Wranglers blank Condors to even series

By Steve Silver

Saturday, April 18, 2009 | 12:30 a.m.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Even though Friday's Pacific Division semifinal showdown with the Bakersfield Condors was not an elimination game, the Las Vegas Wranglers treated it as such –- and it showed.

The Wranglers strung together a nearly flawless 60 minutes to shut out the Condors 4-0 and even the series 2-2 in front of 5,592 fans at Rabobank Arena.

"This was an important game for us and our guys knew what they were up against," Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan said. "You can't go down 3-1. It's hard to come back from 3-1, especially on the road. I thought we played solid tonight. We were committed in the trenches."

Unwilling to face that daunting task of rallying from a 3-1 series deficit, the Wranglers started strong Friday and buried back-to-back power play goals to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

Kelly Czuy lit up the scoreboard first during a five-on-three power play when he lifted a backhand over Bakersfield goalie Yutaka Fukufuji at the 5:58 mark. On the remaining power play, J.D. Watt tallied his first professional playoff goal just 29 seconds later to extend the Wranglers' advantage to 2-0.

But with the memory of blowing two separate two-goal leads in a 6-5 overtime loss Wednesday still fresh in their minds, the Wranglers shifted their focus to defense to prevent another Condors comeback.

"You have to give credit to our forwards back-checking and our defense," said Las Vegas goalie John DeCaro, who notched his first career playoff shutout with 34 saves. "It was a completely different mindset for us tonight. Once we got those two goals early, we settled in and played our game and everyone fed off of that. Nobody in that locker room wants to go home."

Perhaps the most important key to stopping Bakersfield's potent offensive attack was shutting down their top line of Dave Bonk, Mark Derlago and Chad Painchaud. That trio has combined for seven goals on 40 shots this series.

On Friday, the Wranglers held Bonk, Derlago and Painchaud scoreless on just eight shots. Las Vegas also successfully killed seven Bakersfield power plays.

"We just have to stick to our game plan and play good defensive hockey like we did tonight," DeCaro said. "We can't play that run and gun game with them. So when we play defense like the way we are supposed to, we are a completely different team."

With the Wranglers in full control of the game heading into the first intermission, Bakersfield's tempers flared after the period ended.

Four fights broke out mainly because Condors center Bruce Graham continued to throw punches at Mike Hamilton after Hamilton had hit the ice. After no officials came to Hamilton's aid, chaos ensued, leading to nine penalties for six players. Shawn Limpright and Chad Painchaud also received game misconducts.

"We play tough all year, so for them to come out and play one tough night and start raising the roof after a couple punches landed doesn't mean anything to us," Las Vegas forward Mick Lawrence said. "If anything, it just made us more focused. Not a big deal. Everyone in here is always ready to go."

Following an anti-climatic, scoreless second period, the Wranglers started to pull away when Lawrence netted his first playoff goal thanks to a sharp setup by Justin Taylor less than four minutes into the third period.

Dan Riedel then sealed the 4-0 victory when he capitalized on an errant rebound with 8:23 remaining in the game.

"This one was huge," Lawrence said. "Hopefully we can steal one more while we're here, too."

Stars of the game: 1. John DeCaro (34 saves, shutout); 2. Justin Taylor (2 assists); 3. Kelly Czuy (1 goal, 1 assist)

Roster report: The Wranglers had a full fourth line in the stands Friday night due to some recent injuries. Center Hugo Carpentier is still feeling the effects of a hard hit in Wednesday's loss and he could be out for the rest of the series. Defensemen Mike Madill and Jason Dest were also scratches from the lineup. Forward Tim Spencer, who is still on the injured reserve with a broken hand, kept the trio company until Limpright joined the crew after being ejected following the first period.

Goin' streaking: Czuy's first period goal and third period assist give him nine points in his last five games. He also has a five-game assist streak. Czuy's linemate, Adam Miller, also now has nine points in his last five games and a five-game assist streak thanks to two assists on Friday.

Mascot overload: Can somebody tell me why the Condors have three mascots? One of them actually skates, so that is cool, but really why so many, Bakersfield? I'm pretty confident the Duke and a bag of popcorn could take all three of the mascots I saw at Rabobank Arena.

Something smells Fishy: Wranglers media relations director and radio play-by-play man Josh Fisher has returned to the broadcasting booth this series. Fisher had been absent from the road trip airwaves recently, but I guess not even the stellar ECHL referees can keep him down during the playoffs.

Next up: The Wranglers stay in Bakersfield for game five at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rabobank Arena. Regardless of the outcome, the Wranglers will return to the Orleans Arena Tuesday night to host the Condors at 7:30 p.m.

Final word: "We are not going to change a thing (Saturday)," Gulutzan said. "We are going to work even harder to get up 3-2 going home."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected].