Rogue Valley Wranglers

2009-11-08T13:23:00.001-08:00

Good Luck Wranglers!

2009-10-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

FYI...
Steiner - quit
Purslow - out for season w/ injury

2009-10-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

Fan quote... "A year later, and where are the Wranglers? Same place and same script as last year and the year before that. Oh sure, give 'em a chance. Let the boys gel. It's the same crappy hockey - poor passing, no offense, no defense. Almost 3 times as many goals against as goals for. Outshot 2-1 or more each game. One win and mounting losses. The only thing the boys got is determination. But, determination doesn't win games. Skill, talent, and depth of experience does. Like the saying goes... If wishes were horses poor men would ride and Wranglers would win."

2009-10-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

Good Luck Wranglers!

Wranglers Mauled

2009-10-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

After a great OT win, the Wranglers returned to status quo - getting only 21 shots and 1 goal but letting 67 shots and 7 goals. The 3rd period totaled 3 shots for RV to 25 shots for RC. Embarrassing. Getting doubled in shots for a game is bad, but tripled is stinky. Clearly River City was not going to let a repeat of Friday happen where they got outplayed and let the game go to the Wranglers. As everyone knows there's no defense so I guess that's an excuse to allow 67 shots. Whatever. What saves the Wranglers? Goalies, Colin McGill has a GAA of 5.49 and Kramer has a GAA of 6.00.

Many can say the boys are doing their best and they're going to gel, but it ain't good enough against skill, experience, and speed. The best for the Wranglers are Fegan and Purslow. The Wranglers have 7 goals so far, and Purslow has 6 points (1 G, 5 A). He's been involved with almost every Wrangler goal except 1. The Wranglers do have some fight and determination though. Especially, Miglioretto who is full of 'piss and vinegar' and is not taking any crap from anyone.

Next weekend the Wranglers travel up north to Puget Sound who easily handled TriCities in two games. My prediction is that it will be a tough go for the Wranglers.

Wranglers Win in OT

2009-10-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Wranglers win in OT, 4-3. Way to go. Better play tonight than last night. The Wranglers came on strong in the 3rd period and in OT which made the winning difference.

It's Gonna Be A Long Season

2009-10-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

It's gonna be a long season. Wranglers lost to the visiting Totems 2-8 last nite. Skill, experience, and lack of speed are still lacking from the Wranglers. The Wranglers looked slow and confused. This was evident from the measely 15 shots they posted against the 52 shots from the Totems. Just like last season, the opposing team out shot the Wranglers not just twice, but thrice. The Totems simply parked themselves in front of the Wrangler goal and there wasn't a Wrangler that could move them out. There was no Wrangler defense. The whole game seemed to be played in the Wrangler zone. Passing was once again non-existent. There was no offense. It's gonna be a long season.

Help Wanted

2009-09-05T08:19:00.001-07:00

From what I understand the Wranglers still need players - especially defense. There are so many rumors floating around that Long is returning, or so and so is coming back, but I don't believe any of them. The Wranglers still need to go looking for players. The first game is less than a month away.

Many comments have been coming in - requesting not to be posted - about how in the off season former players were ignored, or at Globals Vegas hardly a recognition was given, all giving them excuse to go looking elsewhere to play. One particular ex-player said, "They barely talked to me at Globals, it was like they didn't want to talk to me." Another ex-player commented, "They begged me to come back, but no-one else was, and it was too little too late." Comments were also sent in about a couple of local kids that instead of playing for the Wranglers went on to other leagues, and are doing quite well. Maybe the player drought in Wrangler town was a result of the Wrangler management? It's all speculation, rumor, and it is very hard to separate fact from fiction. The reality is that the Wranglers are in dire need of players.

However, reports from Wrangler players in Wrangler town is that the team is going through a great team building process - river raft trips, football games, and get togethers are building a tight knit and loyal group of players. This is a good change from last year.

If you go around the league, many other NorPac teams are quiet about their recruiting success. Rumors abound of one team not having any players, another that they recruited 15+ players, but only the Generals have posted their roster. I made a couple of phone calls to others and got the same kind of vague reports. Many reported that perhaps because of the recession some players cannot afford to play. Coming up with $5,000 is tough. Could the Wranglers benefit from a "trade for clunkers" program?

Wranglers Season Schedule on Pointstreak

2009-08-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Wranglers will start their season off with a game against the Seattle Totems on Thursday, Oct. 1, followed by two games on Friday and Saturday night against the River City Jags.

Wouldn't a win against the Totems be great? Nothing, and I mean nothing would be finer. I mean, an opening season win to start to erase last season, and beat Seattle. Oh my! As earlier said, Seattle's squad is almost all gone and they are working hard on rebuilding. I still don't think Seattle is going to have a good team this year. So if the Wranglers want to start off the 2009-10 season right then this is the game to do it.

The following two games against the Jaguars will be tough for the Wranglers. River City is rebuilding too, but not as much as Seattle or the Wranglers. The Jags got plenty of returning talent.

Interesting schedule on Pointstreak is the mid-season interleague games the Wranglers play against NorPac America West Division teams - Billings Bulls, Yellowstone Quake, and Butte Roughriders. This will be interesting. There's always been quite a bit of talk that the America West Division is better than the Pacific Division. I guess this will settle the argument.

The Wranglers will end the season playing the Oregon NorPac teams of Eugene and River City. The Wranglers play each team in the Pacific Division of NorPac (Eugene, River City, Seattle, Puget Sound, and Tri Cities) nine times during the season for a total of 45 games. Three games less this year than last year's 48 games.

Finally, I haven't seen the Wrangler's roster posted. They just completed their "boot camp" last week to begin a tough conditioning and training that Coach Chelios said he is bringing to the Wranglers. Again, rumors - only rumors - are that several vacancies exist particularly in the defensive side of the ice. The Wranglers recruited hard on getting scorers, but need defensive help with the core of last year's defensive squad gone - Long and Summa.

Wrangler Curmudgeon Gone

2009-08-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

The long-time blog editor, the "Wrangler Curmudgeon" is gone. He took off after vacation and never returned. So now I am your new "blog master." Oh, who am I? The Wrangler Curmudgeon advised me to keep it quiet. I thinks I will.

The Wrangler Camp has come and gone. Was I impressed? No, not really. What struck me was that only a few returning players came back. Instead of listing who didn't return, its easier to list who did - Purslow, Fitchner, Steiner, Kramer, and Blanton. Only 40+ players attended the camp, just enough for two teams. I'm disappointed. None of the CDA players that were supposed to come came. I thought a few players showed some promise but most were just another batch of what we saw last year. The Wranglers have a lot of work to do if they're gonna do any better this year.

In other news, the Generals are having their camp now and have a great turnout. They had a session on college opportunities, advancement, and recruiting opportunities. Several Generals players from last year have moved on to advanced leagues. Tyler Poulsen is playing in the NAHL Kenai Brown Bears. I believe the Generals will be the number one team of the Pacific Division this year.

The Seattle Totems are having a difficult time getting players it has been reported. Many players have left the team and are seeking opportunities elsewhere. I don't think they'll be a strong contender this year. Shawn Pauly advanced to the NAHL this year and will be playing with the Wenatchee Wild. Their camp is this coming week (Aug. 17-21). Assistant Coach AJ Reis is gone with last year's player, Tanner Schulze replacing him as Assistant Coach.

The Tri-City Titans also had a big camp and signed many new players with a lot of promise. Beau Walker advanced to the NAHL Alaska Avalanche. However they signed plenty great players that will replace him. They also had a lot of last year's players return. I think the Titans will be tougher this year than last.

The River City Jaguars camp will be this week (Aug. 21-23). Two players - Pino & Cosford advanced to the NAHL Alaska Avalanche. The Jags are doing some heavy duty recruiting and I think they too will be a big contender this year.

Puget Sound has their camp this weekend (Aug. 21-23) but talk is it will be heavily attended and have plenty of players to choose from. I think they too will be tough this year.

Here's my prognostication of what I believe the season will look like:

Eugene Generals
River City Jaguars

Tri-City Titans

Puget Sound Tomahawks

Seattle Totems

Rogue Valley Wranglers

Vacation time

2009-06-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry Wrangler fans it's vacation time. I'm going to step away from my Wrangler curmudgeon post and do something totally non-hockey, like find my way to a deserted island away from it all. This way when I return I will be ready for another long season of Wrangler hockey.

I decided to avoid the Vegas Globals thing because I don't like Vegas. How can you have hockey in Vegas? That ain't a hockey town. Oh well. I heard that Kevin & Steve will be there recruiting. So, why do I need to be there? Additionally, the NorPac draft should be announced within a couple of weeks. And, once again the Wranglers will once again have the No. 1 draft pick. So there's opportunity for plenty of good players for the Wranglers. When you look at the Wranglers Web site you will notice that they are working hard to get some good players and turn the season around. In fact, I was forwarded an E-mail that someone sent to NorPac league commissioner Mike Butters and it said...

"A discussion between a couple of friends resulted in this question: 'If a team fails to have more than 6 wins a year for 3 consecutive seasons does this jeopardize their NorPac participation?' The question arose from a rumor that one heard that is a NorPac rule. The discussion arose talking about the Rogue Valley Wranglers and their poor performance the past two seasons. We love hockey in southern Oregon and are worried that this might be the last year for them."

The reply was, "There is no such rule. However, teams are required to be competitive in the eyes of USA Hockey to remained sanctioned. Rogue Valley seriously needs to have a good season to avoid decertification by USA Hockey. To add to this statement, if the current RV ownership cannot accomplish this, NORPAC would assist in bringing competitive hockey to the valley."

Wow! If that doesn't put some pressure on Kevin and Steve to produce a winning team this year. Not sure what NorPac would do to bring competitive hockey to the Rogue Valley, but it sure sounds serious.

Keep sending your comments (no trash), player rumors and news, and I'll try to post them in between my naps, tee times, and beer breaks. (Hope that island retreat has Internet.) The Wrangler blog will try to start up again just before the Wrangler Camp in August. Enjoy your summer and be safe.

A visit to an NAHL tryout

2009-06-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Recently on a business trip back east, I was fortunate to coordinate a drop in at an NAHL tryout. It's always exciting to see kids from all over the US. You've got kids from the west coast, the mid-west, the southwest and the east coast. It is truly a mix of players from all over this great country. I would say hockey players are the "kings of cool." They come dressed in casual shorts, T-shirts, and flip flops. Of course each one walks into the rink sizing each other up and in their own way letting them know they've got competition. And, when they step on the ice, the competition really does start.

I watched about about a half a dozen games. My analysis? Wow! These boys are FAST! I thought I saw "fast" at some BCHL Canadian Jr. A tryouts, but I would say the speed is again a level faster. The other thing I noticed after watching a bunch of Canadian hockey is the American hockey style of play - wide open ice, fast skating, and passing, none of the incessant slashing, hacking, cross-checking, and roughing that characterizes Canadian hockey play. This was truly a clean open game. Of couse there was some hitting and a few hard checks, but even this was different. In Canada if you hard check a player they're going to get up and want to kick your ass. Here I saw some hard checks and the players just skated off. I could almost say it was a gentleman's game. But again a very, very FAST gentleman's game. If you can't skate fast, don't even bother coming to an NAHL tryout. After watching a season of Wrangler hockey, there was no way any Wrangler boys were NAHL material.

Finally, I was amazed at the size of some of these boys. Several boys made Wrangler D Josef Chase seem small. Also there weren't any '92's around they were all '90's or older. Lots of full "play-off" beards were evident. It was not a "kids" game it was a game of men.

I was very impressed at this NAHL tryout. NAHL hockey is Junior A Tier II hockey, but it seemed more than one tier up from NorPac which is supposed to be Jr A Tier III. I had a chance to talk to the coach, head scout and associate coach and asked them about NorPac. What I detected was a bit of a snicker. They said they don't get a lot of kids from NorPac. If they do, it's from the America West Division which they said has a higher level of skill. When I asked them about what advice they might have for a young aspiring player they said, "Be committed to working hard & improving yourself, work on your skating, and work on passing and puck handling skills." Oh, and one last thing, "Get out of NorPac." I took that to mean you can start there but you've got to move up and out early.

Junior Prep Hockey Camp

2009-06-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

I know of no better way to get ready for 2009-2010 season than to enroll in at least one or more weeks of Brenda and Phil Levesque's Junior Prep Hockey Camp. This camp is by far and away one of the best summer hockey camps. I had the pleasure to meet Brenda and Phil a couple of years ago at Global's in BC. I spent time talking to them and to some of the players that attended Junior Prep Hockey Camp previously. I also saw Phil this year at Globals in Burnaby too. They'll also be at Globals Las Vegas, I encourage you to talk to them and if you got the time, sign up for a week or two for the camp, you'll come back a different player.

Junior Prep Hockey Camp is located at Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. They use the Port Alberni Bull Dogs BCHL facility. The camp lasts three weeks. Week 1 is specifically for Goalies and Defensemen. Weeks 2 & 3 are for anyone. Be forwarned though, the camp is physically grueling. There are two 75 minute on ice sessions and two 60 minute off ice sessions per day. A common camp comment is, "don't take the top bunk, you'll be too tired to climb up to it." It's not a summer fun camp, it is what it is - a preparation camp for Junior hockey.

Besides skills and training, "Prep Camp" offers seminars to the participants and gives players to exposure to many coaches and scouts. This camp attracts coaches and scouts from across North America to not only view the participants but participate in the program too. Sure, some of you US "boo birds" will say it's in Canada, but in reality coaches talk to coaches, they network. If you excel here the word will get out whether in Canada or the US. Several BCHL & AJHL coaches lead and assist with the practices.

The cost is very reasonable for a full-time boarding camp with this kind of quality coaching and training - $750 CDN for a week (all meals & boarding) for the Goalie & Defenseman camp, and $850 CDN a week for weeks 2 & 3. If you figure in the US - Canadian dollar exchange it works out to be even less. You can sign up for a single week or multiple weeks. And, it is easy to get there. Prep Camp will pick you up at the Nanaimo ferry terminal and take you to Prep Camp. So all you got to do is get to Vancouver, BC and ride the 2 hr. ferry to Nanaimo.

While I was at Globals in Burnaby I spotted Wranglers D-man Josef Chase talking with Phil about returning to Prep Camp in 2009. Josef had nothing but praise about Phil and the Prep Camp experience. He said it was probably the hardest but best two weeks he's ever had at hockey. He couldn't wait to return.

Finally, Phil and Brenda are "hockey people." Phil & Brenda are the owners of a Canadian Jr. B team and have been involved with hockey all their life. You can see the sparkle in Phil's eye and the pride in his voice when he talks about "the boys" success as a result of Prep Camp. If you want to get in the best shape prior to the Wrangler Open Camp, my suggestion to you is to sign up for a week or two at Junior Prep Hockey Camp. It just might change your season.

You want more information about Junior Prep Hockey Camp? Please go to their website at http://www.prepcamp.com/. In particular visit the description of the Prep Camp Program and the Testimonials. Give 'em a "look and see." I think you'll be impressed.

Wranglers Announce Two Tenders

2009-06-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today the Wrangler website gave the details on two tenders - Vincent Ciaglo and Micheal Feagan. This is definitely exciting. Way to go Kevin! Go to the Rogue Valley Wranglers website to read more about these two tenders. The Nevada Stars are a very respectable team and always play tough in AAA tournaments. I suspect Micheal is a friend of Grant Long since Grant came from the St. Albert area (suburb of Edmonton, Alberta). A search of the web shows that St. Albert was a tough AAA tournament competitor. I think these two boys will be fine additions to the the Wranglers. Keep up the good recruiting work Cheli, Kevin, Dan and crew.

If you read the comments on the previous blog posts you will see that several Wranglers attended the Fresno Monster - Western States Hockey League (WSHL) Jr. A Tier III - combined camp with the Springfield Blues - North American Hockey League (NAHL) Jr. A Tier II. Reportedly Zach Miller, last year's mid-season transfer from Helena is playing for the Mile High Moose (nee Colorado Outlaws - Jr. A Tier III). If you visit the Poinstreak website you will see Zach on the roster for the Outlaws. Zach is from the Colorado area. However, rumor reports via an anonymous tip says Zach will be playing for an NAHL team.

Jeff Purslow was the only Wrangler that attended the 2009 Junior Player Showcase (JPS). He also was rumored to tryout recently with the Fresno Monster/Springfield Blues. Hopefully Jeff gets some other invites to camps from this. If not, I hope to see Jeff back with the Wranglers for the 2009-2010 season. Jeff is a great, tenacious forward that knows how to score.

Aaron Riermersma is reported to be wooed by the Squamish Wolfpack of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (Canadian Jr. B) which has a close association with the Burnaby Express, BCHL (Canadian Jr. A). If indeed Aaron plays for Squamish Wolfpack the Wranglers will miss his tenacity and fast skating. I doubt Aaron will be back with the Wranglers. Good luck Aaron!

