Wranglers top Steelheads in OT, advance to conference finals
After getting robbed of a series-winning goal in overtime on a spectacular save by Jerry Kuhn on Sunday, Wranglers forward Eric Lampe wondered what else he could do to get a puck past Idaho’s outstanding goalie.
“Lampe came back to the bench and he was a little discouraged after that,” Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said. “But he stuck with it.”
Moments later, Lampe took a feed from Adam Miller on an odd-man rush and beat Kuhn at 10:46 of overtime to give the Wranglers a 2-1 win over the Steelheads and a 4-1 series victory in the ECHL Western Conference semifinals at Boise’s CenturyLink Arena.
Las Vegas advanced to the conference finals for the third time in five seasons to face top seed and defending ECHL champion Alaska, which beat Stockton 4-1 in the other Western semifinal. The schedule for the best-of-7 series had not been finalized late Sunday.
The Wranglers went 5-3-1 against the Aces, including a 2-2-1 mark at Alaska’s Olympic-sized Sullivan Arena.
“I like how we match up against them,” Mougenel said. “We’ve had success against them this year.”
Kuhn made 53 saves, three in rapid succession midway through overtime. He was sprawled on his side across the goal line when he stuck his leg out to stop Lampe’s bid. The second-year pro then turned away Judd Blackwater and Barry Goers before Lampe finally broke through for his first goal of the series.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Mougenel said of Kuhn’s save. “That goaltender was the best I’ve seen in a long time. That team doesn’t make the playoffs without that guy.
“He won them games single-handedly and he almost did it tonight.”
Joe Fallon also came up big for Las Vegas, stopping 34 of 35 shots, including a point-blank glove save in overtime of a shot by Idaho captain Marty Flichel.
“Fallon was awesome,” Mougenel said.
The teams exchanged goals in the second period, with the Steelheads’ Ron Meyers scoring at 10:11 from the bottom of the right circle. Miller tied it 1-1 with 2:35 left in the period, taking a quick pass in front from Lampe after Blackwater jarred the puck loose from Joe Pereira.
Blackwater assisted on Lampe’s winner, which propelled Las Vegas to its first conference final since 2009.
“One thing about this team is it hasn’t taken any shortcuts all year,” Mougenel said. “They’ve played short-handed and found a way to tough it out. They play hard for each other.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.