Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Tryouts for the AA Las Vegas Jr Wranglers midget-level team will be May 17-18 at the SoBe Ice Arena in Las Vegas. On Saturday, May 17, report time is 5:45 pm. On Sunday, it will be 9:15 am. There is more tryout information on http://www.jrwranglers.com

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The WHL Bantam Draft is this Thursday in Calgary.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

The Las Vegas Tour Rebels NARCh Pro roller team will next play at a NARCh Qualifier during the May 30 weekend in Huntington Beach, California. The Rebels play out of Crystal Palace on North Rancho Drive here in town – Lee

Monday, April 28, 2014

The ECHL Alaska Aces will open their second round of playoffs against either the Idaho Steelheads or Colorado Eagles.  Idaho leads that Best of Seven, 3-2.  Game Six is tonight in Boise and if needed, Game Seven is Tuesday. The winner immedately heads to Anchorage to play the Aces on Thursday night at Sullivan Arena.

After years of writing and posting stories, Nathan Fournier has shut down the World of Junior Hockey website which we’ve been reading for years.

The Las Vegas Tour Rebels squirt 12u roller team won its first two games, lost one, and then lost in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday at the NARCh Qualifier in Irvine, California. The Rebels play out of Crystal Palace roller rink on North Rancho Drive.

We’ve been looking at some new background color schemes for Vegashockey.net. Let is know if you like this one.

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Adam Naglich, an ’84, grew up in Las Vegas and skated on the ‘Red Line’ with Josh Jasek and Eddie Samuels on a Rob Pallin-coached 2001-02 Las Vegas Mustangs 18u team which won the Pacific District Regionals and played in the U.S. Nationals. From there, Adam played with the BCHL Victoria Salsa, was a captain with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, played in the ECHL with the Bakersfield Condors and last winter skated in Hungary with Sapa Fehervar A19. Adam is home on break and will soon announce where he will be playing this fall – Lee

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ADAM NAGLICH 

‘MY GREATEST GOAL”

“I would have to say my greatest goal would have to be when I was playing in college with Alaska Fairbanks.

“I scored against Ohio State in the playoffs. We went on to win the Best of 3 series and got to play in the CCHA Finals at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. It was my senior year and it was the first time that our team made it to the Joe in my time playing in Alaska.

“My linemates at the time were Braden Walls and Ryan Hohl.

“The actual goal wasn’t anything fancy or special. I received a pass right around the top of the left face off circle and put it low glove.

“But what felt great but winning the series on home ice —  something that meant a lot to me and I will never, ever forget.”

Sunday, April 27, 2014

There is a Micah Sanford-coached Las Vegas Tour Rebels Squirt 12u roller team which is 2-1-0 and plays again Sunday at the NARCh Qualifier in Irvine, California.  Eric Atchinson, Hunter Barto and John Hallet have played well this weekend. Jessie Gryzckowski is the goalie. The team is seeded 4th in the gold Final 8 bracket.

In the NARCH Pro gold medal game, Revision Vanquish beat LA Pama Cyclones 7-6 last night in Irvine.

The Las Vegas Tour Rebels – which lost its only pro roller game by one goal to Revision Vanquish in a round-robin game – was moved to Platinum Pro where it won a gold medal. Las Vegas had an awesome 4-1-0 weekend, outscoring teams 44-17. The greatest, most unheralded skater on the Las Vegas roller team is a powerful force – Shawn Pearson. On the powerplay setup, Shawn works on the left side.

Nick Robone of the Tour Rebels pro roller team said Pearson had 3 goals in the gold medal game against the Hosers of San Diego. Nick had 2 goals, Micah one and Billy Tufano one.

“Everyone played real well,” Nick said. “We moved the puck quickly and created momentum with solid team defense.”

Terry Martin of Canada was in the net for the Tour Rebels this weekend.

Sam Braniff, who also skated with the Las Vegas pro roller team in Irvine, is now off to coach in Jeff Serowik’s Pro Ambition ice hockey camps for the rest of the spring and summer. Sam graduates from UNLV next month. His major is environmental studies.

So what are the Rebels players doing on Sunday morning?

“We’re heading for the beach,” said Nick.

Not sure if we mentioned the great game Eddie Del Grosso played for the Las Vegas Wranglers on Friday night. Eddie D worked the puck perfectly on top during powerplays and defensively had one his his greatest games. In one situation, Eddie tracked down a breakaway skater for Alaska, caught him, and turned the puck away from the Las Vegas net. It was a great effort, appreciated by the hometown fans.

Adam Naglich, who watched the Friday night Wranglers game, said he will send in his ‘My Greatest Goal’ and ’10 Questions with Adam Naglich’ stories here soon on Vegashockey.net.

