HOCKEY:

Late scoring surge lifts Wranglers past Aces

Stephen Sylvanie / Special to the Sun

Las Vegas forward Matt Watkins (16) is tripped by Aces defender Derick Martin as he lets a shot go in the second period of the Wranglers 6-3 victory Saturday night at the Orleans Arena.

By Steve Silver (contact)

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Wranglers topple aces in series finale

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The Las Vegas Wranglers certainly know how to start a party.

Despite playing three games in as many nights, the Wranglers showed no signs of fatigue as they used a late scoring binge to knock off the Alaska Aces 6-3 in front of 4,321 fans at the Orleans Arena Saturday night.

The Wranglers scored five third-period goals, including three goals within the first five minutes of the period for their second consecutive victory and to set up a celebratory Saturday.

"No magic potion or anything in the (second) intermission," defenseman Jason Krischuk, who notched two goals on the night, said jokingly. "We just went in the locker room, listened to some music and talked about how Saturday night's in Vegas are must-wins. You have to go out and celebrate. It's not like winning a game in Elmira or somewhere where there is nothing to do. We want everyone in the building to go out and party with a win."

Krischuk started the festivities with the first goal of the night as time expired in the first period.

With the Wranglers on the power play and the clock winding down, Krischuk fired a slap shot from the blue line that somehow made its way into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

"To tell you the truth, in our league if any defenseman tells you he can score a goal from the blue line without anybody tipping it, then he must be lying or a superstar," Krischuk said. "It definitely hit somebody and changed directions to go in."

The Aces answered back early in the second period, though, as Matt Stefanishion capitalized on a questionable power play with his third goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 at the 18:04 mark.

Prior to that goal, Stefanishion had essentially tackled Wranglers goalie Michael Ouzas, but Adam Miller received a roughing penalty for pulling Stefanishion off of a prone and defenseless Ouzas.

"They gave them momentum for sure," Miller said. "The ref wasn't good for either team. You can't run a goalie three times in a game and still have them come up with power plays. The officiating was bad, but you can never blame it on them."

As emotions began to boil due to a frustrating officiating situation, the Wranglers managed to focus those feelings into an offensive onslaught.

Josh Prudden snapped the 1-1 tie just 1:56 into the third period with a power play goal set up by Craig Switzer and Ned Lukacevic.

Miller then extended Las Vegas' lead to 3-1 just 31 seconds later as he batted in a loose rebound on the power play.

The Wranglers were not done, though, as Krischuk tallied his second score of the night about two minutes after Miller's goal to put the Wranglers on top 4-1.

"The guys here care about each other," said Wranglers head coach and General Manager Ryan Mougenel. "When I got this job I talked about getting the right players, not just the best players. We have a special group here. I'm impressed with how they have responded to each other and how they responded to me. They are playing hard for everyone, for themselves, for the front office and for the fans."

Alaska did stage a bit of a comeback as Colin Hemingway and Derek Martin scored within three minutes of each other to slash the deficit to 4-3 with 7:16 remaining.

But Lukacevic sealed the victory by burying a feed from Prudden at the 14:38 mark to take a 5-3 lead.

Miller then iced the night with an empty-netter with only 1:35 left in the game.

"It's great to put together back-to-back wins," Krischuk said. "You can't be a good team without being able to put a few games together. They can't say anything about it being a fluke now."

Stars of the game: 1. Jason Krischuk (2 goals); 2. Josh Prudden (1 goal, 2 assists); 3. Michael Ouzas (19 saves)

Blind zebras: Officials handed out 93 penalties and seven game misconducts for a whopping 296 penalty minutes during this three-game series.

Ouzas received the most shocking penalty of the weekend, though, as he received a game misconduct for defending himself after withstanding three separate blows by Aces players barreling into the crease.

Although Ouzas had to continuously fend off Alaska players landing in his lap, he made a number of key saves to earn the victory, which, oddly enough, is currently owned by Joel Gistedt for his few minutes of relief duty.

"It's a funny world being a goaltender," Mougenel said. "It's lonely and I think a guy like Michael Ouzas has a good perspective of the game. He thinks the game really well… I'm impressed with his professionalism, how hard he works, his competitive nature, everything about him. I think he is in for a great year."

Read more about Ouzas' rocky night here.

Extra special teams: The Wranglers power play went 3-for-12 while the penalty killing unit held the Aces to two goals in eight power play opportunities.

Welcome back: Center Chris Neiszner returned from a three-game stint with the Texas Stars of the AHL prior to Saturday's game. Neiszner did not register a point during his time in Austin, but he recorded two assists against the Aces Saturday as well as a rare fighting major for using Chris Morehouse's head as a punching bag late in the third period. Always glad to have you back Neiszner.

Self-promotion: I'll be joining the Heatwave Sports crew to talk hockey this Sunday night at 11 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. True Wranglers fans will tune in...so do it!

Next up: The Wranglers stay in Las Vegas to host the Utah Grizzlies at the Orleans Arena on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. for the LasVegasWeekly.com Thirsty Thursday $1 beer night.

Final word: "I'm proud with how we responded from Thursday night and made it a pretty solid weekend to build on," Mougenel said. "This is just a start. There are a lot of things we have to get better at, but as a whole I like the effort and the spirit."

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

Discussion: 16 comments so far…

By winthorpe

10/25/09 at 2:14 a.m.

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Well I can say I have attended roughly 1,000 or so live games in the last 35 years and I don't recall players turning into projectiles quite like that on a goalie. Just when I thought I have seen it all, another chapter is written. I'm pretty much speechless.

