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twitterECHL PLAYOFFS:
Wranglers even series in overtime thriller
Sunday, May 3, 2009 | 12:30 a.m.
Playoff Schedule
- Game 1: Las Vegas at Stockton on Friday, April 24th (L: 4-3)
- Game 2: Stockton at Las Vegas on Monday, April 27th (W: 4-2)
- Game 3: Las Vegas at Stockton on Thursday, April 30th (L: 5-1)
- Game 4: Las Vegas at Stockton on Saturday, May 2nd (W: 3-2 (OT)
- Game 5: Stockton at Las Vegas on Monday, May 4th at 7:30 p.m.
- Game 6: Stockton at Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 5th at 7:30 p.m.
- Game 7: Stockton at Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 6th at 7:30 p.m.(if necessary)
Related stories
- Stockton storms past Wranglers (5-1-09)
- Wranglers blast Thunder to even series (4-28-09)
- Wranglers open division finals in disappointing fashion (4-24-09)
- Wranglers dominate Condors to advance to division finals (4-23-09)
- Wranglers rally to force Game 7 (4-22-09)
- Condors rip Wranglers in overtime (4-19-09)
- Wranglers blank Condors to even series (4-18-09)
- Wranglers squander lead, fall in overtime (4-16-09)
- Condors shock Wranglers with late rally (4-12-09)
- Wranglers grab early lead in playoffs (4-11-09)
- Rookie forward shoulders heavy expectations (4-10-09)
- New Wranglers aim to carry on grand playoff tradition (4-8-09)
- Wranglers bury Thunder in regular season finale (4-5-09)
- Rookie’s stellar debut sparks Wranglers (4-4-09)
Expanded hockey coverage
In the first game of the Pacific Division finals Mick Lawrence transformed into a broadcaster as he donned a headset in the radio booth after Las Vegas coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan scratched him from the lineup.
In game No. 2, Lawrence became a fan as he wore a suit in the Orleans Arena stands after another benching from Gulutzan.
But Saturday night Lawrence turned into a hero as he ripped a slap shot past Stockton goalie Parker Van Buskirk just 28 seconds into overtime to capture the Wranglers' thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory in front of 6,596 fans at Stockton Arena.
The series is now tied 2-2 with the Wranglers hosting the final three games at the Orleans Arena starting Monday night with game 5.
"It feels great," Lawrence said. "Not being in the lineup was not too huge of a matter. We had a couple players come down from the AHL and I was just the easy guy to sit out. The boys were playing well and it's hard to take someone out when they are rolling…Obviously I'm going to do everything I can do to prove that I deserve to be in there and it paid off tonight."
The Wranglers' night, however, did not begin on such a high note.
Stockton took a 1-0 lead just 2:10 into the game when forward Garet Hunt snapped a loose puck in the high slot to beat John DeCaro glove side.
The Thunder carried that lead into the first intermission, but it did not last long thanks to Tyler Mosienko's first goal of the playoffs at the 10:11 mark, which tied the game 1-1.
"We made one minor adjustment (after the first period) and we told the guys we have to shorten the shifts and keep the pace as high as we can keep it," Gulutzan said. "We started to get momentum in the second and into the third and I thought we played a pretty solid 60 minutes of hockey."
Stockton regained the lead in the third period, though, when Brandon Naurato poked in a doorstep rebound less than seven minutes into the period for the 2-1 advantage.
The Wranglers answered less than four minutes later when Dan Riedel buried a wrist shot to even the game 2-2 with 10:21 remaining.
Riedel's goal would ultimately force overtime before Lawrence unleashed the first shot of the extra period, which proved to be the game-winner.
"I was actually looking to pass because we were on a 3-on-2 and I saw a hole between his legs and I just hammered it through the defenseman and caught the low blocker," Lawrence said.
Las Vegas out-shot Stockton 42-26, handing the rookie Van Buskirk his third loss of the postseason.
Two nights after allowing five goals in a blowout loss, DeCaro returned between the pipes for the Wranglers as he improved to 2-4 in the playoffs. His counterpart, Glenn Fisher is 4-1.
"I said I was not afraid to play both goalies and I'm not going to be," Gulutzan said.
Stars of the game: 1. Mick Lawrence (game-winning goal); 2. Parker Van Buskirk (39 saves); 3. Dan Riedel (1 goal)
Roster report: The Wranglers played with only five defensemen once again with Chris St. Croix, Brandon Straub and Bret Tyler on the injured reserve list. Forwards Hugo Carpentier and Tim Spencer were also not active for Saturday's game.
Gulutzan said he does not expect St. Croix to return during this series.
Familiar face: Former Wrangler Adam Huxley made his first appearance of the series for Stockton. Huxley, who spent the bulk of his time in Las Vegas during the 2004-05 season, notched three shots Saturday, but did not register a point.
Line of the night: Wranglers media relations director and radio announcer Josh Fisher spoke of "Mount Saint Gulutzan" erupting in the locker room after a sluggish first period. That's an instant classic, Fish.
Aces advance: The Alaska Aces scored three unanswered goals in the third period to sink the Victoria Salmon Kings 6-4 and end their series 4-1. The Aces now await the winner of the Las Vegas/Stockton series for the National Conference crown. The Wranglers were 3-7 against the Aces in the regular season.
Next up: The Wranglers return to the Orleans Arena for game 5 Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
Final word: "You know how hard it is to come back from a 3-1 deficit in any series and we haven't had too many overtime wins, but the boys were all over them all night," Lawrence said. "… It was probably the biggest game of the series."
Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com.
Discussion: 18 comments so far…
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I think someone on this forum said, "Fisher at home, DeCaro on the road." Fisher on Monday night....Should be a big crowd, the Orleans was giving away 4 free tickets to their card players.
I hope what vagman said is true. We need to pack the house for these games. Even if you are not a hockey fan, please come and support the team. For about $20 a ticket you get an evening of fun. Where else in town has that value? LET'S GO WRANGLERS!
My wife and I got 4 each and our friend got 4 more and we gave them all away. Row Q was the lowest row for 4 tickets together left in section 105. There was another gentleman at the box office getting 4 also.
Way to go Wranglers!!!!!!
They so needed to come back from Stockton 2-2 and they did it. Ganga you are right we need lots of people in the stands for games 5 and 6. Las Vegas needs to come out and support their local professional hockey team despite these games being on weekdays.
I don't like it matters who is between the pipes, the Wranglers are lucky enough to have to real good goalies.
WOOT WOOT Wranglers!!!
Alaska beckons.
Alaska is looking forward to a playoff rematch with your team. otherwise we`ll take Stockton; a team that gave us tremendous difficulty during the regular season. Oh btw, if the Wranglers do make it back to the Sully, bring your goofy mascot-Boomer would like to meet him in person (grin).
My money is on the Duke
Bring lots of cash then Steve. Boomer played quite a bit of hockey before becoming lead screamer for death-metal band Shattered Fear. If the little kids in the stands only knew, bwahaha.
I love it when pathetic little towns having nothing better to do then go on a double A hockey team's newspaper article to talk crap to the opposition. I know the sun is hardly ever out but surely you've got something better to do than sit at the computer and eat twinkies.
I, for one, am glad that Scratch and other Alaska fans post here. I think it gives a spark to the conversation. I'm also glad that we FINALLY have a strong reporter who understands the game and has a sense of humor.
With all the free tickets out there, we should have no problem filling the stands and showing Stockton how loud Vegas can be. Let's finish them off on Tuesday so we can eat Italian food a the San Genaro Feast on Wednesday!
thanks Debistal. I do hope there is a solid crowd this week. As I said in my podcast, I don't care what team you cheer for, just get in that arena and make some noise.
To Alaska fans, I say keep up the chirping. I definitely respect their passion for the game.
Steve and debistal,
It's called talking smack. We do it on the Rebel columns and it's done practically everywhere else in sports. You should be proud that someone is willing to stick up for a AA hockey team that isn't from Alaska.
I agree that Steve, and I've told him this, does a good job covering the Wranglers. I just wished that Steve was a bit more partial towards the Wranglers when talking about which team to cheer for. Ticket sales, electric environment...yeah yeah I get it. I understand that you aren't partial and that it might even be a job requirement, but.....a little loyalty for the fans goes a long way.
FastCamron, when did I say to stop the smack talk? You can never have enough.
As far as loyalty. I think I've done a lot more for Las Vegas hockey fans than a certain other news operation across town. But I still understand where you are coming from.
My point is that I just really want to see fans in the Orleans. The game 7 of last series had what 3,200 fans? Then the last one at home was about 2,100. I'm not sure how many Wranglers fans are actually in this city, but I know there are way more hockey fans.
And for anyone reading this...the players DO notice the crowd size/noise. So whip out that old Winnipeg jersey and get down to the game folks.
FastCamron, if my pathetic little hockey town has produced no less than five current NHL`ers, what does that say about yours? I wouldn`t expect someone such as you to recognize the subtleties between friendly banter and smack-talking if you can`t even notice we`ve had 10 sunny days in a row, or that popcorn beats twinkies anyday. Go Wranglers (so we Akers can keep posting here).
Elfudd - FYI the Wranglers also have also produced five NHL players.
IMO the Aces fans make these boards more fun. Keep it comin!!! Go Wranglers!!!
True dat Randolf. I wasn`t even including imported Aces and UAA players, just guys who grew up and and learned how to play as kids in a pathetic hockey town such as ours. Hope you guys win tonight.
Wow. I go out and enjoy the sunshine here in Anchorage for a few hours and this board gets busy! I would really encourage you Wrangler fans to make the trip. Elfudd has it right- Anchorage truly is a hockey town. The fans are exceptionally knowledgeable and passionate about all things hockey. Hockey happens about anywhere there is ice around here- outdoors and in. I've been to other ECHL venues including yours and they are admittedly more modern and much more nicely appointed. But I'll trade your tiled foyers, escalators, and electronic signboards any day for the plain concrete floor and roaring crowds at the Sullivan Arena.
I too very much enjoy your writing, Steve. And the way you interact with posters is great! Keep up the good work. Good luck tonight Wranglers, too. Hopefully, we'll see you guys up here in Anchorage next weekend.
Scratch and Elfudd. This is what makes comments/blogs so great. Point - counter point and the opinions of real hockey fans, here and in Alaska. I agree, let's see the Aces - Wranglers conference finals. If this economy didn't suck so bad, we'd be there.
After all if you are an Aces fan, you want to see your team beat Las Vegas to make the finals and us Wranglers fans want to beat Alaska to get there.
So this potential series is great for our teams and fan bases. It's what makes this sport great.
May the best team win and no whining and complaining from either side after the end result and we can all agree we'd like the winner of the series to win it all.