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The great debate Thursday night in a game of groans: Which hockey team produced the most ghastly goaltending?
The scoreboard argued for the Alaska Aces and Scott Reid, who blew four three-goal leads and fell 8-7 in overtime on the road to the Las Vegas Wranglers. On a night when Las Vegas' goaltending was softer than Charmin, as flimsy as one-ply and nearly swirled the Wranglers down the toilet early, the Aces were only too happy to furnish the flushing of Jimmy Spratt and replacement Joel Gistedt (a combined 21 saves on just 28 shots). Not that Reid channeled Patrick Roy -- he got so absolutely torched league officials might need to bring in arson investigators. Reid surrendered eight goals on just 33 shots, the capper coming on Craig Switzer's game winner 55 seconds into extra time. Alaska didn't have the option of yanking Reid, who permitted the game's final four goals -- he's the only goalie they have. (The stat from hell: The combined 15 goals came on just 61 shots, which means Reid, Spratt and Gistedt combined for a save percentage of .754, which might be awesome in lacrosse, but rates as brutal in hockey). The Aces have been down this sorry path before. Earlier this season, they raced to a 4-0 first-period lead at Victoria and managed to lose 5-4 in regulation. Thursday, the Aces squandered three-goal leads of 3-0, 5-2, 6-3 and 7-4. The loss, which merited the Aces just one point in the standings, wasted defenseman Bryan Miller's second career hat trick and his career high-tying four points. Alaska also received a three-point night from rookie center Nick Mazzolini and a goal from Curtis Fraser in his return after missing 45 ECHL games with shoulder surgery, and they racked four power-play goals in their first five chances. But Las Vegas' magnificent rallies and Alaska's monumental meltdown could prove costly for the visitors in the National Conference standings. While Las Vegas (31-26-7) vaulted into their third place in the eight-team conference with 69 points, the Aces (29-26-8) remained in sixth place with 66 points, just two ahead of Utah and three ahead of Ontario. Only the last-place team in the eight-team conference is denied a berth in the Kelly Cup playoffs. The Aces arrived at Orleans Arena having lost their last four roads and seven of their last eight, and burdened by the worst road winning percentage (.317) on the 20-team circuit. But they strafed Las Vegas starter Spratt in a hockey heartbeat. Spratt, who entered 6-1-1 since being snagged out of the Southern Professional Hockey League, surrendered power-play strikes to Miller and Fraser, and an even-strength marker to Mazzolini, in the opening 11 minutes. Mazzolini's softie prompted Las Vegas bench boss Ryan Mougenel to give Spratt the hook in favor of Gistedt. Las Vegas bounced back with goals from Alex Bourret and Mike Madill before period's end to cut Alaska's lead to 3-2. Alaska's Jason Ryznar, the former NHLer, scored his first goal in 30 games and Miller struck again to deliver a 5-2 advantage less than six minutes into the second period. No lead was even remotely safe, though. Josh Prudden's short-handed goal and the first of Chris Neiszner's two goals for the Wranglers sandwiched around Eric Boguniecki's marker to slice Alaska's lead at 6-4. Miller buoyed the Aces with his hat-trick goal on the power play late in the second period to restore a three-goal lead at 7-4. Naturally, though, Neiszner scored in the opening minute of the third period to cut the Aces' lead to 7-5. And blistering hot Adam Miller -- 14 goals and 28 points in his 12-game point streak -- deflected a shot by Wranglers defenseman Jason Krischuk of Anchorage to pull Las Vegas to within 7-6 with 11 minutes to go. Adam Miller forged a 7-7 tie with his team-leading 31st goal with about four minutes left in regulation. And Adam Miller fed Switzer for the game winner to give the center a four-point evening. On the upside for the Aces: They still have a six-game unbeaten streak at 4-0-2. On the other hand, the Wranglers own a five-game winning streak. And unlike the Aces, they don't enter tonight's second game of a three-game set wondering how they could unravel so massively after owning a three-goal cushion on four occasions.