LAS VEGAS – After falling behind four goals early in the game, the Las Vegas Wranglers tallied three goals in four minutes to attempt a comeback, but fell 5-3 to the Ontario Reign tonight.
Ninety-four seconds into the game, Reign left wing Colton Yellow Horn put his team on the board, and a second Ontario goal six minutes later from defenseman Brock Sheahan gave the team an early 2-0 lead. Taking advantage of a power play opportunity minutes later, Reign defenseman Chris Huxley put the Wranglers in a three-goal hole, but a successful 5-on-3 penalty kill by Las Vegas held the deficit at 3-0 for the remainder of the first.
Starting the second off much like the first, Ontario added to their lead with a goal from center C.J. Stretch in the first four minutes of play. Midway through the period, though, the Wranglers came to life with three goals in a 4:11 span, kicked off by center Geoff Paukovich’s first of the season at the 12:39 mark. Just over three minutes later, Wranglers defenseman Nolan Julseth-White picked up his first goal of the season as well, and a goal from left wing Josh Lunden 54 seconds later made it a 4-3 game still in Ontario’s favor. The two teams capped the goal flurry with a combined 50 penalty minutes given out in the remaining six seconds of the period and after the horn.
With six Wranglers players and four Reign players in the penalty boxes in the first 90 seconds of the period, a scoreless third loomed until the last 4:30 of regulation, when Reign forward Mario Lamoureux recorded the final goal of the game, giving Ontario the 5-3 win. After 60 minutes of action, the penalty minutes totaled 102, with the Wranglers taking 52 of them.
The same two teams meet tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. After the two-game weekend series, the Wranglers will take on the Alaska Aces for a three-game set starting Wednesday,
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