Wranglers on verge of sweep

The Wranglers had to work a little overtime Friday at the Orleans Arena, but the result was the same as in their previous 15 games -- a victory.

Derek Edwardson scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal 10:57 into sudden death to lift Las Vegas to a 5-4 victory over Phoenix, good for a 3-0 lead in the ECHL National Conference quarterfinal series.

Las Vegas, which extended its league-record winning streak to 16, can cap a sweep of the RoadRunners at 7:05 p.m. today at home, where the Wranglers have won 10 in a row.

"(Tonight's) a huge game. We've got to be ready to go and be right on them," Las Vegas coach Glen Gulutzan said. "The last two games could've went either way. They're a dangerous hockey club and we don't want to go back to Phoenix and play. The sooner we can finish it off the better."

Edwardson, who had three assists before his winning goal, carried the puck from the left circle to near the slot before firing it over the left pad of RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky, who made 40 saves, including several big ones in overtime.

"A couple minutes before, I whiffed on the same pass trying to shoot it, so I figured I'd stop it and let everything reset," said the soft-spoken Edwardson, wearing ice packs on his shoulder and knee. "I was hoping guys would slide through, and they did. A lane opened up and I finally beat the goalie."

Las Vegas, which went 3-for-7 on power plays, held a two-man advantage when Edwardson scored the winner. Phoenix's Kris Hogg received a tripping minor at 10:26, 52 seconds after Alexandre Rouleau was called for hooking.

"He's a clutch player," Gulutzan said of Edwardson, who also scored in Game 1 at Phoenix and led Las Vegas in the regular season with 68 points. "He pulled the puck out and knew exactly where he was going to shoot it. He shot it where the goalie couldn't get it. It was a great shot and a great play."

Shawn Limpright also came up big for the Wranglers, scoring a go-ahead goal early in the third period and assisting on two others. Linemate Steve Crampton added a goal and an assist.

"That line's been real good for us," Gulutzan said of Edwardson, Crampton and Limpright. "They have a lot of chemistry and they were a big part of the team last year and this year."

Limpright, who has two goals and three assists in the series, scored on a wraparound to give Las Vegas a 4-3 lead 3:38 into the third period.

"I knew the goalie wasn't really paying attention, so I grabbed it and threw in a quick wraparound," Limpright said. "It caught him off guard and luckily it went in."

Limpright said the Wranglers' confidence didn't waver after the RoadRunners' Jeff Kyrzakos tied the game at 4 with 3:27 left in regulation. Kyrzakos took a pass at point-blank range and fired the puck past Las Vegas goalie Kevin Nastiuk, who made 36 saves in his first playoff start of the season.

"We definitely out-chanced them and we knew if we kept putting pucks on net, we were going to get the win," Limpright said.

The Wranglers outshot the RoadRunners 45-40.

"It's been a good ride and we want it to continue," Limpright said of the winning streak. "There are 13 more wins to the Kelly Cup and that's what we're looking for.

"(Tonight) we're going to come out strong. Sweeping would be nice. We'd basically get the whole week off from games and guys would get to rest up, like me."