Locals vie for hockey title

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, March 28, 2002 | 11:21 a.m.

With 100-degree summers and no major professional team in sight, Southern Nevada hardly seems like a natural breeding ground for ice hockey talent. Just don't tell that to the Las Vegas Mustangs.

The club team, comprised of 18 area high schoolers who play out of the Santa Fe Station, will represent the state for the first time at next week's 2002 Tier II Nationals -- a 12-team tournament featuring some of the country's top 15-18 year-old squads -- in San Jose, Calif.

"No one really expects hockey in the desert to be good," said forward Ed Samuels, a sophomore at Palo Verde High School. "Now, we're proving to everyone that we're not a joke."

Far from it, the Mustangs have established themselves as one of the West Coast's top programs. Under second-year coach Rob Pallin, the team has skated to a 57-10-3 mark this season, winning the Southwest Youth Hockey League and then going 5-0 at the Pacific District Tier II Tournament to capture their region earlier this month.

With that, the Mustangs qualified for nationals, where they'll open pool play Wednesday against a squad from New York.

"If we win nationals that will be something huge," Pallin said. "And I wouldn't be surprised if we win."

The Mustangs' rise to prominence coincides with Pallin's arrival as both the team's coach and the Santa Fe ice arena manager in 2000. The team, which went 4-31 the previous season, improved to 35-15-3 in 2001 before winning 52 regular-season contests this year.

"I knew I had to get back to giving back to the game and to the kids," said Pallin, a native Minnesotan who played professionally in Europe and for the semi-pro Las Vegas Aces before taking his current position. "I treat it like any other program in Minnesota or Canada, and a lot of these kids really grasp that."

Several key players, who had transferred to schools in Minnesota, California or Colorado last year to join more competitive programs, returned this year when they saw the strides Pallin had made in just one season.

"In past years, (youth) hockey here had been a joke," goalkeeper Paul Lowden said. "But this whole year has been a year of revenge. We're beating teams that used to beat us easily and laughed while they were doing it."

Like Lowden, center Josh Jasek left town last year, then came back to play for Pallin.

"As soon as Rob came in, he had a whole new philosophy," said Jasek, a Mojave junior who leads the team with 128 points. "It was all about work ethic, and everybody bought in."

To prepare for nationals, the team has taken its conditioning to another level, working out at Mt. Charleston and spending time with a personal trainer.

"We win a lot of games in the third period, and I think it's all about our conditioning," Pallin said. "These kids are all very dedicated."

As are the players' parents. Though sponsors and the Santa Fe Station help with the team's expenses, weekend trips for league games in California, Arizona and Utah -- as well as regular season and postseason tournaments -- can add up quickly.

"The Sante Fe has been very supportive with everything and we do have sponsors, but it's still a heavy burden on these parents," Pallin said. "So we're definitely looking for sponsors for next year."

For now, however, next year is far from the minds of Pallin and his players. For now, it's all about a trip to nationals, and another opportunity to continue putting Las Vegas ice hockey on the map.

"When people outside of Nevada see 'Las Vegas' (on our jerseys) they have no idea what they're getting into," Pallin said. "The coaches in our league don't take us lightly anymore, but we're going to continue to earn respect from the teams we play."