Wranglers’ goalie steals one

CINCINNATI -- Outshot, outhit and outplayed, but definitely not outdone.

Las Vegas topped Cincinnati in the only way that truly mattered in Game 2 of the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals, stunning the Cyclones 1-0 on Sunday and silencing 6,897 fans at U.S. Bank Arena to tie the best-of-7 series, 1-1.

Las Vegas rookie center Adam Miller scored with 4:20 to play and rookie goalie Kevin Lalande was sensational, stopping all 27 shots by Cincinnati -- the second-winningest team in ECHL history -- to notch his second playoff shutout.

"Lalande played unbelievable. He made the saves he had to make and kept us in the game," said defenseman Jason Krischuk, who set up Miller's goal with a one-timer from the right point that struck Cyclones defenseman Chad Starling in the chest.

The puck bounced onto Mil- ler's stick in the high slot, and he ripped it past Cincinnati goalie Cedrick Desjardins (20 saves) into the upper corner.

"I saw the puck wobbling and I just took a swing at it and it went in the net," Miller said. "This win's very big for our team. We have to win one on the road to win it all. Hopefully we can take care of our business at home."

The next three games will be played at the Orleans Arena, with Game 3 at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.

"We got outplayed a little bit, but we played hard and we were smarter and a lot more disciplined," Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said. "It was a great playoff game, a close game that could've went either way.

"We've got our hands full in this series. They're a hell of a team and we're going to have to be at our best every night."

Krischuk got hit above his left eye with a stick in the second period, opening a gash that required four stitches to close, but he wore them proudly after the game.

"This win's amazing. It's worth every one of those stitches," he said. "The stitches are almost like a positive when you get back to the bar."

Las Vegas had plenty to celebrate after this hard-fought win, especially the performance of Lalande. He stopped several strong shots by the Cyclones, covering up countless pucks at close range and making stellar saves with both his pads and glove.

"He played unbelievable. He came up with some really huge saves, especially in the third period," said Cincinnati defenseman Matt MacDonald, who fired a shot off the crossbar. "When a goaltender is playing like he was tonight, you've basically got to get a greasy one past him. You're not going to get any easy ones. He's really tough to beat."

The Cyclones, who outshot the Wranglers 27-21 but went 0-for-3 on the power play, made a furious final push after Las Vegas defenseman Gerry Burke was whistled for holding with 1:28 left. They pulled Desjardins with 1:15 left, giving them a two-man advantage, but the Wranglers managed to hold them off.

"Kevin did a good job holding the fort, guys were blocking shots and we did what we had to do," Gulutzan said.

Before the game, Lalande said he told himself "I've got to give my team a chance to win."

"Guys were doing a good job of taking away second chances," he said. "That made my job easy. I was seeing the puck well tonight and it's obviously huge getting a split here."

Miller earned a measure of revenge against Desjardins with his winning goal. He had fanned on a backhander in front of an open net in the last minute of the second period, then was denied by Desjardins when he tried to jam his rebound inside the post.

"After he stuffed me, he kind of looked at me with some cockiness. ... It's playoff hockey right now and everybody's adrenaline is up," Miller said. "I was kind of shooting myself after the second period. ... It feels even better winning the game."

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