Griffins lose in O.T. to Admirals, but still have only one regulation loss

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins and Milwaukee Admirals treated the raucous sold-out crowd at Van Andel Arena to a thrilling game Wednesday night, with the Admirals getting to pop the victory champagne corks on New Year's Eve.

They skated away with a 3-2 overtime conquest just :58 seconds into the extra period after the Griffins rallied late in regulation to tie the game on a John Leonard goal. Zach L'Heureux scored the game-winner for Milwaukee on a clean breakaway all the way from the Admirals' blue line after a Grand Rapids defenseman fell down. Ryan Ufko had an assist on all three Milwaukee goals.

The Griffins avoided losing only their second game of the season in regulation. Despite the blemish, they hold a stunning record of 26-1-1-1, the best in American Hockey League history through 29 games. A shootout loss in Chicago last month and a regulation loss to Charlotte are the only other smudges on Grand Rapids' record.

The Griffins were going for a franchise-record 16th straight win. Besides avoiding a regulation loss and earning a standings point by taking it to O.T., the solace for the partisan crowd was a brief post-game fireworks show inside the arena.

A total of 10,834 fans witnessed the action inside the arena's cozy confines on an 18-degree night. It was the third straight December 31 home sellout for Grand Rapids, and the 10th in the last 12 New Year's Eve games on home ice.

The Admirals, somehow, had lost nine straight games before winning the other night. Physical toughness and stellar goaltending by Matthew Murray won it for Milwaukee, which is much better than its season record.

1st Period: The Griffins wearing the red uniforms with white stripes on the shoulders: a throwback uniform.

Ian Mitchell with a close-range shot on goal in the opening minutes, but Admirals goalie Matthew Murray is there to stop it. The Griffins buzzed the Milwaukee cage at the 16:40 mark with a couple quality shots but couldn't capitalize on a juicy rebound out front.

Some bad blood early on: the Admirals' Andreas Englund and the Griffins' Alex Kannok Leipert dropped the gloves at center ice. Both landed some hard rights before the zebras broke it up. Five-minute penalties assessed to both players 4:12 into the game. No one scored, but with 13:23 to go in the first frame, the Griffins lead in shots on goal, 5-1. And now, another scrum after the Admirals deliberately push the net on top of Griffins' goalie Sebastian Cossa. A dirty play, and the Griffins took exception. More pleasantries exchanged 7:22 into the opening stanza.

The referee, inexplicably, hits the Griffins' William Lagesson with a two-minute roughing penalty. Daniel Carr quickly takes advantage on the power play and scores the game's first goal for Milwaukee eight seconds later on a wrist shot from the circle, assisted by Ryan Ufko and Oasiz Weisblatt. That breaks a shutout streak by the Griffins that lasted 172 minutes and 48 seconds.

Evidently, it's okay to literally throw the net on top of the Griffins' goalie (Sebastian Cossa) and hold it on top of him. The Griffins trail, 1-0, but lead in shots on goal so far, 7-2.

The Griffins knot the game at 1-1 with 8:55 to go in the first period on a wrist shot from the top of the circle, by William Wallinder, beating Admirals netminder Matthew Murray cleanly. Andrej Becker and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard got the assists; the latter did a solid job of screening the goalie's view of the shot.

The Griffins' Sheldon Dries was called for a hooking penalty with 7:32 left. But Grand Rapids killed it off. With 5 minutes to, GR leads in shots on goal, 8-5.

The period comes to an end at 6:52pm with the game tied at 1-1 and the Admirals leading in shots of goal, 9-8.

2nd Period: [7:10pm] The 2nd period is underway. Austin Watson and Erik Gustafsson are the Griffins' healthy scratches tonight. Gust with 19 points in 18 games for GR this season.

[7:20pm] The Griffins have only one shot on goal through the first 10 minutes of the middle period. Milwaukee has mustered five, so far.

The Griffins' John Leonard had a breakaway, but Admirals' goalie Matthew Murray blocked his attempted shot inside the crossbar.

