Griffins Remain Last Unbeaten Team in Pro Hockey, Down Rockford 5-1
Published on November 20, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
Grand Rapids Griffins center Ondrej Becher receives congratulations along the bench
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Rockford IceHogs/Kristin Ostrowski)
ROCKFORD, Ill. - John Leonard netted his 100th pro goal and potted two assists as the Grand Rapids Griffins took down the Rockford IceHogs 5-1 at the BMO Center on Wednesday. With the three point outing, Leonard's 10-game point streak to start the season set a franchise-record, previously held by Riley Barber.
Grand Rapids' 11-0-0-1 record continued as its franchise-best start, while its 5-0-0-1 ledger on the road stood as its best since 2007-08. The Griffins remained the last team in professional hockey (NHL, AHL, ECHL, SPHL and FPHL) without a loss in regulation. Amadeus Lombardi recorded the game-winning goal to extend his point streak to eight games, while Carson Bantle notched his first goal of the season. After missing three games to injury, Sebastian Cossa made the start and tallied 24 saves.
Grand Rapids opened scoring 4:21 into the first period when Dominik Shine forced a turnover behind the Rockford net to get the puck to Austin Watson at the hashmarks. He flipped a pass to Leonard on the doorstep and the Massachusetts native tapped it in to take a 1-0 lead. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard sent a drop pass to Lombardi at the top of the zone 3:28 later, and he stick-handled through the right circle, back-handed the puck over the shoulder of Stanislav Berezhnoy and claimed a two-goal lead for Grand Rapids.
The Griffins scored the lone goal of the second frame while on the power play when Austin Watson passed the puck from along the far-side boards to Eduards Tralmaks. He slapped a one-timer past Berezhnoy to extend Grand Rapids' lead to 3-0 with 14:18 remaining.
With 10:21 left in the final slate, Antti Tuomisto passed the puck to William Lagesson at the left point, and he fired the puck over Berezhnoy's glove to claim a 4-0 lead for Grand Rapids. At the 11:32 mark, Gabriel Seger slipped a pass from the right hashmarks to Bantle in the slot, and he fired it in to capture a five-goal advantage. With 6:07 left, the IceHogs notched their lone goal of the game on the power play when Jamie Engelbert tipped in a wrist shot from Gavin Hayes, but the Griffins ultimately ran away with the victory.
Notes
The Griffins penalty kill ranks second in the AHL at 87.8%, and they have gone 36-for-41 on the season.
Watson extended his point streak to three games.
Grand Rapids 2 1 2 - 5
Rockford 0 0 1 - 1
1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Leonard 11 (Watson, Shine), 4:21. 2, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 3 (Brandsegg-Nygård, Leonard), 7:49. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Tralmaks 6 (Watson, Rychlovský), 5:42 (PP). Penalties-served by Thompson Rfd (too many men - bench minor), 4:33; Watson Gr (fighting), 17:36; Mylymok Rfd (fighting), 17:36.
3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Lagesson 2 (Tuomisto, Leonard), 9:39. 5, Grand Rapids, Bantle 1 (Seger), 11:32. 6, Rockford, Engelbert 2 (Hayes, Cates), 13:53 (PP). Penalties-Bantle Gr (slashing), 0:18; Shine Gr (high-sticking), 1:02; Moyle Gr (slashing), 6:20; Doucet Gr (hooking), 13:35; Allan Rfd (hooking), 14:19; Savoie Rfd (tripping), 14:40.
Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 9-15-12-36. Rockford 7-4-14-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 3; Rockford 1 / 4.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 5-0-0 (25 shots-24 saves). Rockford, Berezhnoy 3-2-0 (36 shots-31 saves).
A-2,406
Three Stars
1. GR Leonard (goal, two assists) 2. GR Watson (two assists) 3. RFD Engelbert (power-play goal)
Record/Next Game
Grand Rapids: 11-0-0-1 (23 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 21 vs. Charlotte 7 p.m.
Rockford: 7-8-1-1 (16 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 21 at Texas 8 p.m. CST
Images from this story
 Grand Rapids Griffins center Ondrej Becher receives congratulations along the bench (Rockford IceHogs/Kristin Ostrowski) |
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