Petr Mrazek made 24 stops in his shutout performance to lead the Griffins over the Admirals, 4-0. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
[dropcap]P[/dropcap]etr Mrazek made 24 saves and recorded the shutout to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins over the Milwaukee Admirals, 4-0, Friday at BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The win marks not just the Griffins (32-17-5-1) seventh straight victory — including sixth straight road game, during which the Griffins have outscored their hosts by a 27-4 margin — but the fourth straight for Mrazek, making his total come to sixth in a Griffins uniform since returning from Detroit earlier this month.
Marek Tvrdon opened scoring for the Griffins at the 16:21 mark of the first period when he got open behind the Admirals defense and took a pass from Scott Czarnowczan. From the far side of the net, Tvrdon made the easy tap-in for his seventh goal of the year.
The Griffins exploded in the third period following a scoreless middle frame. Tomas Nosek scored a shorthanded goal with a backhand shot that got around the sliding Marek Mazanec of Milwaukee. The goal marked Nosek’s sixth on the season.
Xavier Ouellet snapped a long pass over the Admirals’ defense to connect with a streaking Jeff Hoggan. Hoggan wuld send a wrister that got off Mazanec’s glove for his eight of the year at the 11:08 mark.
Griffins’ star Landon Ferraro rounded out scoring for Grand Rapids with his 22nd goal of the year on an empty net opportunity with 1:12 left in the game.
Mazanec’s appearance marked his first against the Griffins, tallying 28 saves. Neither team scored on power play chances despite having four apiece.
The Friday night victory increases Grand Rapids’ lead over Milwaukee in the Midwest Division to four points. The Griffins still sit two points ahead of Rockford following the IceHogs 4-3 overtime win over Texas.
Grand Rapids will attempt to finish the month of February without a regulation loss (9-0-2-0) tomorrow night when they face Chicago at 8 p.m. EST.
