Wranglers win 10th in row

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For true redemption, the Wranglers will have to wait until the postseason. That’s when they’ll get a chance to avenge last year’s playoff elimination by ECHL Kelly Cup champion Idaho.

But Las Vegas gained a measure of satisfaction Thursday morning, grinding out a 4-3 victory over the Steelheads at the Orleans Arena in front of hundreds of students who attended on a field trip.

Brandon Kaleniecki netted the winning goal 6:56 into the third period, and the Wranglers (14-2) held off Idaho (6-5-6) for their 10th consecutive win.

“All the games we play against them will be intense and fast-paced. They don’t back down and they play hard every game,” said Las Vegas defenseman Aaron Power, who had a goal and assist. “That was the most intense game we played this year, for sure. They’re one of the top teams, so it was a good measuring stick for us.”

The Wranglers will host Idaho again at 7:05 p.m. today and Saturday, but coach Glen Gulutzan knows the true test won’t come for quite a while.

“It doesn’t matter who wins in the regular season,” he said. “We’ve got to win in the playoffs.”

Kaleniecki, who played 19 games in the ECHL for Gwinnett last season after four years at the University of Michigan, scored from point-blank range, punching the puck past Idaho goalie Steve Silverthorn on a feed from the corner by Justin Donati.

The puck bounced off a couple of players in front of the net before stopping at the skates of Kaleniecki, who said it was “an empty-netter almost.”

“He does the little things right,” Gulutzan said of Kaleniecki, who has seven goals in 14 games. “He goes to the net hard and scores the tough goals. He gets to places where other guys don’t always want to go, and that’s why he’s successful.”

Donati, a rookie center who also set up a first-period goal by Power, had missed the last two games with a shoulder injury.

“It’s sore, but we’re short on guys and we needed someone to step in there,” Donati said. “I just battled through it today.”

Las Vegas outshot Idaho 24-18, and both teams made the most of their attempts. The Wranglers scored their three first-period goals on nine shots, and the Steelheads scored twice on six shots in the second period to tie it at 3.

Las Vegas got its first-period goals from defensemen Power, Sean Owens — temporarily playing forward — and Gerry Burke.

Lance Galbraith scored for Idaho (0-4-2 on the road) in the first period and Matt Craig and Taggart Desmet in the second.

• NOTES — The Wranglers acquired rookie goalie John Ceci from Fresno for cash. … Defenseman Jason Krischuk returned to the team from Quad City of the American Hockey League.