Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Wranglers notch overtime win over division foe Ontario

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STEPHEN SYLVANIE / SPECIAL TO THE SUN

With Ryan Weston (52) aiding on defense, Wranglers goaltender Joe Fallon keeps his eyes on the puck while falling backwards into his net after making a save against the Ontario Reign on Friday night at the Orleans Arena.

Wranglers vs. Reign

Ontario netminder Chris Carozzi gets a pad on a shot by Ned Lukacevic as the Wranglers hosted the Reign on Friday night at the Orleans Arena. Launch slideshow »

Wranglers defenseman Barry Goers scored a power-play goal 32 seconds into overtime to give Las Vegas a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Pacific Division foe Ontario Friday night at the Orleans Arena.

Reign center C.J. Stretch picked up a roughing penalty 20 seconds into overtime and Goers benefited from the man advantage with his third goal of the season 12 seconds later to give the Wranglers a seven-point lead over the Reign in the division.

“It was great to see Barry score because he works so hard,” said Wranglers head coach Ryan Mougenel. “It’s nice to see him rewarded. He made a great shot for the winner.”

After being held scoreless for the first two periods of the game, the Wranglers tied the contest at a goal apiece with Adam Miller’s 18th goal of the season with 6:19 remaining in regulation.

Miller handled a pass from Michael Busto in the right slot and fired the puck by Reign goaltender Chris Carozzi to end a scoreless drought lasting over six periods of game action, including a 6-0 loss at Ontario on Wednesday.

The Reign took the initial lead of the game with a goal from Tristan King at the 5:41 mark of the second period. Ontario outshot Las Vegas 16-8 in the first two periods.

Las Vegas center Pete MacArthur was credited with assists on both goals for a total of 20 on the year. MacArthur is tied for second place on the team in assists with Mike Madill, who tallied an assist on Goers’ game-winning goal in overtime.

Wranglers goaltender Joe Fallon responded with a strong performance in the team’s first home game of the calendar year as he recorded 27 saves to pick up his 17th win of season.

“I definitely wanted to have a good outing first time back in Vegas,” Fallon said. “I felt like it gave me a really good boost.”

Stars of the game: 1. Barry Goers (1 goal); 2. Pete MacArthur (2 assists); 3. Joe Fallon (27 saves).

Top scorers: With Miller’s third-period goal, he moved into fourth place in the ECHL in scoring with 41 points. Eric Lampe is second in the ECHL in scoring with 44 points. Lampe was held scoreless for a second consecutive game on Friday after his 15-game point-scoring streak came to an end in their shutout loss on Wednesday.

Hot at Home: After finishing December with a record of 8-2 at the Orleans Arena, the Wranglers won their first home game of the new year in front of a crowd of 4,513.

Next up: The Wranglers return to the ice Saturday night as they host the Reign for a consecutive night with the puck dropping at 7:05 p.m. It will mark the third time in four days the two division rivals will face off against each other.

Final word: “Fallon was awesome,” Mougenel said. “I was concerned. He wasn’t himself during the last game or even after the game, so it’s good to see him play really outstanding. I thought he kept us in the game really. He did. He made some amazing saves. That’s good to see.”

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