Stephen R. Sylvanie
Wranglers Adam Miller, left, and Mick Lawrence, right, congratulate Alex Bourret after he scored his second goal of the day against the Stockton Thunder on Sunday afternoon at the Orleans Arena.
Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 | 7:59 p.m.
Alex Bourret is starting to show flashes of the ability that make him a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005.
Bourret's hat trick Sunday afternoon lifted the Las Vegas Wranglers to a 6-4 victory against the visiting Stockton Thunder.
It was the second hat trick, or three-goal game, for Bourret since he joined the Wranglers three weeks ago.
“Obviously, he’s an offensively talented player,” Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel said. “But for all that he has offensively, he needs to work on his defense. He can be a defensive liability.”
Bourret came to Las Vegas from the top league in the Czech Republic for two reasons: It’s easier to be spotted by NHL scouts while playing in the United States, and more importantly, he said he went four months without being paid.
Bourret, who just turned 23, said he needs to work on being more consistent. “I would have two good games, and then you would not see me for five games,” he said.
Las Vegas scored the game’s first three goals and never trailed. Chris Neiszner started the scoring with a goal 34 seconds into the game, and Bourret tallied his first goal at the 14:41 mark of the initial period.
Stockton cut its deficit to one with a pair of power play goals within two minutes of each other midway through the second period. But Bourret scored 92 seconds later to extend the lead to 4-2.
His third goal came with two minutes to play on an assist from Josh Prudden. Roughly four hats were tossed on the ice — a tradition when a player records a hat trick — from the 3,480 fans in attendance at the Orleans Arena.
“We are fighting for a spot in the playoffs,” Bourret said. “I don’t care if I get any points or not, as long as we win.”
Adam Miller and Jason Krischuk had the other goals for Las Vegas, and goalie Joel Gistedt stopped 24 of the 27 shots.
The Wranglers (24-25-6, 54 points) will be on the road for their next five games, starting with a three-game series Friday to Sunday at Ontario. The teams are fighting for the final playoff spot, with the Wranglers holding a one-point lead over the Reign entering the crucial series.
“It is going to be a dog fight until the end,” Mougenel said.
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).
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