Thursday, April 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
It wasn't the swiftest of starts for the Thunder, but in playoff hockey, it's the final outcome that matters most.
And that message got through to Chris McSorley's team, which turned a 3-1 second-period deficit into a 4-3 lead after two and eventually a 5-4 win over the Phoenix Roadrunners Wednesday night in Game 1 of the opening-round, best-of-five IHL Western Conference series.
With a meager crowd of 4,365 looking on at the Thomas & Mack and not having much to cheer about, Sergei Zholtok gave them a reason to smile. The Thunder's leading goal-scorer notched a pair of tallies to short-circuit the Roadrunners' attempt at pulling an upset.
"We won, but the first step is always the toughest," said McSorley. "It's nice to put that first one in the bank."
Zholtok's first goal was the big one, as he batted in the rebound of Guy Larose's shot during an early second-period power play to cut Phoenix's lead to 3-2. The goal appeared to spark Las Vegas as Joe Day scored three minutes later while the Thunder was shorthanded to tie it with a one-handed shot from his knees that eluded Frederick Beaubien.
Zholtok then put the Thunder ahead 4-3 with a nifty goal. Picking up the puck at the Phoenix blue line, he eluded two Roadrunner defenders, cruised into the slot and wristed one past Beaubien.
The Thunder was already without the services of scrappy left wing Darcy Loewen, who is out with a broken left ankle. Las Vegas also had to do without veteran forward Paul DiPietro, who came down with the stomach flu Tuesday night and never made it to the Thomas & Mack.
That forced McSorley to move Bill Bowler back to center for Patrice Lefebvre and Ken Quinney while Day, who was going to take Loewen's spot at left wing, wound up back at center skating with Blaine Moore and Darren Banks.
In Day's case, it was no problem. He played hard from start to finish and his up-tempo play was critical to the Thunder's comeback.
"I took it in stride," Day said. "Whenever Chris tells me I'm playing wing, I wind up playing center."
But Day forechecked like a winger, hurtling himself along the boards to pressure the Phoenix defense or going straight to the net to create traffic in front of Beaubien.
"Joe kept the puck going forward and he rushed their defensemen into making plays sooner than they wanted to," McSorley said of Day. "He did a tremendous job."
Day said: "I wanted to put a little more pressure on their guys. They're not going to make mistakes unless you pressure them."
The Roadrunners didn't put much pressure on Zholtok, who found himself with enough open ice to work his magic.
"I don't know what they were doing," he said of being allowed to operate unmolested most of the night. "But our line worked hard to get open and it was good for us to get those goals."
And despite a less-than-stellar night in the net by Pokey Reddick, who looked shaky on two of Phoenix's four goals, the Thunder had enough to fend off the Roadrunners. Moore got the eventual game-winner when he wristed one past Beaubien with 12-plus minutes remaining. At the time, it figured to be an insurance goal. Little did the Thunder realize how big it would be.
When Jeff Shevalier scored his second of the night, Phoenix was down only one. However, just 35 seconds remained and there simply wasn't enough time to get the equalizer. Zholtok won the all-important ensuing faceoff, the Thunder dumped the puck into the Phoenix end, then forechecked its way to victory in Game 1.
"We have a great deal of respect for Las Vegas, but we're not discouraged," said Phoenix coach Rob Laird. "We just have to play to our capabilities for 60 minutes."
Thunderbolts ...
* STREAK INTACT: The Thunder's streak of winning when it leads after two periods extended to 47-0-2 with Wednesday's win. ... Las Vegas outshot Phoenix 36-25. ... D Jeff Ricciardi received five stitches in the third period after taking a stick from Gary Shuchuck in the face. Ricciardi returned later in the period.
* BACK TO 'ZONA: The Roadrunners returned to Phoenix after Wednesday's game and won't return to Las Vegas until late Sunday for Game 2 Monday. ... The Thunder scratched D Gordie Mark in addition to C Paul DiPietro. ... Wednesday's crowd of 4,365 was the smallest crowd of the year by far at the Thomas & Mack. The season-low prior to Wednesday was 5,257 on Feb. 7 when the Thunder beat Indianapolis, 5-4.
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