Sluggish start dooms win streak to five games

Nick Christensen

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 | 9:19 a.m.

Just when the Las Vegas Wranglers were starting to fire on all cylinders and build a little momentum, Monday happened and washed it all away.

The Wranglers' five-game winning streak and tie for fourth place in the ECHL West Division disappeared in the first 12 minutes of their 4-2 loss to the Fresno Falcons on Monday at the Orleans Arena.

Fresno scored twice in those first 12 minutes and generally had its way with a sluggish Vegas team in front of an announced crowd of 4,098.

"Jeff Sharples said it: 'You can't win a hockey game in the first 10 minutes but you can lose one,' and we did," said Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan afterward. "I think this is just about preparation. We just came out flat, and we lost the game in the first 10 minutes. I thought the last 50 minutes we dominated; in the first 10 we didn't."

Las Vegas outshot Fresno 40-21, eventually coming back with 1:44 remaining when Ryan Gaucher's wraparound cut the Falcons' lead to 3-2. Already playing with an empty net, conditions looked even more favorable for the Wranglers when Fresno's Curtis Sheptak was called for high sticking at 18:34.

But Fresno cleared the puck several times in the last minute, and Jason Weaver's wrister from center ice with 10 seconds left sealed any hope of a comeback.

The loss was another long night in what's turned out to be a protracted learning curve for a team with 10 players in their rookie or sophomore seasons. Just when the team started to gel, putting together that five-game winning streak, a sluggish start set everyone back. It didn't help that three key players -- forwards Dan Tudin and Billy Tibbetts and defenseman Mike McBain -- came in street clothes due to injury.

Wranglers alternate captain Jason Spence said he thought the team played a bit on autopilot to start.

"I think a lot of guys, coming off five in a row, thought it was going to be too easy," Spence said. "There's no excuse for it. We know what happened, the key is not letting it happen again."

The shots that Las Vegas did take were ill-advised at best. Many were telegraphed and others were simply weak attempts to get by Fresno's Jamie Hodson.

After a lengthy post-game chat with his players, Gulutzan called on his veteran players to prevent a repeat of Monday's performance.

"Guys have to step up; they've been around. They weren't prepared either," Gulutzan said. "It's not just the young guys. We thought we were just going to win, and it doesn't work that way. Take a look at the standings."

He also took part of the blame for lack of preparation, saying that his team had a similar sluggish start in one of its weekend wins against Peoria. Gulutzan considered reviewing a tape session of that game with his team but opted not to, a move he called a mistake.

But, he said, Monday could be a lesson that resonates for a while.

"If there's a positive you can take, it's look at how we can play when we're mentally ready to play," Gulutzan said. "We've got to bottle that and use it."