Wranglers get the message, close in on division lead

Before his team embarked on a brutal stretch of eight games in 10 days, Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel sent each of his players a message.

"I told them what I love about them as players and what I need to see from them in the next set of games," he said Sunday after Las Vegas beat Bakersfield 6-3 in front of a crowd of 4,585 at the Orleans Arena.

"One thing I said to Adam Miller was, 'I know you're a big-time player. When things are on the line, you get better.' "

Miller must have received Mougenel's message loud and clear, because he led the Wranglers to a 6-1-1 mark over the past 10 days to help them close to two points of first place in their division.

Miller had a hat trick and two assists Sunday to extend his franchise record-tying point streak to 11 games. He leads Las Vegas in scoring with 73 points, good for fifth most in the ECHL.

Miller's line produced 10 points Sunday, with Alex Bourret dishing out three assists and Mick Lawrence two.

"We all like playing together," Miller said. "We're all having fun out there like little kids."

Things are always more fun for a team when it's winning, and the Wranglers (30-26-7) are on a roll. They've won four straight games, all over the division-leading Condors (32-25-5), to improve to four games over .500 for the first time.

The Wranglers trail the Condors by two points in the Pacific with nine games left in the regular season.

"Right now we're in a good spot," said Bourret, who has 37 points in 27 games with Las Vegas. "We just need to keep winning."

The Wranglers have climbed out of last place in the league in power-play percentage after going 2-for-7 with the man advantage Sunday and 9-for-19 in their last three games.

"Our power play's really connecting," Miller said. "Guys are moving it quick and getting open, and pucks are going in."

Defenseman Craig Switzer scored both power-play goals for Las Vegas, giving the Wranglers the lead for good, at 4-3, with 6:44 left to play.

Miller, who gave the Wranglers a 3-1 edge in the second period, made it 5-3 a few minutes later and added an empty-netter with 1:08 left.

"I thought they were all kind of Adam Miller goals, going to the net and beating guys wide with his speed," Mougenel said. "He can definitely play in the American (Hockey) League, I know that."

Chris Neiszner also scored for Las Vegas, tying Tyler Mosienko Wranglers' franchise record for goals with 58.

Jimmy Spratt (6-1-1) stopped 28 of 31 shots for the Wranglers.

■ NOTE -- Bonanza High School graduate Adam Naglich had an assist for Bakersfield, giving him 30 points in 31 games.

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