Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005 | 8:55 a.m.
Somewhere in foggy Fresno last week, Wranglers forward Jeff Attard picked up the Bug that Ate the Wranglers.
In the eight days since Attard fell ill to the flu at the Save Mart Center, much of the Las Vegas lineup has come down with "the bunk," as it's known in the Wranglers locker room.
Monday's toll -- Attard, Jason McBain, Marc Magliarditi and Dana Lattery were hit -- left the roster so depleted that Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan signed assistant coach Joe Frederick to a contract.
Frederick's second-period slapshot that was deflected in by Chris Stanley on Monday was the second of three second-period goals as the Wranglers defeated Victoria 4-1 in front of a crowd of 5,920 at the Orleans Arena.
The Wranglers' full-time assistant coach last season, Frederick had been volunteering his time this season as an assistant while working full-time at the Orleans' parking valet.
"Any time I can help out these guys, I'll give stuff here and there," Frederick said. "I can't explain how excited I am to get on the ice and compete."
Monday's was probably the only game in which Frederick will be needed, with the Wranglers now on an eight-day layoff, but Las Vegas coach Glen Gulutzan said he hopes that "Freddie's" play will serve as a lesson for his struggling team.
"He's just a smart player who makes the game easier on himself," Gulutzan said. "He makes simple plays. The young guys get to see and they can learn from it. He uses his head to play."
Monday's success was tempered, as it was Las Vegas' first regulation win since Jan. 8, and the first win by more than one goal since Jan. 7.
"That long, eh?" Gulutzan said. "It's the first one where I felt like we had some breathing room, and you can never have too much."
Victoria came in with the worst record in the ECHL, riding an 18-game losing streak.
Wranglers forward Shawn Limpright, who had three assists Monday, said his team knew the importance of the weekend's games against a struggling opponent.
"These were two big games with Victoria -- these were must-wins," he said. "The sickness, these guys fought through it, we got all four points in just three days."
And despite their own recent struggles -- Las Vegas has won just one game in its past eight tries against teams other than Victoria -- the Wranglers are still in the playoff hunt, four points behind the two teams tied for fourth place.
"We're still in a position where we don't need any help; that's the position we need to be in," Gulutzan said. "We can't rely on other people for help, and right now we don't need it."
The Wranglers play host to Long Beach next Tuesday.
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