And now, Ondrej Becher is called for a hooking penalty at the 12:57 mark, giving the Admirals the man advantage. No sooner do the Griffins kill that power play but the Admirals' Kalan LInd is called for cross-checking with 5:01 to go in the 2nd period. It's the Griffins' first power play opportunity of the game. But they fail to score and it's still 1-1 late in the period.

The Admirals have been trying to roughhouse the Griffins. William Wallinder and the Admirals' Zach L'Heureux wrestle with 2:11 to go, but no penalty is called. The period ends tied at a goal apiece and with the Admirals leading in shots on goal 17-15. They outshot G.R. 8-7 in that period. No scoring in the 2nd frame, which was physical and chippy. Kyle Marino grabbing onto Wallinder as the two sides head off the ice. The Admirals are 1-for-3 on the power play so far, and the Griffins didn't score on their power play opportunity.

3rd Period:

[8:15pm] The Admirals score on a deflected shot right out in front of Cossa, who had made a pair of big saves with about 14 minutes to go. But moments later, Daniel Carr - the Admirals' top scorer - deflected home a close-in shot by Cole O'Hara. Carr has both Milwaukee goals, his 13th and 14th of the season. Ufko got another assist on the tally, his second of the game. He would finish the game with three assists. The Griffins trail, 2-1.

Murray playing very well in goal for Milwaukee.

With 9:36 left in regulation, a pass out of the Admirals' zone goes up over the glass and into the stand, but no delay-of-game penalty is called. Milwaukee's Wieslbatt tries to pick another fight with a Griffin, who wisely skates away late in the game with Grand Rapids trailing. The Griffins are starting to get some good opportunities in front of Murray, who rejects a point-blank shot by John Leonard. They lead in shots on goal in the game, 27-21. Milwaukee's Kyle Marino called for a two-minute hooking penalty at the 10:59 mark. But the Griffins failed to get a shot on goal and there is now :14 seconds of four-on-four hockey after the Griffins' Dominik Shine is called with a slashing penalty. But with 6:44 to go, the Griffins get a 2-on-1 and who else but John Leonard lights the lamp for Grand Rapids, which was shorthanded. Justin Holl got the assist. The sellout crowd explodes in delight. That's Leonard's 20th goal in 20 games for the Griffins. He played seven games with the Red Wings - and scored a couple of NHL goals - before returning to the Griffins for tonight's game. That ties Leonard for the AHL lead in goals.

The Griffins lead in shots on goal, 29-23, with a timeout and 3:37 left in regulation.

Grand Rapids goes on a power play with 2:37 to go after a high-sticking penalty by Milwaukee forward Joakim Kemell. His stick hit John Leonard in the face. Milwaukee killed the penalty. The period ends with Grand Rapids getting its 30th shot on goal of the game by Tyler Angle in the final seconds of regulation. The Admirals finish regulation with 23 shots on goal. Grand Rapids led in shots on goal in the 3rd period, 15-6.

Overtime

The Griffins and Admirals head to O.T. The Griffins miss an excellent chance on goal; a Griffins falls to the ice and Milwaukee gets a 2-on-0 breakaway and beats Cossa on a shot through the legs just :58 seconds into the extra period. The Admirals win, 3-2, in overtime. The solace for Grand Rapids is that it gets a standings point for taking it to overtime and keeps its amazing feat of having only regulation-time loss all season heading into the new year. Milwaukee had just broken a nine-game losing streak the other night.

GRIFFINS' GAME NOTES:

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 26-1-1-1 (54 pts.) / Fri., Jan. 2 vs. Chicago 7 p.m.

Milwaukee: 14-13-2-0 (30 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 3 at Texas 7 p.m. CST

{From the Griffins' public relations department before the game}

Admirals at Griffins

Third of 12 meetings overall, second of six at Van Andel Arena…Grand Rapids is 17-19-2-0 (.474) against Milwaukee since the 2021-22 campaign with a minus-11 margin (106-95)...Also dating back to the 2021-22 season, the Griffins are 11-7-1-0 (.605) against the Admirals in Milwaukee with a plus-five margin (56-51)...Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent – 231st meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 119 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…The Admirals have one win in their last 10 games and the Griffins are on a season-best 15-game winning streak, which is tied for the franchise record...The Admirals are 9-4-1-0 at home compared to 4-9-1-0 on the road...The Griffins are 13-0-0-1 on the road and 13-1-0-0 at home...Milwaukee’s power play ranks first at 29.8%, and its penalty kill is tied for 10th at 82.9%...Grand Rapids is eighth on the power play at 22.7% and third on the penalty kill at 86.6%...Milwaukee ranks 20th with 2.89 goals scored per game and tied for 13th in goals allowed per game (2.86)...Milwaukee head coach Karl Taylor is in his seventh season as head boss and is the Admirals’ winningest AHL coach. Taylor has a 257-146-33-12 record (.624) with the Admirals that includes three regular-season division titles and four 40-plus win seasons, in addition to never finishing worse than third place in the Central Division...Austin Watson spent nine seasons within Nashville’s organization and logged 132 points (73-59—132) in 234 games with the Admirals...Admirals’ Andrew Gibson was a second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2023 (#42nd overall)...Milwaukee’s Kyle Marino ranks third in penalty minutes (87), and Daniel Carr is tied for third in power-play goals (7) and tied for fourth in game-winners (4). 

Last Time Out

Sebastian Cossa became just the sixth netminder in franchise history to play in 100 games and picked up his fourth shutout of the season with 26 saves in the Griffins’ 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Admirals at the Panther Arena on Saturday. The Griffins’ 26-1-0-1 record and 53 points stood as the best in league history through 28 games. Grand Rapids notched its 15th straight win to tie the longest streak in franchise history, which also tied for the sixth-longest run in the AHL’s 90-year history. Cossa’s four shutouts are the most by a Griffin since Eddie Pasquale in 2016-17, and the team recorded shutouts in consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 15-17, 2018. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard grabbed an assist to extend his point streak to four games, while Sheldon Dries (1-1—2) tallied his fourth-straight multi-point outing. 

This Date in Griffins History

2008: The Griffins set a franchise record with their fourth shutout in their last six games, as Jimmy Howard records his second blanking in his last three appearances, in a 6-0 win over the Iowa Chops at Van Andel Arena. 

A Happy New Year

The Griffins have continued their franchise-record start with a 26-1-0-1 ledger and 53 points through 28 games. Grand Rapids reached 50 points three games faster than any team in the AHL’s 90-year history. The team is currently on a season-high 15-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27, which is tied for the franchise record and tied for the sixth-longest in AHL history. The perfect 8-0 start was the best by an AHL team in four years, and Grand Rapids was the league’s last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. The Griffins are 13-0-0-1 on the road and 13-1 at home, which both are franchise records to begin a season. Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in points (53), has a 20-point cushion for first place in the Central Division, and is 29 points up on a playoff spot. 

The Brick Wall

Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, collected his fourth shutout of the season last Saturday at Milwaukee in just his 16th game. His four shutouts are the most by a Griffin since 2016-17 (Eddie Pasquale). Cossa has a 15-1-0 record with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. He is currently on a career-high 10-game win streak, showing a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save percentage. In addition, Cossa’s seven-career shutouts tie Petr Mrazek for seventh on the team’s all-time list. In the AHL rankings, Cossa ranks first in GAA, first in save percentage, first in shutouts and first in wins. Last season, Cossa was named to his first AHL All-Star Classic and ranked among the AHL regular-season leaders in games played (41, T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), GAA (2.45, 11th), save percentage (.911, T13th), and wins (21, T10th). In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 59-26-14 mark with seven shutouts to go along with a 2.37 GAA and a .914 save percentage in 100 outings, becoming just the sixth netminder to reach the century mark with the team.  

The Well is not Dry

Sheldon Dries has two points in each of his last four games (3-5—8) and was selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 21 when he logged six points (2-4—6) and a plus-eight rating in three games. The Macomb, Michigan, native ranks third on the roster with 24 points (10-14—24) in 23 games, while also placing second in assists and fourth in goals. In addition, his career-high plus-15 rating is tied for sixth on the team and tied for 14th in the AHL. Throughout his nine-year AHL career, Dries has 268 points (148-120—268), 257 penalty minutes and a plus-42 rating in 362 games. 