Josef Chase will be on his way to Chicago next week to tryout for the NAHL Wenatchee Wild next week after being personally invited by the Wild. Josef has put on about 35 lbs. of muscle and reportedly has stepped up his skating speed and tenacity for the puck. The Wild say they're always interested in a big defenseman. Canadian hockey is typical of that frantic play which teaches a player to have "puck tenacity." However, the picking up speed will be an asset which is typical of US hockey play. I wish Josef the best of luck at his NAHL Wild tryout. However, I would welcome his return to the Wranglers for 2009-2010.

Richard Riemersma (Aaron's dad) reports that both boys - Aaron & Josef - have been at similar tryouts and playing spring league (Vancouver BC area Ultimate Hockey League) together for the past couple of months. The FV (Fraser Valley) Flames the team Aaron & Josef play for is in 2nd place with a 5-0-1 record. Aaron is a leading scorer for the FV Flames.

Do you have a Wrangler player rumor or success story? If so, let me know. Wrangler fans are excited for the 2009-2010 season.

NorPac Showcase & Other Rumors

2009-05-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

The Billings Bulls will host the first NorPac Showcase on January 7-9, 2010 in Billings, Montana. The NorPac Showcase will bring all 12 NorPac teams together for a round-robin tournament. There will be 18 games and several games will be "inter-league" games pitting Pacific Division teams against America West Division teams. Billings Bulls owner Doug Strong said, "We want to play these other teams from the other division and see where we match up." Who knows, this may end the argument of which NorPac Division is better - Pacific or America West.

In addition to interleague play, the tournament is designed to "showcase" the players to higher level programs. It has been reported by the Billings Gazette that over 20 scouts representing colleges, NAHL and USHL will be there to observe the players and teams. Tentatively, an "all star" game will be played on Jan. 10 that will pit the best of Pacific against the best of the West.

While I'm sure this NorPac showcase will definitely be exciting, I'm not sure that I will attend this showcase since driving to Billings or anywhere in Montana in early January will most likely be "icy-dicey." Pity the poor boys, the CDA bus trip was almost 20 hours from Medford, this trip will be a marathon trip of 30-40 hours by bus.

In other news...

League schedules for the 2009-2010 season are tentatively scheduled to be released sometime in June.

The Tri-City Titans website said that Beau Walker was tendered to the NAHL Alaska Avalanche. And, the Yellowstone Quake's Dajon Mingo was tendered to the NAHL Springfield Blues. I do know that two Wranglers, were invited and will attend an NAHL Wenatchee Wild Tryout in Woodridge, IL. One Wrangler was invited to a USHL Souix City Musketeers tryout (although I heard he chose not to attend because of school & costs). I wish them the best of luck in their upcoming tryouts. Another Wrangler played in a BCHL tryout "all-star" game and was asked to join the organization.

Rumor also has it that a couple of California kids were tendered to the Wranglers. One is reported to be a 6'9" 275 lb. '91 forward from the LA Selects Hockey Club - U18 AAA. I watched this "kid" on YouTube and he is BIG. I saw him at Burnaby Globals and because of his size did turn some heads. I only briefly saw him play and so cannot offer any comment on his value to the Wranglers. If true that he signs with the Wranglers, I wish him the best of luck.

It was reported when the Wranglers played the CDA Lakers at the end of last season that the Lakers were going to go into a "hiatus" for a year or two. Not only was it because of the rink issues (heavy snow collapsing a portion of the CDA rink) but there are some financial issues too. I also heard that the CDA Laker organization was trying to find its identity - is NorPac right for them, or KIJHL, or another league, or were they going to relocate. As a result the current CDA Laker players were "drafted" by other NorPac teams. We'll see if any Lakers want to come to the Rogue Valley. A big "thank you" goes to the good anonymous commenter who filled us in on the draft news.

Finally, I heard by rumor that the Wrangler Open Camp is having a good registration. Over 40 players have registered for the camp. Hopefully the camp will produce a crop of good players that can turn the Wrangler loss record into a bunch of wins.

Guest: Just the FACTS

2009-05-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Another guest provides us with an absolutely GREAT blog post.

There are a lot of rumors out there about Coach Chelios. Here are the FACTS.

Fact #1. Few people who comment on this blog are qualified to do so.

Fact #2. Believes in player development. Steve is not banned from coaching in any state nor has he ever been. He has been put in several situations as Head Coach of a team that was previously in last place. Some of his win/loss records in the past are a tribute to that. In Laconia he was given two returning players and tasked with filling the remainder of the roster with no support. The team did not win many games but were much more competitive than the previous year. The positive point that no one mentioned was that despite being a last place team, Chelios moved 10 players to D3 schools that year.

Fact #3. Can deal with challenges. The Orangeville Crushers was a Junior B team the year before Chelios got there, and they played their first season in the OPJHL with him at the helm. It's a difficult task to go from a Junior B league to a top Junior A league in one season. I think it would be for anyone. It was not all bad, Coach Chelios led the Crushers to winning the Rookie Tournament prior to being let go.

Fact #4. Winning tradition. There has been no mention of Coach Chelios' work with the Toronto Redwings Midget AAA team that was a last place team for several years before he took over. His first season with them, they finished two points out of second place in the league and won the second largest midget hockey tournament in Canada "the Monctonian."

Fact #5. Passionate hockey guy. Is Steve a passionate coach? Yes. Does he hate to lose? Yes, very much so. Does he get that from his brother/family? Probably. The fact is, he is a hockey guy. More of a hockey guy than any NORPAC team has ever had behind the bench.

Fact #6. Assistant coaching. Steve will not be the only Coach. Just because an Assistant has not been named must mean that the Wranglers are not bringing one on?? It’s May! The Generals just recently announced their new Assistant Coach and several teams are probably still looking. The role of the Assistant Coach in this organization has little to do with recruiting. The Wranglers really don’t need to have an Assistant Coach named until close to the start of the season. I can assure you it will however be before then.

Fact #7. Returning players. Several players have called the Wranglers office to express their wanting to play here again. The Wranglers have made calls to several of the players they are asking to return and have had positive feedback from all. Sam Jossie is going to U of O. Other than that, everyone else who was mentioned in the previous post is already signed up to attend the Wranglers Camp.

Fact #8. Wranglers tenders/new players. The Wranglers will not release information about possible tenders or new players until those players are signed. However, Main Camp registrations are way up from the past two years. Several of the players signed up are players who were specifically recruited by Wranglers staff the past two seasons. The skill and speed at Main Camp WILL be much higher than in the past two seasons. I will go even further and say that the Wranglers will have between 2-4 quality players tendered by the end of next week.

Be positive. All the negativity can be very potentially damaging and in poor taste. If you really want to see the Wranglers succeed, please keep in mind that potential players may read this blog. If it is nothing but negative, they may decide not to come.

Thank you for providing us with this post, and clarifying some of the misconceptions and rumors. Now many of you may be asking "Who wrote this?" The Wrangler Curmudgeon is following his practice of not naming the guest blog poster. Does it really matter? No. I do firmly agree with the last statement, "LETS BE POSITIVE" All you naysayers and "boo-birds" out there give the Wranglers their chance to prove you wrong, if not then you will be allowed to speak up.

Guest: I Am Concerned

2009-05-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

This blog post is not from your Wrangler Curmudgeon, rather from a guest.

I am concerned. Folks tell me that the Wranglers new coach has issues - lots of issues. I've heard that he's got a temper that will make Grumpy of the 7 Dwarfs look like Happy and because of that he's banned in 5 states from coaching. Don't believe me? Do a search on the Web. You'll get the same results as I did. My favorite was, "Steve Chelios was my hockey coach for a short (thankfully) period of time and he was a complete jackass. Got himself fired for cussing out ..."

I am concerned. I'm not hearing of anybody wanting to come back to the Wranglers. Sam is going to U O. Grant don't want to come back. Aaron is a Canadian and playing up in Canada. And, Josef is a Canadian wanna be. That leaves Joe Summa who reportedly hasn't touched ice since last season and Chad Steiner - who? The story is that the Wranglers got two tenders but Casper the friendly ghost and Beetlejuice don't count. Even if they did count them, the Wranglers only got 4 players not even a full line.

I am concerned. I've heard that Chelios is the only coach. No assistant coaches. Steve is going to coach the offense, defense and goalies. Bonnelli has been told to "go fly a kite." If you look at Steve's coaching record he's got more losses than wins. His latest team was the Laconia Leafs for the 2007-2008 season and they had a 5 - 36 record! He didn't even make a full season coaching the Orangeville Crushers in 2006-07.

I am concerned about another losing season. Think about it, a hot tempered coach; no players to build on; and limited coaching ability. Here's what Orangeville had to say, "I thought Cheli did a very good job coming in, taking on a new team and developing the talent we have to the point they are today. The problem was that we were getting to a point where a pattern was evolving, same type of game, same type of loss."

I am concerned. Thank you for allowing me to post to the Wrangler blog.

Your Wrangler blog host - the Wrangler Curmudgeon - has no opinion towards the above guest blog post. In fact, if there are supportive comments and testimonials bring them forth to counter the above guest blog opinion.

Are you interested in writing for the Wrangler blog? Send your blog post as a comment. The rules are no profanity; no anonymous (include your E-mail address so I can contact you); no personal attacks on players, fans, teams; and try to have some accuracy in your comments. There's no guarantee I'll post it but I'll consider it.

Blog Interview with Coach Chelios

2009-05-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this will be the first of several blog interviews with Coach Chelios. For this first interview, I wrote new Wrangler Coach Chelios and asked him several questions. He obliged and here are his answers.

Question: What's your first priority?
Answer: Three Fold; Winning, Player Development, and Discipline

Question: What do you understand are the challenges for the Wranglers?
Answer: Creating a new identity, looking forward to the future and putting the past behind us.

Question: What are you doing to recruit new Wrangler players?
Answer: I have a great number of contacts through all levels of hockey. I intend to go on several recruiting trips and access all of my contacts to fill a roster that will enable us to win.

Question: You stated you are going to change the culture, what does this mean?
Answer: What I mean by changing the culture is that any reputation that the organization has established before I arrived here is exactly that. I do not plan on talking to recruits about anything that involves a losing record, we are going in a new direction with a new attitude, and a clean slate to establish the new reputation identity.

Question: What would the ideal Wrangler player look like to you?
Answer: A complete "gentleman" that not only will be an asset to our organization, and he will be an equal asset to the community.

Question: Are you going to supervise all aspects of training, such as off-ice conditioning?
Answer: I will supervise all on and off-ice activities including community involvement and volunteering myself and the players to charitable organizations and youth programs. We hope to have the opportunity to work closely with the local minor hockey organization.

Question: Whats your tolerance for drugs and alcohol as well as breaking the law?
Answer: My policy is zero tolerance. Any players from our organization that are putting themselves in bad situations will result in banishment from the team.

Question: What's your typical gameplan, since you are a defenseman are you more defensive minded or focus on forwards and scoring?
Answer: Our system will involve both an offensive and defensive minded balance of responsibilities.

Question: Do you have a system? If so, are you willing give fans a bit of an insight into what it is?
Answer: Everything that involves the information given to our players will be completely system oriented. To give a brief explanation of the style we intend to play will focus on discipline, hard work, skill, and an aggressive and extremely physical style of play.

Coach Chelios: I appreciate your interest and look forward to communicating with you and our fan base for the upcoming exciting and successful season.

Thank you Coach Chelios for your answers. We look forward to an exciting and successful Wrangler season.

No NorPac Players Selected for Pacific District Camp

2009-05-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

No current NorPac players were selected for the USA Hockey National Camp. Only 3 Defensemen, 7 Forwards, and 1 goalie were selected from the Pacific District. A potential tender to the Eugene Generals, Trace Strahle was selected for the National Camp. In the Select 17's 3 defensemen and 4 forwards were selected from Alaska. The remaining forwards were from California (2) and Washington (1). The lone goalie was from California. If you want to see the Pacific District Selects roster visit: http://www.pacificdistricthockey.com/.

In a dream I wish the select forwards would be interested in playing for the Wranglers. Oh that would be so nice, but again it's only a dream. These guys will be getting offers from the WHL or NAHL or USHL not from any NorPac team.

Again, there were about 4-5 forwards from the recent Global Sports Camp that I would love to have them play for the Wranglers. These guys were fast, tenacious, and could find the back of the net with a quick wrist shot. Oh yes, in a dream they'd play for the Wranglers. But alas, its only a dream.

Global Sports Camp in Burnaby, BC

2009-05-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just returned from Burnaby, just outside of Vancouver, BC from a good Global Sports Camp. Globals were well attended by both US and Canadian players. A look at the program had the following breakdown of players.

96-97's US: 18 Canadian: 50 (36% US players)
4-95's US: 24 Canadian: 46 International: 1 (51 % US players)
90-93's US: 77 Canadian: 243 International: 4 (32% US players)

I saw several NorPac players there:

Jordan Blake-Jones, Eugene Generals
Micheal Sullivan, Helena Bighorns
Josef Chase, Rogue Valley Wranglers
Abeal Aberra, (Released) Rogue Valley Wranglers
Aaron Riemersma, Rogue Valley Wranglers
Aaron Alto, River City Jaguars
Ryan Mana, (Released) Seattle Totems
Adam Wade, Coeur d'Alene Lakers
Zach Mayer, Puget Sound Tomahawks
Steven Roe, Tri-City Titans

I saw several different Coaches & Scouts there:

Seattle Totems
Helena Bighorns
Butte Roughriders
Eugene Generals
River City Jaguars
Boise Jr. Steelheads & San Antonio, WSHL (Western States), Jr. A T-III
several Canadian Jr. B
several BCHL
WHL
OHL (Ontario Hockey League)
AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League)
USHL
NAHL
Colleges (St. Cloud, Merrimac, Alaska Fairbanks, Dartmouth, and others)
Prep Schools (Okanogan, Notre Dame, Pursuit of Excellence, and others)

If I were a scout (which I am not) I saw 4-5 US players that would make excellent player prospects for the Wranglers. Three of them were forwards that had lots of goals and were fast, very fast. Unfortunately I did not see any Wrangler coaches or scouts there to talk to these players. I even talked to one Canadian that would have been interested in playing for the Wranglers. Hopefully they will all still be available and going to Vegas Globals where I'm hoping the Wranglers will be at. I'm sure that Flint, Jay, and Chris from the Gens were busy recruiting hopeful players.

Wranglers Josef Chase and Aaron Riermersma were happy with their camp and did good. Aaron has got at least 3 Canadian Jr. B invites. Josef is too young to play in Canada, otherwise he would consider playing up north. I talked to a couple of coaches/scouts and both of them were impressed with Aaron and Josef. Aaron's quickness and hustle were mentioned as attributes. Josef's strength in the corners and defensive play in front of the net were mentioned as attributes. Way to go boys. I watched them both and would say they represented the Wranglers well with their play.

I am disappointed that Coach Chelios, Kevin, or Dan were not there recruiting future Wranglers. Last year 3 Wranglers were recruited from Globals in Burnaby - Josef Chase, Jesse Martorano, and Aaron Riemersma. For those who believe Globals in Burnaby is only for Canadians they are wrong, just plain wrong. Try telling the 119 US players that attended. Wranglers you missed a good one, and I'm disappointed. If your son has a chance to attend a Global Sports Camp I would highly recommend it. Not only do they offer a chance to have your son be viewed by coaches and scouts, but they also offer great parent & player seminars too.

Finally, Josef and Aaron invited me to watch their Ultimate Hockey Spring League games which were after the Global games and again very good hockey. The boys play for the Husky Flames and they won both their games. One game was won with only 8 seconds left. Once again good, no EXCELLENT hockey. Both Josef and Aaron are key to the Flames game plan.

Pacific District Camp

2009-05-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to watch a couple of USA Hockey Pacific District Camp practices and games. There are 82 92's and 82 93's at this camp. I paid particular attention to the 92's because of my limited schedule. I didn't have time to attend the full camp.

The Pacific District Camp is the 'best of the West' representing Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington players. Current NorPac players at the camp were:

Jordan Blake-Jones, Eugene Generals, 92
Ben Charlson, Eugene Generals, 92
Justin Huelsman, Eugene Generals, 92
Beau Walker, Tri-City Titans, 92
Josef Chase, Rogue Valley Wranglers, 92
Shawn Pauly, Seattle Totems, 92
Branden Vandermoon, Seattle Totems, 92
Josh Tweitmeyer, Seattle Totems, 92
MacKenzie Crews, Puget Sound Tomahawks, 93
McKinlee Baum, Coeur d'Alene Lakers, 93
Tyler Alos, Coeur d'Alene Lakers, 93

Of the 82 93's and 82 94's only 3 defensemen and 6 forwards and 1 goalie per age group will be picked to move on to the National Camp in July. This is because the National Camp will be condensed from 8 teams to only 4 because of budget cuts. That means only 1 in about 8 will have a chance to move on. Tough odds.

