Tuesday, May 20, 2008 | 6:27 p.m.
With their first ECHL Kelly Cup Finals on the horizon, the Las Vegas Wranglers are feeling an icy chill.
Nothing serious, though, says Las Vegas forward Kelly Czuy.
“A little bit nervous,” he says. “There’s a lot of pressure, it seems like, on us. We have to stick to our systems. We’ve gone this far together. We’re moving in the right direction.”
The Wranglers open the best-of-seven title series against the Cyclones in Cincinnati, at U.S. Bank Arena, on Saturday, and Game 2 is Sunday.
Games 3 and 4, respectively, will be played at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on May 29 and 30. If needed, Game 5 will be in Las Vegas on June 2.
At 55-12-5, Cincinnati had the best regular-season record in the league. The Wranglers, at 47-13-12, had the best record in the National Conference.
The Wranglers will practice Tuesday and Wednesday morning at the Orleans, and leave for Cincinnati on Thursday.
“We’re all excited,” Czuy says. “We’re working hard in practice. It’s going to be very interesting.”
Net burners
Cincinnati boasts of four of the top eight playoff scorers, including rookie center David Desharnais, who has 22 points on seven goals and 15 assists.
He was the lone ECHL player to hit triple digits in points during the regular season, with 106.
He’s also 5-feet-6, not including his skates. But Czuy doesn’t believe that means the Wranglers will overlook the Cyclones.
“We might wear a team down like that, but we won’t take them lightly,” Czuy says. “We’ll keep hitting and finishing our checks. I think we should keep playing the way we are and we should be successful.”
In the box
Las Vegas had more regular-season penalty minutes, at 1,440 to 1,311, than Cincinnati. But that has changed in the postseason.
The Cyclones, at 402 to 204, have spent almost twice as much time in the penalty box than the Wranglers during the playoffs. So give Las Vegas the edge in discipline.
A numbers game
Las Vegas has tallied 65 goals and yielded 41 in 15 postseason games. Cincinnati has scored 59 and given up 39 in 16 playoff games.
Cyclones goalie Cedrick Desjardins, 7-2 in the postseason, is third in the playoffs with a goals-against average of 2.14.
Wranglers rookie keeper Kevin Lalande is 11-3, with one defeat in overtime, and is 12th among postseason goalies with a 2.55 goals-against average.
Las Vegas, by the way, has the Nos. 2 and 3 playoff scorers in right wings Adam Cracknell (21 points, on 8 goals and 13 assists) and Peter Ferraro (20 points, on 7 goals and 13 assists).
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