Wranglers’ Peter Ferraro ages gracefully

At an age when many professional athletes ponder retirement, Wranglers right wing Peter Ferraro -- who, along with twin brother and teammate Chris, turned 36 on Saturday -- said he feels better than ever.

He looked just fine on the ice Tuesday night at the Orleans Arena, where he scored his seventh goal in seven games in the third period to lift Las Vegas to a 2-1 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners.

"I don't log as much ice time as a lot of the other guys, so I feel great," said Ferraro, who played 92 games in the NHL. "I don't know why, but I feel as good as I've ever felt.

"They always say with age, you slow down and things like that, especially in a league like the ECHL, where there's more travel and the grind of it -- it's a lot more difficult than any other league I've ever played in -- but for some reason I don't feel tired or exhausted or my age."

After scoring a franchise-record 36 goals last season, Ferraro got off to a slow start this season, netting only two goals in his first 26 games. But he appears to have regained his top form.

"Peter is starting to get some of his confidence back," Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said. "He's not playing much different, but he's burying his chances."

Chris Ferraro has been a consistent scorer all season and leads Las Vegas (18-17-4) with 31 points. He scored a fluke power-play goal to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead with five minutes left in the second period.

Phoenix goalie Craig Kowalski tried to clear the puck from behind the net, but it caromed off Chris Ferraro's skate and into the open net.

P.J. Fenton spoiled an otherwise stellar performance by Las Vegas goalie Kevin Lalande, scoring at 7:09 of the third period to tie the score 1-1.

Lalande stopped 37 of 38 shots and held off a late charge by the RoadRunners (17-18-3).

"He was fantastic," Gulutzan said. "He might want to have that goal back, but he made some huge saves to keep us in, especially in the last few minutes of the game."

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