Power plays burn Wranglers

Ryan Mougenel can handle losing, but the first-year Wranglers coach won't accept a lack of effort from his team, which didn't display enough fire for him Thursday in a 5-2 loss to Alaska at the Orleans Arena.

"We need to compete, that's the bottom line. You need pride," Mougenel said. "Our effort wasn't there."

Special teams continue to be anything but this season for Las Vegas (0-2-0), which allowed two power-play goals and two shorthanded goals to the Aces after giving up three power-play goals to the Utah Grizzlies in a 5-3 season-opening defeat.

Las Vegas went 1-for-6 with a man advantage and is 2-for-12 this season on the power play.

"We weren't getting pucks to the net," Mougenel said. "Simplicity works best on the power play. That's what we've been preaching, and guys that don't buy into that are our skill guys. When (they) don't buy in ... they're going to be skilled guys on a different team. ... They better buy in, or it will be a short couple weeks here."

John Lammers had two goals and two assists and Colin Hemingway two goals for Alaska, which took a quick 2-0 lead and led 5-0 en route to its fourth straight win to start the season.

The Aces cashed in on their first power play of the game -- set up by a hooking penalty on Adam Miller -- when Lammers buried a shot at close range to give Alaska a 1-0 edge at the 4:23 mark.

Hemingway scored a shorthanded goal a little more than two minutes later, off an odd-man rush with Lammers, to make it 2-0. Lammers, who leads the Aces with five goals and seven points, dropped a pass in the slot to Hemingway, who easily beat Las Vegas goaltender Joel Gistedt.

"The first two goals were zero focus from us on the back end," Mougenel said. "Our back end has to get better, from the goalie to the defense to the back check. It was terrible."

Gistedt stopped 23 of 28 shots in his first start for Las Vegas.

"We didn't give him much help. They had like 10 2-on-1s," Mougenel said. "Our guys are not committing to helping each other out."

Hemingway made it 3-0 midway through the second period, six seconds into a power play, when he scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

Lammers made it 4-0 early in the third period on an unassisted, shorthanded goal. He stole the puck at center ice and rifled a wrist shot from the right point over Gistedt's right shoulder.

Matt Stefanishion also scored for Alaska, and Justin Bernhardt and Shay Stephenson each scored for Las Vegas, which will host the Aces today and Saturday.

"We've got to compete harder," Miller said. "It all comes down to that."

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