Wranglers cruise into conference finals

By Steve Silver

Thursday, May 7, 2009 | 12:30 a.m.

The Las Vegas Wranglers should write a book about how to dominate game 7s, because they certainly looked like experts in that field Wednesday night.

For the second consecutive series this postseason, the Wranglers prevailed 5-1 in the decisive contest –- this time it was over the Stockton Thunder in front of 3,282 fans at the Orleans Arena.

Las Vegas will now have a chance to defend its National Conference title against the Alaska Aces in the conference finals, which begin Saturday night in Anchorage.

"You don't want to be in a game 7, but sometimes you need to have your back against the wall to bring out the best in you," said Wranglers goalie Glenn Fisher, who made 41 saves in Wednesday's thrashing.

After a rude awakening in game 6 in which Stockton thoroughly outplayed Las Vegas to tie the Pacific Division finals 3-3, the Wranglers took control of game 7 early and never eased up.

Forward Mick Lawrence gave the Wranglers a 1-0 lead just 4:04 into the game when he launched a slap shot from the left circle past Thunder goaltender Parker Van Buskirk during the Wranglers' first power play of the night.

The Wranglers' ECHL-leading power play unit struck again when Tyler Mosienko capitalized on a difficult feed from Shawn Limpright for the 2-0 lead with 8:34 remaining in the first period.

Las Vegas out-shot Stockton 15-5 in the opening period.

"No question, I think the guys were a little sour with their performance (Tuesday)," said Las Vegas coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan. "They all agreed that it was terrible. For whatever reason those games happen. These are long series, it's tough sledding and that's why they make them seven games. It's a hard thing to win and they responded well tonight. It's all about how you respond and bounce back from losses."

Rookie Scott McCulloch extended the Wranglers lead to 3-0 late in the second period when he stole the puck from Stockton defenseman Kenny MacAulay and sprinted down the ice to bury his fourth goal of the playoffs.

Prior to McCulloch's goal, the Wranglers managed to kill five penalties in the second period. Overall, Las Vegas held Stockton scoreless on nine power play chances, due in large part to the stellar play of Fisher in between the pipes.

"Your best penalty killer is your goalie and if you look at the stats tonight that was strictly the case," Mosienko said.

With momentum already on their side, the Wranglers widened their lead even further when Chris Neiszner knocked in a weird bounce off of Van Buskirk for the 4-0 advantage less than three minutes into the third period.

Stockton center Cory Urquhart scored the lone Thunder goal at the 5:48 mark, but that was as close as the Thunder would get before Sean Owens scored an empty netter to seal the 5-1 victory.

"It feels good," Gulutzan said. "These guys have worked hard. I felt like we deserved both series. They were close, but we deserved them. Now they get a chance to face one of the giants in the league."

That looming monster is Alaska. The Aces have steamrolled through the playoffs so far, dropping both Utah and Victoria in five games.

The Wranglers went 3-6-1 against the Aces in the regular season with a 1-3-1 mark on the road and a 2-3 record at home.

"There are quotes by Victoria's coach as saying (Alaska) can't be beat, so it's going to be interesting," Gulutzan said. "They are a very good hockey club and they are well coached."

Stars of the game: 1. Glenn Fisher (41 saves); 2. Tyler Mosienko (1 goal, 1 assist); 3. Scott McCulloch (1 goal).

Goalies are nuts: Fisher's 41-save performance netted him his sixth victory of the postseason. He is now 6-2 with a 1.96 goals against average and a .942 save percentage.

"He was incredible again tonight," McCulloch said. "And if you're going to be successful in the playoffs, you need your goaltending and we definitely got that."

But Fisher's success came with a costly price Wednesday when he collapsed on the ice in the third period after taking a shot to a rather sensitive area.

"I took it where you don't want to take it," Fisher said. "I was coming across and it was kind of a screen pass and I saw it at the last second. My legs were open and I brought it in. Fortunately or unfortunately I made the save."

Someone should buy him a bottle of champagne and a bucket of ice.

Super Spang: Defenseman Dan Spang, who is largely responsible for the epic transformation of the Wranglers' power play from worst to first, is now tied for the most points in the playoffs among all ECHL defenders. Spang's two assists Wednesday brought his postseason total to 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists).

Crushing on Miller: One young female fan held a sign asking Adam Miller to go to prom with her. The sign was complete with red, sparkly letters. Miller, if you actually go to prom with this girl, I will pay for your tuxedo rental. I just ask for an invitation to the wedding in return.

Next up: Break out the popcorn because the Wranglers are hitting the road for the first game of the National Conference finals at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage on Saturday at 8:15 p.m.

Final word: "I think this next series is going to be a real test to see what kind of team we've got," Mosienko said.

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