Chris Francis….he picks the Seahawks

============================

Who Wins the Super Bowl – Denver Broncos

Richie Crossley, UNLV – I say Denver and the final score will be 35-32

Eddie Del Grosso, Las Vegas Wranglers – I’m going with the Broncos 21-17

Matt Edlin, president of Las Vegas Jr Wranglers – Seattle by two.

Brad Fischer, Las Vegas hockey dad – Seahawks by 10 points

Chris Francis, Las Vegas Wranglers – The Seattle Seahawks, 28-14

Anthony Greener, coach AA Las Vegas Jr Wranglers 18u –  I like the Broncos. Never bet against Peyton Manning

Jeff Hajner, Las Vegas Mustangs, Melfort Mustangs, Air Force – Broncos 27-24

Connor Haney, pro hockey – Seattle for sure and the total will be 41 – Seattle wins 21-17

Roy Henderson, Canada, Global Hockey Camps and Clinics – Seahawks by six

David Hoernicke, Las Vegas hockey dad – Denver by 7. Sherman has nothing to say.

Zach Jewby, former player for WSHL Salt Lake City Moose – Well, I have to go with my second favorite team and go with Seattle by 3

John McNicholas, Las Vegas hockey dad – Seattle 4 points

Tim Miller, Alaska hockey dad of goalie Talon Miller – Denver by a field goal

Las Vegas hockey dad Orlando Montoya – Broncos 34, Seattle 24

Will Munson, AAA San Diego Jr Gulls, Billings Jr Bulls, Nichols College – This will be a close one – Seattle by one

Rob Pallin, Vegas Hockey Hall of Fame coach now in Hungary – Denver by 9

Frank Gramps Perone – 2014 Vegas Hockey Person of the Year – I like Denver to win

Chris Raveling, roller player with Las Vegas Battalion – Denver 24-17

Gayle Raveling, roller hockey mom – Denver, because they wear the same team colors of my Chicago Bears who did not make it.

Angelo Ricci, head coach AAA Colorado Thunderbirds – Denver 34-27; After more analyzing going to change Broncos to win 27-24.

Nick Robone, Vegas Hockey Roller Hall of Fame – Broncos by 3

Tony Robone, Las Vegas hockey dad – Denver wins by 10

Eddie Samuels, Las Vegas Mustangs, Victoria Salsa, Billings Jr Bulls, Fairbanks Ice Dogs: It is all Denver by 10 points

Jimmy Samuels, roller hockey Crystal Palace – Broncos take it home. I am predicting a 17-10 win for Denver

Micah Sanford, Vegas Hockey Hall of Fame – Denver by 10. I think they will stomp the Seahawks.

Pete Trimboli, Las Vegas hockey dad – Denver by 2

Greg Yocum, Las Vegas hockey dad – Seattle 24-20

Scott Zucker, Las Vegas hockey dad – Broncos by three

===

Send your picks to leesamuels07@aol.com

===

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Saskatoon – Zach Pochiro of Las Vegas scored his 19th, 20th goals plus one assist for the WHL Prince George Cougars who beat the Saskatoon Blades 10-6 before 4,212 at the Credit Union Center.  Zach has 4 goals in his last two games for Prince George.

West Valley City, Utah – Chris Francis had an assist on a powerplay goal for the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers who lost 2-1 to the Utah Grizzlies before 2,810 at the Maverick Center. The Wrangler played without two injured Las Vegas players Eddie Del Grosso and Bryce Reddick.

FLASHBACK GAME NOTES –

SUPER BOWL WEEK – EIGHT YEARS AGO – 2005-06

Feb 5, 2006 – Just before the Super Bowl got underway, Stephen Leypoldt of Las Vegas scored a goal and dealt an assist for the Butte Roughriders Jr. B who, while playing for the fourth straight day, battled hard in an 8-6 loss to the Tri-City Titans Jr. B. Stephen found out about life on the road too: the Roughriders, in Spokane on Saturday night, got home at 4 am and then had to be on the ice vs. Tri-City by 10:30 am today.