I saw several scouts there - WHL Everett Silvertips, WHL Seattle Thunderbirds, Seattle Totems, Eugene Generals, Puget Sound Tomahawks, NAHL and USHL.

All in all I thought the hockey played was as good as or perhaps better than most NorPac hockey. There was good passing, good shooting, some fast skating, and a few players wowed me with some great 'hands' and some good defense. I would say the hitting was light.

The lone Wrangler there - defenseman Josef Chase did a good job. He pinched in when the opportunity presented itself, had several shots on goal, got some goal assists, made some great passes, and played some great defense. Never did I see him get 'smoked' by an on-rushing forward. I did notice that he played a bit more aggressive up at the blue line than last year with the Wranglers. As always he was tough in the corners and in front of the net. I would also say he bulked up in weight going from 160 lbs. to 190 lbs, and I think he got taller (6'4+") too.

I did get a chance to watch the recent General's tender - Trace Strahle play. He is definitely fast and nimble. Other players that I noticed were: Vahe Zakaryan, 92 from California; Ryan Doner, 92 from Washington; and Jonathan Jin Choi, 93 from California. However, in reality there were so many good players that would benefit the Wranglers. I hope Coach Chelios and Kevin get a chance to see these players and others at an upcoming player showcase like Globals Las Vegas. I will be going up to Globals Burnaby next weekend to watch that showcase.

Wranglers Hire NHL Star Chelios' Brother

2009-05-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

This just in via a post, and was published in the Medford Mail Tribune at 6:06 PM on May 1, 2009.

"The Rogue Valley Wranglers junior hockey league team has named the brother of 13-time NHL All-Star Chris Chelios as its new coach. Following a national search, Steve Chelios, 40, and the youngest of five children, was signed to a three-year contract.

His famous brother is a three-time winner of the Norris Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top defenseman. The older Chelios plays for the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. At 47, he is the oldest active player in the NHL and also the NHL's all-time leader in career penalty minutes. He has played on three Stanley Cup championship teams.

Steve Chelios never made it past training camp at the NHL level, but he spent five years playing major junior hockey in Canada as a teenager and eight more as a professional in the minor leagues and in Europe before embarking on a coaching career.

He's coached for 13 seasons at the minor and junior levels and was a conditioning and skills instructor with the NHL's Florida Panthers during the team's preseason camp last fall before breaking his arm while playing in a men's league game."

To read more about what the Medford Mail Tribune (Saturday, May 2) had to say about the latest Wrangler Coaching hire click here to visit the online article: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090502/SPORTS/905020308

You can also view the Steve Chelios KDRV Channel 12 news clip by clicking on this link: http://kdrv.com/sports/113813

As one posted comment said... "Way to go Kevin & Ron!"

A Guest Opinion... er, Rant

2009-05-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

The blog post today is not from me - your Wrangler Curmudgeon, but from a guest...

Have you checked out the Eugene Generals website? The Generals website is posting information about their players moving on to bigger and better things and posting an article about how their 'Spring Recruiting Season' is starting. What do you see from the Wranglers? Wow, a 3 on 3 Tournament? Wait, hold it, drum roll please, the Wranglers attended the Pear Blossom Festival. Holy moly, now that's hockey! Pear Blossom Festival? What the...?

I am totally confused on what are the Wranglers priorities. Based on last season's record the Wranglers should be hitting the pavement hard and announcing tenders, recruiting efforts, and who's the new coach. Not the freakin' Pear Blossom Festival. As the Generals' web posting said, they are going to Kent to the USA Hockey Pacific District Evaluation Camp. This camp is where the best young hockey players (92 & 93's) from Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska are going to be. This is future talent! Then the following weekend they are going to Globals in Burnaby. Globals in Burnaby is where these showcase camps started. Helena, Seattle and Eugene found many of their best players at this showcase last season. Then, the Generals are teaming up with a BCHL team to offer a camp in Alaska. What players don't make it into the BCHL (Junior A, Tier 1) can be signed to play with the Generals. THIS IS GOOD RECRUITING and SMART RECRUITING! What are the Wranglers doing? Going to the Rose Festival next?

I read the General's web posting about a Generals player going to play Junior A hockey in Ontario (never mind the town, I can't pronounce it yet alone spell it). The article tells about the General's coach moving kids up to higher level leagues, about giving them exposure, and about what a great resource the coach has been. The Wranglers don't have a coach, and it is unsure of who (players) are coming back. Who wants to come back to a team that focuses on the local Pear Blossom Festival instead of hockey. Tourists are not hockey players. Who are you going to sign at the Pear Blossom Festival?

I recognize this is a bit of a rant, but I cannot understand what the Wranglers are doing and not doing. Kevin and Dan should get off of their butts drive up to Kent and Burnaby, watch some talent, and sign some players. We fans want a team that can win games. Forget the Wrangler girls (sorry ladies) but focus on hockey. If not, then do us all a favor and move on.

...Your Wrangler Blogger Curmudgeon cannot disagree with the above guest opinion. By the way, in 3 months the Wrangler Open Camp starts and in 4 months the 2009-2010 NorPac season starts.

Coaching Rumors

2009-04-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

There's more and more noise coming out of Medford that the search for the new Wrangler coach is nearly over. Again rumors say that there were many very qualified coaches that applied for the head coaching job. One applicant was rumored to be a former USA U-17 National Team Coach, AJHL Assistant and former east coast Junior A player. Another former coach, a former ECHL and AJHL player let me know via an E-mail that he didn't get the job and believed that the Wranglers were very close to making a decision. This is all great news. Why? These two guys are both quality coaching material and if they were turned down, then the coach Kevin & Ron chose must be the best. Stay tuned to the http://www.roguevalleywranglers.com/ website for an announcement. I am hoping that the new Wrangler coach will be at Globals - both at Burnaby and Las Vegas - to do some quality recruiting.

Yes it might be another building year for the Wranglers but hopefully with a few quality returning players, and some good recruiting the Wranglers will have a better 2009-2010 season. Anything is better than last year. What I'm hoping that the new coach will bring a system to the Wranglers that will include passing, cycling the puck, scoring, and perhaps a few more wins. You know Wrangler fans that the Wrangler Camp is just barely 3 months away, and in just over 4 months the 2009-2010 season starts! Woo hoo!

Mainland Tournament in BC

2009-04-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

I just came back after 3 tiring days of good hockey in BC. As with my earlier visit the previous weekend at the Surrey Eagles Main Camp the hockey was nothing short of being EXCELLENT. What I can tell you is that Canadian hockey is different than US hockey. What? You thought hockey was hockey? Nope. The Canadian boys play a very intense, tough, and scrappy form of hockey. There's no time to hold on to the puck, or skate from end to end, or dangle into the zone. Why? Because there is a player battling for the puck the entire time. There's all sorts of hitting, slashing and tripping going on and penalties are not called unless it is a serious infraction. It's a very intense and fast game. Although it was "Midget Major" hockey (91-93 birth years) it was every bit as good or better than NorPac hockey. If you keep up on this blog you know what I like: good crisp passing, cycling the puck around the zone, using the points, shots on goal, and of course SCORING. I saw lots of these hockey skills done accurately and effectively. Again, it was just plain good hockey.

One team, the Burnaby Jr. Express, had 4 BCHL Jr. A players, and the 2nd best scorer in BC Midget AAA hockey on the team. The Jr. Express hockey play worked like a "machine;" the puck quickly brought out of the defensive zone, the play setup in the neutral zone, then the puck passed around probing for weaknesses, and then a quick 'back door' score. Wow! Now that's hockey. Again the Mainland Tournament showed me a lot of good, good, good hockey. Our neighbors to the north are just so blessed with so much hockey talent.

As to Wranglers, yes I did see two Wranglers - Aaron Riermersma and Josef Chase. These two boys teamed up to play 'BC Spring League' hockey and were at the recent Mainland Tournament to continue their path of on-going improvement. Yes, these two were the ones I saw at the Surrey Eagles BCHL camp. Aaron has already been to several BCHL Camps and received serveral invites to Canadian Jr. B camps. Josef has invites to several Jr. B camps. I had the chance to talk to two Jr. B scouts who watched Aaron & Josef at one Mainland Tournament game and they were very impressed with both boys. At this one game, Aaron had two goals and Josef had two assists. As to playing in BC, Aaron has a better chance since he has dual Canadian & US citizenship. Josef will not be able to play hockey in BC since he is only 17. But again, both boys turned a lot of scouting heads. On an interesting note, Josef Chase told me he was selected for the USA Hockey District Camp taking place 4/30-5/3. Being polite I didn't bother to ask Aaron or Josef if they will be returning to the Wranglers. That's for them to decide. However, these two boys are playing GREAT competitive hockey during the off-season. Way to go boys!

For those of you who don't know, Canadian Junior A or BCHL or AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League) is equivalent to Jr. A Tier II (or higher) hockey, and Canadian Jr. B hockey is equivalent to Jr. A Tier III (or higher) hockey. There are several Jr. B leagues in lower BC, the PIJHL (Pacific International Junior Hockey League), VIJHL (Vancouver Island) and KIJHL (Kootenay International). You talk to any BCHL or Jr. B coach or scout and their advice to any NorPac player is, "get out of NorPac!"

My next visit to beautiful Britsh Columbia, Canada will be to the Global Hockey Showcase in Burnably the second weekend in May (5/7-10). I expect to see several current Wranglers at this showcase. I also want to see some possible future Wranglers from this collection of great hockey talent. If you remember, Burnaby Globals is where several Wranglers were recruited last year - Aaron, Josef, and Jesse Martorano. Also, several other NorPac teams use the Globals venue to do some of their recruiting too (Seattle, Eugene, Helena, etc.). Perhaps I'll find out more on the Wrangler coaching status and some possible pre-season tenders.

Coaching Search Update

2009-04-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Kevin Schwartz reports that over 50 resumes from qualified coaches from all over the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the world have been received. Some are names that you will have heard before in the hockey world. The interviewing process is beginning this week and will end as Kevin states, "when we have found the person best suited to take on the challenge of becoming the Wranglers new Head Coach."

While in BC last weekend at the Surrey Eagles Evaluation Camp, I met one coach that was interested in coaching the Wranglers. He was a past NHL'er with an extensive Junior and Pro career which ultimately led to a brief stint with the Washington Capitals in the 80's. I asked him why the Wranglers, and he said he wanted a change of place and a change of pace. I told him that coaching the Wranglers would definitely be a challenge and I gave him all the gory and unsavory details. Believe it or not, he was excited and up to the task. He went on to tell me his goals of building a sustainable hockey program and developing players. He could be a dream come true for Wrangler hockey. I'd like to pass on his name, but once again I don't want to risk anything that would thwart his chances.

I don't know who the other 49 coach applicants are and I wish the Wranglers the best of luck in their interview process. The Wranglers desperately need a good quality coach that will develop a system of getting the puck out of the zone, passing, cycling and most importantly of all SCORING! Good luck Kevin!

A previous commenter asked about my analysis on the Wrangler players and the Surrey Evaluation Camp. I said that the two Wranglers who were participating in the evaluation camp were (in my estimation) in the top 25% of the players attending. Those two did pretty darn good with skating, passing, speed, and position. Unfortunately neither were successful enough to get invited to the Surrey Eagles Main Camp, but in my estimation they did good, very good. As far as I know none of the other NorPac or Seattle Junior Hockey Association players made the Main Camp roster either. Again out of 150+ players trying there were only 4-6 spots open.

I will be up in BC this weekend again watching the BC Mainland Tournament so I'll try and report what I see. Maybe I'll see more former Wranglers, or maybe a future Wrangler.

Spring is Hockey Camp Season

2009-04-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

Just for kicks, I thought I would venture to the "Great White North" and take a gander at some good hockey. What I found was not only good hockey but great hockey. My first stop was to the Great Pacific Forum Rinks in Delta where they were getting started with tiering games for the spring "Ultimate Hockey Challenge" season. I watched a couple of Bantam games, then a couple of Midget games. Unfortunately I think a couple of the Midget teams would have given the Wranglers a run for their money. Wow, these kids are good. What I so enjoyed was this... passing, cycling the puck, and using the points. Simple things that the Wranglers never mastered all season long. As I wandered around, I heard that the BCHL Jr. A Surrey Eagles were having an open evaluation camp over in south Surrey.

Surrey must cover an area the size of Rhode Island. It took me a good hour or more to find the rink. But once there I saw some incredible hockey. BCHL Jr. A hockey I would classify as Jr. A Tier I hockey which is way, way, WAY above Wrangler hockey at Jr. A Tier III. In fact as I talked with parents, scouts, and coaches I found that many of them were very familiar with NorPac, but did not think it was Jr. A Tier III, rather they classified it as Jr. B hockey. After watching a few games I couldn't agree more. One scout I talked to was a former NHL'er.

The Surrey Eagles organized their evaluation camp by creating 8 teams by color, e.g., orange, yellow, teal, red, maroon, navy, blue, and green. Each team had 3 goalies, 5-6 defensemen, and 10-12 forwards. Teams played a round robin format of 4 games over three days. Each game was three 22 minute no-clock-stop periods with two linesmen to keep it fair. The few penalties (only blatant ones) that were called resulted in a penalty shot. I would estimate that there were about 150 boys turning out for about 4-6 open spots. It was great, all-out Junior hockey. There were even a few fights - ugh.

The Surrey Eagles had the rosters for each team posted on the wall near the Surrey Eagle team office. I saw a few NorPac player names on the rosters, as well as several midget players from Seattle area hockey associations. What really surprised me was that I saw a couple of Wrangler players names on the rosters! This had me really interested. So I made it a point to watch their games. I was impressed in that they fit right in with the play, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if perhaps one of them got an invite to the main Surrey Eagles camp in August. Being honest they weren't the best players, but I would say both were in the top 25%. I heard some very positive talk amongst Jr. B coaches and scouts about the two Wranglers. Now, you're probably hoping that I'll spill the names. That wouldn't be fair and they asked me to keep their names private, so I'll respect that. (You can guess though)

In talking to them though, they were definitely enjoying themselves and felt that they were fitting in. Yes, the play was tough and demanding. Both commented that it was definitely faster and tougher than any game they played last season. When I asked them about their plans, being a Wrangler was still an option, they were just working to see what other options may come. I wish them the best of luck.

I heard that next weekend is the Mainland Tournament. This is a big tournament with kids from all around BC. Many scouts and coaches attend to look at prospective talent. So I may have to return to Canada to get my hockey fix. If I'm lucky I might see another Wrangler, or maybe future Wrangler.

Who's Blog Is It?

2009-04-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Recently the spate of comments that have been posted are so negative, repugnant, and rude of not only the Wranglers but against individuals too. As such I've chosen to delete a few of them. That's not what this blog is all about. Let's for a moment visit the mission statement posted on this blog. "It is provided as a forum for hockey fans and players to provide comments and information supporting Rogue Valley Wranglers Hockey." Bottom line, "THIS IS A WRANGLER BLOG."

It's no secret that I don't like certain teams and players within NorPac. Many blog visitors say that to be fair the blog has to let all the comments be published - pro for and con against the Wranglers so readers get a 'true' perspective. I can accept that. Some will say, "What about free speech? What about the truth? What about hearing about the other side?" But again, "THIS IS A WRANGLER BLOG" Not a I hate the Wranglers blog. Not a forum for individuals to ridicule players, coaches, and the Wrangler program. Not a platform for rude and denigrating language. Not a blog for others to support or tout their hockey program over others.

Finally, it seems that there is a campaign to smear the Wrangler Blog by irate Totems fans. Here's a tip for all of you Totem fans... Create your own blog to bad mouth teams and players; create your own blog to publish your opinions; create your own blog to defend your goon tactics; just create your own.

If those reading this blog want to denigrate a team with your rude and insensitive comments, or tout your team as the end-all be all, then switch and provide your comments to "http:/nphl.blogspot.com". Those of you who continue to send your rude and insensitive comments to the Wranglers Blog will find that your comments are simply deleted. And if you don't want to read this blog as a result, "I DON'T CARE!"

Pride of the Pacific Division?

2009-03-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Totems went 0-3 at the USA Hockey Jr. A Tier III National Hockey Tournament. Seattle was the only Jr A Tier III team at the tournament to go 0-3, so out of 12 teams they ended up "dead last." The Totems had a whopping 4 Goals For (GF) and an embarrassing 12 Goals Against (GA). The "Pride of the Pacific Division" Seattle Totems were the worst team at Nationals. The only redeeming fact was that the Totems probably won the "good sportsmanship" award (if such an award were given) with the least amount of penalty minutes at 34. Wow! Can you believe it? Defensemen Sam Ballenger ended up being the top scorer with 1 goal and 1 assist. Hmm? NorPac scoring leader Schulze had 1 assist. Hmm? The Wranglers former goalie Nick Cafrelli played two games, had a 2.79 GAA with a save percentage of 0.925%. He was the top Totems goalie. Funny though, that a former Wrangler was the bright spot for the Totems. Way to go Nick! Finally, the Seattle Totems helped prove to all of the US Junior hockey community that the NorPac Pacific Division is the worst Junior A, Tier III league in USA Hockey. Hoorah! Totems Hockey. Maybe Junior B or Junior C?

