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West Valley City • The ECHL playoffs got off to a bad start for Utah when the league ordered Game 1 of its series against Las Vegas be played Monday.

It got worse.

Las Vegas' Eric Lampe scored twice and goalie Mitch O'Keefe turned aside 21 shots as the Wranglers rolled to a 2-0 victory over the Grizzlies at the lifeless Maverik Center.

The win gives the Wranglers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series, meaning Utah must win three of the next four games to advance past the first round.

Because of arena availability issues this weekend in Las Vegas, Game 1 was played 48 hours after the Grizzlies ended the regular season in Bakersfield and on a day of the week when drawing fans in Utah is traditionally difficult.

The Grizzlies and Wranglers also faced TV competition from the NCAA championship and the Utah-Portland NBA game.

Perhaps as a result, only 1,936 fans watched the series opener, helping negate Utah's home-ice advantage, which had been tangible as the Grizzlies won five of their past six home games.

In the past three games, Utah drew an average crowd of 6,793.

"... The sense of urgency wasn't there," said Grizzlies coach Kevin Colley. "It honestly felt like a preseason game. We were flat. We didn't have anything, and I'll take full responsibility. I'll take the blame for the loss and be better tomorrow night."

Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

In the opener, Las Vegas set the tone in the first period by dominating play and outshooting Utah, 12-6.

The Wranglers didn't break through, however, until Lampe stuffed the puck behind Grizzlies goaltender Andrew Engelage at 1:14 of the second period.

Utah's most frustrating stretch followed.

Despite three straight power plays, the Grizzlies managed only three shots on goal in the first 11 minutes of the period.

The failure to convert when they had the chance doomed the Grizzlies when Lampe scored again at 3:32 of the third period.

Eight seconds after Utah had killed a penalty, Lampe deflected a slap shot past Engelage.

The Grizzlies argued Lampe's scored with a stick-above-the-shoulders, but referee Nick Leduc allowed the goal. —

Storylines Utah loses at home

R Las Vegas defeats the Grizzlies, 2-0, in Game 1 of their first-round ECHL playoff series.

• Eric Lampe scores both goals for the Wranglers, and Utah goes 0-for-5 on power plays.