Central), Colorado Eagles (Pacific) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Atlantic).

Prior History: The Griffins and Wolves renew a rivalry that dates back to their IHL days in 1996-97. Both franchises joined the AHL in the same season in 2001-02. Since the 1996-97 IHL season, the teams have met a combined 220 times in the regular season, with the Griffins possessing a 110-94-2-8-6 record (.541). The Wolves are the second-most frequent opponent of the Griffins. Grand Rapids and Chicago have met six times in the postseason (AHL & IHL), with the Wolves claiming four of the six series victories. The Griffins and Wolves last met in the playoffs during the 2019 Central Division Semifinals, with Chicago claiming a 3-2 victory. Over their five previous AHL playoff meetings, the winner reached the Calder Cup Finals three times and won the cup twice. All time in the postseason, the Griffins are 7-9 at home and 7-8 on the road against Chicago.

Hard to Kill: During the Griffins' franchise-record run of seven straight playoff appearances from 2013-2019, they won two Calder Cups (2013 and 2017), twice lost to the eventual champion (Texas 2014, Lake Erie 2016), and twice lost to the cup runner-up (Utica 2015, Chicago 2019). During their 15 previous AHL playoff runs, they won those pair of cups, lost to the eventual champion on four occasions, and also lost to the other finalist four times. Including their first five seasons as members of the International Hockey League, the Griffins have qualified for the postseason on 20 prior occasions, winning it all twice, losing six times to the eventual champ, and losing four times to the runner-up.

Bench Boss: Third-year head coach Dan Watson makes his third straight Calder Cup Playoffs appearance. He is the third head coach in franchise history to reach the postseason in each of his first three full years as head coach, joining Jeff Blashill (2012-15) and Todd Nelson (2015-18). Watson, who has never missed the postseason as a pro head coach, has an 8-10 playoff record in three seasons with Grand Rapids, which includes two trips to the division finals (2026, 2024). With the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, Watson went 51-34 (.600) over five postseasons, reaching the Kelly Cup Finals twice (2019 and 2022) and leading Toledo to four Western Conference Finals berths (2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023).

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Jakub Rychlovský (left) vs. the Chicago Wolves
Grand Rapids Griffins left wing Jakub Rychlovský (left) vs. the Chicago Wolves
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   



American Hockey League Stories from May 18, 2026


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