Snow fooling: Wranglers open doors, rally for win

Despite doors being left open at Orleans Arena on Tuesday afternoon, the condition of the ice was perfect for the Indoor Winter Classic.

The atmosphere was pretty cool, too.

Fans danced in the stands under falling snow throughout the New Year's Day ECHL game, and the Wranglers - many of whom wore eye black - rewarded them with a 3-2 comeback victory over the Ontario Reign.

Amid the constant sound of a howling winter wind, Las Vegas rallied for a pair of third-period goals, with Josh Lunden scoring the winner with 3:54 to play.

In an on-ice postgame ceremony, the Wranglers received a trophy wrapped in a golden padlock and chain that retails for $29, and defenseman Charlie Cook skated a victory lap with it.

"When we first caught a glimpse of it, we knew that had to be ours, and we did everything we could to get it," said Lunden, who wore eye black for the contest billed as the first outdoor hockey game ever played indoors.

Las Vegas goalies Joe Fallon and Mark Owuya wore ski caps during warmups, when the doors at the north end of the arena were left open.

"The eye black did come into effect there because there was a little glare coming off the ice," Lunden said. "It was a lot of fun. It was definitely colder than normal in the rink, and I thought it made the ice better. It was probably the best ice we had all year."

As if on cue, snow started to fall moments before the start of the game, which for some hockey fans helped fill the void left by the NHL's outdoor Winter Classic, which was canceled this year because of the lockout.

"Hopefully we'll get (NHL) hockey back, but this is close enough," Mike Gawlic said. "I miss hockey. I'm a hockey fanatic. I have hockey withdrawals."

Gawlic, 45, recently moved to Las Vegas from Chicago, where he attended the Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.

"It's a little different from being at Wrigley Field for the original Winter Classic," he said, wearing an Indoor Winter Classic sweatshirt covered with snowflakes. "It's pretty cool. It's good for hockey."

Curiously, the snow - which actually was soap suds - fell from the ceiling on only four sections of the arena. It didn't snow on the ice.

"I think that's clean living or good karma," Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel said. "I think if the snow was on the ice, it would've helped our game at times.

"We were sloppy in the second period, but we found a way to win in the third. That's the sign of a good team."

While most of the announced crowd of 115,000 - the official attendance was 3,991 - appeared to enjoy the snow, one fan from Delaware was irate about getting constantly pelted by it in Section 116, one of the hardest-hit areas.

"He was so angry about the snow," said Wranglers president Billy Johnson, who unsuccessfully tried to appease the unidentified man with offers of hotel rooms, comps and seats in a suite.

"He said, 'I picked these seats for a reason. I ain't moving. Turn (the snow machines) off,' " said Johnson, who spearheaded the promotion. "I said, 'I'll give you the same eight seats to three future games if you just relocate.' But he said, 'No, I live in Delaware, I'm never coming back, and I'm going to tell everyone in Delaware, 'Don't go to Wranglers games.'

"We lost Delaware."

Las Vegas (14-13-4), which has won six of its past eight games, took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Andrew Sarauer - who set up the game winner - before surrendering two goals to Ontario (21-8-2) in the second period.

"In the second period, the wind was definitely blowing toward our goal and played to Ontario's favor," Mougenel said, joking.

"It was an amazing atmosphere. It was fun. Once we got warmed up between periods, we did a good job," he added.

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