Unfortunately the Helena Bighorns lost to the New Hampshire Monarchs who are headed to the Championship final to play the New Jersey Hitmen. This is a re-run of last year's Championship final. If I figure correctly, the Big Horns probably ended up in 5th place based on GF (10) and GA (10). Way to go Big Horns.

One more time, "I am glad this season is over."

Jr. A Tier III National Tournament Results: Totems 0-2, Bighorns 2-0

2009-03-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Two days have passed at the National Jr. A Tier III tournament in Boston and the Seattle Totems find themselves at 0-2 in round robin division play. While the Helena Bighorns earned a couple of wins and are at 2-0. Today, Sunday, March 28 is the final day of round robin play in the three divisions; only the top teams in each division will move on to the Semi's. That means the Totems are definitely out, and the Bighorns still have a chance.

The Totems lost to the Atlantic Junior Hockey League Champion Northern Cyclones 1-4 on Friday. Then on Saturday, the Totes lost to the Minnesota Junior Hockey League Granite City Lumberjacks 2-3. Former Wrangler goalie Nick Cafrelli was the losing goalie. Nick faced 34 shots and had 31 saves. The Totems made 21 shots on goal in their effort against the Lumberjacks. Today - Sunday (3/28) - the hapless Totems find themselves hosting the Central States Hockey League Dubuque Thunderbirds. The T-Birds were second in the Central States Hockey League. In tournament play, the Dubuque T-Birds tied the Granite City Lumberjacks (2-2 OT) and thoroughly beat the Northern Cyclones (6-2). So, the odds are that the Dubuque T-birds will win this one.
-
UPDATE! The Dubuque Thunderbirds defeated the Seattle Totems 5-1. The Totems go 0-3 at the National Junior A Tier III Tournament.

Our favorite "Pride of the NorPac Pacific Division" Totems are struggling. They are in Division II of the 3 Divisions at the Junior A Tier III tournament. They have a 'whopping' 3 Goals For (GF) and 7 Goals Against (GF). Only the Western States Hockey League Phoenix Polar Bears are worse with a GF: 1 and GA: 11. However, I will give the Totems some credit in that they are not playing 'goon hockey' since they have the second lowest penalty minutes at 26 out of the whole tournament. Good job! The Polar Bears are the worst with 81 penalty minutes. Defensemen Sam Ballenger is leading the Totes at the tournament with 1 goal and 1 assist for the past 2 games.

Meanwhile, NorPac Champion Helena Bighorns have had a couple of wins. The Bighorns beat the Atlantic Junior League New York Bobcats 3-1 on Friday, and beat the Western States Hockey League Champion El Paso Rhinos 4-3 on Saturday. Today (3/28) the Bighorns play the very tough and last year's Champions, the New Hampshire Monarchs. If the Bighorns win this one, it would definitely put them as a team to beat in the finals. It will be a tall order for the Bighorns. The Rhinos lost to the Monarchs, 2-7 and the Monarchs beat the Bobcats 6-2. So, unfortunately the odds are favoring the Monarchs. Wouldn't an upset be nice?

Update! The Helena Bighorns lost to the New Hampshire Monarchs 3-6.

All in all I'm not too surprised in the tournament results for our NorPac teams. However by looking at the gamesheets, reading game summaries, and looking through the stats does tell me that Totems and NorPac scoring leaders Schulze and Stombaugh are not succeeding. However, Bighorns' Sean Connolly is #2 with Branden Parkhouse and Willie Boyle tied at #4. Hmm? Anybody want to venture a guess? My thoughts are... Well, I've been told that if you can't say anything nice don't say it at all.

Off Season Training...

2009-03-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

When the season is over a lot of players simply hang-up their skates and turn to other activities - watching TV, jobs, eating, and girls. Not necessarily your best training program in the off season. Then when tryouts begin or just before a big push is made to 'get in shape.' Sure, you can take a breather just after the season is over for a week or two, but then you got to stay in shape. If you want to be good, it will take a lot of training and dedication. If you want to be the best, then you have to train the best. The simple answer is you need to train on a regular basis, which means almost daily.

A very successful hockey player (junior & minor league) and coach I know recommends the following "minimum" program during the off season:

Shoot pucks daily. Recommend at least 250 per day.
Minimum 25-100 push-ups and 25-100 sit-ups daily. They can be done in what ever increments that can be managed: 15's, 25's, 50's etc. and can be done all at once or split with ½ in the morning and ½ in the evening. (The best I have seen from 12 year old players is 100 push-ups in a row with perfect form and +375 sit-ups in a row.)
"3 on 3" once a week. Besides the best training value, the kids have the most fun because of the competition. This accomplishes the need to be on the ice about 5-6 hours a week.
At least 1 skill session. In order of importance: Skating; Shooting/Saving; Passing & Stickhandling. This isn't just for 10-12 year olds, even AHL and NHL players still go to skill sessions to improve.

At last year's Wrangler Main Camp I was amazed at how many players came to try out that could not run and were just plain out of shape. Many of them were exhausted. Even during the regular season very few Wrangler players continued to train; and it showed. Last year's Coach McLean shared with me an E-mail that I thought was great. It said, that instead of getting noticed, players should work on getting better. "Getting noticed" and "getting better" are two very different things. His E-mail went on to say, "Instead of spending the entire summer in a hockey rink, go to the 1 or 2 camps or tournaments that have the most value and spend the rest of the summer focusing on training. Instead of spending the entire summer trying to convince coaches how good you are, spend the summer getting better by training and being in shape so that they will notice you next season when it really counts. Your primary focus should be on getting faster and stronger - to be ready for the season. Your dedication to summer training will give you an advantage over everyone else on the ice when the season starts - then you'll be able to "get noticed."" The E-mail concluded with this statement, which I believe, "The best hockey players don't play hockey all summer long. They train."

So, you want to be a Wrangler? You want to play hockey? Now is the time to start training.

Wranglers Announce Main Camp

2009-03-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

Just recently posted on the Wranglers web site, was the announcement of the Wranglers Main Camp on August 6-9, 2009. What was disappointing was the announcement that said, "This season the Wranglers Main Camp will be Open Registration with minimal restrictions." Many teams have a "prospect camp" where prospective players can be evaluated and then invited to the main camp for final evaluation. The 'open registration' of this year's Wrangler Main Camp will be that anyone who thinks they are good enough to play Junior A Tier III hockey can pay their $175 and try out for the Wranglers. Although, the previous new Wrangler web post says, "These qualified individuals will be instrumental in ensuring that the Wranglers Main Camp is attended by a large group of high caliber players. The Wranglers also hope to bring in a larger number of players from different regions of the U.S. Overall, next season's crop of newcomers is shaping up to be the best yet." Hmm? I guess all we fans can say is, "We shall see." Rumors (always rumors to deal with) say, that the Wranglers will have very few returning players. So, once again the Wranglers will have another 'building year.'

There's still no word on who will 'skipper' the Wranglers this year. As such recruiting will be tough without a head coach. Hopefully this will get resolved before the Wranglers visit the major player showcases.

Finally, you will notice that "ajreis" posted several comments to several posts on the Wrangler blog. Just know, that "ajreis" is probably Josh Reis, Seattle Totems Head Scout/Asst. General Manager. The Wrangler blog appreciates Josh's comments. They were good comments per his perspective.

Jr A Tier III National Tournament

2009-03-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

The Junior A Tier III National Tournament is this coming weekend in Boston, MA. The Helena Big Horns and the Seattle Totems are representing NorPac - North Pacific Hockey League. The other Junior A Tier III leagues competing are (also listed are how many teams in the league, and the two teams representing the league):

Atlantic Junior Hockey League (12 teams, TBA)
Eastern Junior Hockey League (14 teams, New Hampshire Monarchs & New Jersey Hitmen)
Central States Hockey League (12 teams, St. Louis Jr. Blues, TBA)
Minnesota Junior Hockey League (9 teams, Minnesota Ice Hawks, Granite City Lumberjacks)
Western States Hockey League (11 teams, El Paso Rhinos & Phoenix Polar Bears)

The tournament divides the teams into three divisions, four teams per division, and then round-robin play begins. There are 3 games for each team. The best team in each division moves to the Semis and then a Championship game. Generally, any loss in the round-robin play will likely eliminate you from the championship. Two losses and you're definitely out. NorPac teams play as follows:

Friday, Mar. 27. Seattle(h) v. Atlantic Junior League #1 seed at 3:40 PM. Helena(h) v. Atlantic Junior League #2 seed at 5:00 PM.
Saturday, Mar. 28. Granite City Lumberjacks(h) v. Seattle at 2:30 PM. Helena(h) v. El Paso Rhinos at 3:20 PM.
Sunday, Mar. 29. CSHL #2 seed(h) v. Seattle at 3:00 PM. New Hampshire Monarchs(h) v. Helena at 6:00 PM.

Last year (2008) the Totems record was 1-2, the Big Horns record was 2-1. The title game was between the New Jersey Hitmen (AJHL) and the New Hampshire Monarchs (EJHL). The Monarchs won the championship. The Totems played the Hitmen in round robin play and lost 1-11.

If you are interested in the National Jr. A Tier III tournament, you can visit the USA Hockey website: (http://www.usahockey.com//Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=PL_02_02&ID=7604)

Stay Tuned...

2009-03-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

News is that the Wranglers have hired 10 scouts around the country and have plans to attend all the major player showcases such as Globals in Burnaby and Las Vegas, Chicago Showcase, and many, many others. The intent is to sign quality players from around the country.

Also many of the rumors posted here are just that - rumors. Rumor of a bailout? Rather the truth probably is the Wranglers continue to look for sponsors which are important to the business of successfully running the Wranglers. Rumor of AAA coaches? Maybe so, again the truth might be that while looking for a coach, a successful AAA coach was investigated or interviewed. I know of a couple AAA coaches that I believe would be great for the Wranglers. Rumor of no money for assistant coaches and trainers? A good business person considers everything to be "on the table," but is it realistic? I do believe this to NOT be a rumor... The Wranglers are working on the business of recruiting and building a new and better team for next season. I have "officially" heard from the Wranglers to "stay tuned" to some upcoming news and announcements. Stay tuned to the Wranglers website (http://www.roguevalleywranglers.com/) for news.

Your Wrangler curmudgeon will go "on record" that he has faith in Kevin's management of the Wranglers. (No, there's no connection or endorsement to make this comment, it was done by free will.) While of course nothing is done the way each one of us believes it should be done. Each one of us has our own ideas and solutions. What the Wrangler curmudgeon has noticed is that there's definitely hometown hockey politics in the Rogue Valley. In fact, it kind of resembles the on-going finger pointing and blame game of national politics. No matter what the Wranglers decide there's going to be somebody who will hide in the corners and say, "That's not what I would do. That's a dumb decision." And, anonymously they will post their displeasure or through rumors make their displeasure known.

Hometown hockey politics are not unique to the Wranglers. As a result there are several rumors floating around NorPac too. One is that the Coeur d'Alene Lakers will be taking a one year "hiatus" from fielding a team while the Lakers decide what to do. Supposedly there are several issues (rink, player, league, perhaps others). Another rumor is about the Seattle Totems. The Totems are reportedly having rink issues. There's just not enough time at Olympic View arena for them. The rumor is that they might move to another rink... SnoKing? And, there's rumor about the Puget Sound Tomahawks. Supposed late season reports that the Tomahawks were looking for a buyer. Rumors abound that the T-Hawks are broke and not going to be around for the 09-10 season. It is interesting to note that there are vicious rumors and reports of each team's demise within each team's community, not just within the Wranglers. Like the Don Henley song "Dirty Laundry..." "People love it when you lose; They love dirty laundry; Kick 'em when they're up; Kick 'em when they're down; Kick 'em all around."

Good luck to the Wranglers on their scouting efforts. I look forward to the upcoming news.

Totems Gored By Bighorns

2009-03-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Pity the poor, hapless Seattle Totems losing to the Helena Bighorns in game #4 of the Cascade Cup Championship series. Like the month of March, the Totems started out like a lion, but went out like a lamb. Like I said in earlier posts, playing "goon hockey" just can't outdo skills. Helena is a team that played a consistent balanced attack all game long. The Bighorns have the talent and the skills and know how to use them. I listened to the game and it was clear that Helena clearly outplayed Seattle.

Okay, you say I'm biased? Well count the shots... 65 to 19 in favor of the Horns. That sounds like the Totes were outplayed by the Horns to me. Okay, still say I'm biased? How does 5 power play goals and one short-handed goal sound. Still think I'm biased? How 'bout looking look at the score... 10-3 in favor of the Horns. Hey Totes, how'd that can of Wup Ass taste? Yes, I am biased I just don't like the Totems and their style of goon hockey. So I'm happy with the result of the Totems losing not only the game but the Championship Series too.

What is Totems goon hockey? 52 penalty minutes in this game. Beede showing his class with a butt-ending game ejection. Patt and his usual class with a game ejection with a "Tier I - Gross Misconduct." The "little Prince" Schulze missing his final game of his NorPac career with his previous evening temper tantrum as did Galvin. That's Totems goon hockey. The Totems just seem to know how to dismantle themselves. The Totems goon hockey game plan is to get in the head of their opponents and then take advantage of mental miscues. Well like they say, "live by the sword die by the sword" and the Totems were done in by their own strategy. The Bighorns got in the Totems head and the Totes simply fell apart. Good job Horns!

Congratulations Helena Bighorns winning the Cascade Cup!

Seattle Totems Meltdown - Go Figure

2009-03-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well by looking at the scoresheets it seems that the Seattle "apes and goons" are stealing the show. Let's look at the series:

Seattle 3, Helena 1. Penalty minutes: Seattle 14, Helena 12.
Seattle 2, Helena 6. Penalty minutes: Seattle 57, Helena 33. Snider, Ballenger, & Prather all 10 minutes for 'unsportsmanlike'. The meltdown starts, the metamorphosis from player to goon is beginning.
Seattle 4, Helena 6. Penalty minutes: Seattle 93, Helena 38. Beede - 15 min for 'Board Checking' (sucker checked a player like he did earlier in the season to the Wranglers), Reis, Seattle Asst. Coach - 10 minutes for 'unsportsmanlike', Seattle bench - 10 minutes for 'Abuse of Officials', Schulze - 15 min for 'Fighting', Galvin - 20 minutes (2 10 min. consecutive penalties) for 'Abuse of Officials'. Apes and goons rule! It's Seattle Totems Hockey at its finest. The pride of the Pacific Division.

If you analyze playoff and season PIM stats: Seattle, 323 playoff penalty minutes and 1,451 regular season penalty minutes - 3rd in the Pacific Divsion (1st River City, 2nd CDA). Helena, 173 playoff penalty minutes and 1,017 regular season penalty minutes - lowest in the America West Division. The stats tell the story - "apes and goons" versus "skilled hockey players."

As the recently departed Paul Harvey would say, "Here's the rest of the story..." Friday night's game between the Totems and Bighorns started off nasty, very nasty with Beede cross-checking Bighorns leading defensive scorer Zack Maxwell after just 10 seconds of starting the game. The Helena Independent Record newspaper said in their Saturday, March 14th edition, "...referee Thomas Williams ejected the first player of the game when Chris Beede deliberately and obviously cross-checked Helena defender Zack Maxwell from behind and head-first into the boards. The game only grew worse from there." Typical Seattle goon hockey. Don't win by skill and talent, rather cheap-shot the other team. However, in fitting justice Maxwell scored later in the game (2:58 left in the 3rd) a game winning goal for the Bighorns from just inside the blue line. The Bighorns scored a few minutes later on an empty net to definitely seal the win. Even the classless Seattle fans got into the act with a scuffle, extra security had to be called in. Again, Totems Hockey at its finest.

The Bighorns can finish the Totems off and capture the Cascade Cup with a win tonight. I personally am hoping for that. Last night's game probably resulted in some scratches for the Totems so they'll be playing "goon short" tonight - probably Beede and Galvin, and maybe even Schulze. Hope you enjoy the game from the stands boys. I'm sure NorPac will have extra officials and Helena will have extra security for tonight's game. Again, go Bighorns! The Totems don't deserve anything for the style of hockey they play.

All Quiet

2009-03-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Not much is heard from the Wranglers as far as recruiting or coaching. Which leaves many wondering what's going on. What's next? Well, spring and early summer is recruiting time. Within the next two to three months there are several hockey showcases such as, Burnaby and Las Vegas Global Player Showcase, USA Hockey Chicago Showcase, 5 Hole Hockey Showcase, USA Hockey District Camps, USA Hockey District Tournaments, Arizona Jr. & Sr. Showcase, and Vancouver Challenge Cup. Also, many Jr. A Tier I & II teams are doing their recruiting in April leaving the "left overs" for Jr. A Tier III and Jr. B for the later camps and available for recruiting by NorPac.

