As time expired in the Wranglers' hard-fought 1-0 win over the Cyclones in Game 2 of the Kelly Cup Finals on Sunday, an ugly scene played out.
Many of the 6,897 fans in attendance at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati littered the ice with half-filled plastic bottles and cups of beer, shouted obscenities and fired Super Balls at the Las Vegas coaches and players.
After getting flattened in the final minute of the game by a Cyclones player, Wranglers goalie Kevin Lalande nearly got hit in the head by a bottle as he left the ice.
"Their crowds were pretty nasty. It's kind of embarrassing what they did," said Las Vegas forward Adam Miller, who scored the winning goal with 4:20 remaining in regulation. "I saw water bottles half full and Coke bottles coming right at us. One of them almost hit (Lalande) in the face. He's got his mask on, but it doesn't matter. It was disrespectful to us and not good for their community.
"We were coming off the ice and there were kids around who look up to us, and their moms and dads were yelling every curse word in the book. It was just an embarrassment to their team, organization and to the city of Cincinnati."
Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan narrowly missed getting hit in the face with a Super Ball as he left the bench.
"One smoked off the glass behind me," he said. "I'm a coach who only has one good eye. I hurt my eye playing hockey, so I don't like balls whizzing by my head from the crowd.
"If somebody throws a cup of beer on the ice, the worst thing that can happen is someone gets wet, but when they start throwing things at your head, that's a little more dangerous."
The scene marred an otherwise outstanding turnout by Cyclones fans, who showed up in droves to see Cincinnati compete for the city's first professional sports title since 1990 -- when the Reds won the World Series -- and the town's first pro hockey crown since 1973, when the Swords claimed the American Hockey League's Calder Cup.
Saturday's Cyclones victory in Game 1 attracted a crowd of 8,676 -- the largest in the ECHL playoffs in seven years -- and a total of 15,573 attended the first two games in Cincinnati, one of only three teams to increase its attendance in the postseason.
The Cyclones averaged only 2,524 fans per game in the regular season, but that number has climbed to 4,157 in the playoffs for a whopping 64.6 percent increase.
"Their crowd was unbelievable," Las Vegas left wing Shawn Limpright said. "They were loud, and they really helped them get momentum and get themselves going.
"It would be nice if we could get a big crowd Thursday night and feed off them and score some goals. It's like having a sixth man at times."
Although the Wranglers are seeking Las Vegas' first major professional sports title in 20 years -- since the Stars' 1988 Pacific Coast League crown -- their attendance has gone down in the playoffs, from an average of about 5,000 fans per game in the regular season to 3,752 in the postseason.
A lack of advance ticket sales and advertising are among several factors contributing to the dip in attendance, which has increased through the Wranglers' playoff run -- from about 3,500 in the first two rounds to more than 4,300 for a pair of weeknight games against Utah in the conference finals.
But, with plenty of time for advance sales and "A Red Sea in Game Three" ad campaign -- fans are encouraged to wear red Thursday -- the Wranglers are hoping to follow Cincinnati's lead and pack the 7,773-seat Orleans Arena for the next three games of the series, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Monday.
"People in Vegas always want a big show," Las Vegas defenseman Jason Krischuk said. "This is the biggest show in hockey they're going to get right now, so hopefully they'll decide to show up this weekend."
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.
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