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Postava's First AHL Shutout Sinks Admirals
Carson Bantle notches game winner in return to lineup...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com
January 17th, 2026
The Griffins were able to extract a measure of revenge on the visiting Milwaukee Admirals after two straight overtime losses. The home team dominated large parts of the game holding the Admirals to just 10 shots and rookie Michal Postava stopped them all to record his first shutout of the season. Carson Bantle provided all the offense Grand Rapids needed with his 3rd of the season, and Sheldon Dries provided insurance with his 12th.
First Period
Good hustle by Chad Hillebrand with Amadeus Lombardi to set up a play. William Lagesson with a shot on net and Hillebrand got back in front to try and redirect. Milwaukee with the puck came out from behind the Grand Rapids net and Postava was sharp on a point-blank chance. Shai Buium trying to be cute but was the last man back and caused a turnover that he had to scramble back to break up. Midway through the period the Griffins went to the powerplay, but it was largely ineffective with no good time of possession in the Admirals zone and few quality scoring chances. Lombardi won the footrace to negate icing, carried around the net and went circle to circle to feed Lagesson for a shot. Bantle battling in front, tipped the shot past Murray for a one goal lead.
Shots on Goal: GR 11 - Mil 4.
Second Period
Eduards Tralmaks blasted a point bank shot on Murray from the slot. Jakub Rychlovsky was whistled off on a borderline interference call and the Griffins were down a man. Postava with some incredible puck luck as a shot hit the post rolled across the crease behind him and then hit the other post and stayed out. Nate Danielson took a pass and ripped a shot from the circle, Dries in front chipped in the puck as he was crosschecked to his knees to push the lead to 2-0. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard almost made it 3-0 with a drive from the edge of the paint that hit Murray's chest. Lagesson carried onto the zone, went up the gut and fired a shot off Murray's mask. Lagesson stood up his man at the line with a big hit as the game started to get more chippy. Becher got rocked along the boards with a big hit. Two-on-one with Dries and Leonard but the pass was blocked as it went across to Leonard.
Shots on Goal: GR 14 - Mil 2.
Third Period
Bantle was flattened in front of the Admirals bench which touched off a little scrum and gave the Griffins the man-advantage. Buium drifted into the middle and wasn't in position to keep the puck in at the point. Austin Watson was dumped along the end boards and as the puck went back down the ice Tuomisto took exception to an Admirals player and touched off a scrum behind the net after the whistle. Dominik Shine stole the puck and went in alone on a breakaway but fired the puck into Murray's chest. Another scrum led to offsetting minors and the two teams played 4-on-4. Tuomisto came up huge, with a save, standing in the crease behind Postava with a wide-open side behind him.
Murray to the bench with about two and half minutes for the extra attacker. Shine with a try at the empty net, but it was well wide. Wallinder had a crack at the open net, shooting from the end-boards, but again it was wide. Sine in front of Postava caught a stick high and was hurt, dropping his gloves and barley making it to the bench before being helped down the tunnel. Postava with a huge save on a scrambly play in front, and then the Griffins with another long shot at the empty net. In the closing seconds Lagesson blocked a point shot and it bounced out of the zone for a clear. At the whistle a big scrum broke out in the Griffins zone with Leonard trying to get after Marino. After things were calmed down a bit, the team came over to Postava who waited patiently in his crease to get congratulations on the win and the shutout.
Shots on Goal: GR 4 - Mil 4. For the game: GR 29 - Mil 10.
Starting Lines:
#65 Shine - #15 Dries - #19 Leonard
#81 Rychlovsky - #25 Becher - #34 Tralmaks
#28 Brandsegg-Nygard - #29 Danielson - #51 Watson
#21 Bantle - #93 Lombardi - #26 Hillebrand
Pairs:
#37 Lagesson - #4 Tuomisto
#55 Mitchell - #22 Wallinder
#41 Kannok-Leipert - #8 Buium
Goaltenders:
Starter: #35 Postava
Backup: #33 Cossa
Scratches:
#3 Holl(Veteran Scratch)
#11 Seger
#27 Moyle
#43 Mazur (Injured)
#47 Doucet
#77 Angle
Power Play:
#15 Dries - #29 Danielson - #19 Leonard
#65 Shine - #8 Buium
#28 Brandsegg-Nygard - #93 Lombardi - #51 Watson
#34 Tralmaks - #4 Tuomisto
Penalty Kill:
#15 Dries - #65 Shine
#55 Mitchell - #22 Wallinder
#51 Watson - #19 Leonard
#41 Kannok-Leipert - #4 Tuomisto
Observations:
It was nice to see the team return to its winning ways, but that wasn't entirely up to chance. As the Griffins lineup has gotten healthy with the return of players like Lombardi and Buium, the roster makeup has changed slightly too. During the winning streak the 4th liners like Bantle, Hillebrand, Doucet and Moyes played a significant part in those wins. They were also on the outside looking in as more talented players slotted in. It is no coincidence that coach Watson reintroduced a couple of them to the lineup to get his team back on track. Bantle even scored the game winner.
The team defense was also clicking at full speed tonight. The Griffins are spoiled by having the best defensive unit in the AHL, but the forwards have also bought in. One of the more common plays to see this is when an opponent tries to carry the puck into the griffins zone. As he approaches the line he is intercepted by two defenders facing him with their stick out to take away passing lanes, while a Griffins forward rockets toward him from behind, either stripping away the puck or allowing one of the defenders to flick it away and start the transition game. The Admirals literally could not gain the zone with possession and in the rare cases they did they couldn't connect two passes as a Griffins forward was in the danger zone taking away space and opportunity.
I also wanted to call out Alex Kannok-Leipert for his play. For an unheralded player known more for his physical game, he really is a solid defender. He plays within his skill set and is very adept at using his stick to poke away pucks and break up plays. In last night's game he really put on his skating and puck handing skills as several times under pressure he skated the puck out of trouble and up ice, using his body to protect it and his wheels to create space. He covered for Buium several times and was just solid. We have come to expect that level of play from Wallinder, Tuomisto, Lagesson and Gustafsson, but Kannok-Leipert deserves some recognition for his play.
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