If you remember your science, there's a thing called a "bell shaped curve." If you place on the X-axis player skill/talent level from great to poor. And, for the Y-axis you measure number of players. You will see that there are very few great players - probably less than 5%. Good players, from 5% to 20%. Medium players from 20% to 80%. And less than medium to poor filling in the last 20%. "Are ya still with me? If so, let's move on."

Great players are probably already spoken for by being placed on WHL protected lists, and already contacted by upper level teams. They are not playing NorPac. Next are the "good players" which may or may not play NorPac. There's intense competition for these players by all the teams in NorPac and other Junior leagues. The bulk of the NorPac players pool are probably those "Medium" skilled and talented players. Many of these "medium" players can become "good" or maybe even "great" and that's what a good scout or coach can find - those "diamonds in the rough." Finally, the last segment of "poor" players are those who think they are good or great, but realistically and truthfully are where they are. The Wranglers seemed to have a dearth of them last season. No, I am not going to name names, we all have our suspicions of who. Lets leave it at that. And, I don't think they were invited back.

The real recruiting game in NorPac is finding those medium skilled/talented players who given the right amount of coaching, development, and play can turn into those players who make a difference on a team. The Yellowstone Quake went from last place in the America West division in 2007-2008 to 1st place in 2008-2009 based on an excellent recruitment. I met recruiters from Helena last year at Globals and they were searching for those "diamonds in the rough." And, once again they were successful. Coaches and scouts in BC are in full swing trolling the player waters doing their homework - researching player stats, talking to coaches, reviewing game videos. My experience tells me that each year the competition to find competitive good-to-great players is getting tougher. The good players have plenty of options to choose from. The upper layer medium players may have one or two, and the rest are lucky to get anything. And, if they do get an offer they'll snag it, then act like they're "Sid the Kid."

Here's the challenge for the Wranglers... Without a coach who knows what they want in terms of players, you're going to get the GM and Wrangler Scout doing the recruiting. The Wranglers cannot sing their record as a recruiting tool, and they cannot entice a player to play for a coach because there is no coach. The "sales schtick" will have to be the supportive fan community and plenty of playing time. Rumors travel fast in the hockey world and I would suspect that the Wranglers face a recruiting challenge just like trying to win games last season. Let's just say it's going to be interesting. Being a Wrangler fan I hope and pray for the best - a great recruitment, but the Wrangler curmudgeon in me says sarcastically, "good luck!"

Oh, by the way... for those of you who send those foul, filthy, trashy comments. I reject 'em when I see the first four-letter curse word. So they don't even get fully read when they get sent to the "reject bit bucket." Why waste your time? It's like the bumper sticker on a car I saw the other day, "I See Stupid People." Was it you?

How Much Does It Cost?

2009-03-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

While the Wranglers wrestle with a building a viable Junior hockey program for season #3, and the rumors continue to swirl... Rather, I thought I'd take a different approach. Let's say the "Wrangler Fan Curmudgeon" wanted to run his own Junior A Tier III hockey program, how would that work? How much would it cost? So the staff at Wrangler Blog began an exhaustive review. They contacted the Accounting Department, then Marketing, then HR, then IT, then passed it by the Executive Management team. Not satisfied, the Wrangler Blog CEO Curmudgeon said, "Do the research! Investigate." So after hours and hours of calls, interviews, and Internet research here are results...

First, let's look at Income. You have 22 players each paying $5,000 for the priviledge of wearing the Wrangler Red, or $110,000. NPHL (NorPac) says, there's no exceptions to this each player pays their fee. (Although you hear of exceptions all the time, I say NO!) Next you have gate receipts. 24 home games, lets figure 150 paying fans each game at $8 each = $28,800. Yes, you have to figure season ticket holders, half price nights, guest admissions, etc. Pointstreak shows an average attendance of 300 fans per game. Being conservative (perhaps too much so), I figured half are paying. Next do you have some sponsors? Again, lets be conservative, very conservative and say sponsors contributed only $5,000. Total income is, $143,800.

Now let's look at Expenses. The biggest expense is ice time. An Internet survey showed that ice time prices vary around the country. However, the high end was chosen of $285 per hour. There are approximately 24 home games, each home game using about 3 hours of ice, and each week for practices, the team uses about 6 hours of ice time. This figures to about $61,560 for ice time rental. Next, lets look at travel. There are about 16 (again high end) road trips requiring a bus each season. Bus rates are about $1,000 per trip. (Again, a high end estimate is used based on Internet research.) Each time the team travels it does pay for some meals, 22 players, 2 meals, $10 per meal. Lets estimate $6,160 for food. Lodging (the home team pays for the visiting team's lodging) requires probably 7 rooms (3 players per room) and 1 room for the coaches at $66 per night for 15 nights or about $10,560. Next, what do you pay your coaches? That's a real toughie. In some markets Junior Hockey coaches can make a lot, in others not so much. Also, it should be figured that it is a part time job of 20 hours a week, and its only for 7 months. Oh, I know some may say it takes more than that, but I'm a curmudgeon, a scrooge, so I'm keeping it at 20 hours per week. Then you probably should pay something for an assistant coach, and some for a good trainer. So, again based on Internet research, I came up with $40,000 for team staffing. Say it can't be done? Oh yeah? Bugger off. (Sorry, coach you're going to have to find a real job too, this is just a part-time gig.) Finally, I threw in $5,000 for other miscellaneous expenses (Wrangler girls, supplies, etc.). So, the expense total is, $139,280. That still leaves a positive variance of $4,520. If you get more sponsors and/or paying fans, then the greater your variance.

Is the Wrangler curmudgeon that far off in his research, expectations, and figures? Is there something that I'm missing? Otherwise, I think it's all totally doable and reasonably so. Oh how I believe the boo-birds and naysayers will chirp at this. It's my figures - reasonably thought out - and I'm sticking to them. I look forward to your comments and arguments. Reminder, be nice.

Battle of the 88's

2009-03-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a re-run of last year's playoff between the Helena Bighorns of the America West Division of NorPac and the Seattle Totems of the Pacific Division of NorPac. It's also a battle of the 88's, that is 1988 birth year players. Helena with Parkhouse, Boyle, and many others. Seattle with Schulze and Stombaugh, and many others. Last year the Bighorns won in 3 games. This year I think it will be Helena all the way again. Why? Because I just plain dislike Seattle. They're a bunch of goons and show-offs. Okay, you want more reason than personal dislike, here's goes with my prognostications...

First of all, there is the All Star Pacific Division team that played the NAHL Junior A Tier II team - Wenatchee Wild, they lost 0-3. However the America West All Star team beat the Wenatchee Wild 5-3. The America West Division used to be Junior A Tier II teams. Most Pacific Division NorPac players will agree that the America West Division is a tougher and better league. Several players from the America West Division have been traded to NAHL or other higher level leagues. Advantage - Helena with experience and talent.

Secondly, Helena goaltending is much better than Seattle goaltending. Tuurala was #1 in the season with a 1.90 GAA and a 0.924% save percentage. The Big Horns back up goalie, Sutliffe has a 2.39 GAA with a 0.901% save percentage. In the playoffs Klingenberg was the #1 Seattle goalie. Season-wise Cafrelli was the better goalie. Advantage -Helena with goaltending.

Thirdly, if you look at the stats, Seattle has more players with higher point scores as compared to Helena, but the same look at the stats show that all top Helena players have percentage-wise more assists than goals. This shows that they're willing to make the pass to get the goal. I confirmed this through a bit of asking around I found out that Helena plays a very balanced passing attack. I also heard that Helena works on speed. Moving players down the ice. Seattle does neither, rather Seattle players are opportunists. They send in the goons - Carpenter, English to get in front of the net while their forwards take shots. The Puget Sound game I watched was typical Seattle hockey - rough up the goaltender, get in their head, then come in and take shots. I guess you could say whatever wins is good. Puget Sound played Seattle tough because of speed and a balanced spread-out attack. If you get in behind Seattle's "D" then you have some good scoring chances because Seattle's "D" isn't that good. I think the Jags lost to Seattle because they tried to play a tough physical game with Seattle. Advantage - Helena with a balanced spread-out attack.

Well, this season is just about over and again I'll be glad when it is.

Wrangler Rumors Swirl

2009-03-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

The only "official" word from the Wranglers is that Regional Scouts are being hired to look for new talent across the country. Rumors are plenty though. What's real and what's not? Well let's examine some facts and rumors that have been heard...

US automaker execs come to Washington to face Congress, and all Wrangler coaches and staff have met with Kevin and Ron.
Not only are the national and state economies in trouble, but the Wranglers are too.
National unemployment rates are up, and so it is with the Wranglers coaches and staff.
Big bailout for the US, and the Wranglers too. Eat more pizza!
Kansas governor considered for Health & Human Services Cabinet Chief, and a youth midget "AAA" rep travel coach is being considered, which also comes with a big salary.
California furloughs state workers to ease budget woes, and Wranglers consider only one paid coach; assistant coaches and trainer are welcome but as volunteers only.
US pledges to leave Iraq in 18 months, and only 8 of last year's 22 Wrangler players are asked to return.

Hmmm? Like many of you I am confused, disappointed, depressed, and anxious. One side of me has to be optimistic for the future, but the way the stock market is going its hard to see any sort of future. All season long my Wrangler stock has been plummeting and now I'm waiting for the bailout and if that doesn't work its just like the automakers - bankruptcy. Everyone says things are supposed to get better in 2010 - the Wranglers too?

Now like any good Hollywood dirt magazine I need to get some dirt to ease my Wrangler addiction, my Wrangler anxiety. So if you got any good 'dirt' that can help the Wrangler Curmudgeon separate fact from fiction let me know by posting a comment. (I'll even allow "anonymous" to post, but if it gets nasty I'll go back to requiring id's again.) Until then I will keep my ear to the ground, my nose to the wind, and my eyes open waiting for the news, any Wrangler news.

Wrangler Fans Speak Out!

2009-03-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

I posted some questions to some Wrangler fans and here's the answers...

Question: The Wranglers had a disappointing season, why are you a Wrangler fan?

Fan reply: "The team gives our hockey playing children a view of a higher level of play. Also, the Wrangler boys, our boys, are out there showing raw energy and desire. They’re not polished & paid, they’re young & talented boys who are aspiring to greater levels of play and while they’re away from family and friends, it is our privilege to cheer for their triumphs and support them in their disappointments. "

Fan reply: "I am a hockey fan in general. To have a team here just gives me more time with my passion for hockey."

Fan reply: "Junior Hockey is a chance for players to develop and grow. It separates boys from men. Why the Wranglers? They only got boys including coaches. What men? I dunno."

Question: What was your Wrangler highlight of the season?

Fan reply: "Having the opportunity host wonderful hockey players. It made every game more special. "

Fan reply: "The only highlight of the season was their overtime win early in the season."

Fan reply: "Highlight? There weren't any. The season sucked. Pathetic. Maybe the highlight would've been a fight. Saw the You Tube fight of Chase v. Vivian, that's my highlight."

Question: What did you find disappointing about this season?

Fan reply: "Talented players who had potential but blew it by breaking team rules or giving up physically or mentally. Also, a head coach who couldn’t develop the team."

Fan reply: "I was hoping for a few more wins than last year. And that the team seemed to regress instead of progress through the year."

Fan reply: "Pretty much everything. Why the team stuck with a losing coach all season long shows inflexibility by the Wranglers. Total dimwits. There was no reason to keep the coach. Secondly, the poor quality players. Like the blog wrote there was no passing, no offense, no scoring. It's all so disgusting. I gotta barf!"

Question: "Clearly a 1-47 season was disasterous, what do you think was the reason why the season turned out as it did?"

Fan reply: "Coaching. Good coaching would have developed the team, identified and dealt with problem players and not lost good players."

Fan reply: "If there was just one problem, this would be an easy answer, but its a combination of issues. Maturity of the players, The fact at the end of the season we had only one player from last years team on the roster. For many of the players, it was their first time away from home to play hockey. For others, it was party time away from home, oh yeh and play some hockey too. We this year pretty much had a brand new team again. As far a coaching, in my opinion, I don't think that Scott did that bad of a job for a first year Junior Coach. There is a learning curve for for both coaches and players. Since the was pretty much a brand new team again this year, Skaters need to buy in to what the coach is trying to teach them, and the coaching staff has to deal with Skaters who some of them were not really serious about hockey and tried to drag others down with them. Scott was a no nonsense coach, and I think he expected his players to have that same commitment. Some were willing to listen, and many were not."

Fan reply: "As I said earlier, the coaching just plain sucked. Not only did it suck it was nonexistent. Just like on the NHL Channel that coach makes more sense than the goof-balls that we had. Secondly, most of the players sucked. Sure there were a few goodies, but for the most part we got nothing but garbage. So for that I blame the Wranglers mgmt and coaches. They can b*** me!"

Question: "Do you think the Wranglers played together as a team, or was it each player for themselves? "

Fan reply: "The team derailed as the season progressed. They never developed as a team and as moral dropped, so did team playing."

Fan reply: "The last game of the season in CDL spoke volumes. Those players who stuck it out for the last game were playing for the team as a team. Everyone of those players should be proud that they stuck it out till the very end. THOSE players are what you want on next years team!!!"

Fan reply: "Team? What team? There was a team? You had the Wrangler "D" make plays, but for the most part I think the Wranglers were a bunch of hockey wanna-be's that had no business playing Junior Hockey. Go back to sucking your thumbs in "B" level hockey. The Bulgarian Girls hockey team can skate faster and make better passes. Remember they lost 65-0. I bet the Wranglers would have lost to them to. Don't want to name names, but for the exception of about 5 or 6 I think you could have sent most of them packing. I mean how can a defenseman be your leading scorer. Almost every team had a single player score more than all the Wranglers. Oh, and send the coach packing with them. My pet hamster coaches better."

Question: "At the end of the season several Wranglers quit or did things that were against team rules, should they be allowed to return? "

Fan reply: "No. Integrity is revealed in difficult times and I’d prefer to not see those who let the team down have the opportunity to do it again."

Fan reply: "Nope, time to send a message. If your want to play hockey for The Wranglers, you better be serious about Hockey. The league itself should be apart of this. NORPAC doesn't have that good of a reputation in the Junior Hockey world. Its also time for the league to stand up and demand higher quality of behavior of both its players and coaching staffs.

Fan reply: "What? Are you kidding what kind of question is this? Duh. No."

Thank you Wrangler fans for your comments. I concur with all of the answers provided.

Blog Interview with Kevin Schwartz, Wranglers General Manager

2009-02-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

Recently, I asked Wranglers General Manager Kevin Schwartz a few questions, here's his answers... (Blog note: I posted these questions to Kevin in late January and he responded promptly within a few days. I chose to post his blog interview later, so if his answers seem a bit "dated," I the blog editor take full responsibility. )

Question: What was your season highlight for the Wranglers?
Kevin's Answer: "At this point in the season, I do have a clear cut highlight, as do most fans and other Wranglers staff. It is of course, our overtime win over Tri-Cities. This was only the second weekend of the season and with a record of 1-3-0 the idea of a much better season seemed realistic. I hope that as we finish the season out, we can at least have a game or a moment that will top that win as my new highlight."

Question: What were your challenges for this past season?

Kevin's answer: "We had several challenges this season. Some were obvious to the viewing public and some not so obvious. The first struggle we encountered was the absence of 7 of our 9 tendered players at our training camp. These were players that we had put a lot of effort into recruiting and were confident in signing. We considered each of these players to be among our top ten on our pre-season depth chart. More than a few of them would have been impact players in this league. From there, the struggle with losing games and subsequent player behavior began. We now have a young team with almost no previous junior experience. But I believe that we have all the right guys here at this point. They are talented, they play to win, they are here for all the right reasons and they are developing quickly. We are clearly in a building year where we are counting on our core group of young rookies to return next season as veterans. As of late, this group has been seeing more ice time than before which translates to quicker development. The challenge at this point, will be to finish the season with a few more victories than last, and to keep our current players healthy and happy and wanting to come back. We have had many other minor challenges such as finding host families for our ever-revolving roster. So if you're out there and thinking about hosting please don't be shy."

Question: What do you see for the Wranglers next year?

Kevin's answer: "Next season I truly see the Wranglers building on their "0ff-ice" success thus far and adding to the equation, their first competitive season on the ice. Looking around the league; it takes the average team around 3 seasons to become successful in the win-loss column. There are of course exceptions but River City, Puget Sound, and Yellowstone started their tenures in NORPAC with Wrangler like results. We have been hard on the recruiting trail since mid-November this season, as opposed to March last season. We already have some very promising prospects on the line, including our number one tender from last year, who decided to play another season of midget AAA this season. Despite our losing record, players are returning home with positive things to say about playing hockey in the Rogue Valley. As a result, our name is getting out there and quality players are beginning to contact us with questions about the program. Back to the question: I predict the Wranglers will post a season with no more than a .025 deviation from .500. BOLD, I know."

