Sebastian Cossa Earns Shut Out to Give Grand Rapids 5-0 Start to 2025-26 Season
Photo Credit: Nicolas Carrillo/Grand Rapids Griffins
Manitoba Moose (0) at Grand Rapids Griffins (4)
Griffins Lines
John Leonard - Amadeus Lombardi - Dominik Shine
Sheldon Dries- Nate Danielson - Carter Mazur
Eduards Tralmaks - Ondrej Becher - Jakub Rychlovsky
Tyler Angle - Gabriel Seger - Alex Doucet
Griffins Pairings
William Lagesson - Justin Holl
William Wallinder - Ian Mitchell
Alex Kannok Leipert - Antti Tuomisto
On Friday night, the Grand Rapids Griffins took down the Manitoba Moose, 4-0, to extend their winning streak to 5-0. This ties their franchise record for best start to a season, joining the 2004-05 season. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa earned his first shut out of the season, stopping all 30 shots the Moose threw on net.
The first goal of the night wasn’t scored until 57 seconds into the second period when John Leonard saucered the puck into the net from the faceoff dot. Fresh off an injury, Nate Danielson launched a beautiful backhanded pass to Leonard to make the goal come to fruition.
This was the fifth game in a row that Grand Rapids scored the first goal of the game.
With 5:31 left in the second period, Captain Dominik Shine extended Grand Rapids’ lead to 2-0. Leading up to Shine’s goal, Amadeus Lombardi worked hard behind the net and along the boards to keep Manitoba from stealing the puck. After 10 seconds of a cat-and-mouse game between Lombardi and three members of the Moose, he passed the puck through the legs of Manitoba’s David Gustafsson to Shine, who was sitting on the doorstep. Initially, Shine wasn’t at the right angle to score. So, he tapped the puck off to Leonard. Once Shine was at the right angle, the puck came right back to him and was quickly emptied into the net.
Not even a minute later, William Lagesson gave the Griffins a 3-0 lead with a top-shelf snipe.
As the clock ran out on a late third period penalty kill, Shine and Leonard went on a two-on-one shorthanded breakaway before Leonard found the back of the net to give the Griffins the 4-0 win over the Moose.
But Wait! There’s More!
Special Teams
Power Play
On Friday, the Griffins went 0 for 3 on the power play, and are currently 3 for 15 for the entire season. The numbers don’t look great, but they aren’t indicative to how the man-advantage played. If the play ended up in the Griffins’ defensive zone, it was due to clearing the puck, and the play didn’t stay down there for long.
Penalty Kill
Yet again, the Griffins’ penalty killers had multiple shorthanded breakaways which made it incredibly hard for Manitoba to get any sort of momentum going on their man-advantage.
Notes and Quotes
The Griffins have yet to trail this season. They have led for 182:12 and have been tied for 117:48.
William Lagesson skated in his 200th AHL game.
Despite beating Manitoba three straight games, it wasn’t easy to beat the Moose. With each game, they adjusted to Grand Rapids’ style of play. “Yea, they’ve had a good team. We’ve had three different types of wins. I think tonight we had some timely scores and timely saves,” said Head Coach Dan Watson. “It’s really hard to beat a team three straight times. It’s almost like you had to separate last weekend from this weekend because of the gap.” Coach Watson also gave credit to the guys for being “mentally ready” because “it’s the hardest thing to do” after beating a team two times before.
Leonard currently leads the team with seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) over four games this season. “He skates really well,” said Coach Watson of Leonard’s skills. “I like him and Shiner together. They just play with some energy. You can also see how smart he is.”
3 Stars
1st - Sebastian Cossa - Grand Rapids - 30 shots faced, 30 saves, 1st shut out of the season. (Cossa also earned the second star of the night for the AHL)
2nd - John Leonard - Grand Rapids - 2 goals, 1 assist
3rd - Dominik Shine - Grand Rapids - 1 goal, 1 assist
Post-Game Press Conference
What’s Next
The Griffins hit the road for two games : one in Iowa on Tuesday, October 28 at 8 pm est, and one in Rockford on Saturday, November 1 at 8 pm est.
Grand Rapids returns to Van Andel on Sunday, November 2 at 4pm against the IceHogs. It’s also the Jake Engel Memorial Dog Game (presented by Nestle Purina), and you can bring your dog.
Dog tickets are $5 (plus fees) and located in sections 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 210, and 220. All proceeds benefit the Humane Society of West Michigan.
The first 1,000 dogs in attendance will receive a Griffins-branded dog leash.
There are three things to keep in mind if you are bringing your dog to the Jake Engel Memorial Dog Game :
You must buy a ticket for you AND your dog. Tickets for the dogs are sold in the designated dog sections : 110, 112. 114, 116, 118, 120, 210, and 220. Tickets can be bought here.
Only one doge per fan is permitted
Upon entering through the main lobby, you must sign and submit a waiver form. The form can be found here.
Sundays are also Library Nights AND Fun Day!
From 3 - 5 pm, you can get $1 small Pepsi drinks and $1 small ice cream cups.
For all Wednesday and Sunday games, fans can present their Grand Rapids Public Library card or Kent District Library card at the Van Andel Arena box office on the night of the game OR at The Zone anytime during the store’s regular business hours to purchase an Upper Level Faceoff ticket for $18 (regularly $24), an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $21 (regularly $27), or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $25 (regularly $30). Limit four tickets per card per person, subject to availability.
