OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok — For a second straight game, Griffins goaltender Petr Mrazek was unbeatable.
The rookie netminder stopped all 37 shots to record his fourth shutout of the playoffs and second in a row as the Griffins defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 3-0 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Griffins now lead the series 3-2.
Dating back to Game 3, Mrazek has a personal shutout streak of 161:38 and has stopped the last 100 shots he has faced. It’s the second time in this postseason that Mrazek has posted back-to-back shutouts. Mrazek also shutout the Houston Aeros in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals and then the Toronto Marlies in Game 1 of the semifinals.
Grand Rapids scored all three goals in the second period. Tomas Jurco (5) started the scoring with a breakaway goal at the 15:13 mark of the second frame. Mitch Callahan (3) made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal less than two minutes later. Tomas Tatar scored his team-leading 10th of the playoffs with just 32.7 seconds left in the third on the power play to make it 3-0. Tatar is now just one goal shy of Griffins single-season playoff record set by Kevin Miller in 2000.
Oklahoma City out shot Grand Rapids 37-25 thanks to a 15-6 disparity in the third period.
Game 6 is Tuesday night at Van Andel Arena. The puck is set to drop a little after 7:00 p.m.