Hey Steve, didn't know I was the Mayor of Wranglerville huh, lol.
By vagman

10/25/09 at 7:19 a.m.

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213 - If you are still around, I am enjoying having someone to argue with besides my wife. See you next series.

Billy Johnson, the fans are having fun, thanks for keeping hockey in Las Vegas.
By rushzone94

10/25/09 at 8:34 a.m.

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I got one thing to say... Micheal Ouzas is the man. Anyone who can get hit like that over and over and still win, well I think he is going to be one heck of a goalie for us this year.

Hey steve, throughout this series, did any of the wranglers get suspended by the leauge?
By jnordahl

10/25/09 at 9:25 a.m.

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After all the self-righteous comments from Ace's fans the last two seasons about their saintly team and our collection of goons (Madill is such a punk!), I'd love to hear them now defend their behavior the last two games. Stefanishion alone is reason enough to stop your chirping and realize that you guys have no moral ground to complain about the Wranglers.

Congrats on the wins boys, way to get the season back on track!
By LPN4LIFE

10/25/09 at 9:39 a.m.

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I agree with you Rush, Michael Ouzas is the man. To be able to keep his cool through 2 rough hits and then when it happened a third time he had definitely had enough. In my opinion he was just defending himself.
I do hope that the league looks at the game as a whole instead on the one incident. For a goalie to shake off what happened and still perform as Michael did....that was amazing. And it was classy of him to walk back to the crease pick up his stuff and the quietly wait for one of the officials to walk him off the ice. Hats off to you Michael.
I remember another altercation with a goalie involved and that was when Mike McKenna was called out by the opposing team's goalie and they met at center ice, McKenna won of course.
Hats off to the rest of the guys for sticking up for on another.
By winthorpe

10/25/09 at 9:39 a.m.

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Just think how it would have turned out if Lance played in those 3 games.

Steve - 11:00 PM on a work night. You better bring your most stellar A game. I just hope I can hear it without too much static that I usually get on that channel.
By LPN4LIFE

10/25/09 at 9:44 a.m.

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http://www.adn.com/sports/aces/story/986...

http://www.adn.com/sports/aces/story/985...

A couple of links to the Alaska papers and some comment which Aces fans made about their team and a couple of mine...lol
By lvshooter

10/25/09 at 10:06 a.m.

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Does anyone know if the Intent to Injure penalty come with an automatic suspension? I am sure that is why Moug was so hot after that whole episode. Hell of a game.. Way for Ouzas to stand up for himself...These games are going to build some major chemistry that will serve this team well come March-April when it matters most...
By ganga

10/25/09 at 11:06 a.m.

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Something has to be done about that ref! First, in Fridays game he put the faceoff in the wrong place twice after a team took a penalty. Than came Saturday. A game misconduct for a goalie defending himself? And it led to a 1 min. penalty going up on the board? What? Hay ref! Go back to reffing pewee games! Never thought id say it, but i'd rather have Warshaw back!
By Velocycle

10/25/09 at 11:11 a.m.

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Typical Alaska resorting to dirty play! Glad that little
gnat lance wasn't there , hopefully the league looks
at the game as a whole not just a goalie defending
himself, their record against us should speak for it's self.
Can't. Wait to listen to the game from Alaska
By BillyJohnson

10/25/09 at 11:15 a.m.

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Vagman: Thanks for the comment, it is truly appreciated as all of us tackle these times. We're so appreciative that you are with us. Bj
By lvwranglersfan

10/25/09 at 11:45 a.m.

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Just for everyone's information, and as much as it pains me to say it, the ref made the right call on the match penalty to Ouzas. Here is the rule.

51.3 Match Penalty - If, in the judgment of the Referee, a goalkeeper uses
his blocking glove to punch an opponent in the head or face in an
attempt to or to deliberately injure an opponent, a match penalty must
be assessed.

Whether it was in his defense or not, that is what happened. You need to remember this is a development league for the refs too, and they are learning just like the players. However, the league really should assign a veteran official knowing the history of this rivalry.
By Pensfan71

10/25/09 at 12:09 p.m.

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Crazy weekend of hockey! Tight first 2 periods and then all hell breaks loose in the third! Is it a requirement that the tall goalies for Alaska have to have an attitude? Beckford-Tsue had one too while he was there, or maybe that is just a required trait to be an Ace. So far in this early season, I like Kang and of course Orpik. Should be a fun season!
By ChuckNorris

10/25/09 at 1:23 p.m.

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I love it... Let's keep the conflict and the W's coming, along with the great Silverstyle coverage...

Sunday at 11 all of Vegas should be listening. Thanks again, Steve.
By SteveSilver (Staff)

10/25/09 at 3:57 p.m.

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Thanks ChuckNorris. I think I love you more than winthorpe...aka tunnel master and mayor of the Orleans Casino.

There were no suspensions handed down from Friday's game, however, I have to imagine some will come from Saturday night.

Mougenel said he plans to send in several plays for review. He formally complained to the league about Stefanishion's knee-to-knee blow with Orpik following Friday's game, but the ECHL did nothing.

It is very possible they will suspend Ouzas, but they league might also just call it even as pretty much everyone in the ECHL knows that was one of the worst officiated series ever.

This series only further proved what we already knew about a dirty and classless Alaska team.
By SteveSilver (Staff)

10/25/09 at 4:08 p.m.

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ROSTER UPDATE: The Wranglers traded forward Brett Wilson to Trenton. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this move was primarily to free up room on the roster with Neiszner's return.

The 24-year-old Princeton grad scored once in the preseason but was then placed on the IR for the first four regular season games.

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