Las Vegas Sun

February 11, 2012

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Wranglers come from behind again to beat Bakersfield, 3-2

By Anthony Fenech

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | 11:42 p.m.

Ryan Mougenel

Ryan Mougenel

Sun Coverage

The Las Vegas Wranglers’ Josh Prudden said it best.

“Coming back was the theme of our road trip. We consistently came from behind and played well in the third period,” he said.

And in the final game of a pivotal five-game road trip in California, the Wranglers would continue the theme, scoring two third-period goals to beat the Bakersfield Condors, 3-2, on Wednesday night.

Right-winger Alex Bourret broke a 2-2 tie with 47 seconds remaining, scoring on a goal from Mick Lawrence and Chris Neiszner for the Wranglers third unanswered goal of the game.

Going to the net, Bourret shot the puck off of the seamless glass behind the Condors goal. He collected the rebound and pushed it between the post and Bakersfield goaltender Timo Pielmeier’s pad.

“He’s got such an offensive mind,” head coach Ryan Mougenel said. “For him to recognize the puck bounces off the seamless glass, with his soft hands, it was a great goal.”

The victory gave the Wranglers a winning record on the trip, going 3-2, and marked the third time in those five games that the team erased a two-goal deficit heading into the third period to either win or force overtime.

“I think we are definitely more confident with our abilities,” Prudden said. “We’ve done it a couple times now. If you do it once, you can do it again. We know we’re never out of a game.”

The center said that when Adam Miller scored early in the third period to tie the game, he knew it was over from the feeling on the bench.

“When we tied it up, everybody realized,” he said. “There was just a confident feeling on the bench, and guys were looking to make plays.”

Miller’s goal, assisted by Lawrence — his second of the game — and defenseman Craig Switzer, was his 25th tally of the season. It came on the power play.

Las Vegas (27-26-7) scored a power-play goal in each of the five games.

Goaltender Jimmy Spratt allowed two early Bakersfield goals but shut the door on the Pacific Division leaders from there. He stopped 38 of 40 shots in the win.

“He made some big saves for us tonight,” Mougenel said.

Greg Collins scored at the 6:36 mark of the second period to give the Wranglers their first goal of the game. The goal was Collins’ sixth of the season and was assisted by Justin Bernhardt and Mat Deschamps.

With 61 points, the Wranglers are tied with the Ontario Reign for the final playoff spot in the National Conference. But they are just one point behind the Alaska Aces and Stockton Thunder.

“We’re a tired team,” Mougenel said. “Guys just want to get home, see some familiar faces, have a day off and relax.”

The team will host Bakersfield for a weekend series starting Friday night at the Orleans Arena.

“I think everybody’s ready to take a day off but then get right back at it,” Prudden said. “Because if we don’t, this trip was a waste.”

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