Alaska's late rally falls short in 5-3 loss to Vegas
November 18, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Las Vegas Wranglers built leads of 3-0 and 4-1, then withstood a furious charge late to deal Alaska its second straight loss at home for the first time in more than two years, 5-3, in front of 4,912 on Saturday afternoon.
The defending Kelly Cup champions had not lost two in a row at any site since May 2005 in the National Conference Finals, and at home, the Aces had not dropped two consecutive games since the Idaho Steelheads captured Games Three and Four of the 2004 Pacific Division Finals on their way to the ECHL title. Las Vegas, meanwhile, had blown three-goal leads in extra time losses to Long Beach and Phoenix earlier this week, and nearly did so again.
Alaska played much better in the first two periods Saturday than in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Wranglers two days earlier, but Las Vegas goaltender Mike McKenna continued to hold the Aces at bay, eventually posting more than 100 minutes of shutout hockey before Olivier Filion's one-timer at 4:16 of the third period. That goal only trimmed Alaska's deficit to 3-1, as the Wranglers scored two in the first and one in the second to take command early.
Jason Krischuk's blast from the high slot came just 4:12 into the first period on a Vegas power play, and Aki Seitsonen scored on a tap-in off the rush at 10:47 to give the Wranglers a 2-0 edge at the break. Adam Cracknell's snap shot with 7:32 left in the second period marked the fifth power play goal for Las Vegas in two games against the Aces this week. Filion's goal gave Alaska some life, but a turnover by goaltender Isaac Reichmuth (25 saves) led to the eventual game-winner from Tyler Mosienko, who took a pass from Seitsonen out of the same corner where Reichmuth had just turned the puck over and increased the lead to 4-1 with 8:27 remaining.
The Aces refused to go quietly, as Kimbi Daniels scored on the power play two minutes after Mosienko's goal and Filion added his second of the game on another man advantage with 1:44 left in regulation. Trailing 4-3, Mike Scott's bid for the equalizer came on a slap shot off McKenna's mask, and shortly thereafter, Marco Peluso sealed the win with an empty-netter. The Aces out-shot Vegas 29-15 over the final two periods and 40-30 for the game.
The Wranglers have lost just one of their first 14 games (6-1-7) and are unbeaten in 10 on the road (5-0-5), while Alaska drops to 6-5 overall and 3-3 at home, one fewer regulation defeat than the club endured during all of last season. The series finale starts tomorrow at 1:05 p.m., with live coverage on KFQD 750 AM beginning at 12:45 p.m. Tickets are now available at the Aces office, www.alaskaaces.com, and all Fred Meyer locations in Anchorage. Fans also may call Ticketmaster at 562-4800.
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