Wranglers squander lead, fall in overtime

By Steve Silver (contact)

Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 1 a.m.

The Las Vegas Wranglers headed west for game three of the Pacific Division semifinals Wednesday night and they soon found themselves locked in a wild shootout with the Bakersfield Condors.

When the ice shavings settled from the 107 total shots fired at Rabobank Arena, the Wranglers had squandered two separate two-goal leads as the Condors prevailed 6-5 in overtime in front of 4,544 fans.

The Condors now lead the series 2-1 with the next two games in Bakersfield.

"A loss is a loss in the playoffs. It doesn't matter when it comes," said Wranglers forward Chris Neiszner. "But it definitely hurts when it comes in overtime, especially when we had our own chances."

Las Vegas and Bakersfield each notched eight shots in the extra period, but the Wranglers heard the clang of the iron posts three different times. The Wranglers also failed to take advantage of a power play opportunity late in overtime when Dave Bonk committed a hooking penalty at 11:58.

Shortly before Bonk's penalty expired, though, Wranglers forward Kelly Czuy was caught hooking as well.

The ensuing Bakersfield power play spelled doom for the Wranglers as Condors center Bruce Graham scored the game-winner, his first goal of the playoffs, with 4:34 remaining in overtime.

"It definitely wasn't our game plan to just go play run and gun with (Las Vegas), but we came out with the win," Graham said. "It's huge, especially in overtime. It's not a make or break game for either team, but we got that extra game now and we get to ride that momentum at home this weekend."

After allowing a two-goal lead to slip away in game No. 2 at the Orleans Arena Saturday night, the Wranglers seemed poised to regain control of the series early Wednesday.

Defenseman Steve Makway started the scoring flurry at 8:03 in the first period with his first goal of the playoffs. Kelly Czuy then put the Wranglers on top 2-0 with his third goal of the playoffs just 2:07 later.

The Condors would not be outdone, however, as Bonk, their regular season leading scorer, netted two goals in less than three minutes at the 14:39 and 17:35 marks to tie the game 2-2.

Before the end of the first period, Las Vegas forwards Mike Hamilton and Scott McCulloch each tallied their first goals of the playoffs to send the Wranglers into the first intermission leading 4-2.

The Wranglers and Condors have combined for just five goals in their previous two games of the series, but unleashed 38 shots in the first period Wednesday.

"It was turning into a bit more of their style of game and we don't want to get into that," said Las Vegas coach Glen Gulutzan.

Early in the second period, Condors forward Andrew Ianiero put in a rebound to cut Bakersfield's deficit to 4-3 at the 3:48 mark. Less than five minutes after that score, Bonk completed a hat trick on the power play to tie the game 4-4 and cap off another successful two-goal rally.

Bonk was not finished, though, as he buried a feed from Chad Painchaud to lift the Condors to a 5-4 lead with less than seven minutes remaining in the second period.

"We had the lead twice and they outplayed us," Wranglers captain Shawn Limpright said. "If you give them chances, they will capitalize more times than not. We can't let off the pedal when we have a lead."

Defenseman Dan Spang, who rejoined the Wranglers on Monday from the AHL, kept the hectic scoring pace going by tying game, 5-5, at 13:56.

The offensive showcase would slow down, however for nearly 41 minutes before Graham ultimately netted the game winner in overtime.

Wranglers' goalie John DeCaro made 49 saves, but still picked up the loss. His victorious counterpart, Yutaka Fukufuji stopped 47 shots.

"Hopefully most of the guys will move forward," Limpright said. "This one definitely leaves a bitter taste, but we'll bounce back."

Stars of the game: 1. Dave Bonk (4 goals); 2. Bruce Graham (1 goal); 3. Chad Painchaud (3 assists)

The terrible threes: The Wranglers are 6-4 all-time in the third game of a playoff series, but they are 0-3 on the series when losing that third game.

Next up: Las Vegas stays in Bakersfield for game four on Friday at 7 p.m. at Rabobank Arena.

Final word: "It doesn't matter where or when you play, you can't afford to lose games in the playoffs ever," Neiszner said. "Every game is the biggest and Friday is a must-win."

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