Thursday, April 24, 2008 | 1:07 p.m.
The 3,464 fans at the Orleans Arena who watched Las Vegas close out its playoff series Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory over Stockton saw something special.
For the first time in the 20 years of the ECHL, no penalties were called in a playoff game.
The previous low mark for penalty minutes in a postseason game was two when Tallahassee played Reading on May 30, 1996.
“I didn’t know that,” Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said today after practice. “I thought both teams were ready to play. I think there could have been three penalties, maybe, called.
“It was one of those games in which both teams were trying not to make any mistakes. The referee saw that the teams were playing hockey and let them play.”
Max Battimo, 33, has been refereeing ECHL games for five seasons and he let them play Tuesday night.
Battimo was born in Argentina but moved to Los Angeles at a young age with his family. He got into acting as a kid and had a role in “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” on the Disney Channel in 1988.
After that season, NBC picked up the show but not Battimo. That network changed its name to “Saved By The Bell,” which became a huge hit.
When Battimo was acting in that Disney show, he also got into hockey when the Los Angeles Kings acquired Wayne Gretzky.
The Wranglers continue in the playoffs Friday night, when they play host to Alaska in the start of the best-of-seven National Conference semifinals.
If both teams are fortunate, Battimo will again be wearing the orange armbands. He’s No. 18.
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