Goalie problems in Calgary leave Wranglers on thin ice

Nick Christensen

Monday, Jan. 12, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

Minor-league affiliations in hockey might not mean quite as much as they do in baseball, but that doesn't mean the impact of injuries at the big-league level aren't felt down the food chain.

Injuries to Calgary goalies Roman Turek and Miikka Kiprusoff forced the Flames to call up Triple-A goaltender Dany Sabourin from Lowell. That forced Lowell to bring up Brent Krahn from the Flames' Double-A affiliate Las Vegas Wranglers.

And so the Wranglers' deadly duo of Krahn and Marc Magliarditi has been temporarily separated while Calgary's goalies heal. Turek has been out since October with a knee injury, and Kiprusoff went down with a knee injury at the end of December. Both are expected to return by the end of January, so according to Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan, his team will just have to stick it out.

"If you take any team in the ECHL and take two goalies out of their lineup, they're really scrambling," Gulutzan said. "In the AHL, when they lose a goaltender, they can pull a goaltender from Las Vegas. Here, it's tougher to get someone in."

The Wranglers play two games this week and have next week off for the all- star break. They return to the ice Jan. 25 at Fresno with hopes that will leave enough time for things higher up on the food chain to sort themselves out.

In the meantime, the Wranglers' biggest concern is keeping Magliarditi healthy. If he comes up gimpy, the Wranglers will be forced to bring in Gumpy.

Gumpy is 25-year-old Jason Rivera, the Wranglers' equipment manager and emergency backup. He has been an emergency backup with the Fresno Falcons... but he never has seen actual game time in goal.

Many fans did a double-take when trainer Mike Hannigan went out to the ice last week after what appeared to be a minor injury to Magliarditi. But Rivera said he knows his cue to get ready.

"Some body parts move the way they shouldn't," Rivera said. "That's the time to get worried."

Not that the emergency backup going in is necessarily a gift to opponents. Last season, 42-year-old Fort Wayne Komets equipment manager Joe Franke came into a 1-1 game midway through the third period, and won -- in a shootout. He stopped four of six shots in his 11 minutes in goal, and stopped another three shots in four shootout attempts ... plus added an assist to boot.

Magliarditi doesn't doubt that other teams know the position the Wranglers are in, and might be playing a little rougher around the goal to "accidentally" put him out.

"I think they try to use it to their advantage," Magliarditi said. "They'll try to get a lot of shots, and try to wear me down."

But despite the more exhausting schedule and rougher play, Magliarditi said he doesn't mind being the only real goalie on the roster.

"I don't think about it. I remember my first time, it was a little bizarre, the other team might be taking liberties," he said. "I like to play all the time, the more you're playing, the preparation comes automatically. This stretch here, 11 games in 16 nights, I'm a little banged up but I feel fine."

The stretch seemed to catch up with Magliarditi and his teammates over the weekend. The Peoria Rivermen got nine goals on 62 shots in their two-game sweep of the Wranglers at the Orleans Arena. It's the first home losing streak in Wranglers' history.

But Magliarditi said he knows he has to tough it out to get through this stretch.

"Whether I'm 100 percent or 80 percent, I'm going," he said. "That aspect, a little nagging something going on, I just put it out of my head. I don't have a choice."

NOTES: Las Vegas rookie defenseman Dave Cousineau was signed by Triple-A Toronto late last week. His roster spot was filled by defenseman Deryk Engelland, who was sent down from Triple-A Lowell. ... The Wranglers play host to Alaska tomorrow night. Las Vegas dropped from first to third place in the ECHL's Pacific Division over the weekend, after being passed by Idaho and Alaska.