Jersey, sure

Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 | 10:20 a.m.

This is where powder blue fleuers-de-lis get swept aside by kelly green whale tails, Avalanche sightings are frequent, and Senators and Steelheads were spotted Tuesday night, as was a Gorilla and a Gull.

Don't be surprised to see an Ice Bat, IceCat, IceGator, IceHawk, IceHog, RiverDog, RiverKing, RiverRat or the Rivermen anytime soon, either.

On any given hockey night inside the Orleans Arena, home of the first-year ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers, loyal fans display their splashy uniforms of striking color and design.

"The first time I showed up, I didn't expect to see such a variety of fans who root for different teams," said Octavio Verduzco. "Everyone is so proud of their team and shows their fanatic enthusiasm. Like, 'Wow, OK. I'll bring my jersey from now on.' "

"It creates a big family and brings us together to root for the same team, although we have our own (NHL, or otherwise) preferences. It's great."

That's what Wranglers season-ticket holder Doug Hahn, who once moved from Alberta to Cleveland for the Northern Ohio town's warmth, believed, until recently.

Hahn, 31, regularly wears his white Quebec Nordiques jersey, the one spotted with the fleur-de-lis, as a tribute to the NHL team that relocated to Denver in 1995 and then promptly won the Stanley Cup.

"I've seen a couple of guys wear Winnipeg Jets uniforms, but one guy ticks me off," said Hahn, smiling. "He has an Atlanta Flames jersey. He's got me trump-carded, big time."

The Hartford Whalers, who moved to North Carolina in '97 and were transformed into the Carolina Hurricanes, had a distinct logo of a blue whale tail above a green "W," forming a white "H."Those are occasional treats.

In 1980, the Flames were sold to a contingent in Calgary.

In '95, the Jets moved to Phoenix, where they became the Coyotes. Tuesday night, Verduzco, with wife Tammy at his side, held 2-year-old son Noah Michael and represented different eras in more ways than one.

Noah wore the old Coyotes' uniform that featured a multi-colored, Kachina doll-like mascot and his dad wore the new all-red model, with a howling coyote on the front.

"I've been a Coyotes fan for a while," said Verduzco, 30, who manages the dairy department of a supermarket and has played recreational hockey since he attended Clark High.

"Most of the players I rooted for are no longer playing for Phoenix, but I still like the team. I think it's the team to beat, with a bunch of new players who are showing that they'll do a lot."

The puck void in Las Vegas began in 1999, when the Thunder of the old IHL shut down operations after six seasons. A sprinkle of Thunder jerseys can be seen at most Wranglers games.

Tom and Denise Merrick attended a Thunder game, at the Thomas & Mack Center, on a visit from New York. Soon afterward, the couple who held New York Rangers season tickets for years at Madison Square Garden moved to Las Vegas.

Their icy depression ended with the arrival of the Wranglers.

The Merricks, owners of a computer-billing service and holders of hockey season tickets for the first time in five years, proudly strolled through the Orleans turnstiles Tuesday wearing their Rangers jerseys, she the home white and he the away blue.

These days, they prefer the Orleans to MSG.

"Right now, the Wranglers are a good thing," said Denise Merrick, "because the Rangers are sooo bad."

The Rangers checked in Thursday a game above .500 in 36 games.

The Wranglers, in the middle of a stretch of four home games in five days, lead the Pacific Division of the ECHL at 21-9-5. They won games Tuesday and Wednesday by a combined 10-2 score.

Las Vegas has lost only one of 17 home games, and it entered the week with an average attendance (4,849) that placed it fifth in the ECHL. Tonight and Saturday, the Wranglers play host to Peoria.

The most unique top in the house Tuesday was the Manchester Storm, bearing a No. 24 with Kayle Short's last name high, worn by 20-year-old Summer Robertson.

Short played for the Storm, in England, before landing in Fresno last season. A defenseman, Short started the 2003-04 season with the Wranglers.

