Columnist Ron Kantowski: Midnight start of game adds spice to ice

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

The visitors from Fresno wore their traveling Gulden's Mustard colored sweaters, while the home side from Las Vegas skated in its red flannel pajamas with the feet in them.

Welcome to midnight hockey.

My first thought upon leaving the house during David Letterman's monologue on my way to the Orleans Arena was, is it really necessary to play a minor league hockey game at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday morning?

Then again, one might argue that with the NHL on lockout, it's probably not necessary to play a minor league hockey game at the stroke of 7:30 p.m. on Monday evening.

My second thought was that I hope that Tom Bodett guy leaves the light on for me, just in case Lon Chaney Jr. or the Werewolf of London was lurking in the shadows in the media parking lot.

Well, there were a few hairy guys running around the Orleans, but they were just Wranglers fans in need of a shave. Surprisingly, they weren't alone, as an announced crowd of 4,006 insomniacs, about 2,500 of whom were actually on hand past their bedtime, turned out to watch the Wranglers snooze and lose to Fresno, 5-4 in an overtime shootout.

Actually, this was the second consecutive year that Wranglers management drew the ire of Wranglers players by scheduling a game that cut into their drinking time. But I slept through last year's game. As did many of the Wranglers, although Las Vegas did beat Bakersfield in overtime, probably because nobody from Bakersfield is used to being out that late.

Many of the Wranglers, who apparently haven't figured out that the best way to adjust for a midnight start is simply to schedule their tee time four hours later than usual, grumbled about the crazy starting time. But perhaps they better get used to adjusting their body clocks a whopping one time per year.

Wranglers marketing guru Billy Johnson seemed surprised when I asked how committed he was to midnight hockey. I think he thought I was going to ask for how long he should be committed for dreaming up the idea of midnight hockey.

Actually, he didn't quite take responsibility for hockey (way) after dark.

"It depends on how successful it is," Johnson joked. "If we're still playing at midnight five years from now, then I'll take responsibility for it."

Based on Monday's turnout, it's a lock that the Late Show with Glen Gulutzan will be back for a third season. Johnson said the in-house crowd was better than last Tuesday and Thursday's games, which began at a more traditional hour.

Johnson admits the midnight game was a publicity stunt, but he said the Wranglers may have to rethink and turn it into a marketing ploy. He said the team was probably remiss for not reaching out to swing shift workers up and down the Strip and all the other night owls who call Las Vegas home.

If you were scoring at home, or at least tossing and turning in bed, you might also give the Wranglers a two-minute minor for not using a little more imagination in the game presentation.

For starters, where was the clock with the time of day? What about milk and cookies at the concession stand? Or Eric Clapton ("After Midnight"), Wilson Pickett ("Midnight Hour") or the Grass Roots ("Midnight Confessions") during breaks in the action?

"It's 2 a.m. and Billy Tibbetts is in the house," the public address announcer could have cautioned.

Actually, tough guy Tibbetts was on his best behavior Monday night -- er, Tuesday morning -- until one of the Falcons collided with Wranglers goalie Sebastien Centomo, who had ventured from his crease to play the puck somewhere north of Saskatoon. Although the Fresno player got far worse of the contact, Tibbetts told him a bedtime story about Goldilocks and a knuckle sandwich.

So here it is, 4:04 a.m., and I'm sitting behind a keyboard and yawning like a grizzly bear on the first day of spring, trying to figure out where I stand on playing live pro sports during infomercial time.

Let's just say I went a slumber party, and a hockey game broke out.