Grand rapids griffins face elimination in calder cup division finals

May 19, 2026

The Grand Rapids Griffins are on the brink after dropping the first two games of their best-of-five AHL division finals series to the Chicago Wolves. The defending division champions have struggled to hold leads in the postseason after a dominant regular season.

The Griffins finished the regular season with a 51-16-4-1 record, the second-best in the league. They advanced past Manitoba in the division semifinals but have now lost both games at home to Chicago, including a 4-3 overtime defeat in Game 2 on Saturday after leading 2-0 early. Chicago captain Josiah Slavin and Felix Unger Sörum scored key goals for the Wolves.

What people are saying

X discussions highlight the Griffins' sudden shift from regular-season dominance to facing elimination after two overtime losses to the Wolves in the Central Division Finals, with fans and reporters noting Chicago's resilience and GR's struggles to hold leads.

Grand Rapids, a team that started 29-1-1-1, is now facing elimination. Chicago just came in and took two road games.

The Wolves fought back from down 3-1.

— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsAHL) May 17, 2026

@griffinshockey suddenly facing playoff elimination. Wolves beat the Griffins 4-3 in overtime. Chicago leads the best of 5 series 2-0 with Games 3 & 4 in Chicago.
Hope to see everybody back here at @VanAndelArena next Saturday. pic.twitter.com/sNeY9FZrZw

— Larry Figurski (@larryfigurski) May 17, 2026

Felix Unger Sörum!! The overtime winner!!! The Wolves head back home to Chicago with two changes to close out the Griffins and advance to the Western Conference Finals!!!

Down 3-1 to the #1 seed the Wolves storm back and have pushed Grand Rapids to the brink with a 2-0 lead pic.twitter.com/AgKVJhm5HW

— Andrew Rinaldi (@Andrew_Rinaldi_) May 17, 2026

RECAP: Felix Unger Sorum’s second goal of the game on Saturday, on a deflection from the slot 5:14 into overtime, gave the Chicago Wolves a 4-3 victory over the Griffins in Game 2 of the Central Division Finals and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

READ HERE I 🔗… pic.twitter.com/0g5kr03BSl

— y-Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) May 17, 2026

The Grand Rapids Griffins are facing elimination after a second straight loss in the American Hockey League Central Division Finals. https://t.co/2SlOPIqyoq

— WOOD TV8 (@WOODTV) May 17, 2026

Sources

• https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/15926931-calder-cup-playoff-stock-report-top-powers-in-danger
• https://theahl.com/news/griffins-unpredictable-ahl-postseason
• https://hockeynews.se/nyheter/hellberg-det-kan-ju-bli-mitt-sista-vm