There are some Las Vegas skaters who have signed up for the BCHL West Kelowna Warriors Las Vegas Prospects Camp May 23-25 at the SoBe Ice Arena on North Rancho Drive. Contact Eddie Samuels of Las Vegas for more camp info at eddiewkwarriors@gmail.com

The AAU Junior Olympics Inline Championships will be in Las Vegas July 10-20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Paradise Ave. Roller teams from all parts of the world will be coming in. The Las Vegas Tour Rebels will be sending in their top teams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wranglers goalie Travis Fullerton in the hand shake line on Friday night

(Photo Las Vegas Wranglers)

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This is Part Two of our look at the very last game the Las Vegas

Wranglers played at The Orleans Arena on Friday night. After 11

seasons, the game is over for the Wranglers in this building – Lee

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Part Two

Just before the Friday night game got underway there was a flash of white lights on the scoreboard and then it read in big red letters….

Del Taco Says….5 Goals = Free Tacos

That’s when the little ones starting chanting Tacos, Tacos. An older Wranglers fan sitting to my right said “God I want those tacos, like real bad.”

At last, the game got underway.

That’s when hockey coach Rob Pallin walked into our section. The Las Vegas coach just got back from Hungary where he coached a professional team. He asked to look at my program. He looked at the lineup card and studied it like a student looking at his mathematics test saying he was  “looking at a couple of players tonight.”

At that very moment, my son Eddie Samuels and his girlfriend sat in our area. Then came Adam Naglich. He and Eddie were teammates on the 2001-02 Las Vegas Mustangs. Pallin was the head coach. And Naglich played for Pallin in Hungary over the winter. Andrew Sarauer, a former Wranglers player, stopped by to say hello. There was a big fuss when they spoke about who was the greatest midget player of all-time in Las Vegas. Naglich said it was his long-time teammate, Josh Jasek who scored 61 times in 2001-02.

My quiet section all of sudden got chirpy. All were talking hockey.

The Alaska Aces broke to a 2-0 lead. The first Alaska goal was a long one from the right point. A speeding bullet puck went over goalie Travis Fullerton’s right shoulder.

“Oh, brother,” a Wranglers fan said, sighing.

On the other side of the rink, the Aces fans stood and rang their cowbells.

After the first period, the two teams skated off and onto the ice came ‘Las Vegas showroom performer” Jay White, a singer who will be performing Neil Diamond songs in June at the SunCoast. He went to center ice, thanked all of the hometown fans for their awesome support, then sang Sweet Caroline.

“He does this a lot between periods. He’s pretty good too,” a lady said in the row in front of me.

At last, the second period got underway.

That’s when the Las Vegas Wranglers got their game together.  Eddie Del Grosso dealt a tricky assist to help score the first Las Vegas goal, then Chris Francis of Las Vegas got behind the Aces net, took a pass, came out behind the right side and jammed in a goal.

Game tied 2-2.

We all stood, tapping fists.

Someone said ‘God, it’s great to score goals.”

The building was shaking.

Little kids dancing.

Older fans standing up, cheering madly.

The best fans in the world of hockey.

Near the end of the period, Alaska got onto a powerplay and somehow, someway Number 91 Peter Sivak was all alone in front of Wranglers goalie Travis Fullerton. 

Time stood still as the two glared at each other on the ice.

Then the skater deked to his right, Fullerton made a move, and the shooter crossed him up with a hard shot top left shelf.

Goal, Alaska, 3-2 lead, and the 31st this season for Sivak who is from the Czech Republic.

Little did we know it would be the last goal ever scored.

“That’s a smart, skilled team,” Pallin said about Alaska.

There was heated action in the third period, some scraps, near misses with shots, a last second powerplay chance for the Wranglers, then the clocked quickly ticked down to 0.00

Game over.

The two teams lined up at center ice, tapping gloves, the Wranglers players wishing good luck to the Aces who are off to play the winner of the Colorado Eagles vs Idaho Steelheads series.

After the Alaska players left the ice, the Wranglers players stayed.

Like, they didn’t want to leave.

“The Wranglers want to thank all of you fans for your awesome support for the last 11 seasons,” the announcer said loud and clear.

That’s when the Las Vegas fans made a beeline for the overhead tunnel which led to the Wranglers locker room.

While the players skated off, the Wranglers fans reached down with their hands trying to touch them

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On the concourse, Las Vegas hockey mom Cindy Francis was hugging all of her friends. Yes, her son Chris really played well. Scored a great goal. She saw our small group. We all got hugs and talked hockey.

Then, it was time to go.

One last time down the steps, walk outside the arena, turn and take one last look.

It was dark and it was windy. The temperature was dropping.

“Looks like rain is coming,” a fan was saying.

