Wranglers fall in overtime to Stockton Thunder, 3-2

By Ed Hauth

Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 | 6:41 p.m.

The Wranglers battled back from a third period deficit to force overtime for the third consecutive game Sunday at the Orleans Arena.

Unlike the first two games when the Wranglers fought back and came away with overtime victories, Las Vegas lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Stockton Thunder to come away with five points on their three-game home stand.

“You can’t let teams hang around and that’s exactly what we did tonight,” Wranglers head coach Ryan Mougenel said. “I think we definitely outplayed them, but the end result is a pretty good weekend for us. We’re still learning and still figuring it out.”

Las Vegas (7-4-1-2) forward Peter MacArthur scored a power-play goal at the 7:46 mark of the third period to tie the game at two goals apiece. He was assisted by Judd Blackwater and Barry Goers on the game-tying goal.

After a scoreless overtime, both teams were unable to tally a goal in the initial shootout frame.

In the sudden death shootout, Stockton’s Kevin Baker and Ryan Martindale were able to score goals but they were matched by goals from Goers and Mike Madill of Las Vegas.

Stockton defenseman Tony DeHart scored in the third sudden death shootout round to make it three consecutive goals for the Thunder.

Las Vegas forward Adam Miller, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime Saturday night, was denied by Stockton goaltender Thomas Heemskerk on his attempt to tie it to secure the victory for the Thunder.

The Wranglers never led in regulation in any of their three home games.

Stockton started the scoring with a goal at the 13:40 mark of the first period as Jordan Foreman wrapped the puck around the back of the cage and into the net to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Las Vegas tied the game at a goal apiece 30 seconds into the second period as Ryan Weston rifled in a slap shot from near the blue line.

Stars of the game: 1. Thomas Heemskerk (38 saves in regulation and overtime, 6 saves in the shootout); 2.Barry Goers (2 assists); 3. Peter MacArthur (Game-tying goal).

Bad Blood: The Wranglers were called for seven major fighting penalties in the two-game set against the Thunder. Adam Huxley picked up two major fighting penalties while Robbie Smith, Ryan Weston, Judd Blackwater, Jamie Fritsch and Jeff May each picked up one.

Lots of shots: The Wranglers outshot the Thunder by a margin of 79-56 in the two games against Stockton, including a 40-24 advantage in Sunday’s loss. Blackwater led the way for Las Vegas with 16 shots on goal in the two games.

Next up: The Wranglers start a five-game road stretch on Thursday as they travel to Utah for a three-game set against the Grizzlies. Las Vegas then travels to California to face Stockton for a two-game set before returning home to face the Idaho Steelheads on Friday Dec. 2.

Final word: “It will be nice to get on the road and get our road game established,” Mougenel said. “I’m not overly concerned with it. I’m more concerned with our power play and our lack of production. If we can get our power play going, we’re going to be a pretty good team.”