Grand Rapids win on Sunday marks the first time since the 2000–01 IHL season that the Griffins are the league’s last remaining undefeated team.
The Grand Rapids Griffins continued their record-breaking start to the 2025–26 AHL season on Sunday afternoon, extending their undefeated streak to 8–0–0 with a commanding 6–2 victory over the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena. The win completed a weekend sweep of their Central Division rivals, as Grand Rapids outscored Rockford 10–4 across the two-game set.
Sunday’s triumph marked the best start in Griffins franchise history and the best by any AHL team since the 2021–22 season. The team is also a perfect 4–0 on home ice for the first time since the 2009–10 campaign, when Grand Rapids opened the year with eight straight home wins.
Forward John Leonard led the charge once again, scoring two goals to extend his active goal streak to six games, tied for the second-longest in team history alongside Austin Watson, Jiri Hudler, Kip Miller, and Pavol Demitra. Leonard now sits atop both the Griffins and league leaderboards with nine goals and 11 points through seven games.
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Veteran Dominik Shine added his sixth goal of the season, while Eduards Tralmaks, Jakub Rychlovský, and Sheldon Dries also found the back of the net. Amadeus Lombardi continued his steady playmaking form, notching two assists to extend his assist streak to four games. Rookie forward Nate Danielson contributed two assists, maintaining his near point-per-game pace since returning from injury, while Erik Gustafsson and Antti Tuomisto each recorded a pair of helpers. The Griffins’ blue line, anchored by NHL veterans Gustafsson, Justin Holl, and Ian Mitchell, has allowed just 16 goals through eight games, the fewest in the league.
Rockford opened the scoring early when Aidan Thompson tucked a wraparound past goaltender Michal Postava just over three minutes into the first period. The Griffins answered midway through the frame as Dries buried a rebound from Gustafsson’s shot to even the score.
In the second period, Shine gave Grand Rapids its first lead by picking up a loose puck off a Tuomisto point shot. Five minutes later, Leonard doubled the advantage by finishing a slick backhand feed from Lombardi. Rockford’s Samuel Savoie briefly cut the deficit to one, but the Griffins’ attack refused to slow down. Tralmaks restored the two-goal cushion early in the third period before Leonard struck again on the power play less than two minutes later, and Rychlovský capped the scoring with his first AHL goal.
Between the pipes, Postava remained unbeaten, stopping 29 of 31 shots to improve to 4–0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. Alongside Sebastian Cossa, who boasts a 1.75 GAA, .939 save percentage, and one shutout, the Griffins’ goaltending tandem has been nearly impenetrable.
The Griffins have now trailed for just 12 minutes and 50 seconds all season, outscoring opponents 34–16 while leading for more than 193 minutes of game time. Head coach Dan Watson, now in his second season behind the bench, has guided Grand Rapids to two of the best starts in franchise history, 6–1–1 last year and now a perfect 8–0–0 this fall.
This also marks the first time since the 2000–01 IHL season that the Griffins are the league’s last remaining undefeated team. Grand Rapids will look to keep its perfect record alive when it travels to face the Chicago Wolves on Sunday, Nov. 9, with puck drop set for 4 p.m. EST. Fans can listen live on WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM or stream all the action on AHLTV via FloHockey.
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