Question: Are you going to be making any changes for the Wranglers next year?

Kevin's answer: "Are we going to change anything for next season? Well, if absolutely everything stayed exactly the same, next season would probably look a lot like this one. We don't want that.. So yes, there will certainly be some changes. Just don't read too far into that. There will be some structural changes within the organization to create smoother operation all around. There are also many things which are undecided at this point. The best way to keep up with any major changes and all Wranglers happenings is to visit the website regularly at http://www.roguevalleywranglers.com/."

Question: Anything else you'd like to comment on?

Kevin's answer: "I would like to thank all of the dedicated Wranglers fans for sticking through another tough season with us. Whether you're a parent to a player, an online listener, or a die hard fan; your support of the Wranglers has earned the Valley a great reputation in the junior hockey community. I promise your dedication will be rewarded with a winning record and a trip to the post season in the not so distant future."

"On a separate note. On a blog such as this one, there are bound to be naysayers and everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is easy to be a Monday morning Quarterback when you are on the outside looking in. I can assure everyone that we have always tried to make the best decisions for the players and for the business, within our means. Running a Junior Hockey team is no easy task, teams do not have the resources to staff personnel in all areas like you see in the pros. The management of the entire team and the business lies on the shoulders of only a few individuals. As I mentioned before, success at this level tends to grow with experience. I believe we have learned things these past two seasons which will surely aid in our rise to success as an organization."

"Thanks for allowing the Wranglers to have a voice on the blog."

Gens Ousted in 3!

2009-02-28T09:41:00.001-08:00

Pity the poor Generals who were ousted in three games by the River City Jaguars. In the first two games in Beaverton the Jags out-hustled, out-manuevered, and out-played the Generals. Really, 7-4 and 10-2?! The Jags over the Gens? I betcha' the dirty birds didn't like the double heapin' helpin' dose and taste of "wup ass." In game 3 on Friday night I watched online and it was a close game, the Generals leading the game into the 3rd period, when the Jags came back. The shots showed it was a close game, although the Jags did come on strong in the 3rd. The last 6 minutes both teams couldn't do anything. Again, it was a good game. Then in overtime the Gens tried hard, very hard, posting 13 shots on Whitmore, but just couldn't do it when it counted. When late in overtime the Jags scored ending the Gens playoff hopes. Unfortunately I stepped away from my computer when the Jags scored, so I didn't see it, but I heard it. Dang!

I think River City figured out the Gens game plan early on - the Gens play the Frei, Schlagel, Poulsen line only sticking in the 2nd line (McDonald, Bishop, Lehtola) to give the 1st line a breather, then play the 1st line again. You can only do this so long before it becomes obvious. All season long it was Coach Miller's game plan. He won with it so why change? Hey! It's the playoffs. If they're killing you then you've got to mix it up. The Jags varied their lines quite a bit always seeming to keep fresh legs on, and never letting the Gens figure out who's on and how to defend against them. The Jags also played the ice well, spreading the play out. Finally, I thought the Gens played with desperation. When another team smells 'blood' then the attack is on. Oh well, I guess it's "wait until next year" again for the Gens. Three games go by fast don't they?

Seattle easily manhandled the poor T-hawks last night. Although I didn't listen to the game and I only followed via the boxscore on Pointstreak. If it was like the previous games, I bet the T-hawks game plan was like the Gens. Put their 1st line out - Kaufman, Belorad, Tessin - a lot and give them breathers with their 2nd line of Roberts, Plonski, Rose. Then repeat it again and again. However, from what I saw the other night, the T-hawk's Olson mixed it up a bit more than the Gens' Jay Miller did by putting in some other forwards; but the T-Hawks don't have the talent that the Totems do. The Totes' have depth in talent. The other factor I believe is the ice. Olympic View ice is bigger than all other arenas so there's more to skate, which creates fatigue faster. As I noticed the other night, by the 3rd period the T-hawks appeared gassed. On bigger ice, I'm sure they were gassed again. At least they're trying to make a series of it beating the Totems at least once. To me it shows the Totems are vulnerable. I doubt the T-hawks can do it tonight, but who knows. The whole season comes down to one game tonight.

Playoffs!

2009-02-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Watching the T-Hawks and Totems game last night, this ACDC song was in my head... "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap."

Although the Wranglers are not in the NorPac Pacific Division Playoffs doesn't mean that we can't get involved in playoff fever. Last night I went and watched the Puget Sound Tomahawks and the Seattle Totems play game #1. I was treated to a great game. Unfortunately for me, I was rooting for the T-Hawks because former Wrangler Grant Long was playing for the T-Hawks. The T-Hawks lost in overtime 4-5 to the Totems.

The 1st period was all T-Hawks. Going up 2-0 on the Totems. Zac Reneau the T-Hawks goalie was stopping all 15 1st period Totems shots. Seeing that the T-Hawks goalie was single-handedly beating the Totems, the Totems started their dirty tricks getting at Reneau. At the end of the period, at the start of intermission you had the "little prince Shulze" trying to mix it up with Reneau. Then Carpenter charged Reneau, tackling him and knocking his helmet off. He was ejected. Seattle scored, then the T-Hawks answered. Then again, the Totes scored, and almost immediately the T-Hawks answered back. The game was starting to look ugly. Lots of cheap shots were being delivered as each team trying to let each other know who was the boss. Unfortunately the 3rd period was all Totems as they scored 3 times to tie up the score and send it into overtime. In overtime former Wrangler Grant Long got a lot of ice time doing every other shift on defense. Grant had a great game. Way to go Grant. Unfortunately, after 10 minutes of overtime, Seattle scored and that was it. Ugh. I had to watch the apes celebrate.

The T-Hawks played a great two periods of hockey, but in the 3rd period you could tell they were starting to lose gas. They only played two lines on offense and two lines on defense. You can only do that so long before the lactic acid builds up and the muscles begin to burn. Seattle varied the players and continued to mix it up. Eventually that was the winning formula against the T-Hawks. Oh well. Maybe they can win tonight.

I didn't get to watch the Jags and the Gens play last night, but would have liked to watch it. Anytime the favored team loses is worth it. Way to go Jags beating the "dirty birds" 7-4. I think I'll watch game #2 tonight. I'm rooting for the underdogs - the Jags and the T-Hawks. Wouldn't that be grand to watch the Jags and the T-Hawks in the Pacific Division playoffs!

FINISHED!

2009-02-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

Finally, this disasterous season is over. Amen.

Sunday's afternoon game was no different than any other Wrangler game. Passes were missed. Little or no cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Missed checks. No forwards helping the "D". Leaving the "back door" open. Offensive and defensive mistakes. And more. The Wranglers lost 0-11. But what made this game special was that it was a collection of the "core" Wranglers. That is, those Wranglers who started back in August and lasted all through this disasterous season - all six month. Here's the final game Wrangler roster: Chase, Summa, Purslow, Robison, Riemersma, Jossie, Steiner, Fitchner, Kramer, and Blanton. The only exception was newcomer goalie SJ Graupensberger. What you might ask happened to newcomers Miller, Bricksler, Waterbury, Powell, and Luzaich? It's disgraceful. Powell and Luzaich just quit. Shame on them. What a let down to your team. Waterbury and Miller were let go because of violating team rules - getting kicked out of the motel at 5 AM for partying. Sure, Miller wasn't scheduled to play Sunday, but he was still a Wrangler. Bricksler for penalty antics in Friday's game. So, the final "Wrangler 9" battled the full roster of Lakers.

Another special treat was that goalie Chris Kramer played the ice as a defenseman not as a goalie. And, you know what he didn't do half bad. He had three good hits, made plenty of good plays, did fairly well at defense, and like all Wranglers - got scored on. But to see him play out there with all the determination with the rest of the Wranglers was an inspiration to all. SJ made great saves. Jared made great saves. Despite the score, the "core" Wranglers played good. I especially enjoyed seeing them defend against a Laker 5 on 3 power play and make 15 shots on goal. Way to go boys.

Finally for me the game ending buzzer sounded. It was a great relief. We waited in the lobby and "pounded fists" and shook hands with each exhausted Wrangler. It was a disappointing season, not to be forgotten, but now we're ready for a new season that has some promise and wins. GO WRANGLERS!

Stay tuned as the Wrangler Blog examines the playoffs, has some other interviews, and provides some post-season analysis.

It's Another Tequila Sunrise...

2009-02-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

"Take another shot of courage

Wonder why the right words never come

You just get numb

Its another tequila sunrise, this old world
Still looks the same,
Another frame, mm..."

Well last night was just another Wrangler loss, and another game of sometimes good play, sometimes bad play, sometimes "keystone cops" play, and most of the time mediocre play. The Wranglers fell to the Lakers 2-6. The Wrangler bench was so short that everytime they switched lines, the bench was empty except for the backup goalie. You had 10 boys on the bench for the game, not counting the goalies. It seemed that one of our defensemen - Powell - had enough and decided to abruptly quit leaving his teammates to deal with the short bench. Remember Bricksler and Purslow were out for the previous evening's penalty antics. So the remaining players gave it their best, best as they could.

The play was conservative and not fast, and at times it was confusing. While the few Wrangler fans that made it to the game were commenting on how well they were playing; me, I thought the play was mediocre. I remember counting the number of successful passes between Wranglers and it took over a minute of play before the Wranglers made a successful pass - and the Wranglers were on a power play! So many times one Wrangler went left, one Wrangler went right and boom, they collided in the middle. To me - the Wrangler Curmudgeon - it demonstrated that some players - despite playing for the Wranglers most of the season - had no business playing Junior A Tier III hockey. Meanwhile the Lakers were at times putting on a passing clinic. One Laker goal in particular was oh so beautiful - first rushing forward to the left passes it to the center, who passes it to the right winger and "rama-lama-ding-dong" goal scored. Sure, Jossie, Robison, and Riemersma were playing their hearts out and doing as well as they could.

Defensively, the 3 remaining defensemen - Miller, Summa, and Chase tried their hardest. Luzaich stepped in to play defense. Several times they stopped players, intercepted passes, made saves, and worked offensively putting a few shots on goal. But several times the Lakers would play to one side, pulling the Wranglers over, and again they would sneak a foward to the back door of the net and get the goal. On one goal there was a Wrangler forward not more than 2-3 feet from a Laker and he just watched as the pass came across to this Laker, and playing his hockey air guitar watched the Laker shoot and score. I was envious; he had the best view, only 4 feet from the net and got to see the goal, wow! Uh, you're supposed to help... and keep the other team from scoring. Oh, it's too late to learn now. The music comes to my head, "It's just another tequila sunrise..."

The Wranglers scored two goals to keep some minimal respect - one in the 1st period by Waterbury (assist Riermersma) and one in the 3rd period by Riermersma (assist Robison). Riemersma's goal was a nice quick wrap around shot. Also SJ was in goal and he did a great job stopping many Laker shots, some that were guaranteed goals, only to be denied. SJ faced 51 Laker shots. Each goal CDA scored was not - in my opinion - a mistake made by SJ, rather a mistake by another Wrangler who just didn't understand what to do. So, SJ you get a star, Riemersma you get a star, and Robison you get a star. Way to go boys. You showed heart and played hard. I'm impressed that you boys helped post 24 shots on the Lakers.

This afternoon, the bench shortens even more. Zach Miller is leaving for home. I heard that Kramer is going to dress and play the ice, not as a goalie. This ought to be interesting and fun for Kramer. Bricksler and Purslow should be back. But for me, the Wrangler Curmudgeon, this disasterous season is finally over. Amen.

MISTAKES!

2009-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, it was almost too painful to watch. It just seemed to be one mistake after another and unfortunately the Lakers capitalized on every one of our mistakes. While the Wranglers did score two goals, the goals against them came in waves. Finally the pain was over, final score 2-12 CDA.

The Wranglers scored first and the first period made you think, "Hmmm the Wranglers might make this one a contest." On a beautiful pass from Chad Steiner to Jeff Purslow and Jeff put the puck in net (also assisted by Jossie). But, unfortunately this was a real game and there was no way to fast forward through the 2nd period into the 3rd. Once again the 2nd period was disasterous for the Wranglers. 7 goals! The first two 2nd period goals came within 9 seconds of each other. The last two goals for CDA in the period came within 10 seconds of each other. Hmmm? 4 goals within 20 seconds. That's just plain embarrassing. What's almost just as embarrassing is that 7 goals were scored with just 17 shots. And, at that point in the period it probably figured one goal for each 2 Laker shots made. Ugh! The Wranglers replaced Kramer with Blanton about at about 4:16 left in the 2nd period and Jared was able to close out the 2nd with no more goals.

In the 3rd period the Lakers added 4 more goals but they had to earn those a bit harder than in the 2nd period. But still it was 4 more goals. The Lakers were very good at getting the Wrangler "D" pulled over to one side while they quietly slipped a forward to the "back door" unattended. Then came the cross ice pass, and an easy Laker score. Ugh. A consolation prize to the Wranglers was Miller's lone 3rd period goal (assists Robison and Riermersma) to take some of the sting out of the can of "Wup Ass" being fed to the Wranglers.

On another note, the game seemed to go on and on. As the score climbed, you could see that the Lakers were starting to talk more and more smack to the Wranglers. Because the Wranglers are at the bottom of NorPac, the Lakers believed they could just do what they wanted with the Wranglers by pushing, shoving, manhandling, holding, spearing, slashing, boarding, and punching without any consequence. The Wranglers' Kyle Bricksler would have none of that. Unfortunately after a while Bricksler's antics earned him a game ejection. Also ejected was Purslow because of a fight. Out of the northern Idaho backwoods they must've found the officials because penalties were being called and most people had no idea of what was being called. The joke was that the penalty was often called on the Wrangler who was receiving the Laker abuse.

Perhaps we can chalk this loss up to the long 12+ hour road trip for the Wranglers from Medford, Oregon to Post Falls, Idaho, and then another hour back to the rink at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. Let's hope that today's game the boys are refreshed and ready to keep the mistakes to a minimum and play a good game of hockey.

Player notes: The Wranglers are without forwards, Lucas Walsh, and Paul Blase, and without defenseman Brett Losey. They all went home early. Only 15 Wranglers suited up for this contest. It was a sparse bench. I heard that Purslow and Bricksler will not be playing tonight because of last night's antics, so this will mean that only 13 Wranglers will be suited up for tonight's game. For Monday's game, the Wranglers will be without defenseman Zach Miller as he heads home early.

Blog Interview with Scott McLean, Wrangler Coach

2009-02-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

To provide Wrangler fans more information about their favorite team, I am “interviewing” various Wranglers to get their input. In each case I sent them questions via E-mail and allowed them to take their time in providing an answer.

Our first interview is with Wrangler Head Coach Scott McLean. Scott has been involved in hockey for 39 years as a player, coach, hockey director, team manager, official power skating instructor, or fan. He has coached youth teams from Oregon and North Dakota that have competed against teams from all over the United States. Scott was the power skating coach for the Wranglers last year.

As we all know, this Wrangler season is a disaster, but at the same time in every season there are some highlights. My first question to Scott was, “What was your greatest highlight coaching this season and why?” Here’s Coach Scott’s reply,

“I'd have to say that as the head coach I had several highlights this season. The first highlight is, as a junior hockey coach or player, road trips can be a killer. That's no exception with the Wranglers. We put on more miles than any other team in our league. As an older coach, I can say that many of the trips have been tough, but memorable and will not soon be forgotten. There's a bit of a generation gap between the players and myself and it shows in the differences of choice in music and movies. As such I find the most peaceful time on the trip is at the very beginning at 0500 and an hour or so into the ride home. At those times, most everyone is asleep. I'll most remember how much these boys can sleep. I wouldn't doubt if some of them, I won't mention any names, would sleep for a week if you gave them a chance!”

“Another highlight would have to be seeing the team battling to the end of every game no matter what the score. That shows me the undaunted character of this team – ‘never say never, battle to the end.’ Getting to know so many different players, coaches, staff, fans and parents throughout the season has to be right up there too. Without any one of those groups, we wouldn't be able to do what we love to do.”

Next question. Again, the Wrangler season didn’t turn out as what was probably envisioned. “As head coach, what was your greatest challenge from this season?”

“As a first year coach in this league, I was set back a bit by the caliber of play we encountered our first weekend in Eugene. The General’s are an awesome team with a lot of experience. The Wranglers started the season with one 20 year old and four veteran players. From the first weekend, I realized that we had an inexperienced but eager team. The challenge is always giving players the playing time they need to mature and develop and still be competitive. I believe the Wranglers are a much better team now and that our players have improved and matured through this tough season. There are different challenges with the different age groups on the team. Some are more mature than others, some have unique needs, and some need more discipline, some less. They all have different learning styles too. Understanding the players learning style takes time with a brand new team, and as such patience is a must. With nearly my first year as head coach under my belt, I feel that I have learned a lot more than I expected. There are so many challenges to coaching this level both on and off the ice that to say what my greatest challenge was would be too difficult.”

Coach Scott, do you have any other comments that you would like to share with the blog readers?

