Wranglers maintain home-ice advantage

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2003 | 10:14 a.m.

Wednesday night was full of surprises as the Orleans Arena.

The league's worst road team kept the game close against th ECHL's best home team. A weeknight crowd of 6,858 turned out in a notoriously tough sports town. And for the Las Vegas Wranglers' Dave Cousineau and Justin Kelly, the biggest surprise was their selection to the ECHL's all-star team.

"Nobody told me," Kelly said after the game when asked about his selection as an all-star. "It's a surprise, I didn't have any clue."

The Wranglers' front office decided to withhold the announcements until after Wednesday's game. The Wranglers beat the Long Beach Ice Dogs 2-1, improving their home record to 11-0-1 and moving them into first place in the ECHL's Pacific Division with a 13-5-4 record.

Kelly, a rookie winger, and Cousineau, a rookie defenseman, will represent the ECHL's Western Conference in the Par-A-Dice All-Stargame, Jan. 21 in Peoria, Ill.

Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said an all-star appearance can be a great springboard for a young player's career.

"I think it's great, the place will be loaded with scouts from the AHL and NHL," Gulutzan said. "It's a showcase for young players to show what they can do."

On the year, Kelly has logged eight goals and eight assists, with a plus-13 rating, the top mark for a rookie in the ECHL. Cousineau has seven goals on the year, also with eight assists.

"Cousineau has a real knack offensively. He's a good offensive defenseman," Guluztan said. "Kelly's got the tools. He's a smart hockey player who shows his poise on the ice."

The biggest surprise of the night, though, turned out to be who wasn't an all-star selection. Wranglers goalie Marc Magliarditi was passed over by voters, despite having the lowest goals-against average in the Western Conference. Louisiana's Frederic Cloutier, Idaho's Dan Ellis, and Gwinnett's Michael Garnett were given all-star nods.

"I think my stats granted possible selection," said Magliarditi, who started for the Wranglers Wednesday and made 33 saves, "but whoever was voting didn't think so. I did my part."

Maybe, Magliarditi offered, the voters might have favored younger players. Magliarditi is in his eighth professional season.

"That's what this game is all about. It's been a prospects' game," he said. "It's definitely possible it could have had an impact, maybe I got edged out."

Gulutzan said he too was surprised that Magliarditi wasn't given the free trip to Peoria.

"Only thing that surprised me was it wasn't Marc or Jason McBain," he said. "But that's a trend in the ECHL. It's a showcase for young talent."

But despite the apparent snub of his teammates, Cousineau was excited about the opportunity to show off.

"For young guys, it's one more step," he said. "We can use it as a platform to get to the next level."