Friday, Nov. 7, 2003 | 10:43 a.m.
They're an expansion franchise off to a blazing 7-1-2 start after playing an eight-game homestand in a palacial arena, and racked up three league player of the month awards in October.
The Las Vegas Wranglers must be flying high, right?
Not quite. When the Wranglers board a bus for Long Beach early tomorrow morning, they'll embark on a two week roadtrip that will remind them why they call the minors "the bus leagues."
"There aren't too many long bus trips," said Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan. "We go a day early and get our legs."
After playing in Long Beach tomorrow, the Wranglers will fly to Philadelphia for next Friday's contest with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (7-1-0), a meeting of the league's best teams.
They'll then bus to Trenton, back to Atlantic City, and down to Roanoke, Va., before playing two games against the Reading, Penn. Royals. The team gets five days off before their home return on Nov. 28.
"As far as a visiting hockey club goes, Atlantic City is the team to beat," said goalie Marc Magliarditi, who is no stranger to the ECHL's eastern seaboard teams after playing for the Richmond, Va. Renegades in 2002.
"Obviously, it's not the most fun thing to do," he said. "But I was in the division last year, so I know the buildings, the travel, it's not a big deal."
Wranglers winger Justin Kelly was actually looking forward to the bus time.
"It's fun to get on the road," he said. "It's good for the guys to get to know each other. We've been home, we've had a good run, and now it's time to go have some fun on the road."
For Gulutzan, that means winning, and winning means getting some scouting from eastern coaches.
"Every coach wants you to pick up as many points as you can (on their division rivals)," explained Gulutzan. "For the most part, most coaches help out."
The same scouting holds true for the players.
"I've talked to some guys around the league," Magliarditi said. "I have some buddies I'll be playing against."
For Kelly, it's also a chance to get some respect in core hockey country.
"Teams out west don't get the respect," Kelly said. "So we have to go east and show them."
NOTES: As expected, Greg Day was named the ECHL's player of the month Thursday. Day logged 10 assists and 13 points in October. ... Kelly was placed on the seven-day disabled list after his knee banged the wall in Wednesday's game.
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