Robertson acquired the blue Storm jersey on eBay a year ago, then obtained a fire engine-red "FDNY" jersey as a Christmas present for her boyfriend, William Radiger, last month.

The couple lives in Fresno, made the trek here for Tuesday's game and left the Orleans disappointed but impressed with the building and atmosphere.

"I like this arena," Robertson said. "And the ECHL is exciting. I just love it."

John Wielgat, a Chicago native who has lived in Las Vegas for almost a year, didn't know what to expect when he walked up to the box office before Tuesday's game with his wife, Erin, and three friends.

He donned a black Blackhawks jersey, with Chris Chelios' name and No. 7, and she wore a red Hawks top.

"Jonesin' for a little bit of hockey," said Wielgat, attending his first minor-league hockey game after a 20-year history with the Blackhawks.

When the quintet walked away from the ticket window, each had a front-row seat in Section 118 for $30 apiece.

"Those would cost $225 in the NHL," said Wielgat.

At the first intermission, Wielgat said he appreciated the effort on the ice and was impressed by amenities that include marble and granite in spacious restrooms, plasma TV screens everywhere he turned and extra-wide padded seats.

For smokers, there's a convenient outdoor balcony on a ring of the concourse.

Wielgat also celebrated the prices at the concession stands.

"You see the raw talent of the players," he said. "You can see them developing before they become the athletes who are drafted. And let me tell you this, it will definitely not be the last time I'm here. I will definitely come back.

"The price of liquor blows me away. I don't know if it's just Las Vegas or their niche here. But I've been to so many different sporting events and so many different arenas, and the food and liquor prices here are 50 percent cheaper than anywhere I've been."

Imported beer runs $4.50, domestic $3.50. Mixed drinks are $3.50, doubles $6. Pretzels cost $1.50, with the tasty cheese $1 extra. Hot dogs are $2.50. Parking is free.

And those nose-to-the-glass season tickets, some of the 7,000 seats in the arena's hockey layout, go for $1,200 apiece.

When 2-year-old Vincent Seagroves sees the Orleans, he always chants "Hockey! Hockey!" When he turns a concourse, he runs at the woman who is the usher for his aisle, hugs her and pecks her on her cheek.

His parents, Detroit Red Wings fan Mike and Debbie, signed up for season tickets, at $720 each, as soon as they discovered the Wranglers were coming.

"We were here before the arena was open, picking out our section and seats," said Mike Seagroves, 38, a five-year Las Vegas resident who works in building control systems. "And the hockey is competitive. Most of the time, it's pretty good."

Debbie Seagroves enjoys the new friends, in neighboring and nearby seats, her family has made over the last three months.

"We look forward to seeing them every time we come," she said.

The same can be said about the variety of uniforms regularly worn in the arena.

Tony Salsaa, a 23-year-old furniture maker, sauntered around Tuesday in his yellow and purple throwback Kings jersey, bearing Luc Robitaille's name and No. 20, and a crown on the front.

A.J. Koontz, a 23-year-old waiter and Dallas native, wore a blue St. Louis Blues jersey with Wayne Gretzky's name and No. 99. In Gretzky's 21 seasons in the NHL, he played only 18 games for the Blues.

The No. 4 worn by Terry Sawchuk of the Boston Bruins, No. 19 worn by Joe Sakic of the Avalanche and No. 19 worn by Russ Romaniuk of the Thunder were some of the many other jerseys spotted this week at the Orleans.

Gene Tlaggey, who works at the same computer technology firm as Hahn and whose season ticket is next to his Nordiques jersey-wearing pal, wore a Jamie Black No. 6 San Diego Gulls jersey Tuesday.

He wouldn't wear that, though, when the Gulls visit.

"When Alaska comes to town, there's a guy in front of us who wears an Aces jersey," Tlaggey said. "Hey, if he's got the guts to wear it ... "