Wranglers even series in overtime thriller

By Steve Silver

Sunday, May 3, 2009 | 12:30 a.m.

In the first game of the Pacific Division finals Mick Lawrence transformed into a broadcaster as he donned a headset in the radio booth after Las Vegas coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan scratched him from the lineup.

In game No. 2, Lawrence became a fan as he wore a suit in the Orleans Arena stands after another benching from Gulutzan.

But Saturday night Lawrence turned into a hero as he ripped a slap shot past Stockton goalie Parker Van Buskirk just 28 seconds into overtime to capture the Wranglers' thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory in front of 6,596 fans at Stockton Arena.

The series is now tied 2-2 with the Wranglers hosting the final three games at the Orleans Arena starting Monday night with game 5.

"It feels great," Lawrence said. "Not being in the lineup was not too huge of a matter. We had a couple players come down from the AHL and I was just the easy guy to sit out. The boys were playing well and it's hard to take someone out when they are rolling…Obviously I'm going to do everything I can do to prove that I deserve to be in there and it paid off tonight."

The Wranglers' night, however, did not begin on such a high note.

Stockton took a 1-0 lead just 2:10 into the game when forward Garet Hunt snapped a loose puck in the high slot to beat John DeCaro glove side.

The Thunder carried that lead into the first intermission, but it did not last long thanks to Tyler Mosienko's first goal of the playoffs at the 10:11 mark, which tied the game 1-1.

"We made one minor adjustment (after the first period) and we told the guys we have to shorten the shifts and keep the pace as high as we can keep it," Gulutzan said. "We started to get momentum in the second and into the third and I thought we played a pretty solid 60 minutes of hockey."

Stockton regained the lead in the third period, though, when Brandon Naurato poked in a doorstep rebound less than seven minutes into the period for the 2-1 advantage.

The Wranglers answered less than four minutes later when Dan Riedel buried a wrist shot to even the game 2-2 with 10:21 remaining.

Riedel's goal would ultimately force overtime before Lawrence unleashed the first shot of the extra period, which proved to be the game-winner.

"I was actually looking to pass because we were on a 3-on-2 and I saw a hole between his legs and I just hammered it through the defenseman and caught the low blocker," Lawrence said.

Las Vegas out-shot Stockton 42-26, handing the rookie Van Buskirk his third loss of the postseason.

Two nights after allowing five goals in a blowout loss, DeCaro returned between the pipes for the Wranglers as he improved to 2-4 in the playoffs. His counterpart, Glenn Fisher is 4-1.

"I said I was not afraid to play both goalies and I'm not going to be," Gulutzan said.

Stars of the game: 1. Mick Lawrence (game-winning goal); 2. Parker Van Buskirk (39 saves); 3. Dan Riedel (1 goal)

Roster report: The Wranglers played with only five defensemen once again with Chris St. Croix, Brandon Straub and Bret Tyler on the injured reserve list. Forwards Hugo Carpentier and Tim Spencer were also not active for Saturday's game.

Gulutzan said he does not expect St. Croix to return during this series.

Familiar face: Former Wrangler Adam Huxley made his first appearance of the series for Stockton. Huxley, who spent the bulk of his time in Las Vegas during the 2004-05 season, notched three shots Saturday, but did not register a point.

Line of the night: Wranglers media relations director and radio announcer Josh Fisher spoke of "Mount Saint Gulutzan" erupting in the locker room after a sluggish first period. That's an instant classic, Fish.

Aces advance: The Alaska Aces scored three unanswered goals in the third period to sink the Victoria Salmon Kings 6-4 and end their series 4-1. The Aces now await the winner of the Las Vegas/Stockton series for the National Conference crown. The Wranglers were 3-7 against the Aces in the regular season.

Next up: The Wranglers return to the Orleans Arena for game 5 Monday night at 7:30 p.m.

Final word: "You know how hard it is to come back from a 3-1 deficit in any series and we haven't had too many overtime wins, but the boys were all over them all night," Lawrence said. "… It was probably the biggest game of the series."

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