Last night was Wrangler Fan appreciation night and I believe besides the "tons" of prizes distributed, the Wranglers treated the fans to a game of hard hitting hockey. Although the Wranglers lost 1-7 I believe they showed heart and soul in trying to definitely play a game against the 2nd place "dirty bird" Generals.
You could almost immediately see that this game was not an ordinary game. The Gens came out very strong and were trying to run up the score and take away the shine from the last home game of the season. But, over 500 fans would have none of that. They were here to see the Wranglers play. Sure, I believe there was some hope that the Wranglers would beat the Generals, but the reality is that Wranglers just are not as talented and skilled as the Generals. The Generals are fast and very good at crisp passing, cycling the puck, finding the 'back-door' and using the points. However that being said, the Wranglers made the Generals work hard and earn every goal. It was not going to be a runaway, easy scorefest. I would assume the Gens thought they were just as good as the Totems and would come in and duplicate the shellacking. The reality is they are not as good as the Totems. In fact, I would strongly bet, the Totems will easily beat the Gens, if and when they play in the play-offs. But, oh my I bet it will be a dirty game. The Generals tried to play their dirty game with the Wranglers, but I believe the Wranglers were able to overcome a lot of their usual dirty tricks of high sticking, spearing, butt-ending, and kneeing. Oh well, enough of the Eugene "dirty birds."
Last night it was all about the Wrangler "D." Just like all season long, the Wrangler "D" made things happen - scoring, moving the puck through the neutral zone, shots on goal, passing, and being aggressive. The Wranglers made 16 shots (5-6-5) in the game and I suspect almost all of the shots were made by the Wrangler "D." While there's no official count in this, but my "scratchings" show, the following "D" shots on goal: Losey - 2, Summa - 3, Chase -5, Miller - 3. Miller in the 1st period put a shot on goal, where Chance Robison tipped it in for the lone Wrangler goal. This lone goal kept the skunk stink out. The other component of the Wrangler "D" was the no. 1 goalie Chris Kramer. The score could have easily been higher if not for Kramer's excellent play. So many times I saw Kramer snatch high powered shots right out of the air. Or, slide across and put a pad on what appeared to be a sure thing open net goal. Finally, the fight between Chase and Lehtola. I talked to Chase after the game, and he said he didn't want to fight, but Lehtola kept on coming and then punches were thrown. Then, what the heck was with Fender stepping in and stopping the fight when Chase was getting ready to open a can of "Wup Ass" on Lehtola? I and several other fans said, "Decision Chase!" "Hey General's, don't come looking for a fight if you don't like the taste of 'Wup Ass'." And if you do, tell your official protector to back off. Twice - in what it seemed like the Gens official protector linesman - had to step in to keep from keeping a Gen getting fed a good heapin' helpin' of 'Wup Ass.'
As I said above the Gens are a good team and proved that by the score and the number of shots they posted on Kramer - 51 (19-9-23). But they just don't have the class that the Wranglers have. So if I was doling out stars, Losey, Kramer, and Chase would get them. Way to go boys! The Wranglers complete their season with 3 games in Coeur d'Alene against the Lakers. Maybe they can get a win.
