It’s been an unforgettable season for the Grand Rapids Griffins, who have already clinched a playoff spot in the AHL with a quarter of the season remaining.
The Griffins (42-8-3-1) have been rolling along without two of their top scorers. That is, until Wednesday when Carter Mazur and John Leonard both had goals in their first games back after a lengthy absence. Grand Rapids beat Rockford 7-3,
Mazur, who hadn’t been in the lineup since October 24, assisted on a first-period goal by Amadeus Lombardi that tied the score at 2-2, then scored in the second period to make it 4-2.
“It was awesome to get on the board,” Mazur said. “But I just want to help this team win. We’re headed in the right direction and it just feels good to win.”
Mazur, playing in his sixth game of the season, already has five goals.
Leonard felt the same way. He scored his 27th goal of the season earlier in the second period in his first game back after missing five weeks with an undisclosed injury.
“We have a great group of guys, so it was pretty easy to come back into it,” he said, “just to get a win, it feels good.”
Leonard’s goal lifted him into a three-way tie for second in the AHL scoring race.
Both players have seen time in the NHL in their careers. Mazur, a native of Jackson, was injured last season in his first NHL shift, while Leonard has logged 79 NHL games over five seasons, including nine games with the Detroit Red Wings this season. Mazur says getting back to Detroit is one of his goals this season,
‘It’s where I want to be, for sure,” Mazur said.”I want to play for Detroit, especially growing up as a fan, but I’ve got to be where my feet are first, I’ve got to find my game here, and then hopefully (a callup) comes.”
Griffins coach Dan Watson was elated to see them back on the ice.
“Both are big parts of our team.” he said. “Haven’t really seen Mazur all year except for the start. It’s nice to have him back and in the locker room with the guys. The same with Lenny. It’s important to have these guys healthy and back in the lineup:”