Wranglers extend streak

First Steve Crampton won a fight for the Wranglers, then he won the game.

Crampton, who pummeled Stockton's Jason Beckett in the second period, scored a tiebreaking, power-play goal early of the third that made the difference in Las Vegas' 12th straight victory.

Crampton also helped to seal the Wranglers' 3-1 win over the Thunder -- along with a "Gordie Howe hat trick," of a fight, goal and assist -- by setting up Jason Jozsa's goal with 1:51 remaining Friday night at the Orleans Arena.

Las Vegas matched its franchise-record winning streak set last season, also the third-longest in ECHL history. The Wranglers ended Stockton's 11-game winning streak.

The league record for consecutive wins is 14, a mark the Wranglers could reach by winning their playoff opener. But first, league-leading Las Vegas wraps up the regular season against Stockton at 7:05 tonight at the Orleans Arena.

A victory would earn the Wranglers (45-12-14, 104 points) the Brabham Cup, given to the team with the best regular-season record, and home-ice advantage throughout the Kelly Cup playoffs.

Las Vegas, which has won eight straight home games, can also clinch the top seed if Alaska loses at home to Utah tonight or both the Wranglers and Aces lose in overtime or a shootout. The Aces (48-16-7, 103 points), who beat last-place Utah 5-2 on Friday, would win a tiebreaker with Las Vegas by having more wins.

"The ball's in our court. If we win, there's nothing anyone else can do to (get) first place," Crampton said. "If we're thinking about winning the whole thing, and I think we should be, it's huge. We'll get home ice."

Stockton lost its bid for the fourth seed in the National Conference and home ice for the first round. Idaho beat Bakersfield 2-1 on Friday to clinch the fourth seed, so Stockton's main motivation tonight might be to play spoiler.

"They're definitely going to regroup. They've got a great squad over there," Crampton said of the Thunder. "We've got to be ready, we've got to have respect for them and find a way to get some jump. We'll be ready."

The Wranglers wore pink uniforms to benefit charity Friday, and they made Stockton see red after Crampton landed a hard right to the head of Beckett, along with several other solid punches.

With blood gushing from his forehead, Beckett was taken off the ice for treatment, but he returned and was whistled for hooking 1:17 into the third period. Soon after, Stockton's Tim Verbeek was penalized for high-sticking to give Las Vegas a two-man advantage.

Late in the 5-on-3 situation, Crampton took a pass in the slot from Derek Edwardson and fired the puck past Stockton goaltender Devan Dubnyk for a 2-1 lead.

Jozsa's power-play goal sealed the win. With Tim Sestito off for elbowing, Jozsa converted Crampton's pass and made Dubnyk throw his stick to the ice in disgust.

"Our guys played a solid 60-minute hockey game," Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We can come out (tonight) and just play our hardest and see what happens. That's all I'm asking these guys -- just play for yourselves and play hard."