Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.
Another day, another forward gone for the Las Vegas Wranglers.
Left winger Ryan Christie was loaned to the Triple-A Toronto Roadrunners by the Wranglers, and with forwards Eric Schneider and Tom Nelson and center Kevin O'Flaherty still out with injury, Las Vegas coach Glen Gulutzan is left with little choice but to move a few defensemen up the ice.
His team starts a stretch of five games in six nights tonight when the Wranglers play host to the last-place Fresno Falcons.
"We're definitely down in numbers with our forwards, and we'll probably have to play a few D-men up front," Gulutzan said. "We're just going to play a little bit short on numbers. It's the only thing we can do, and hopefully we'll stay above .500 and see what we can get done."
The short-handed Wranglers lost a shootout -- literally and figuratively -- to the Falcons Friday night in Fresno. The game went into overtime tied at 4-4, and goalie Marc Magliarditi took the Wranglers eight rounds in the shootout before falling to the Falcons.
Magliarditi will start his fourth game in a week tonight, after three days of rest.
"I think that's enough (rest) for most goalies, to get one day off or two days off," Gulutzan said. "I don't think fatigue's going to be a factor for Marc."
As for the rest of the team, Gulutzan said he expects his players to do a better job stepping up to fill the holes in their lineup.
"The thing we take out of it is, they've got a young hockey team that's working real hard, and we have to match that work ethic," Gulutzan said of the loss to Fresno. "If you combine everything, with the tough February schedule, the call-ups, the injuries -- it's time for other guys to step up and start to play."
But with the tough upcoming stretch, Gulutzan said they'll have to pull through to the less hurried days of March. After playing 16 games in February, the Wranglers play just 11 games in March and two in April before the playoffs start. The Wranglers get two four-day breaks and one five-day break in March, enough to get the team rested for a playoff run.
Las Vegas is still tied with Idaho for second place in the ECHL's Pacific Division, and only eight points behind San Diego for first place in the division and second place overall in the league. With four teams from each division playoff-bound, the Wranglers are six points up on fourth-place Alaska and 23 points ahead of fifth-place Bakersfield.
The Wranglers can clinch a playoff spot with seven wins in their remaining 18 games.
"We just want to get into position to play in the playoffs," Gulutzan said. "San Diego's playing such good hockey, if we could start winning head-to-head meetings, we could get ground. If not, we're battling for second or third."
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