Lampe’s overtime goal rescues Wranglers

In a wild, back-and-forth game that featured four goals over the final three minutes, Wranglers sniper Eric Lampe fired the last shot in overtime.

The speedy left wing beat goaltender Thomas Heemskerk on a wraparound 46 seconds into the extra session as Las Vegas outlasted the expansion San Francisco Bulls 6-5 on Thursday night at Orleans Arena.

"I threw it on net, and it hit off the (defenseman's) stick and off the goalie's head and into the net," said Lampe, who leads the team in goals with seven. "It was a lucky bounce."

Fortunately for Las Vegas (6-7-2), which has won three of four, Lampe didn't hear coach Ryan Mougenel yelling from the bench not to throw anything blind on net.

"It's a good thing they don't listen to me, obviously," Mougenel said.

Judd Blackwater had two goals and two assists, and Adam Hughesman had two goals and an assist for the Wranglers, who squandered three one-goal leads.

Bretton Stamler and Blackwater scored 13 seconds apart late in the third period to put Las Vegas up 5-4 with 2:02 remaining, but the Bulls tied it with 23 seconds left when Andrew Crescenzi beat Mitch O'Keefe (33 saves) in front.

"It's a coach's nightmare to break that game down, but there were a lot of positives," Mougenel said. "I liked our resilience, but I don't like us letting teams back into games. That's a mentality that's got to change."

Dean Ouellet scored two goals for San Francisco (8-10-3), tying it 3-3 at 58 seconds of the third period.

Marek Viedensky gave the Bulls a 4-3 lead midway through the third when he buried a rebound in front of the net on the power play.

Fueled by a rare power-play surge, the Wranglers led 3-2 after two periods, nearly doubling their season output on the man advantage in the process.

After entering with only five goals in 62 power plays, Las Vegas went 3-for-4 on Thursday.

Hughesman tied it 1-1 in the first off a nice pass in front from Blackwater, who beat Heemskerk on the first shot of the second period.

Hughesman put the Wranglers ahead 3-2 with 3:33 left in the second period when he buried a doorstep feed from Blackwater shortly after a two-man advantage dwindled to one.

"We moved the puck well, and when you've got guys at the net, you're going to end up banging in a couple," Blackwater said. "It just shows our character. Our team never quits.

"We're always trying to come back from any deficit, no matter if it's five goals or one, and we showed that tonight."

Defensemen Charlie Cook and Mike Madill each had two assists for the Wranglers, who will host the expansion Orlando Solar Bears today and Saturday.

■ NOTE - Wranglers forwards Josh Lunden and Adam Huxley are on the reserve list and forward Matt Carter is on the 21-day injured reserve.

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