Wranglers show speed and spirit in exhibitions

Nick Christensen

Monday, Oct. 18, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

A week into training camp but just six days from their season opener, the Las Vegas Wranglers are just about where head coach Glen Gulutzan wants them to be.

Despite losing two exhibition games to the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies this weekend, this year's potential Wranglers showed speed, a fair amount of skill and quite a bit of fighting spirit that last year's squad missed at times.

"We have some work to do," Gulutzan said of the week ahead. "We've got to shoot the puck, get guys going to the net. We have to work on some of our systems."

Las Vegas' training camp roster stands at 21 players, after Ken Nilsson and assistant coach Joe Frederick were released from the playing roster. That left at least one roster cut to make, assuming that Gulutzan opts to not keep a spot free for a potential veteran signing, and assuming that Triple-A Lowell doesn't send any other players down.

The second may be more of a stretch than the first. Before the season, Gulutzan said he was expecting five to seven prospects from above. Currently, the team has eight, with a ninth on the way. More could come, leaving the Wranglers with a majority of their roster spots filled with American Hockey League players and NHL prospects, and without Double-A ECHL talent like last year.

That caliber of talent translated into several breakaway opportunities over the weekend, one of which translated into a goal by Las Vegas' Darren Lynch. But the young team also overshot or missed several passes, a symptom that veteran defenseman Mike McBain said is more due to his team's unfamiliarity with each other than to the youth of his new teammates.

"I think our effort was there," McBain said. "We're getting the systems down. For only being together for a week, I think we played well. We've got some positional things we've got to work on, but the most important thing is that guys worked hard."

Gulutzan said he got a good assessment of his team's capabilities over the weekend.

"It's a hard working team. We're not going to be a club that wants to get into too many shootouts," he said. "We need to make sure we play good defense. I thought we were outchanced tonight, we were on the bad end of some bounces."

McBain also credited Atlantic City's goaltending, which combined for a shutout on Friday before each Bullies goaltender allowed one goal splitting time in net on Saturday.

Lynch's goal early in the second period was against Jake Moreland, who had 20 saves Saturday for Atlantic City. The Wranglers' Dana Lattery then scored a minute into the third period on Adam Munro, the only shot of 19 attempts that would get by the Bullies' veteran.

"Their goalies, that was an outstanding effort there," McBain said. "They're the best we've seen so far."

The goaltenders weren't the only ones on the ice taking the preseason contests seriously. By Saturday evening, tempers had flared between the two teams to the tune of five scrums, two fights, and seven stitches for the Bullies' Kevin Clauson after tussling with new Wrangler Regan Darby at the close of the second period.

It comes as quite a contrast to last year's Wranglers team, which averaged 22 penalty minutes per game. The team combined for 27 minutes on Saturday, including three fighting penalties in the second period.

"We're a bunch of guys that aren't going to back down," McBain said. "As long as we stand up for the other guys, I think we're going to be fine."

Returning Las Vegas goaltender Marc Magliarditi said the physical aspect of the game was emphasized from the get-go.

"In training camp... you want to stick up for your teammates," he said. "We did a great job tonight in the physical, the fighting department."

Gulutzan grinned when asked about his team's new attitude.

"We've got a lot of (Calgary) Flames players here," he said.