Seitsonen comes to Wranglers’ rescue

STOCKTON, Calif. -- The Thunder struck for a short-handed, game-winning goal late in Game 1 of the National Conference quarterfinals. But the Wranglers answered with one of their own on Sunday.

About a minute after Tyler Mosienko scored on the power play to tie Game 3 at 2-all, Aki Seitsonen netted a short-handed, game-winning goal with 12 seconds left to give the Wranglers a 3-2 triumph at Stockton Arena and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Ryan Donally, who scored an overtime goal Saturday to lift Las Vegas to a 5-4 win in Game 2, also played a part in the winning goal in Game 3, skating out from the blue line and feeding Seitsonen at center ice.

Seitsonen skated into the right circle and unleashed a slap shot that beat Stockton goalie Tim Boron (44 saves) high on his stick side.

"It was the probably the most exciting goal (I've ever scored)," said the 22-year-old center from Finland. "It was one of those moments, at first you don't think it's real.

"We never stopped playing. Their goalie played great. We were lucky we got the win."

Despite out-shooting the eighth-seeded Thunder 34 to 13 in the first two periods -- and by a whopping 133-66 margin in the first three games of the series -- top seed Las Vegas was in danger of falling into a 2-1 hole in the series before Stockton defenseman Brian Lee was whistled for interference with 2:01 remaining.

Las Vegas, 0-for-6 on the power play up to that point, cashed in on its lucky seventh try when Mosienko took a centering pass in the slot from Adam Cracknell, who was behind the net, and snapped it past Boron on his stick side with 1:15 left.

"It was a really nice pass and it was hard to miss that one," Mosienko said. "We just stuck with it and eventually a couple pucks went in the net."

Ryan O'Mara gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first.

Kelly Czuy tied it 1-1 on a backhander six minutes into the second, but Stockton regained the lead midway through the period when Jacob Micflikier buried a rebound in front of the net.