Feb 5 – Kurt Long of Las Vegas scored both of the goals for the Laconia, N.H. Leafs Jr. Elite who lost 4-2 to Conrad Trimbath and the Northern Mass. Cyclones Jr. A on ‘Super Bowl Sunday.’ Kurt now has 6 goals, 4 assists this season.

Feb 4 – Jeff Hajner of Las Vegas blasted in three goals — his second hat trick this week — and he became the leading scorer in the league as the hot Melfort Mustangs Jr. A beat the Flin Flon Bombers 6-4 before 1,261 squeezed into the Northern Lights Palace. Hajner’s 36 goals, 38 assist for 74 points leads all scorers in the Saskatchewan League.

On Super Bowl Eve:

//Eddie Del Grosso had one goal, two assists for the USHL Indiana Ice Jr. A who got a big 5-2 win over the Chicago Steel Jr. A. It was an important win for Indiana which is battling for a playoff position.

//Stephen Leypoldt dealt his 7th assist of the season for the Butte Roughriders Jr. B. He scorched a wrist shot which went off the goalie’s blocker and linemate Brady Downs, Butte’s leading scorer, knocked in the rebound vs. the Spokane Flyers. Butte is playing without its head coach, Joe Liquori who has left the team to be with his critically ill mother. GM Mike Fink is now on the bench for the Roughriders.

Feb 3 – Micah Sanford, the all-time goal scorer from Las Vegas, hammered in a power play goal to help the U of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks crush visiting Lake Superior 8-0 on Friday night. Totalled, in Junior A and college hockey, Micah has scored 103 goals – the next best from Las Vegas are Adam Naglich with 68 and Jeff Hajner, 68.

Also on Friday night:

//Adam Naglich dealt an assist – making a scoring pass to Kyle Greentree on a 4 on 3 power play – to help the U of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks beat the U of Miami, 4-3.

//Jeff Hajner dealt an assist as the Melfort Mustangs Jr. A stayed hot, beating the visiting Flin Flon Bombers 6-3 before one of the largest home crowds in several weeks, 1,006 packed into the Northern Lights Palace Arena.

//Eddie Del Grosso’s USHL Indiana Ice Jr. A broke to an early lead, but lost 4-2 to the visiting Green Bay Gamblers Jr. A.

//Eddie Samuels and the NAHL Billings Bulls Jr. A have a rare off weekend. Billings returns to action on Friday, Feb. 10.

Feb 1 – Jeff Hajner had one of his biggest nights in Junior A hockey – he scored his 31st, 32nd and 33rd goals as the Melfort Mustangs Jr. A beat Humboldt 4-2 in a brutally tough game. After Hajner scored his 3rd goal, a Humboldt player speared Jeff’s teammate Jordan Morgan to ignite an all-out line brawl before 761 frenzed fans at Melfort’s home rink.

The ECHL’s San Francisco Bulls have shut down operation. The Bulls had an affiliation with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

“We regret to inform you that the SF Bulls are ceasing operations, effective immediately,” president/GM/head coach Pat Curcio wrote to season-ticket holders. “The team was hoping to secure new ownership, however the terms of an updated deal were unable to be finalized, cancelling the remainder of the season.”

The ECHL added…

As outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association, all San Francisco players on ECHL contracts are deemed unrestricted free agents, effective immediately.

Nick Wheeler, who spent 26 games with the Peoria Rivermen, has been claimed off waivers by Las Vegas – photo by Bob Hunt Photo

=============================

Las Vegas – Defenseman Nick Wheeler has been claimed on waivers by Las Vegas, and is expected to make his Wranglers debut tomorrow night in Utah against the Grizzlies.

Wheeler, 25, graduated Saint Anselm College in 2011, where he wore the captain crest during both his junior and senior year. The 5-foot-8 defenseman then made his way to the SPHL where appeared in 64 total games with three different teams, posting six goals and six assists for a total of 12 points to go along with 52 penalty minutes. Wheeler then finished off the 2011-12 season in the FHL with the Brooklyn Aviators.

