Stephen Sylvanie / Special to the Sun
As players continue to fight in the background, ECHL linesman Todd Owen escorts Wranglers goaltender Michael Ouzas from a scrum that began when Ouzas was run into by Aces forward Scott Burt late in the third period at the Orleans Arena on Saturday.
Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 | 11:32 p.m.
Hockey Talk
Leaping into Fall
Las Vegas Sun reporter Steve Silver sits down with Las Vegas Wranglers head coach and general manager Ryan Mougenel to discuss the colder weather, the team's upcoming road trip to Ontario and every Canadian's favorite coffee -- Tim Horton's.
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Expanded hockey coverage
The Las Vegas Wranglers' fight-filled and penalty-laden victory over the Alaska Aces Saturday night has officially resulted in two suspensions.
The ECHL announced Monday it suspended Las Vegas goalie Michael Ouzas and Alaska defenseman B.J. Crum one game each after both players received game misconducts at the Orleans Arena on Saturday. The league also fined each player an undisclosed amount.
Crum received a major penalty and game misconduct for charging after he barreled into Ouzas in the third period. The collision was the second time in the game that an Aces player had run into Ouzas.
Crum's charge popped Ouzas's helmet off and cut his lip.
Less than 10 minutes later, Alaska captain Scott Burt charged into Ouzas again.
That time, though, Ouzas responded by throwing punches, which led to his ejection and subsequent suspension for attempt to deliberately injure an opponent.
"It's the rule," said Wranglers head coach Ryan Mougenel. "If you're a goaltender you can't swing your blocker and Ouzas did. Am I disappointed? Yeah, but I'm also proud of him for standing up for himself because he was blatantly run three times."
Ouzas will now miss Thursday's game against the Utah Grizzlies (1-2) at 7:05 p.m. at the Orleans Arena.
Rookie Joel Gistedt, who allowed five goals in a loss to Alaska on Thursday, will start in Ouzas' place.
"I'm glad Ouzas stuck up for himself and stuck up for his teammates," Mougenel said. "It's an unfortunate situation where you have a team resorting to 1960s style hockey of running goalies, which doesn't accomplish much, but we'll take the decision like men. I have all the faith in Gistedt on Thursday night. He is a good, young goalie that can have plenty of success here."
The ECHL also announced on Monday a one-game suspension for Las Vegas forward Shay Stephenson for a boarding penalty on Friday night. Stephenson did not play on Saturday and he will miss an undetermined amount of time on bereavement leave due to a death in his family.
The Orleans Arena, a Boyd Gaming facility located just west of the Las Vegas Strip, is one of the nation’s leading mid-sized arenas, and was recently ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 5 internationally among venues of similar size by Venues Today Magazine.
The Arena hosts more than 200 events each year, including concerts by top names like Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Van Halen, Brooks & Dunn, Black Eyed Peas, Akon and Rihanna; family favorites like The Harlem Globetrotters and Circus Spectacular; and a wide variety of sporting events, including NCAA basketball tournaments, the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference Basketball Championships, mixed martial arts with Superior Cage Combat, and major motorsports events.
The arena serves as home to the Las Vegas Wranglers professional ECHL hockey team, the Las Vegas Legends professional indoor soccer team, and the Lingerie Football League’s Las Vegas Sin. Stay connected to the Orleans Arena on Facebook (www.facebook.com/orleansarena) and on Twitter (@orleansarena).
Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected].
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