Wranglers fall on road to Idaho, 6-2

By Ed Hauth

Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 | 11:47 p.m.

The Wranglers (4-4-0-1) split the first two games of their four-game road trip with a 4-1 victory at Bakersfield last Saturday and a 6-2 loss at Idaho on Wednesday.

“I’m definitely by no means happy with our record,” Las Vegas head coach Ryan Mougenel said. “It’s not where I want to be. It’s not where the team wants to be. We’re going through some growing pains. We’re still figuring out the roster.”

Despite Mougenel’s displeasure with Las Vegas’ record, the Wranglers sit atop the ECHL’s Pacific division with nine points scored.

The Wranglers took sole possession of first place in the division with their 4-1 victory over the Condors in California on Saturday.

Forward Robbie Smith started the scoring with a goal at the 1:19 mark of first period to give the Wranglers a 1-0 advantage.

After Bakersfield center Mathew Sisca tied the game at a goal apiece just over two minutes later, Las Vegas scored the final three goals of the game to pick up its first road win of the season.

Left winger Judd Blackwater scored a goal in the second period while Eric Lampe and Adam Miller capped the scoring with goals in the third period.

Blackwater started the scoring with a power-play goal just 26 seconds into the game against the Steelheads on Wednesday to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead. He was assisted by Lampe and Peter MacArthur.

Idaho responded with six of the next seven goals in the game to pick up its second win of the season.

In the loss, Lampe scored his ECHL leading 11th goal of the season and MacArthur picked up two assists to give him the ECHL lead in that category with 10 on the year.

Top Scorers: The Wranglers have three players who rank in the top 10 in scoring in the ECHL. Lampe leads all-scorers with 15 points on 11 goals and four assists. MacArthur ranks ninth in scoring with 10 points, all coming on assists, and Blackwater ranks 10th in scoring with nine points on four goals and five assists.

Huxley’s Homecoming: The Wranglers announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to terms with left wing Adam Huxley for the 2011-12 season. Huxley, 27, played for the Wranglers in the 2004-05 season as he scored seven goals, eight assists and picked up 294 penalty minutes in 55 games.

“Movember” Moustaches: In an effort to support and promote awareness for men’s health, Wranglers players and Coach Mougenel will grow moustaches for the month of November to increase awareness of prostate cancer and other men’s health issues.

Next up: The Wranglers conclude their four-game road trip with games Friday and Saturday at Idaho. Las Vegas returns home to the Orleans Arena next Tuesday to face the Steelheads for a fourth consecutive game with the puck being dropped at 7:05 p.m.

Final word: “Eric is reaping the benefits of hard work,” Mougenel said of Lampe, who was named the Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Oct. 24-30. “It’s collective. Eric will be the first one to tell you that he has a real hard-working, special player in Pete MacArthur and he’s got a pretty talented right winger in Judd Blackwater. They complement each other.”