“My hope for next season is that we work diligently over the spring and summer to recruit the very best talent and people that we can for next season. We had several tenders, draft choices and commitments from last off season that did not play for us for one reason or another. As an organization we have to work harder to get those players here.”

“I enjoyed working with all of our players. I enjoyed it even more when I saw the consistent hard work of players pay off, through their demonstration of improvement in areas of maturity, strength and skill. Wins and losses aside this season, I would have to gauge the season's success by the growth of the players, coaches and organization. I believe that we all grew, learned from the good and the bad and therefore had successes this season.”

Coach Scott, thank you for your answers and comments. Good luck on the off season.

Fan Appreciation Night

2009-02-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

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.

Oh How I Dislike Seattle...

2009-02-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

1-16! Ugh! How ugly. What can I say? Yesterday the 2nd period spelled doom for the Wranglers, today all periods spelled doom. The Totems fired 78 shots at the Wranglers, while the Wranglers placed a whoppin' 16 shots on the Totems net - a ratio of almost 4 to 1. That's just sad and embarrassing. The poor Wranglers were thoroughly "shellacked."

Seattle could have in the 2nd and 3rd period played their 3rd and 4th lines to get them some time and game experience for the upcoming playoffs, but the classless Totems don't know any better. No, what they wanted to do was thoroughly embarrass the Wranglers which they succeeded in doing. Consequently, I can do nothing more than root for any other team that plays against the Totems. I believe in "karma" and the Totems will get their due - someday.

Bright spots? There were two maybe three, one the goal by Chance Robison (assisted by Riemersma) to avoid the complete shut-out. Way to go Chance. And two, the quick fight between Chase and Seattle's Vandermoon. Chase landed at least 4 good punches on Vandermoon before he - fortunately for him - slipped to the ice. Otherwise I think Chase would have tried to "start the lawnmower" on Vandermoon. Decision Chase. Way to go Josef. Again, at least there was some honor. Finally, I don't condone check's from behind, but Bricksler provided a bit of payback to Shulze for him chipping his tooth in last night's game. The typically classless Totems threatened Bricksler when his penalty was over so the ref gave Bricksler a game suspension. It probably should have been the other way around, suspend Shulze for the threat.

Besides those events, the game was almost too painful to watch. Gayet had some good saves, but then again not. Seattle's forwards of Pauly, (the arrogant little prince) Shulze, and Stombaugh completely out played almost all of the Wranglers. Even when the Wranglers had a 5 on 3 powerplay the Totems managed a shot on the Wranglers goal, and the Wranglers had a tough time trying to get the puck out of the zone. As last night, I saw too many times Wranglers standing with "air guitar" sticks, afraid to make a hit, standing around not helping the "D", and letting Totems skate right in and get position in front of the net. Again, it was almost too painful to watch, but I watched the game to the bitter end.

Now I think I'm ready for the season to end.

Oh How I Hate the 2nd Period...

2009-02-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

2-12! Oh my! Lemme see... 1st period score 1-4, 3rd period score 0-1, 2nd period score 1-7. Ugh. Not sure why, but the 2nd period is the worst for the Wranglers. They just can't seem to adjust and make it a game. The first 15 minutes of the 1st period was definitely a hockey game. There were hits, there were shots, there was some passing, some fast skating, but then... I can't really say that the Totems are really that good, but could I say the Wranglers really aren't that bad? Sure there were some good Totems goals that were deserved, but there were also many Totems goals that were not. Rather the "D" and the team just fell flat and let them skate in and score. For example here's some of the action I saw last night...

Pushing your arms out at the skater charging in with the puck is not a hit.
Waiting for the pass up ice at the blue line while the Totems are threatening to score is not helping the "D".

Standing still with your stick like an "air guitar" while the Totems are hovering around the net is not helping the "D" or is not good "D".

Skating up ice with the puck and recognizing that a hit is coming and giving up the puck is not effective offense.
Turning your back to the pass or the play as you go up ice is not good offense.

In fact, I could probably describe plenty more similar scenarios. What stumps me is seeing that kind of play this late in the season. And, when the Totems see that kind of play, they're going to feed you a good heapin' helpin' of "Wup Ass." How's that taste? Now there's bound to be a few that are going want to explain themselves. Let's give the "wheel of excuses" a spin and see what might come up. Round and round she spins. Let's see whats printed on the wheel, there's "I don't care and don't give a sh**"; or, "What? It's not my fault, he was supposed to do it"; or, "Hey! It's Seattle they're big and scary"; or, "I'm saving myself 'cuz I'm playing WHL next year"; or, "Did you see that girl in row 3?"; "I feel sick"; and my favorite, "It's the coach's fault." Whatever! I just cannot understand how the Wranglers can play 15 minutes in the first period and the 3rd period really good or great hockey and the rest of the time fall apart. Consistency... it's just not there.

Bright spots, Jeff Purslow (assisted by Bricklsler and Losey) always a warrior scored to tie it up in the first period, and then Lucas Walsh (assisted by Summa) scored in the disasterous 2nd period. Goalie Scott Graupensberger came in to relieve Kramer in the 3rd period and had some incredible saves to stop some Seattle one-on-ones. "SG" earned for his 20 minutes of play a GAA of 3.00 and a save % of 0.933. Way to go. Kyle Bricksler is a new addition for the team this year. Although, Kyle played part of the season last year for the Wranglers.

Do I even try to venture to say what needs to be done for today's game. Nah, it's been said so many times before. The Wranglers know what needs to be done, its up to them to execute it - again like the 1st 15 minutes of play and the 3rd period.

Wrangler Player Happenings

2009-02-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

Grant Long, the Wrangler's leading scorer has been traded to the Puget Sound Tomahawks for the upcoming NorPac play-offs. He will be leaving Wednesday, Feb. 4 for the Puget Sound area and will finish out the regular season there. We wish Grant the greatest of luck.

Grant came to the Wranglers in early October from the America West Division of NorPac. His first game with the Wranglers was on Oct. 2, playing against Tri-Cities. In his second game with the Wranglers against the Tri-City Titans he helped the Wranglers win the game with a game winning goal and an assist. Since then Grant has made 10 other goals and 8 other assists for a total of 20 points. Of these points, 5 goals were Power Play goals and 4 were Power Play assists. Additionally, shortly after arriving he was made team Captain after he demonstrated some of his early team leadership. I know many Wrangler players will definitely miss him.

Grant just celebrated his 19th birthday and hails from St. Albert, Alberta (a suburb of Edmonton, Canada). Again, we wish Grant the best of luck with the Tomahawks and I'm sure with his help the T-Hawks might win a few games in the play-offs. In my opinion the T-Hawks needed a strong scoring defenseman to get anywhere in the play-offs. Since the T-Hawks are the 4th seed they will be playing the top seeded Seattle Totems. I hope to watch at least one or more of Grant's games.

Not sure how the Wranglers will re-arrange the defense to accomodate the huge gap left by Grant leaving. Miller, Summa, Chase, Losey, and Powell all will have to significantly step up.

RELEASED:

In other Wrangler player news, Vlad Korenovskiy (Forward #10) is no longer with the Wranglers and has been released. Mike Teilborg (goalie) is no longer with the Wranglers.

ADDED:

This is no surprise to many, but three local Medford players have been added to the Wrangler roster. They are, Dane Irving (Forward, #25), Wyatt Small (Forward, #17) and Andrew Schmelig (Forward, #13).

While again this might be old, old, old news, two other players have been added to the Wrangler roster. They are, Andrew Luzaich (Forward, #4) and Tyler Powell (Defense, #22). Both Andrew and Tyler came to the Wranglers on Jan. 23. Andrew already has 1 goal and 1 assist, and Tyler has 1 assist. Tyler comes to the Wranglers from the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Finally, stay tuned to the Wrangler Blog for several big items are planned, and coverage into the post-season on how other teams are doing.

"A" for Effort

2009-02-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers lost 3-5 last night, but it was a different game for them, probably the most different I've seen all season. There was a whole bunch of hitting going. I'm sure there are some Jags this morning who are sore. And, as a result of the many big hits the fans - all 258 of them - were very much into the game - at times the cheering was deafening.

Right from the puck drop the agressive play started, neither side had an edge, and I'm sure the Jags were wondering who were they playing. Play went from end to end of the rink, the only difference was that the Jags made shots on goal, whereas the Wranglers didn't. 1st period shots were 17 by the Jags, and only 3 by the Wranglers. Late in the 1st the Jags posted two quick goals putting the Wranglers down, but not out at 0-2.

Shortly into the 2nd period the Jags added a 3rd goal. Again, there were lots of hits. The Wrangler "D" was proving their worth. Chase got the puck out of the Wrangler zone, then Long and Losey came on to the ice. The puck came back to Losey, who passed it over to Long and from the point, Grant scored. It was now 1-3 Wranglers and it seemed that the momentum had started to shift. Then, the Jags scored by flooding the crease with players and a shot came in from the point. The disappointment about this goal was that Gayet was being cross-checked by a Jag in the crease, this goal should not have been allowed, but it did. Gayet vehemently protested but the ref who had his "head up his a**" allowed it. From then on the ref had a definite impact on the outcome of the game. The score was now 1-4. Shots, Jags 17, Wranglers 7.

Summa started the 3rd period with a nice goal from the point assisted by Purslow and Jossie. Score now 2-4. The Wranglers were starting to come on strong, then the metamorphosis started with the "zebra changing into a jackass." There were so many missed calls - Long being high-sticked in the face, Chase being kicked by a skate, but this ref was now committed to his ignorance. At one point he put four Wranglers in the penalty box, forcing a 3 on 5 situation in favor of River City. But the Wranglers kept the Jags from scoring, again through great defensive play and hits. Both teams were becoming frustrated. The Wranglers frustrated that obviously fouls were not being called, and the Jags because they were getting hit and not allowed to run up the score. The Jags scored a quick goal, and then you could feel the tension build to the point that a fight erupted between Blase and the Jag's Micone. Paul definitely had the edge on this fight, landing several good punches. Decision Blase. The fans loved it and were chanting "Blase, Blase, Blase." Next, Losey and the Jags' Martin got into a tiff. Another fight that did not fair well for Losey. Martin definitely landed several great punches on Losey, although Losey got one or two good punches in too. Losey he's a scrapper, but definite decision Martin. Even after these two fights the game continued to be very much on edge. I could tell several players were "itching for a fight." The only thing better than a fight is a goal and Sam Jossie fired from the corner hitting the Jags goalie on the side and the puck went in. Score 3-5. After this goal River City played very conservatively until the game ended.

Gayet played a great game. He faced 41 shots and made 36 saves. He definitely deserves a star for his performance. He's got spunk and fire. Sam Jossie gets a star for a 3 point game - a goal and two assists. Sam has really developed into a solid Wrangler player. Finally, Grant Long gets a star for his goal, his hits, and his attitude. Honorable mention goes to Joe Chase who many players afterwards said "he was on fire" with his hits and agressive play. Another honorable mention goes to Joe Summa for his goal and agressive play. Once again, the Wrangler "D" (Long, Summa, Losey, Chase) came through for the Wranglers (2 goals and 2 assists). Good game boys.

Papa Murphy's Pizza Night!

2009-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday's game was a better showing for the Wranglers. You might say 6-1 loss how can this be any kind of "better showing?" Well if you happened to watch Friday's game you would know.

The first period ended 3-0 T-Hawks, but opinions were that it was played pretty evenly. The T-Hawks would have a down ice rush towards the net, and then the Wranglers would do the same. The only difference is that the T-Hawks are more experienced at putting the puck in the net, and they showed how it was done three times. The Wranglers were per usual - not making that one last pass to the open guy at the net; or shooting the puck right into the goalie's chest insted of trying to hit one of the corners.

The 2nd period has recently been the worst period for the Wranglers. This game was no exception. The T-Hawks scored 2 more goals making the 2nd period score 5-0. It was a hapless period - not a lot of energy from the team or the crowd. Hapless because the Wranglers could do nothing with their 4 powerplay chances. Ugh! Maybe the only bright spot of the period was Kramer brick-walling the breakaway chance for the T-Hawks' Surgalski.

The Wranglers needed some 'energy' and what better way to get the crowd and the team fired up but a fight. Just after the 3rd period started Summa and Meyer got into it. This was a good tilt each of them getting a couple of good shots in. Summa got the better punches in - decision Summa. This brought the very large crowd of 471 to full voice on Papa Murphy's Pizza night at the RRRink chanting "Summa, Summa, Summa." Way to go Joe. But alas, the Wranglers wasted the opportunity and gave up a T-Hawks goal a minute later. Score 6-0.

All game long, Surgalski had been pestering Long, an elbow here, a check there, a slash, and I believe the stick to the face was enough and Grant took him on. This was Long's first fight and it was a dandy. What was more, I understand his mom flew down from Edmonton to visit and got a show. As moms go, I bet she didn't care for the fight. He handled himeself very well against a more experienced fighter landing a lot of punches and stripping Surgalski of his jersey and pads. Opinion is... decision Long.

As the 3rd period wore on, the classless T-Hawks showed their real selves with their coach and several players getting unsportsmanlike penalties. Cocco and Vivan got ejected for having stupid and big mouths. Finally, the Wranglers got a 'respect' goal late in the 3rd by Robison (assisted by Long and Riermersma). Of course it was too little too late, but the fans - all 471 of them - (another season high) loved it. Wrangler fans are the best.

Stars, hmmm? Grant Long gets a star for a throwing plenty of big hits, (the rest of the Wranglers could learn from him), his fight, and his assist. Jeff another star for you, because you're a great all around player, have hustle, and tenacity, and finally Kramer for stopping 31 of 37 shots. Way to go boys.

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you all for the assist on the above write up. You're all great. I watched a lot of hockey this weekend - 7 games. One Wenatchee Wild v. Fairbanks Ice Dogs NAHL game - these guys are fast and oh so many BIG hits, the Wranglers online, and 5 games of youth hockey. You know what? There's a lot of good players out there. I saw some goals and play that simply amazed me. Now, if the Wranglers could seize some of that talent...

Disappointing

2009-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

One word describes last night's game "Disappointing". The game started off with a lot of energy for the Wranglers. The T-Hawks scored first but the Wranglers came right back with the tying goal. The crowd was huge last night (attendance 462 - largest of the year to date) and they went nuts. Too bad that was pretty much it for the large crowd to cheer about and the first period ended a disappointing 5-1 for the T-Hawks.

The Wranglers were given plenty of chances to make a comeback. They had powerplay after powerplay; 5 on 3 chances, 5 on 4 chances, but they could not muster up any scoring chances. In fact, the Wranglers gave up 2 shorthanded goals in the 2nd period. Goalies Kramer and Gayet had no chance last night with odd man rush after rush. The Wranglers picked up a late 3rd period goal by Summa and that was it.

The Wranglers seemed to play with no energy last night. Same old problems - no passing, poor shooting, and no scoring. It seems like all the teams in NORPAC that play the Wranglers always keep a man waiting on the blue line for the break out pass. Or as some of us would call it a "Cherry Picker". At least 3 T-Hawk goals came this way. This is just embarrassing. In essence our competitors are simply saying they only need 4 people in the defensive zone when the Wranglers are on offense. Consequently it seems that the Wranglers are pretty much on a powerplay the entire game. The Wranglers need to start making teams pay for this "cherry picking" with good passing and perhaps "boom" the Wranglers would have a goal.

Some players deserve some kudos. I thought the new local kids and the 2 kids from Arizona played with a lot of energy. And again Purslow played well. He has played really well since Christmas break. Jeff did a very good job playing "D" last night in the 3rd period with some of the regular D-men out of the lineup (Grant was ill, and Chase was out of town). And as always the Wranglers goalies played well too. Its hard to stop all the odd man rushes these kids see every night.

Lets go Wranglers. You have a chance to ruin the T-Hawk's season with a victory tonight. Lets play with some fire like the last road trip. You have the fans here wanting nothing but a victory for you. Lets show them that you care and give them a great game tonight.

(PS, the above blog was contributed to me by a "great" Wrangler fan.)

Anybody Wanna Help?

2009-01-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

I will not be able to be at this weekend's games against the Puget Sound Tomahawks. In fact, I may not even be able to watch on line. Ugh! So I am asking for your help. Anybody want to help me write two blog entries for Friday and Saturday night's games against the T-Hawks? All I ask is that you be fair, and call it like it is. The other rule is that you avoid ridicule or attacking any Wrangler player. If interested submit your blog entry as a comment to this blog entry, and I will consider posting it.

Errr...Ooops, Sorry 'bout that.

2009-01-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

”Aw, don't worry about that Doc. If it happens I could always come back as a forward.” - Harold Snepsts

Miscues are killing the Wranglers. It appeared that for awhile the Wranglers really had a chance. The momentum had swung, the passes were right on an crisp, the puck being moved out of the zone and through the neutral zone, and an offense was starting to form, but it just never fully came together. I personally thought that the Wranglers had a chance. They had just scored two consecutive goals, and the score was only 4-2. The few Wrangler fans could feel it, the Puget Sound fans could feel it, but...