In the 2012-13 season, Wheeler again found himself in the FHL, where he appeared in games for both the Cape Cod Bluefins and Dayton Demonz, before rounding out the season with the Fort Wayne Komets for the final 33 games of the year. During that span, Wheeler potted three goals and added 12 assists, totaling 15 points on the year, his highest total for any team since his days with St. Anselm.

The Glendale, AZ native then began the 2013-14 campaign back in the SPHL with the Peoria Rivermen, where he posted six goals and five assists in 26 games, before joining the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones on Jan. 9, 2014. With the Cyclones, Wheeler posted a -3 rating while tallying three shots on goal over three total game, most recently on Jan. 16.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

UNLV needs a break and they have it – no games this weekend. The Rebels, hit with injuries during the two games against Long Beach State, play Top 10 ranked San Diego State in a two-game weekend Feb 7, 8 at the SoBe Ice Arena.  The Rebels are down to their last four games of this season.

In Hungary, Adam Naglich’s updated statistics are 16 goals, 23 assists.

Vito Carlo of Las Vegas and the AAA Utah Regulators 16 were scheduled to play this weekend but the club has been hit with injuries and illness and will reschedule.

Looking for the whereabouts of Las Vegas hockey dad Harry Long whose son Kurt was a big goal scorer years ago for the AA Las Vegas Rebels midget major team. If anyone knows please send a note to leesamuels07@aol.com

Monday, January 27, 2014

Prince Albert, SK – Zach Pochiro of Las Vegas scored a dramatic game-tying goal with 0:16 left in regulation, then scored an OT/Shootout goal to lift the WHL Prince George Cougars over the Prince Albert Raiders 6-5 before 2,143 at the Art Hauser Centre. It was one of Pochiro’s greatest late-game performances in major junior hockey. Pochiro, who was in the NHL St. Louis Blue pre-season camp, was selected the Star of the Game.

Saturday, January 25, 2014 – Lakewood Ice Arena

Overtime

UNLV REBELS 6

LONG BEACH STATE 7

//UNLV coach J.J. Hartmann after the game said “…Sammy (captain Sam Braniff) had three goals. I thought our team played hard. We only had 12 players for the weekend and two got hurt and another was sick.” …Ryan Rivera was in the net for the Rebels….UNLV will next take on San Diego State on Feb 7-8 at the SoBe Ice Arena in Las Vegas

//Goals for UNLV – Sam Braniff 3, Drew Bryan 1, Trey Johnson 1, Zach Richards 1

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Cory Ward of Las Vegas in action vs Alaska Fairbanks

Fairbanks – Cory Ward of Las Vegas scored his 15th, 16th goals this season to help Bemidji State beat Alaska-Fairbanks 4-0 before 2,918 at the Carlson Center.  Cory, a sophomore, scored 9 goals last winter to give him a total of 24 career goals. Cory and Bemidji State are off to Minnesota State Feb 7-8.

State College, Pa. – Kenny Brooks of Las Vegas assisted on a tying goal for Penn State which then lost a very tough one, 3-2 to #2-ranked Boston College before a sold out crowd of 6,214 at Pegula Arena. Penn State had more shots 35-30. Boston College, on an 11-game unbeaten streak, is 18-4-3. “Penn State has made marked improvements since we last saw them in December,” said BC coach Jerry York.

Wenatchee, Washington – Before a huge sold out crowd of 4,020, Brendan Harris of Las Vegas dealt one assist for the NAHL Wenatchee Wild in an all-out physical battle and a 4-3 OT/Shootout loss to the Bismarck Bobcats at the Town Toyota Center. In the heated second period there was a line brawl and six fighting penalities plus an abuse of officials penalty in this all-out weekend war. Wenatchee beat Bismarck 7-2 here Friday night.

Aberdeen, South Dakota – Beau Ricketts of Las Vegas and the NAHL Minot Minotauros stunned the Aberdeen Wings for the second straight night, this time 4-1 before 1,519 at the Odde Ice Center. After the game, Ricketts learned there is a brutally cold Blizzard Warning for Aberdeen.