Saturday, May 24, 2008 | 8:14 p.m.
Las Vegas yielded three power-play goals to Cincinnati in the first period Saturday night en route to a 4-2 defeat to the Cyclones in the first game of the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals.
David Desharnais, a 5-foot-6 rookie center for the Cyclones, scored a minute into the game as Cincinnati had a 5-on-4 advantage. He also added an assist and another goal. Desharnais was the only player in the ECHL to regsiter triple-digit points, with 106, during the regular season.
Defenseman Bryan Schmidt and forward Mathieu Aubin were the other power-play culprits whose goals 66 seconds apart stung the Wranglers, to the delight of a U.S. Bank Arena crowd of 8,676. Schmidt scored on a 5-on-3 advantage, and Aubin slapped his by Wranglers rookie goalie Kevin Lalande with a man advantage.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Cincinnati, then it shifts to Las Vegas for Games 3 and 4, respectively, on Thursday and Friday nights. If needed, Game 5 will be in the Orleans Arena on June 2.
Veteran Las Vegas right wing Peter Ferraro tied it, 1-1, in the first period, but Cincinnati sealed the game with those goals by Schmidt and Aubin. Desharnais made it 4-1 in the second period.
Wranglers defenseman Jason Jozsa scored the final goal of the game in the third period. Lalande stopped 19 of 23 shots. His Cincinnati counterpart, Cedrick Desjardins, blocked 22 of 24 attempts by the Wranglers.
Las Vegas is chasing a first professional sports championship for the city since the Las Vegas Dustdevils won the Continental Indoor Soccer League in 1994.
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