Hurricanes' Mrazek joins Wolves, makes 43 saves in win

Loaned to the team earlier in the day for a conditioning stint, goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped 43 shots Thursday to backstop the Wolves to a 5-2 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Wolves Training Facility in Hoffman Estates.

Forward Anthony Richard scored 2 goals in the final eight minutes while defensemen Frederic Allard and David Warsofsky and forward Tanner Jeannot also scored for the Wolves (13-2-0-1), who extended their winning streak to five games and took a 9-point lead over Grand Rapids (8-5-2-0) in the Central Division standings.

The 29-year-old Mrazek played his first game since Jan. 30, when he injured his right thumb playing for the Carolina Hurricanes. Thursday was his first American Hockey League appearance since March 6, 2015, when he played for Grand Rapids.

"He was really good," said Wolves head coach Ryan Warsofsky. "I think he was fighting through traffic, which is something that his goalie coach was interested to see. I think he did a good job because it's hard to emulate in practice - five or six guys in front of you."

"I don't think there's anything better than facing 45 shots," Mrazek said. "It's a good conditioning game."

The Wolves face their archrival, the Rockford IceHogs, in their next two games. The Wolves host the IceHogs at 7 p.m. Saturday in Hoffman Estates before traveling to Rockford at 6 p.m. Wednesday.