FYI, He’s Back

Yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings reassigned left wing John Leonard to the Griffins after he logged four points (2-2—4) in seven games with the team. Leonard has 29 points and 19 goals in 20 games with the Griffins this season to go along with two penalty minutes, seven game-winners and a plus-14 rating. In the AHL rankings, the sixth-year veteran is tied for ninth in points, second in goals and first in game-winners. He was named the Fortune Tires “Expect More” AHL Player of the Month for November with 16 points (9-7—16) in 10 games and became just the third player in franchise history to win the award, joining Riley Barber (April 2022) and Chris Minard (Feb. 2012). Leonard’s career-best 10-game point streak from Oct. 10-Nov. 19 set a franchise record to begin both a season and a Griffins career. His career-high six-game goal streak from Oct. 11-Nov. 2 tied with teammate Austin Watson, Jiri Hudler, Kip Miller and Pavol Demitra for the third-longest run in franchise history. Throughout parts of six AHL seasons since 2020-21, Leonard has 200 points (102-98—200) in 269 games. 

Leaders of the Pack

The Griffins currently lead the Central Division and are 20 points above second-place Chicago and 29 points up on a playoff spot. Grand Rapids is 19-0-0-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 85-36. Last season, it took the Griffins 38 games to reach 19 wins against the division (19-15-3-1). Thirty-six of the remaining 44 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (81.8%), which includes the next 11 contests. The Griffins will see the most games against the Milwaukee Admirals (10) followed by the Chicago Wolves (8).  

What’s the Password?

The Griffins’ defense is the best in the AHL, as it ranks first with 1.71 goals allowed per contest. Providence is the closest to Grand Rapids with 2.04 goals allowed per game. Grand Rapids has shutouts in its last two games and has blanked opponents in consecutive outings for the first time since Feb. 15-17, 2018. The Griffins are currently on a 165:18 shutout streak, dating back to the first period of the Dec. 19 win at Iowa. The Griffins have allowed more than two goals just three times in their last 22 games and have averaged just 0.83 goals allowed in their last six outings, which includes three shutouts. In fact, the team has allowed more than two goals just five times all season (17.9%). In addition, the team’s penalty kill is third in the AHL at 86.6% (71-for-82). Despite ranking first in goals allowed, the Griffins place 13th with 27.8 shots allowed per game. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.57 GAA with a .940 save percentage, while first-year netminder Michal Postava possesses a 2.15 GAA and a .936 save percentage. Grand Rapids also has four of the top 10 plus-minus ratings in the AHL and four of the top six ratings among defensemen. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (516), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107), totaling 1,129 appearances. 

Veteran Presence 

Erik Gustafsson, a 15-year veteran, has 19 points (2-17—19) and a plus-19 rating in 18 games with Grand Rapids. He also has 10 points (2-8—10) and a plus-10 rating in his last six games with the Griffins. Among AHL defensemen, Gustafsson is tied for sixth in points, tied for fourth in assists, and first in plus-minus rating. He has competed in 516 NHL games since 2015-16 after being selected with the 93rd overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. In his NHL career, Gustafsson has notched 240 points (47-193—240) and 163 penalty minutes in 516 regular-season games, adding 12 points (2-10—12) and 10 penalty minutes in 49 Stanley Cup Playoff outings. Prior to this season, the Nynashamn, Sweden, native last played in the AHL during the 2017-18 campaign with the Rockford IceHogs. In his four-year AHL career, Gustafsson has 77 points (13-64—77) and 100 penalty minutes in 138 outings. 

Fill Up the Tank

Grand Rapids has 59 goals in its last 14 contests (4.21 per game) and ranks first in the AHL with 4.00 goals per game. The team has outscored its opponents 112-48 and is 19-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. Last season, it took Grand Rapids 36 games to eclipse 100 goals compared to just 26 outings this campaign. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 50-20 at home, while possessing a 62-28 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (45-17). In addition to ranking first in goals, the Griffins are 12th in shots per game (29.1). John Leonard leads the team and ranks second in the AHL with 19 goals, Dominik Shine places second on the roster with 14, and Eduards Tralmaks ranks third with 13. 

