Utah tops Wranglers in OT

Perfect on the penalty kill through their first 18 periods this season, the Wranglers allowed their first power-play goal Friday night at a most inopportune time.

Nick Tuzzolino scored with the man advantage 1:20 into overtime on a slap shot from just inside the blue line to lift the Utah Grizzlies to a 3-2 victory over Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound defenseman took a centering pass from former Wrangler Hugo Carpentier and blasted a one-timer past Las Vegas goalie Joe Fallon.

"I didn't see it until it was in," said Fallon (0-2-1), who stopped 34 of 37 shots.

Las Vegas (2-3-1), which has lost three straight games and is 1-3-1 at home, had held its opponents scoreless in 27 previous power plays this season before the Grizzlies (5-2-1) finally broke through.

Utah, which came up empty on four power plays in regulation, got another chance 10 seconds into overtime when Wranglers defenseman Craig Switzer incurred a two-minute minor for hooking.

"It's a tough call. I guess it was a mistake by me, but it could've gone either way," Switzer said. "Usually when there's a bad call like that, that's what happens against us."

After squandering an early 1-0 lead, Las Vegas tied the game at 2 with 6:10 remaining in regulation.

Colin Long buried a long rebound in the slot off a left-point shot by Ned Lukacevic, who had two assists.

Long, who has two goals and two assists in two games this season with Las Vegas, was assigned to the Wranglers this week from the American Hockey League's San Antonio Rampage.

Las Vegas, which entered with the lowest goals-per-game average (1.80) in the ECHL, took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period on a goal by Vince Bellissimo, who scored on his first shot of the season after returning from the injured list.

Bellissimo took a centering pass from Lukacevic and ripped it into an open net with 9:37 left in the first, easily beating Grizzlies goalie Andrew Engelage, who stopped 25 of 27 shots.

But Utah center Paul Crowder scored a pair of goals 40 seconds apart in the second period to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 edge.

Crowder tied it 1-1 at the 7:37 mark when he scored off a rebound in front of the net.

Las Vegas appeared ready to regain the lead at the other end, but a shot clanged off the post. Utah then went down the ice and scored again at the 8:17 mark, when Carpentier found Crowder in front of the net for an easy score.

"We had a great shift after they scored, but we might have been a little overzealous," Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel said. "Our defensemen were a little bit aggressive, and we got caught."

Las Vegas continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-3 to fall to 3-for-35 on the season.

"We're not working on the power play, and that's definitely a concern for me," Mougenel said. "There's no excuse for it. It's got to get going."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.