Wranglers rally past Idaho in shootout

(Las Vegas, NV) ? Chris Francis notched the only tally of the shootout, spoiling a strong start in net for Idaho's Jerry Kuhn as the Las Vegas Wranglers rallied past the Idaho Steelheads, 3-2, Tuesday night at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Idaho (3-7-1) gained one point in the standings with the shootout and took five of eight possible points in the four-game stretch against the Pacific Division-leading Wranglers. Neither team scored in a sloppy first period, but Idaho got two quick tallies early in the second. First, it was David Fredriksson on the power play with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle past Joe Fallon at 3:08 of the second to give Idaho a 1-0 lead. Kael Mouillierat and Matt Cowie assisted on Fredriksson's second of the year as Fredriksson now has a six-game point streak for Idaho. Just nineteen seconds later, Idaho struck again on a scramble off of a Wrangler turnover. This time, it was Derek LeBlanc notching his first goal as a Steelhead from the slot, giving Idaho a 2-0 lead. Las Vegas cut into the lead late in the second on the power play as Adam Miller scored his sixth of the season and the Wranglers would tie the game with just under six minutes left in regulation time when Eric Lampe found a loose puck on his stick during a scramble around the Idaho cage. Lampe's 13th tied the game and sent it to overtime. Kuhn had to come up big in overtime, making a pair of tremendous saves in the final minute of the overtime session to keep the game tied. First, he stonewalled Peter MacArthur from point-blank range and then, moments later, he got a leg pad on a shot from the near circle to send the game to a shootout. Francis scored first in the shootout and then Fallon turned aside all five Idaho shooters, allowing Las Vegas (6-4-2) to earn the second point for the victory. Kuhn stopped 37 of 39 shots along with three out of four shooters in the shootout for Idaho. Fallon made 25 saves on 27 shots and stopped all five shooters in the shootout. Idaho was 1-3 on the power play, while Las Vegas went 1-4 on the man advantage. The Steelheads travel to Bakersfield on Thursday to face the Condors, the first of three games in three nights between the two teams. Games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all begin at 8 PM (Mtn) and can be heard live on KTIK (1350 AM) in the Treasure Valley. Idaho returns home Friday, November 18, to host the defending Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office (208.331.TIXS) or by logging on to www.idahosteelheads.com. COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - David Fredriksson AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Eric Lampe (LV) (2) Judd Blackwater (LV) (3) Joe Fallon (LV) Steelhead Season-Ticket Holders get six games FREE when they sign up for full-season packages. Fans can still get pro-rated full-season tickets for the remaining 32 home games, starting at less than $275 per seat. Partial-season plans are also available. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.