LAS VEGAS , NV.- A quick correction from the last game report- The hat trick by Mark Derlago was his first of the series not his second (the other one went to Dave Bonk). Both have been on fire though as Bonk has five goals and ten points in the series. Derlago has five goals and seven points in the series. Two of his goals were game winners. When combined with linemate Chad Painchaud the line has produced a whopping 22 points in the first five games.
The Wranglers went for a change in goal back to Glenn Fisher (28 saves on 29 shots)from John DeCaro, hoping that change would be good. The Condors stuck with Yutaka Fukufuji (34 saves on 37 shots) who got them here.
The Wranglers were facing an uphill climb to take this series heading home trailing 3-2 and having to win the final two games, there was no room for error. The Condors entered the game looking to end it quickly and avoid facing elimination but as important as this game was to both teams they came out tentative in the early going, a stark contrast to the first five games when one team or the other scored early on. Vegas started buzzing offensively near the end of the period but Fukufuji had the answers. Shots on goal were 10-9 in the Wranglers favor.
Bakersfield opened the scoring with a goal by Bonk, tapped in off a shot from Dave Graham at 5:53 of the second period putting more pressure on the Wranglers. The Wranglers killed a critical two man disadvantage near the midpoint of the period to keep things close and gain a little momentum as well as getting the home crowd of 3118 back in the game. Dan Spang answered back, unassisted and on the powerplay, late in the period to get the Wranglers back even 1-1 with a laser to the top right corner of the net. The Wranglers held the shot advantage in the period by a 15-10 margin.
At 2:04 of the final period the Wranglers took control of their destiny with a 2-1 lead on a powerplay blast from the point by Sean Owens that was deflected through traffic in front by JD Watt and past Fukufuji. Dan Reidel took a significant amount of pressure off the Wranglers with a one timer blast past Fukufuji on assists from Kelly Czuy and Adam Miller at 5:44 to make the final score 3-1. The Condors pulled Fukufuji with nearly 2:00 remaining to try to get back in the game but couldn’t muster any solid chances with the extra attacker as the clock wound down and the Wranglers stacked the defense.
Final Shots on goal in the game were 37-29 in Las Vegas‘ favor.
The Wranglers also controlled the special teams going 2 for 3 while holding the Condors scoreless in 4 attempts.
The win by the Wranglers forces a game 7 to be played tomorrow night at 7:30pm at the Orleans arena in Las Vegas.
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