Stockton slams sluggish Wranglers

By Steve Silver

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | 12:30 a.m.

If the periods in hockey were 19 minutes long instead of 20, the Las Vegas Wranglers would be packing their bags for the National Conference finals.

Unfortunately for the Wranglers, the Stockton Thunder remembered to play the full 60 minutes Tuesday as they scored a goal in the final 30 seconds of each period to stave off elimination and force a decisive game 7 with a 3-1 victory in front of 3,136 fans at the Orleans Arena. Stockton had previously never won in the Orleans Arena this season.

The Wranglers and Thunder, who each prevailed in game 7s during the Pacific Division semifinals, will square off one final time Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Orleans Arena.

"We got outplayed tonight," said Las Vegas coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan. "There is no question about it. I didn't see a lot from some older guys. We got outplayed. (The Thunder) were hungry. They're resilient and I said before this is going to be a tough series, because every game can go either way and we have to be ready to play… I don't know if we thought Stockton was going to roll over or what."

After a rousing 4-2 victory in game 5 Monday night to take a 3-2 series lead, the Wranglers struggled early Tuesday as the Thunder outshot them 13-7 in the first period.

But it was the final shot of that period that really counted as Craig Valette found the back of the net with a wrap-around shot to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead with just 14 seconds left in the first period.

"We've got to come with more energy and more commitment for 60 minutes," Gulutzan said. "Our first period was pathetic. It's pathetic. It's the worst period we've played in the playoffs to date. We need to be much better coming out. We weren't hungry at all."

Las Vegas did show some signs of life following the first intermission when Kelly Czuy poked in a rebound from a Mike Madill shot for a power play goal that tied the contest 1-1 at the 2:24 mark of the second period.

The Wranglers' power play continues to lead the ECHL in the postseason with a 23.7 percent success rate (14-of-59).

Stockton did not seem impressed, though, as they continued to grind the game into a slower, more methodical pace before striking again in the final 30 seconds of the period.

Thunder defenseman Kenny MacAulay launched a shot from the blue line through a wall of players and past Wranglers goalie Glenn Fisher to put Stockton back on top 2-1 with only 26 seconds remaining in the second period.

"Guys were a little too casual here and there at certain times of the game," said Las Vegas captain Shawn Limpright. "Obviously last minutes of hockey games you never want to get scored on. They ended up getting the game winner in the second, which put us behind the eight ball and we had to play catch up in the third."

The Wranglers never did manage to catch up, however, before Cory Urquhart tallied an empty-netter with 17 seconds remaining in the game to clinch the Stockton victory.

Stockton out-shot Las Vegas 37-23 as Parker Van Buskirk improved to 6-3-1 in the postseason and Fisher dropped to 5-2.

"I think guys figured maybe it would come easy tonight after getting the series lead and hoped that (Stockton) wouldn't come out as hard as they did," Limpright said. "We just didn't bring anything tonight. We had a few spurts here and there, but nothing even close to win the game."

Stars of the game: 1. Kenny MacAulay (1 goal); 2. Glenn Fisher (34 saves); 3. Kelly Czuy (1 goal)

Lucky No. 7: Las Vegas is 2-0 in postseason game 7s. The Wranglers most recently prevailed in game 7 of the Pacific Division semifinals 5-1 over Bakersfield at the Orleans Arena. They also beat Idaho 6-2 in a game 7 of the division semifinals in 2006.

Stockton is 1-0 in playoff game 7s as they dropped Ontario in the last round 5-4 on the road.

"Game 7 -- it is what it is," Gulutzan said. "You have to be prepared to play hard for 60 minutes."

Beaudoin watch: Wranglers forward Matt Beaudoin is currently with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League where he has played a vital role in their chase for the Calder Cup. Beaudoin scored the eventual game-winning goal against the Milwaukee Admirals in the third period Tuesday night as Houston took a 2-1 lead in the West Division finals with a 3-1 victory.

In 10 playoff games with Houston, Beaudoin has three goals and six assists.

Final word: "Obviously game 7 is game 7," Limpright said. "You need everything. We have to move past this one. We wanted to close them out tonight, but it didn't work out. We've been here before. We've got home ice advantage and hopefully guys will bring their A-game unlike tonight."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected].