Wranglers fall to Florida in Game 4, trail Kelly Cup Finals 3-1

The odds always favor the house in Las Vegas.

But the odds are stacked heavily against the Wranglers, who must overcome a 3-1 series deficit to Florida to win the franchise's first ECHL championship.

Las Vegas fell behind 2-0 early in the second period and never recovered Tuesday night in a 3-1 loss to the Everblades in Game 4 of the Kelly Cup Finals in front of 4,723 at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla.

The Wranglers, who have lost three straight games for the third time all season, must win Game 5 - which will face off at 4:30 p.m. today in Florida - to bring the series back to Las Vegas.

If necessary, Games 6 and 7 will be played Friday and Saturday at Orleans Arena.

Only four of 105 teams in ECHL history have won a series after trailing 3-1. Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel said his team could be the fifth.

"They did it to us, so there's no reason we can't do it," he said of winning three straight. "They've got to beat us again, and I've got a great bunch of kids.

"There's not a lot of time to feel sorry for ourselves. We'll regroup and get right back at it (today). We need to come ready to play."

Florida, which improved to 10-0 at home in the playoffs and is on a 21-1-2 run at home including the regular season, led 1-0 after the first period for the second consecutive game.

Brandon MacLean broke in from the blue line and beat Joe Fallon (27 saves) with a backhander with 2:05 left in the first, which was controlled mostly by Las Vegas.

"They're an opportunistic team," Mougenel said. "We made some mistakes, and in the playoffs you can't afford to make mistakes."

The Everblades went ahead 2-0 at 5:15 of the second period on a deflection by Matt Marquardt, who netted the overtime winner in Florida's 4-3 victory in Game 3.

With its title hopes teetering, Las Vegas answered 77 seconds later, when Pete MacArthur finished off an odd-man rush with Eric Lampe to make it 2-1.

But that was all the Wranglers mustered against John Muse, who turned away 29 of 30 shots and helped the Everblades kill two Las Vegas power plays in the third period.

The Wranglers outshot Florida 21-15 in the first two periods before getting outshot 15-9 in the third.

Justin Shugg, who tied Game 3 with a goal late in regulation, helped seal Florida's win in Game 4, lifting the puck into the top of the net with 4:23 left.

"For two periods, we really carried the play," Mougenel said. "I hated us in the third."

Muse came up with a big save with less than two minutes left, stopping MacArthur's bid on a seemingly open net.

A rookie from East Falmouth, Mass., who helped Boston College win two NCAA titles, Muse is a big reason Florida is one win from its first ECHL championship after losing in the league finals in 2004 and 2005.

"He's been real good, but he's beatable," Mougenel said.

The Wranglers, who fell in six games to Cincinnati in 2008 in their only other Kelly Cup Finals appearance, have scored eight goals in four games.

"I need my best players to be my best players," Mougenel said.

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