LAS VEGAS, NV- After the first Las Vegas Wranglers loss of the ECHL post season last night in Boise, the Wranglers came back, reshuffled their roster and beat a talented Idaho Steelheads 4-1 on Saturday night at the Qwest Arena.
With Joe Fallon in net and Adam Huxley and Robbie Smith the new additions in front of him, the Wranglers’ roster moves paid dividends and sent the Steelheads to a do-or-die Game Five Sunday night in Boise.
Las Vegas started off the scoring, at 5:49 of the opening period when Adam Miller, with helpers from Eric Lampe and Judd Blackwater, found the back of the Steelhead net, finding a way past formidable Idaho goalkeeper Jerry Kuhn.
Idaho came back to tie the game 5:03 later when Joe Pereira, who started the season with former Wrangler Chris Higgins in Sweden, sent a backhander from Michael Neal and Ron Meyers past Fallon. However, it was one and done for the Steelheads offensive after that point and Idaho would be held scoreless, while the Wranglers would score three more times before the final buzzer.
The next Wranglers goal came off of the stick of Geoff Paukovich at 7:08 of the second period. Originally credited to Scott Campbell, Paukovich was able to re-direct a Chris Francis shot from the blue line. Captain Mike Madill also received a helper during the game winning goal.
Next, Wrangler Ash Goldie padded the Las Vegas lead when, at 1:56 of the final frame, he slid the puck past Kuhn, with help from Josh Lunden. The final nail in the Steelheads coffin came off of Francis’s stick at 13:45 of the period from Robbie Smith and Campbell.
Las Vegas returned to their ways of lots of shots during the game, eventually taking a total of 49 shots against Kuhn, including a 21 shot third period. Conversely, Idaho was only able to manage a total of 26 shots versus Fallon. Both teams were scoreless on the power play, with Las Vegas enjoying just one more man advantage than Idaho.
With the win, Las Vegas will look to close out the series and send the Steelheads home for the offseason on Sunday. Also, with Alaska eliminating the Stockton Thunder in the other ECHL Semi-Final series on Saturday, the stakes for the eventual winner get even higher.
Idaho will be looking to continue the series and try to pull out the impossible, come back from a 3-1 series deficit. In a season when upsets are commonplace and anything can happen, don’t put it past Idaho to win at least one more game before falling. Initially, Idaho was told that they had no chance against an amazing Ontario Reign club in the first round of this year’s ECHL playoffs.
Whether they win on Sunday or not, one thing is certain, it will be a very exciting game.
Contact Joel.Hoopaugh@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.