Wranglers squander power-play chances, suffer sixth straight loss

This one went to the wire, but the result was the same for the Wranglers -- another loss.

Las Vegas suffered its season-high sixth straight defeat and eighth in a row at home Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss to Alaska at Orleans Arena.

The Wranglers (35-25-5, 75 points) went 0-5 on their homestand -- with four of the losses to the Western Conference-leading Aces (42-21-3, 87) -- to fall from first place to third in the Pacific Division.

With seven games remaining in its regular season, Las Vegas trails Stockton (34-22-10, 78) and Bakersfield (37-25-3, 77) in its division and will face each team three more times.

The Wranglers had plenty of chances to snap their skid against the Aces but came up empty on three two-man advantages and finished 0-for-7 on the power play.

"The power play let us down. You've got to score on those," Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said. "We had enough opportunities to win the game, and when you can't win the game on the power play, it's disappointing."

Las Vegas went 2-for-27 on the power play on the homestand.

The Wranglers started strong Tuesday and took a 1-0 lead at the 3:34 mark when Colin Long buried a rebound in front of the net.

But they squandered an 81-second 5-on-3, and Alaska made them pay, scoring two goals on deflections in a span of 2:28 to take the lead for good at 2-1.

Former Las Vegas left wing Curtis Fraser redirected a shot in front of the net past goalie Michael Ouzas (24 saves) to tie it at 1 with 4:45 left in the first.

Alaska defenseman Russ Sinkewich then scored on a blast from just inside the blue line with 2:17 left that deflected off Las Vegas left wing Blair Riley, who returned from Peoria of the American Hockey League.

"We gave up two not great goals on deflections. It's not a sign of a mentally strong team," Mougenel said. "We're very fragile at the moment, and it's not a game you can be fragile."

Wes Goldie made it 3-1 with 4:38 left in the second with a backhander from the slot for his ECHL-leading 40th goal.

Ryan Huddy, who leads Las Vegas with 26 goals and 56 points, scored on a wraparound shot from behind the net to close to 3-2 at 1:15 of the third period.

The Wranglers went on a power play with 1:37 to play and pulled Ouzas to give them a two-man advantage but couldn't crack Aces goalie Gerald Coleman, who made 35 saves.

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