The Grand Rapids Griffins play their first home game of the 2026-27 American Hockey League season on Friday, Oct. 9, when they host the Manitoba Moose at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena. It opens a three-games-in-three-days weekend that also includes a Saturday trip to Milwaukee and a Sunday home game against the Chicago Wolves.
The opener lands days after a milestone for the franchise. The Griffins marked their 30th anniversary on Oct. 5; their first game was a 1-0 road win at Indianapolis in 1996. This is their 31st season overall and their 26th in the AHL.
Where things stand
Grand Rapids comes home at 1-0-1-0 after a season-opening 5-2 win at Cleveland and an overtime loss that earned a point. Manitoba, the Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate, is 2-0-0-0. Friday is the first of eight meetings between the teams this season, and the Griffins hold an 86-48-1-2-10 all-time edge in the series, including 45-21-1-2-7 at home.
The roster looks different from last season’s record-setting group, which went 51-16-4-1 and won the Central Division and the Western Conference under coach Dan Watson. Watson, now in his fourth season, has never lost a season opener in Grand Rapids. The team will be without one of last year’s top scorers for now: Sheldon Dries, who had 45 points, was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 6.
Captain Dominik Shine, in his 11th season with the club, is coming off career highs in goals and shooting percentage. Defenseman William Lagesson returns after leading all AHL defensemen with a plus-33 rating. In goal, Michal Postava is back after a rookie year in which he set franchise single-season records for goals-against average (1.71) and save percentage (.937), and he is joined by rookie Trey Augustine, the 2025-26 Richter Award winner at Michigan State and a 2023 second-round pick of the Red Wings.
How to watch and attend
Friday’s game streams on AHLTV on FloHockey, and the radio call is on WOOD 106.9 FM and 1300 AM, with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. The home opener features a full-team introduction before puck drop and a magnet schedule giveaway for the first 5,000 fans, plus a postgame open skate. Sunday’s 4 p.m. game against Chicago is the team’s annual dog game.
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