History of How the Griffins Fared in the Month of May in the Past

Photo Credit: Grand Rapids Griffins'/ Nicolas Carrillo

During every round of the playoffs, the Grand Rapids Griffins media receive a media guide filled with fun facts and stats from years past. It’s always interesting to see how different Griffins squads fared on each day throughout history. Sometimes a specific day is notoriously bad, and other days are when the most success happens.

After the Griffins were booted from the Division Finals of the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs by the Chicago Wolves, I looked to see how history compared to what happened in 2026. Oddly enough, history often repeated itself, both good and bad, in May.

I’ve compiled what happened on each date below.

May 14:

2003 : Grand Rapids took down Houston 3-2 in game two of the Western Conference Finals at Van Andel. They ended up setting a franchise playoff record with five home wins in a single playoff year.

2014: The Griffins tied their series, 2-2, against the Texas Stars with two straight home games. In the 3-2 victory, Petr Mrazek earned his 20th playoff win in less than 13 months. 

2015: Grand Rapids took a 3-1 series lead with a 2-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs. Tyler Bertuzzi scored the game winning goal 12 seconds into overtime to earn the fastest playoff overtime goal in franchise history. Goaltender Tom McCollum made 27 saves, improving his record to 6-2 in the post season. 

2016: Grand Rapids became the 18th team in AHL history to force a game six after trailing a series 0-3. Three players had three point nights in their 6-1 win over the Lake Erie Monsters; Tyler Bertuzzi (3g), Andreas Athanasiou (1g,2a), and Ryan Sproul (3a). 

The Monsters would go on to win the 2016 Calder Cup, but Grand Rapids handed Lake Erie their only two post season losses.

2026: The Griffins opened the Central Division Finals against the Chicago Wolves at Van Andel Arena. Eduards Tralmaks scored his second goal of the playoffs in the Griffins 2-1 loss. Michal Postava put on a show for the crowd, stopping 30 of 32 shots faced. 

May 16:

2003: The Griffins are held to a franchise-record playoff low of 12 shots, including a playoff road-low of just one during the second period, in a 2-1 loss to Houston at the Compaq Center.

2006: Grand Rapids scored four unanswered goals in the final 20:01 to stage the biggest comeback in their playoff history to beat Manitoba 5-4. Jiri Hudler set up each of the Griffins’ five goals, setting a single-game franchise playoff record for assists. 

2014: Chris Mueller’s goal 3:18 into overtime of game 5 at Van Andel arena gave Texas a 3-2 victory and a 3-2 series lead heading back to Cedar Park for Game 6 of the Division Finals. Grand Rapids lost two days later and was booted from the playoffs.

2016: Zach Werenski scores 12:32 into overtime vs Grand Rapids to send the Lake Erie Monsters to the Western Conference Finals. Lake Erie goes on to win the Calder Cup behind a 15-2 record, with their only two losses at the hands of Grand Rapids.

2026: The Griffins fell to the Wolves, 4-3, in overtime of game two of the Central Division Finals. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard had a three point first period, which was the first by a Griffin in the playoffs since Jonatan Bergerren in 2024. This was also the first time in Michal Postava’s career in Grand Rapids (31 games) that he allowed more than three goals in a game. 

MAY 19:

2000: The Griffins set franchise records for goals, goals in a period (8), and margin of victory in their 10-1 win over Cincinnati in game three of the division finals. 

2003: Facing eliminations, Grand Rapids came back from a 3-1 deficit in the second period to defeat Houston 5-4 in double-overtime. Marc Lamothe made 51 saves. Stacy Roest tied an AHL playoff record with his fifth game-winning goal of the post season.

2026: Grand Rapids staves off elimination by beating the Chicago Wolves, 4-3, in overtime. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scored the game winning goal, placing him as the team leader in points with seven. Sheldon Dries and Erik Gustafsson had two point nights (2a). Michal Postava stopped 17 of 20 and assisted on Carter Mazur’s first period goal. 

MAY 21:

2003: Grand Rapids became the third team in AHL history to win consecutive overtime games when facing elimination. The Griffins and Marc Lamothe tie franchise records with their 10th win of the post season.

2013: Grand Rapids scores three times in 5:53 during the third period to advance to the Western Conference Finals, upsetting the Toronto Marlies 4-3.

2017: The San Jose Barracuda scored three power play goals en route to beating Grand Rapids, 4-2, tying the Western Conference Finals at one game each. San Jose’s 20 shots in the first period set a playoff record for shots fired by a Griffins opponent during the opening period of a playoff game. 

2026: Falling to the Chicago Wolves, 3-2, in game four of the Central Division Finals, the Griffins were eliminated from the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs. This was the first time in Griffins history that every game of a playoff series was decided by one goal. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard earned a team high eight playoff points when he assisted Sheldon Dries’ last second goal.