 

 

 

 

Irvine, Calif. – Here is how the Las Vegas Tour Rebels pro roller team won the gold medal in Platinum Pro at the NARCh Qualifier on Saturday night. The Rebels skate out of Crystal Palace on North Rancho Drive in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS TOUR REBELS

NARCh Pro

Record: 4-1-0

Goals For/Against 44-17

10-2 over Mission Bauer Raiders

3-4 to Revision Vanquish

4-3 over Hosers – San Diego

PLATINUM NARCh PRO FINAL 4

7-3 over Mission Bauer Raiders

GOLD MEDAL GAME

9-5 over Hosers – San Diego

 

 

 

 

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Wenatchee, Washington – The season came to close for Las Vegas skaters Brendan Harris and Joseph Kaszupski of the Wenatchee Wild who lost 3-2 in OT to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs before 2,619 at the Toyota Town Center. Fairbanks scored on a powerplay goal to win it. It was the second straight night the two teams went into overtime – Wenatchee won in triple OT on Friday night. Fairbanks won the all-out hard-hitting, riveting Best of Five, 3-2, and will now host the NAHL Robertson Cup.

Bliss Littler, coach of Wenatchee, told reporter John Meissner of Juniorhockey.com “…I am very proud of our effort. From where we started to where we ended, we’re awfully proud of this season.”

Indianapolis – Joey Sullivan of Las Vegas and the USHL Indiana Ice beat the Dubuque Fighting Saints 3-2 in a playoff game before 1,251 at the downtown Pan Am Arena. The Ice leads the Best of Five playoff series, 2-0. Indiana earlier eliminated the Green Bay Gamblers and in six playoff games overall has a record of 5-1.

 

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The Las Vegas Wranglers played their last game ever – after 11 seasons –

at The Orleans Arena on Friday night. We were there to take it all in – Lee

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Friday, April 25, 2014

By Lee Samuels

Las Vegas – At the Orleans ticket counter, about an hour or so before faceoff, we took a hard look at the plastic, multi-color seating chart and asked about “the last row in section 103. Seems like a nice place.”

“There’s a nice seat third row down, on an aisle,” he said.

“Will it be crowded there?”

Not in that location,” he replied

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We went into The Orleans Arena to see the Las Vegas Wranglers, down three games to none in a Best of Seven, against division leader Alaska Aces. Back home, in Anchorage, beat writer Doyle Woody, wrote that the Aces were ‘almost a mortal lock’ to win this series and move on.

But hardly anyone in Las Vegas reads the daily paper in Anchorage.

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While in line to get inside the arena, we got a tap on the shoulder.

“Do you know what I’m wearing,” the man said.

We shook our head no.

“The very first, original Las Vegas Wranglers jersey,” he said.

We looked and he was right – the jersey was sort of faded but it was indeed the very first one.

We bought a program for one dollar, then we moved to the right side of the concourse area to get a pre-game hot dog and a pretzel, no salt. We were working on getting the mustard squared away when another other person asked me “…have you heard the news?”

No, we just walked in, we said.

“There’s a new team coming into town.”

The NHL? we asked.

“No, the NHL is sending in an AHL team, maybe for next season,” he said.

“What arena will they play in?” we asked.

“That’s a situation. They are working on it.”

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A hour before the game the music turned on. The lights were sea blue above the ice, then the music blasted and then the little ones started dancing.

Ever since the Wranglers moved into the Orleans Arena the little ones – hundreds and hundreds of them – have danced their hearts out at each and every home game.

At last, it was time for warmups.

Wranglers fans, many wearing the red and white jerseys, moved down to the rink glass to watch the Wranglers hit the ice, get lined up and take turns firing pucks at their goalies. At the other side, no one was at the glass watching the Aces, in powder blue jerseys, warm up.

When warmups were over, the Wranglers fans headed for the top of the tunnel area, trying to touch the Wranglers as they went off the ice and into the locker room.

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The older, grey-looking warmup nets were taken off the ice. Two Zamboni’s, one saying ‘Ted Weins’ across the front, cleaned the ice surface. Then two game nets – with freshly painted bright red pipes and glistening-white nets – were carefully slid into position.

The scoreboard clock ticked down and, at last, the horn sounded and the players from both teams began to hit the ice.

The game would start in a few moments.

And in Section 103, we had company coming….

 

NEXT –  GAME ACTION – LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS VS ALASKA ACES IN THE ‘LAST GAME’

 

 

Coming this weekend will be our report on ‘The Last Game‘ at The Orleans Arena on Friday night. We were in Section 103, taking notes, and will outline how the Wranglers game was played, what the fans were saying and who was there watching including former Las Vegas players, active ones, coaches and a hockey mom you will know. It was a one night journey of what the Wranglers were all about and what they really meant in their 11 seasons in this great arena. It’s all heading here exclusively on Vegashockey.net – Lee