A tasty dessert would be baked Alaska

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

The Wranglers entered the third period Sunday against Alaska with a 5-on-3 power play but mustered only one shot, which was directly at Aces goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu.

When that dwindled to a one-man advantage, Las Vegas managed only a soft flip attempt at Beckford-Tseu.

Two more Wranglers power plays in the period were snuffed by Alaska, which won Game 5, 3-1, at the Orleans Arena to take a 3-2 edge in the ECHL West Division finals that shift back to Anchorage tonight.

"They just worked a little harder than us," said Wranglers left wing Charles Linglet, who had collected four goals and three assists in the series against his former team.

Beckford-Tseu returned from Peoria of the American Hockey League on Saturday, then stoned the Wranglers on all 32 of their shots in Alaska's 4-0 victory that night at the Orleans Arena.

"I wouldn't say it's because of him that they're winning," Linglet (ling-LAY) said of Beckford-Tseu. "We had good scoring chances, we just didn't bury them."

Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan said the goal is now simple - get to Game 7. In Alaska, Las Vegas won Game 1 (5-0) and lost Game 2 in overtime.

Tonight's game starts at 8 at the Olympic-sized Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. If necessary, Game 7 will be played at 8 on Wednesday night.

The victor in the series will advance to the National Conference finals against the Pacific Division winner. That will probably be Fresno, which has a 3-1 edge on Bakersfield. Those teams play Game 5 on Wednesday.

Then comes the Kelly Cup championship series, against the American Conference winner. Each is a best-of-seven series.

"(Sunday) was more frustrating than Saturday, when we just got outplayed and outworked by a little bit of a desperate hockey club, but a really good desperate hockey club," Gulutzan said. "We didn't respond (Sunday). I thought we'd come back with a little more bite."

Jim Boehm, a 54-year-old hospital technician, proudly wore a white Las Vegas Thunder jersey, with green lettering, to Saturday night's game.

He said he regularly attended Thunder games at the Thomas & Mack Center, when Las Vegas had a team in the defunct International Hockey League in the 1990s, and he's seen the Wranglers play many times in their three seasons.

He easily favors the Orleans Arena over the Thomas & Mack for hockey, but he said it's a shame that the teams with the ECHL's top two records play this early in the postseason.

"So this series here, you could say, is for the Kelly Cup," he said. "The two best teams in the ECHL shouldn't be playing now."

Slap shots

"I felt 'Mags' had played a lot of hockey," Gulutzan said. "I was hoping Mike could come up with a big game."

It's the principle of the act, O'Connor said, showing whose ice it is. However, he was in street clothes Sunday, in a coach's decision, so he could not continue the playoff pattern.

Aces right wing Chris Minard and defenseman Doug Lynch were the last players off the pregame ice that night.

3-0

The Wranglers' record in elimination games this postseason. They trailed Idaho, 3-1, then rallied back to win the West Division semifinals.