The Iowa Wild had their guests right where they wanted them last night.
Two goals from Wild forward Hunter Haight put the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins in a 2-0 hole with less than nine minutes left in the second period. Iowa, still trying to find its collective game after a rough start to the season, had held the AHL’s top team to just 10 shots on goal through a period and a half.
Incredibly, it was only the third time all season that the Griffins were down by two goals.
Then the game turned. While a big part of the story this season in Grand Rapids has been the team’s best offense in the league, there is much more going on for the Griffins. Their ability to overwhelm opponents goes well beyond the top line.
Of Johannes Leonard and his league-leading 19 goals when recalled to Detroit, the Griffins’ offensive response started from the back last night. Just 1:40 after Iowa took a 2-0 lead, Alex Kannok Leipert one-time shot from the left side past the Iowa goalkeeper Samuel Hlavaj. It was the first goal since April 6 and just the sixth in 206 career AHL games for Kannok Leipert, a stout defenseman whose main mandate is his reliable – and physical – defensive play.
Ian Mitchellanother steady defenseman, tied the game 4:36 into the third period when he iced just inside the blue line before moving the puck into open space and sneaking a long-range shot through traffic and past Hlavaj.
Then Captain Dominic Shine struck at 7:23 to give the Griffins their first lead. He added his second of the period at 5:26, and Gabriel Seger ended the scoring with an empty-netter at 7:31.
The win was Grand Rapids’ 23rd in 25 games this season, the best start in the AHL’s 90-year history. It was another team-wide effort: they surrendered just one power-play chance to the Wild and allowed just one shot on goal in the third period while scoring four times in the final 20 minutes. Sebastian Cossawho saw just 18 shots all night, improved to 13-1-0 with his eighth straight win. Eleven different skaters registered a point, with Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Sheldon Dries And Erik Gustafson each racked up a pair of assists.
With a 12-game winning streak, the Griffins have already built a 16-point lead at the top of the Central Division. Next up is a rematch at Iowa on Friday night, followed by a home date on Sunday with Cleveland. They close out 2025 with a home-and-home with Milwaukee on December 27 and 31.
Can the Griffins keep this up until April? Especially in June? It’s still early — two-thirds of the regular season remains — but it seems fair to make comparisons between these Griffins and other powerhouse teams in AHL history. The 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers posted a .775 points percentage (57-13-10), the best mark ever in the league. The 2011-2012 Norfolk Admirals won 28 games in a row. The 2009–10 Hershey Bears team won a record 60 games (in an 80-game season). Just two years ago, Hershey set the standard for a 72-game season with 53 wins and 111 points.
There are still a number of hurdles ahead for Grand Rapids. They still have 19 meetings remaining with Chicago and Milwaukee, their biggest rivals. There’s a February visit to Charlotte — the only team to knock off the Griffins in the regular season this season, a 2-1 decision on Nov. 21. Eleven of their final fourteen games will be on the road. And of course, there are the usual potential pitfalls like recalls, injuries and just plain bad luck that can sidetrack any team.
But after 25 games, it looks like the Griffins might have something special here.
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