Wranglers-Bakersfield series set

The Wranglers entered Saturday's ECHL regular-season finale knowing they could finish anywhere from second to fourth in the Pacific Division.

They didn't take long to send a strong signal they would not be cellar dwellers entering the Kelly Cup playoffs.

Las Vegas jumped on the Stockton Thunder early, scoring four first-period goals in a 5-3 victory at Orleans Arena.

Forward Scott McCulloch and left wing Mick Lawrence each scored twice for the Wranglers, and goalie Glenn Fisher stopped 35 of 38 shots.

The Wranglers (34-31-8) finished second in the Pacific and will host Bakersfield at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the best-of-7 first round. Bakersfield's 3-2 shootout loss to Ontario late Saturday put the Wranglers in second, giving them the home-ice advantage against the Condors (33-31-8).

Las Vegas is happy to carry momentum into the playoffs after back-to-back victories over Stockton (32-33-7).

"Confidence is always a better thing," Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said. "Anything can happen in the playoffs, but it's nice to win and go in on a winning note."

McCulloch scored 2:06 into the game, and Lawrence made it 2-0 at the 5:24 mark. Then right after Las Vegas killed a penalty for interference, McCulloch exited the penalty box and scored at the 12:34 mark.

Not done yet, the Wranglers made it 4-0 with 4:15 left in the period when center Dan Riedel took forward Adam Miller's pass and slapped a shot from the left circle.

The Wranglers ended the period with four goals on 12 shots against Bryan Pitton.

"It set the tone for us in the game," McCulloch said.

Stockton put pressure on Las Vegas in the second period when center Craig Valette scored at the 3:52 mark. The Thunder also outshot the Wranglers 17-8 in the period, but Las Vegas killed two power plays to take a 4-1 lead into the third period.

Sandwiched around Lawrence's power-play goal 6:27 into the third period, Stockton twice cut the deficit to two on goals by Brandon Naurato and David Rohlfs.

Fortunately for the Wranglers, they had done enough in the first period to keep Stockton from threatening more seriously. The Thunder outplayed them for the final two periods.

"That's what happens sometimes in 4-0 games. You relax a little bit," Gulutzan said.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2914.