Wranglers’ schedule to include massive voyage

Nick Christensen

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.

A one-way flight from Miami to Anchorage lasts about 10 hours, including a stopover in Seattle. A ticket for the 4,163-mile flight costs about $700.

The sun-to-snow stretch is the cruelest part of a three-week, 10-game road trip that will take the Las Vegas Wranglers from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Alaska, then to Boise, Idaho, before coming back to Las Vegas. The Wranglers will rack up 12,046 miles between Nov. 23 and Dec. 11.

The trip, in which the Wranglers will likely bus from New Orleans to games in Lafayette, La.; Beaumont, Texas; Biloxi, Miss.; Fort Myers, Fla.; Pensacola, Fla. and back to Fort Myers before flying to two games in Anchorage and two more in Boise, is the standout part of the Wranglers 2004-2005 schedule, which the ECHL announced Tuesday afternoon.

Overall, the Wranglers will play 32 games on the road, 28 at home, and 48 games within the ECHL's Pacific Division, which expanded to seven teams with the addition of the Victoria (British Columbia) Salmon Kings.

Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said he was surprised when he first heard of his team's cross-hemisphere swing.

"I did sort of think, 'What the heck is going on?' but that's the way they wrote our schedule. It's just going to make us tougher in the end," he said. "You've got to deal with these things. Everybody's got a tough schedule at some point. We're going to deal with it the best we can and get our guys ready."

The 2004-05 season will open Oct. 22 at Fresno. The first home game is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 2, against Long Beach. That kicks off a nine-game stretch with eight home games, separated by one game at Bakersfield, before the monster southern-northern trip.

The Wranglers will play their first game in Canada Feb. 25, at Victoria. Aside from Victoria, Toledo and Greenville are the only other two teams that will make their first visits to the Orleans Arena.

Wranglers fans who work the swing shift will get their chance to watch pro hockey on Monday, Dec. 20, when the Fresno Falcons visit Las Vegas for a midnight game. Last year's midnight game against Bakersfield drew 4,428 fans.

Last year's affiliation agreement brought the Double-A Wranglers several Flames prospects, including goalies Brent Krahn and Dany Sabourin, and forwards Justin Kelly and Garett Bembridge.

The agreement technically expires on June 1.

"We have been in preliminary talks, and both sides are happy with the affiliation. Assuming nothing out of the ordinary transpires, once they hopefully win the Stanley Cup, we'll resume the agreement once we get to talk again," Gulutzan said. "I know both sides. I've been in talks with them, and they've been happy with the way things went. We're assuming something will get done. We're carrying on like we are going to renew that affiliation."

Wranglers vice president Billy Johnson said he has been gauging the community reaction to the Flames' success, and plans on marketing it better next season.

"I don't think many people do know we're affiliated with Calgary. It's something we didn't push from a marketing standpoint this past year. We had so much on our plates our first year, basically creating our own identity, (bringing) Calgary to the forefront from a marketing standpoint wasn't in the top five list of things we needed to get done," he said. "Having watched the playoffs in various bars in last couple months, there's a real interest in Calgary's team right now, I guess because everybody loves an underdog."

He said that his analysis of players for his team has changed since the Wranglers lost three consecutive elimination games to the Idaho Steelheads in April, ending their season in the first round of the playoffs.

"I think we had a lot of talent this year, no question about that. We felt we could win on any given night, but we weren't ready every night to really work. We felt we could win by our talent. We have to become a very hard-working team night in and night out," Gulutzan said. "I want us to be more of a ham-and-eggs type team that's going to work and outplay opponents on a consistent basis."

One Wrangler who hopes to be back is defenseman Jason McBain.

"Originally I was hoping to maybe take a shot at going in NHL, and I still may. The only problem with that is I don't see much hope for the NHL next year," he said. "My whole theory is ... if I can't be at highest level then I don't want to be anywhere else but here. Glen and I have talked, and me being here is not an issue for him and I. If there's no NHL then chances are I'll be here again."