Wranglers answer bell, belt Steelheads

First, the Wranglers hit the Idaho Steelheads with the proverbial knockout blow Friday night at the Orleans Arena. Then they hit them with the real thing.

After defenseman Craig Switzer scored late in the second period to give surging Las Vegas a three-goal lead, the teams squared off in three fights in a span of six seconds, with the Wranglers winning two of them.

Las Vegas then held off the Steelheads en route to a 4-1 victory, the Wranglers' fifth straight at home and 10th in 12 games.

"The three fights in a row, that's just sticking up and caring for each other," Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said. "They answered the bell."

Chiseled Las Vegas left wing Blair Riley got the best of former Wranglers agitator Adam Huxley in a long opening bout near center ice.

Las Vegas center Justin Bernhardt then won a short skirmish with Idaho left wing Cody Purves. Wranglers right wing Dan Bertram and Steelheads forward Geoff Irwin duked it out in a draw to cap the fisticuffs.

"The guys play hard for each other and stick up for each other," said Las Vegas captain Tyler Mosienko, who had two goals and an assist. "The three fights in a row there -- that's really cool to see. Our guys stepped up there, and I thought we did really good in all three battles."

The Wranglers dominated all game, outshooting the Steelheads 18-3 in the first period and 41-15 overall.

Mosienko, who has four goals in two games, buried a rebound at 3:15 of the first period to give Las Vegas (12-4-2) a 1-0 lead.

Left wing Ryan Huddy, who had a goal and two assists, banged home a rebound of Mosienko's shot in front of the net to make it 2-0 with 9:22 left in the second period. Switzer scored 3:39 later, beating Steelheads goalie Mike Zacharias on a snap shot from the right circle.

Idaho defenseman Dustin Molle scored midway through the third period to spoil the shutout, but goalie Michael Ouzas (8-1-1) and Las Vegas' league-leading defense (2.18 goals-against average) held on.

Mosienko added an empty-net goal with a minute left for the Wranglers, who host Idaho (11-6-5) again tonight.

The Steelheads, who entered with the ECHL's top power-play percentage (23.3), went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Las Vegas went 0-for-4 on the power play.

"We're just getting comfortable with each other," Switzer said. "Everybody's got confidence in each other."

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