Wolves blast past Bruins behind Pavelec

The Chicago Wolves staked him to a 3-0 first-period lead and goaltender Ondrej Pavelec shut the door the rest of the way to help the team power past the Providence Bruins 6-0 at the Allstate Arena Wednesday night.

Pavelec (5-2-1) made 35 saves for his second shutout this season and the sixth of his professional career. The 21-year-old goalie has held opponents to 2 or fewer goals in six of the team's eight games and ranks fourth in the AHL with a .949 save percentage and third with a 1.48 goals-against average.

Wolves (5-1-1-1) right wing Joe Motzko scored 2 goals for the second straight game, while defenseman Boris Valabik added a goal and 2 assists as the Wolves handed Providence (5-1-1-0) its first regulation loss.

"We set the tone early and kept working right till the very last second," said Wolves coach Don Granato. "Work ethic like that is fun to watch. Pavelec led the way and it was an overall great effort."

Left wing Colin Stuart posted a shorthanded goal just 69 seconds into the first period.

Right wing Joey Crabb worked the puck out from along the boards to Stuart in front of the goal and he flipped a backhanded shot past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask.

The Wolves took a 2-0 lead with 6:38 left in first period when right wing Junior Lessard redirected Valabik's blast from the blue line.

Motzko hammered home his first of the game when Valabik shipped the puck up the ice out of the Wolves zone, and the forward hesitated before putting a shot through Rask's stick side to make it 3-0 heading into the first intermission.