Wranglers still searching for first road victory

By Steve Silver

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 | 11:46 p.m.

The Las Vegas Wranglers (5-6-2) were less than one minute from picking up their first road victory of the season Tuesday night.

But Phoenix RoadRunners (7-5-2) captain Mitch Carefoot had other plans as he netted the game-tying goal with just 19 seconds left in regulation to send the Wranglers and the RoadRunners into overtime tied at 6-6.

After a scoreless overtime, the two squads went into a shootout where the Wranglers scored just once in four chances. Phoenix netted three goals in five shots to clinch the 7-6 victory.

Not only do the Wranglers fall to 0-5-2 on the road, but they also wasted a herculean effort by center Chris Neiszner who recorded a hat trick and an assist.

The Wranglers will have two more chances to try to figure out this whole travel thing as they head to Utah to face the Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday night at the E-Center at 6:05 p.m. both nights.

Prior to Tuesday's game, the Calgary Flames assigned defenseman Gord Baldwin and goalie Kevin Lalande to Las Vegas.

Lalande helped lead the Wranglers to the Kelly Cup finals last year with a 17-5-4 record and a team-high .932 save percentage. Baldwin appeared in 12 games with Las Vegas last year.

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com.