Be Like Mike

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was one of three rookies to make the Detroit Red Wings’ opening-night roster out of training camp. The 15th overall pick in 2024 showed one assist in nine games with Detroit before being assigned to the Griffins on Oct. 27. The Oslo, Norway, native is currently on a four-game point streak (2-3—5), which is tied for his AHL career high. Brandsegg-Nygard has 19 points (7-12—19) and a plus-15 rating in 25 AHL games this season. Among AHL rookies, he is tied for 13th in points, tied for 10th in assists, and tied for second in plus-minus. Last year, Brandsegg-Nygard tied for the team lead with three points (2-1—3) in three Calder Cup Playoff games, following his SHL season with Skelleftea. The 20-year-old has also competed with Team Norway in the last two World Championships, totaling a combined nine points (3-6—9) in 12 outings. 

Shine On, Captain 

On Dec. 7 at Toronto, Dominik Shine became just the third player in franchise history to reach 500 games with the team, scoring a goal in the process. He is in his 10th season with Grand Rapids, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). On Dec. 21 against Cleveland, Shine passed Kip Miller for the fourth-most points in franchise history (210) and on Dec. 17 at Iowa, he surpassed Tomas Tatar for the fourth-most goals in team history (88). He has 10 points (4-6—10) in his last eight outings, is tied for sixth in the AHL with 14 goals, and ranks second on the team with 27 points (14-13—27) in 23 games. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (506), fourth in goals (89), seventh in assists (122), fourth in points (211), sixth in penalty minutes (573), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for fourth in game-winners (14), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and third in shots (857).  

AHL Leaderboard Tracker

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard—Tied for 14th in plus-minus (+15), third in game-winners (5), tied for 10th among rookies in assists (12), tied for 13th among rookies in points (19), tied for second among rookies in plus-minus (+15), first among rookies in game-winners (5)

Sebastian Cossa—First in GAA (1.57), first in save percentage (.940), first in shutouts (4), first in wins (15)

Sheldon Dries—Tied for 14th in plus-minus (+15)

Erik Gustafsson—Tied for third in plus-minus (+19), tied for sixth among defensemen in points (19), tied for fourth among defensemen in assists (17), first among defensemen in plus-minus (+19)

Justin Holl—Fifth in plus-minus (+18), second among defensemen in plus-minus (+18)

William Lagesson—Tied for sixth in plus-minus (+17), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+17)

John Leonard—Second in goals (19), tied for ninth in points (29), tied for third in shorthanded goals (2), first in game-winners (7)

Ian Mitchell—Tied for 11th in plus-minus (+16), tied for 14th among defensemen in goals (4), tied for fifth among defensemen in plus-minus (+16)

Dominik Shine—Tied for sixth in goals (14), tied for 15th in points (27), tied for third in plus-minus (+19)

Eduards Tralmaks—Tied for 10th in goals (13), tied for 14th in plus-minus (+15)

Antti Tuomisto—Tied for fifth among defensemen in goals (5), tied for 14th among defensemen in points (16), seventh among defensemen in plus-minus (+14)

William Wallinder—Tied for ninth among defensemen in plus-minus (+13) 

Milestones 

Last Saturday at Milwaukee, Dan Watson collected his 100th win as a Griffin and Sebastian Cossa skated in his 100th game as a Griffin.  

Sheldon Dries—Six points from 300 as a pro, two goals from 150 in the AHL

William Lagesson—Four assists from 100 as a pro

John Leonard—Two assists from 100 in the AHL

Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11

Austin Watson—Two goals from 100 in the AHL.

The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday reassigned left wing John Leonard to the Grand Rapids Griffins. 

Leonard has 29 points and 19 goals in 20 games with the Griffins this season to go along with two penalty minutes, seven game-winners and a plus-14 rating. In the AHL rankings, the sixth-year veteran is tied for eighth in points, second in goals and first in game-winners. He was named the Fortune Tires “Expect More” AHL Player of the Month for November with 16 points (9-7—16) in 10 games and became just the third player in franchise history to win the award