Griffins Force Game 4 with Overtime Victory over Wolves

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

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scored a backhander from the slot 9:22 into overtime on Tuesday at Allstate Arena to give the Grand Rapids Griffins a 4-3 win over the Chicago Wolves and force Game 4 of their Central Division Finals series to be played on Thursday.

After outshooting the Wolves 17-3 in the third period and 41-17 during regulation, the Griffins' persistence paid off in the extra session. Sheldon Dries won a faceoff deep in his own zone back to Erik Gustafsson, who flipped the puck to center ice. Brandsegg-Nygard corralled it at the Chicago blue line, split two defenders and slipped a shot past Cayden Primeau as Grand Rapids' bench erupted.

Making his seventh-consecutive playoff start, Michal Postava made three stops in overtime and 17 for the game to go with an assist on Carter Mazur's opening tally. Nine Griffins earned points on the night, with Dries and Gustafsson leading the way with a pair of helpers each.

Mazur put the Griffins up 1-0 just 73 seconds into the game with his team-high fifth goal of the postseason. Amadeus Lombardi forced a turnover in the Wolves' zone, and the two played keep-away up ice until Mazur launched a wrister past Primeau's glove from above the right circle.

Grand Rapids extended its lead at the 4:30 mark while on the power play. Taking a feed from Dries along the right boards, John Leonard skated across to the high slot and picked the top left corner of Primeau's net for his first goal of the playoffs, giving the Griffins an early 2-0 advantage for the second-straight game.

Chicago cut its deficit to one 70 ticks later when Domenick Fensore walked down the left side and faked a shot before popping the puck past a sprawling Postava.

The Griffins saw 1:26 of a 5-on-3 opportunity midway through the opening frame, generating four shots during the advantage, but Primeau denied each chance to keep the home team close.

The Wolves knotted it at two apiece with 5:18 to go while on the man-advantage. Felix Unger Sorum fed a pass to Justin Robidas in the right circle, and he tucked a shot into the top-right corner.

A second power-play goal in the middle period gave the Wolves their only lead of the contest. Robidas sent a no-look pass to Unger Sorum in the left circle, and his one-timer snuck inside the left goal post at 5:27.

Grand Rapids answered with its second power-play goal of the night to level the score at 3-3, as Wojciech Stachowiak passed the puck from the bottom of the right circle to Tyler Angle, who fired a wrister top-shelf from the left hashes.

With 10:18 to go in the frame, the Griffins nearly reclaimed a one-goal lead when Mazur centered one through traffic from below the goal line to Dominik Shine in the slot, but his one-timer rang off the iron.

Still deadlocked entering the third period, the Griffins thoroughly dominated the early going with a 7-0 shot advantage over the opening 2:26, a cushion that grew to 17-3 before the horn that ushered in overtime. Both goalies stood tall, with Primeau denying prime scoring chances by Shine and Gabriel Seger, and Postava turning back Skyler Brind'Amour.

The Griffins held the shot edge during a tense overtime period until Brandsegg-Nygard's heroics kept his team alive with his fourth goal and team-high seventh point of the playoffs.

Notes

Grand Rapids improved to 19-14 all time in playoff overtime games, including an impressive 10-3 on the road.

The Griffins' 46 shots on goal tied a franchise record for most in a road playoff game, set on April 26, 2014 in a 7-2 win at Abbotsford in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Only once before have the Griffins played consecutive overtime games in the playoffs, defeating Houston in Games 5 and 6 of the 2003 Western Conference Finals.

The Griffins are attempting to become the 15th team in AHL history to rally from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series, and just the fifth to do it after losing the first two games at home. 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.

Grand Rapids 2 1 0 1 - 4

Chicago 2 1 0 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Mazur 5 (Lombardi, Postava), 1:13. 2, Grand Rapids, Leonard 1 (Dries), 4:30 (PP). 3, Chicago, Fensore 2 (Vierling, Gunler), 5:40. 4, Chicago, Robidas 2 (Unger Sörum, Välimäki), 14:42 (PP). Penalties-Foote Chi (slashing), 4:19; Fensore Chi (roughing), 9:30; Mazur Gr (roughing), 10:02; Legault Chi (roughing), 10:02; Foote Chi (high-sticking), 10:05; Lagesson Gr (double minor - high-sticking), 13:50; Pavlychev Chi (high-sticking), 13:50; Tuomisto Gr (roughing), 15:52; Nyström Chi (holding), 19:31.

2nd Period-5, Chicago, Unger Sörum 3 (Nadeau, Suzuki), 5:27 (PP). 6, Grand Rapids, Angle 1 (Stachowiak, Gustafsson), 7:14 (PP). Penalties-Stachowiak Gr (high-sticking), 5:02; Ryabkin Chi (interference), 5:56; Leonard Gr (slashing), 18:17; Gunler Chi (slashing), 18:17.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Foote Chi (delay of game), 6:51.

OT Period-7, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 4 (Gustafsson, Dries), 9:22. Penalties-Fensore Chi (high-sticking), 5:20.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 16-8-17-5-46. Chicago 8-6-3-3-20.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 2 / 7; Chicago 2 / 3.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Postava 4-3 (20 shots-17 saves). Chicago, Primeau 5-3 (46 shots-42 saves).

A-4,814

Three Stars

1. GR Brandsegg-Nygard (overtime goal); 2. CHI Primeau (L, 42 saves); 3. GR Postava (W, 17 saves)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 4-3 / Central Division Finals Game 4 / Thu., May 21 at Chicago 8 p.m. EDT

Chicago: 5-3 / Central Division Finals Game 4 / Thu., May 21 vs. Grand Rapids 7 p.m. CDT

Grand Rapids Griffins gather to celebrate a goal against the Chicago Wolves (Nicolas Carrillo)

American Hockey League Stories from May 20, 2026

• Griffins Force Game 4 with Overtime Victory over Wolves - Grand Rapids Griffins
• Wolves Fall to Griffins 4-3 in OT in Game 3 - Chicago Wolves

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.

Other Recent Grand Rapids Griffins Stories

• Griffins Force Game 4 with Overtime Victory over Wolves
• Bob Kaser Wins 12th Michigan Association of Broadcasters Award
• Griffins Face Must-Win in Chicago
• Wolves Rally in Game 2 to Defeat Griffins in Overtime
• Griffins Fall 2-1 to Wolves in Game 1 of Central Division Finals