BILOXI, Miss. � The Las Vegas Wranglers built up a 3-0 lead and held on to win their fourth game in a row by edging the Mississippi Sea Wolves 3-2 in the first-ever meeting between the teams in front of 3,573 on Thanksgiving Day at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
�We not playing together as a unit,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �We play well in spurts but it�s going to get the job done. Texas is a hard-working team and we have 24 hours to be ready for the Wildcatters tomorrow (Friday) at the Wolves Den.�
Las Vegas (8-5-1, 17 points) jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:48 of the first period. Jason Spence pounced on a loose puck in the slot and scooped it over goaltender Matt Underhill for his first of the season. Assists went to Jeff Attard and Dana Lattery.
The Wranglers made it 2-0 at 15:53. Lattery netted his seventh of the season in front of the Sea Wolves net. Jason McBain and Attard collected helpers.
Las Vegas continued to bring offense in the second. Patrik Nilson took a pass from Rejean Stringer and slipped the puck through Underhill for his first of the campaign at 4:34. Christian Chartier also picked up an assist.
Mississippi (6-7-1, 13 points) solved Wranglers goaltender Marc Magliarditi with 19 seconds remaining in the middle stanza. On the Sea Wolves 21st shot of the game, Nicolas Corbeil re-directed a centering feed from Louis Dumont, to count his team-leading sixth goal of the year. Anthony Battaglia also garnered a helper.
In the third, the Sea Wolves peppered 17 shots at Magliarditi. With the extra attacker, Milt Mastad netted his first of the year with 22 seconds left in regulation.
In the dying seconds, Mississippi�s Kerry Ellis-Toddington let go with a slap shot that trickled through Magliarditi but went wide.
Mississippi failed to convert on three power play opportunities, while Las Vegas went 0-for-1 on the man advantage. Sea Wolves outshot the Wranglers 38-26.
The Sea Wolves wrap up their three-game homestand at 7:35 p.m. tomorrow against the Texas Wildcatters at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s Mac-N-Cheese Night, as fans are asked to bring Macaroni and Cheese as noisemakers during the game and donate to Loaves and Fishes following game. The game promotion also features Military 2-for-1, sponsored by Keesler Federal Credit Union, which offers all military personnel, active or retired, two tickets for the price of one by showing military identification at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office.
Individual tickets for tomorrow�s home game can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 385-2600 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Flex packs, discounted groups tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling (228) 275-WOLF or online at msseawolves.com.
Listen to the action live on WGCM-AM 1240 or online at msseawolves.com, courtesy of Teamline.
Watch the games live on a pay-per-view basis online, courtesy of B2 Networks, at msseawolves.com.
--- Box Score ---
SCORE BY PERIODS
Las Vegas 2 1 0--3
Mississippi 0 1 1--2
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Las Vegas-Spence 1 (Attard; Lattery)
8:48. 2, Las Vegas-Lattery 7 (Attard; McBain) 15:53. Penalties:
O'Leary, MIS (Elbowing), 3:57. Stanley, LV (High sticking), 12:08.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Las Vegas-Nilson 1 (game winner)
(Stringer; Chartier) 4:34. 4, Mississippi-Corbeil 6 (Dumont;
Battaglia) 19:41. Penalties: Huxley, LV (Unsportsmanlike Cond),
11:36. Hutchins, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 11:36. BENCH, LV
served by Nilson (Too many men), 12:32.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Mississippi-Mastad 1 (Hutchins;
Ellis-Toddington) 19:38. Penalties: Johner, LV (Tripping), 3:25.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Las Vegas 11 7 8--26
Mississippi 10 11 17--38
Power Play Conversions: Las Vegas - 0 of 1, Mississippi - 0 of 3.
Goalies: Las Vegas-Magliarditi (38 shots, 36 saves; record: 3-3-1).
Mississippi-Underhill (26 shots, 23 saves; record: 1-3-1).
A: 3573. Referee: Pelletier. Linesmen: Stanton; Owen. 
