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Wranglers Outlast Bulls in Goal Battle, Win 6-5 in Overtime

With the Stanley Cup and 3,428 fans in the house Thursday night, the Las Vegas Wranglers battled, and beat, the San Francisco Bulls to a 6-5 overtime win in the first of a three-game series this weekend (Photo credit: Stephen Sylvanie). 

Playing in Las Vegas for the first time in team history, the Bulls took an early 1-0 lead 2:27 into the first on a goal from right wing Daniil Tarasov. The Wranglers tied it up 1-1 exactly ten minutes later on a power play goal from left wing Adam Hughesman, and continued the special teams trend 17 seconds into the second on a power play goal from center Judd Blackwater. Las Vegas held the one-goal advantage until Bulls center Dean Ouellet knotted the game midway through the period, but quickly regained the 3-2 lead when Hughesman tallied his second power play goal of the night.

Going into the third, Ouellet used his second goal of the night to make it a 3-3 game in the first 58 seconds, and took the 4-3 lead on a left wing Marek Viedensky goal with less than ten minutes left in the game. Wranglers defenseman Bretton Stamler recorded his first goal of the season to even the score in the final 2:15 of the game, and just 13 seconds later, Blackwater turned around with his second goal of the night to give Las Vegas the 5-4 advantage. The Wranglers win loomed when Bulls center Andrew Crescenzi scored to tie the game at 5-5 in the last 23 seconds, and overtime was forced.

It only took 46 extra seconds for Wranglers center Eric Lampe to secure the game-winning goal, giving the team the 6-5 win over the Bulls in the first game of a three-game weekend. Wranglers goaltender Mitch O’Keefe stopped 33 of 38 shots in the victory.

The Wranglers take on the Orlando Solar Bears for the first time in team history Friday and Saturday night, with the local boys donning specialty Movember jerseys on Nov. 30 to benefit the Nevada Cancer Coalition. Lenny Hendrix will also perform tomorrow night in honor of the late Jimi Hendrix’s 70th birthday earlier this week. Tonight’s full box score can be found here.

Celebrating 10 seasons of Wranglers hockey this year, 2012-13 ticket plans are on sale now. Packages start at $93 and can be customized for five, 12 or 22-game plans. Full season tickets come with benefits including buddy passes, exclusive events, a team shop discount and more. Take advantage of the best deals by calling the Wranglers front office at (702) 471-PUCK. The Wranglers play all 36 regular season home games at Orleans Arena, located next to the Orleans Hotel and Casino at 4500 W. Tropicana Ave. Visit: www.lasvegaswranglers.com