In the first period, the Wranglers looked to be doing okay, but there just were not any shots on goal. Oh, so many times a Wrangler would cross the blue line and instead of putting the puck on net, they would send it into the corner and not follow up on it. As I have said before I don't think the T-Hawk "D" is that good, but the T-Hawk forwards are fast and would come back and help get the puck out. Although the shots don't show it, but the Wranglers did play the game in the T-Hawks end in the 1st period. They just didn't shoot it. Here's the shots, er... shot total for the period "1". The T-Hawks managed 17 shots and had 2 count as goals. Only on one of those did I see Gayet make a miscue. The other 3 T-Hawk goals were the result of Wrangler mistakes. Here's how the second goal went... a Wrangler slaps the puck and it goes off the top of a T-Hawk skate and up and in. Ugh. Gayet made plenty of saves, he had some rebound control issues, but the rebounds were eagerly picked up by T-Hawks for shots and then goals.

Two minutes into the second period a T-Hawk forward cross-checks Chase in the back. A few words are said, then the gloves are off. Chase moves at him while the T-Hawk Vivian backs away, a quick punch, the jersey is over the head, and Chase looks like he's trying to start a lawnmower throwing punches on the hapless T-Hawk. Decision Chase. The Wrangler bench is going wild, the momentum swings, but the Wranglers come up empty with all this energy. Instead through a couple more mistakes the T-Hawks get 2 more goals. Behlorad, Tessin and Kaufman are fast and seem to be everywhere around the front of the net. Again, the T-Hawks post 17 shots, get 2 goals. The Wranglers post 7 shots. 2nd period score 0-4.

Waterbury and Meyer get into a tussle right after the start of the period. Remember this used to be Waterbury's team and so he's wanting to put some hurt on his former teammates. It all happened so fast, and I didn't get a good look at the fight. But again, this seemed to spark the Wranglers because two minutes later, Walsh (assisted by Luzaich and Long) finds Boyd way too far out in front of the goal and finds the back of the net. Goal Wranglers. 0:37 later, Long passes the puck out to Purslow, he evades a T-Hawk at the blue line and goes in for a beautiful goal. Goal Wranglers. Again, the momentum swings, the Wranglers are hard charging, but once again a few mistakes are made and the T-Hawks score, not once, or twice, but 4 times on 31 shots. At times the T-Hawks put on a clinic for the Wranglers on how to keep the puck in the zone, take advantage of rebounds, make shots, and look for opportunities on mistakes. Poor Gayet, he really did play a great game in my estimation. Way to go Glenn.

Of besides defensive mistakes, there were our usual passing mistakes, not skating hard to the puck, and once you cross the blue line, "Uh, what am I supposed to do now?" mistakes. Oh Wranglers you're just such a heartbreak team. Several players played really hard with determination, and a few played, well... If I were dishing out stars? Gayet, Purslow, Walsh & Luzaich. Of course that's my opinion.

The Wranglers get to play the T-Hawks the final two times this coming Friday and Saturday at home. The T-Hawks playoff chances are hanging by a thread. I don't believe they can afford even a single loss, so for the Wranglers... perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Had My Fill of...

2009-01-25T10:04:00.000-08:00

Finally I will not have to go back to Olympic View arena to watch the Totems for another year, maybe ever. There are some venues you just don't want to go back to, and this is one of them. Olympic View Arena is a nice facility its just who fills it that leaves the bad taste in your mouth and memories in your head. Oh well.

Once again the Wranglers tried and were successful in the 1st period, but then it all fell apart in the 2nd period. At the end of the 1st period the score was 1-1 between the Totems and Wranglers. Shots were 14 for Seattle and 4 for the Wranglers. Blase (assist Purslow) was able to get the puck in behind former Wrangler goalie Cafrelli for the tying score. Chris Kramer put on another great effort in net for the Wranglers.

In the second period the Wranglers were on the ice but fell way short of effort. Lots of missed passes, lackluster effort, and poor defense. Seattle posted 21 shots on Kramer and got 5 goals. While I watched the game, I cannot say that few if any Seattle goals were earned, rather they all came at the expense of Wrangler miscues. At one time, the Wranglers had a 5 on 3, then just a power play, they didn't keep the puck in the Totems zone, didn't get a shot on goal, but got scored on! Not once but TWICE! One goal was simply a poke check that went in. It was definitely sad to watch. The Totems put on a good forechecking clinic while they were on the penalty kill. During the 2nd period the Wranglers managed 8 shots, but they were all easily handled.

For the first half of the 3rd period, the Wranglers played the same as they did in the 2nd period but then they stepped it up and came alive with some good defense, making some hits and not letting the Totems set up shop right in front of Kramer. They moved the puck up through the neutral zone, had some hustle and made a few shots (8) on goal, in which one squeaked in by the Wrangler newcomer Luzaich. Final score Wranglers 2, Totems 10. Total shots for the Wranglers was 20, and 48 for the Totems. Outshot over 2-1 again. Finally this game was over.

What amazed me, was that the Totems kept most of their top scorer's in the whole time and were actively pursuing running up the score. Not only that, but the fans wanted more too. I recognize winning is important, but what is the purpose to run up the score? Enhance your Pointstreak.com figures? Then after the game while waiting in the lobby, Totem players, Totem parents, and fans continued to add "smack." It was just very classless.

The only supposed bright spot for the evening came when Jeff Purslow and Quinn Snider decided to have a near center ice fight shortly after the 2nd period started. Purslow's first punch (a left) caught Snider above the right eye and that was about it. Snider turtled on to Purslows arm, a few more punches thrown, and then went down. Snider had to leave the ice to get stitched up. Decision Purslow. Wranglers 1, Totems 0. Unfortunately these scores don't count; maybe that's why there was all the trash talk, because the Totem's had their ego bruised.

I haven't handed out Wrangler stars lately, but for last night's game the 1st star goes to Jeff Purslow for his goal assist and winning his fight. All game long, Jeff hustled and worked hard. Second star to Chris Kramer for his net minding. And, 3rd star to Wrangler newcomer Luzaich.

The Wranglers play the Puget Sound Tomahawks tonight in Bremerton. The T-Hawks just came off of two losses to River City so they'll be wanting a win to stay in 4th place playoff contention. C'mon Wranglers get a win.

Wranglers 0, Totems 6

2009-01-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

”It's too easy when you're not winning to look for excuses and point at others for reasons. ”You can say "Oh well, it's this guys fault or they don't do this well" or you can say "I've got to play better and contribute more". You've got to find another gear and come up with big games.” - Sean Burke – Former NHL Goaltender

Last night the Wranglers for 20 minutes kept pace with the Seattle Totems and gave some hope to the Wrangler fans present that miracles do sometimes happen, but alas that wasn't to be. The 1st period saw the Wranglers and Totems scoreless, even after the Totems posted 22 shots on goal. It was a hard fought period with the Wranglers keeping pace. Chris Kramer in net did a great job stopping the shots. The Wranglers even completed three good penalty kills. The Wranglers had 3 new players on the ice - a defenseman, and two new forwards. Unfortunately even with the 3 new players, the Wranglers had a 5 on 3 power play but failed to score. Probably 5 of the 9 shots for the period were made at this time.

Unfortunately it started to unravel in the 2nd period almost immediately. The Totems scored 4 goals on 23 shots. The first goal came as the Totems rushed and collapsed around the net and fired a very close in upward shot that was almost impossible to defend against. The 2nd goal was a second beautiful cross ice pass and back door shot from the lower circle. The Totems scored two more goals in the 2nd which I believe sealed the win. Unfortunately, each goal seemed to act as a "nail in the coffin" for the Wranglers, slowly grinding them down emotionally after their success in the 1st period. The Wranglers made 9 shots on the Totems goal in the 2nd period.

It's my opinion that the 3rd period was played by the Wranglers to eliminate the "goose egg" and get a face-saving goal. The Wranglers fired 17 shots on goal, but the Totems goalie, Kevin Maile was too, too hot for the Wranglers. Maile is #5 in NorPac amongst goalies with 2.73 GAA and a 0.911 save percentage. Only the General's Aslett is better in the Pacific Division. So, the Wranglers faced a very good goalie last night. The Totems scored twice in the 3rd, on 14 shots. One shot from near the blue line was so fast that Kramer had barely enough time to react before it was already in the back of the net. "It was a rocket, guided by a laser beam."

Last night was entertaining though, with 3 fights between players. I'll be upfront and tell you that I don't care much for fights, but it is part of the game. Unfortunately again, I would say that Seattle edged the Wranglers 2-1 on fights. Fight #1 was between Losey and Vandermoon, both youngsters although Vandermoon is a year older I believe. Good fight and effort, but edge Vandermoon. Next fight was a no contest decision between Waterbury and English. I think folks in downtown Seattle heard English connect with Waterbury on the very first punch. English is a beast. Decision English. Third fight was between Korenovsiy and Galvin, this was a very short fight in that both players slipped to the ice after the first couple of punches. Edge Korenovsiy, although I would say Galvin is definitely a scrapper.

Overall analysis. Again, Wrangler inexperience is what contributed to the loss. I would say 2 out of the 6 Seattle goals were honest goals, the other 4 were because of Wrangler mistakes. The Wranglers not getting a goal was a combination of a superior Totems goalie, poor offensive production as a result of poor passing, and bad luck. Several times the Wranglers got behind the Totems "D" but could not seem to score; couple of times the puck hit the cross bar or pipes. Ugh. Besides that, Seattle is a big, physical team.

Let's see what the Wranglers can work up tonight... Go Wranglers.

Time Out!

2009-01-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

Another time out is called. I am so disgusted with the recent spate of negative comments that I moderated many of them. This blog was never intended to be a "trash site." Hiding behind the "Anonymous" label I am amazed at how many rude things people say. To that end I am no longer supporting "Anonymous" comments on this blog. Instead, if you want to leave a comment you'll have to sign a name to it, and still go through my comment moderation process. Unfortunately if this decreases readership of this blog - so be it.

As I stated when I started this blog, "It is provided as a forum for hockey fans and players to provide comments and information SUPPORTING Rogue Valley Wranglers Hockey." Not a trash site so anyone can dump their rude comments. Sure there will be times when something needs to be said that may not be favorable, but the intent is always in supporting the Wranglers. Oh I'm sure the "boo-birds" and fans from other teams will be disappointed, but then "there's no such thing as a free lunch."

If after all the above has been said, and you still want to post a comment, you'll need to register. An easy registration process is to go through "OpenID." To learn more about "OpenID" please visit http://www.myopenid.com/. If you're an AOL, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, or Myspace user you can probably use your existing user profile.

If still you're totally disgusted with the above and my biases you have an easy choice, stop reading this blog.

Wranglers - Youngest Team in NorPac?

2009-01-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

I went ahead and analyzed, as best as I could - using the Norpac Pacific Division Rosters from Pointstreak.com - the player ages per each team. What I found didn't really surprise me, in fact it made clear to me, why the Wranglers have the record they have, and why other teams have the records they have.

The Wranglers, after all the recent player cuts, have the smallest team and the youngest team. The Wranglers have 6 players that are 16 or younger, and only 7 players older than 16. No player is listed as an '88 (20 years old). The Wranglers have four players in which I do not know their ages, so perhaps there could be some older players but I doubt it. If, you assume the 4 players ages are 18, the average age of the Wranglers is an incredible 17.1 years old! That's young. And, being young means being inexperienced in Junior hockey.

Now let's go to the other extreme, the league leading Seattle Totems who the Wranglers play this coming weekend. The Tote's have 7 1988 birth year players (20 year olds) and 4 1989 birth year players (19 year olds). If you use the same assumption that the 9 players they have rostered with no birthdate are 18 years old, the average age of the Totems is, 18.4 years old. Over 1.3 years older than the average age of the Wranglers. All of the Totems top four scorers are 20 years old (Stombaugh, Galvin, Snider, Schulze). The lines are predominately 20 year olds.

If you look at the 2nd place team the Eugene Generals, the average age is 18.2 years old. Over 1.1 years older than the average age of the Wranglers. The Gens top scorer is Frei who is an '88 (20 year old). The Gens top 5 scorers are all 18 or older. You can tell the Gens are building and investing in some younger talent trying to be a consistent contender through-out the years. Whereas the Totems, T-Hawks, and Jags have invested in age and experience.

So, the Wrangler competition is older and more experienced, in some cases much more older. No wonder that the Wranglers have such a tough time getting outplayed and outscored, and their record is so dismal. No, I am not making excuses for the Wranglers, I am merely pointing out that again, that if you consider age and experience the Wranglers are definitely at a disadvantage - a big disadvantage.

Here's my challenge if there are any Totems, Generals, River City, and Puget Sound fans or coaches out there reading this. What if you set up your lines and players - age wise - to match the Wranglers age wise? Average age 17.1 to average age 17.1. Now that would make for an interesting game. I think I'd put my money on the Wranglers. But no, the greed of winning big, the greed to rub the Wrangler's noses into the score is too great. C'mon the Wrangler's fate is set - they're in last place and they're going to stay there, they're not a threat, rather it would be a great show of sportsmanship.

Saturday Night is Hockey Night

2009-01-18T17:13:00.000-08:00

Last night was hockey night at my house. Had the Sharks - Red Wings game on the TV, the Gens & T-Hawks on the computer, and trying to listen to the Jags and Titans. Now, that's being a hockey fan. First of all the Sharks - Wings game was good, real good. Probably one of the best games I've seen all season long. I'm not a Sharks fan or a Wings fan, but I do like to see Osgood get scored on, two break-away goals top shelf - sweet.

The Jags - Titans game was a good defensive battle. The Jags definitely have some intimidation factors going for them. Even though the Titans are fast, the Jags played the game by making hits, and throwing the Titans off their game. It was tied at the start of the 3rd, and there was no score in the 3rd. It went into overtime, and Abudakar scored 3:01 on Titans' Whitmore sealing the win 3-2. All evening long it seemed that the Jags would crash the net and there would be mass confusion. That's Jags hockey and it worked for them. They're now 1 game up on the Titans and 3 games up on the T-Hawks. The Jags have 3 more games against the Titans and 4 games against the T-Hawks. Every win or loss definitely counts.

The Gens - T-Hawks game was a good game too. The Gens won this one 3-1. The Gens scores came as the T-Hawks defense completely failed. Failed by missed player coverage, missed hits, or just out-skated, or all of the above. The T-Hawks are not going to get into the playoffs if the defense continues to make those kind of mistakes. Especially against a #1 or #2 playoff seed team. Otherwise I thought the T-Hawk forwards played well. There were lots of big hits, and of course the Generals doing lots of appeals to the ref. I finally had to turn off the sound, because the Generals announcer was continuously commenting "There's a penalty, there's a penalty, blah, blah, blah." And the dirty bird award goes to the Gen's Joe Myers for a head butt and game ejection. (Got a great note from the Generals game announcer - Chris Bilder. Hey, he's just a huge Generals fan that gets carried away. Thank you Chris, you do a great job at announcing - just a bit biased - but every game you get better and better at becoming not just a good announcer, but a great announcer.)

I started to recognize as I listened and watched to the various teams that against any one of them the Wranglers would have a tough time making a win. There was lots of crisp passing, cycling the puck, fast skating, shots, and big hits. I'm sorry but the Wranglers realistically don't have the talent to compete against these teams. Again, goals were made based on the other team's mistakes. The Wranglers just make too many mistakes, which could have turned into goals. But you know what? The Wranglers, good or bad are my team.

Wranglers 4, Titans 13

2009-01-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

One thing we all can agree on is that the Titans are fast. They had so many quick break-aways, so many odd man rushes, and so many quick scores. The Wranglers just don't have that quickness and they don't know how to organize quickness into a scoring play. At least the Wranglers got on the score board and made their few shots count as goals. In fact, lets do some "new math." The Titans shot 70 times and made 13 goals. Or, you could say, that for every 5 (5.4) or so shots they would get a goal. The Wranglers made a paltry 20 shots for the game and made 4 goals. Hey, wait a second for every 5 shots they scored a goal. If the Wranglers could have mustered 70 shots like the Titans, they possibly could have scored 14 goals and won the game. Okay, okay quit dreaming.

Last night was Gayet's first game with the Wranglers. During the 1st and 3rd period he faced 51 shots, let in 9 goals, and earned a GAA of 13.5, and a save % of 0.824. Hmmm? Blanton came in for the 2nd period, and earned a GAA of 12.0 and a save % of 0.789. Hmmm? Prior to coming to the Wranglers, Gayet had a GAA of 3.85, a save % of 0.891, and was ranked #25 of NorPac goalies while with the Puget Sound Tomahawks. Are these figures a result of the Wrangler forwards and defense? Or, are these figures a result of the fast skating and of a team that combines fast skating with dynamic plays. That is, crossing patterns in front of the goal crease, quick pinches, and back door positioning combined with a shot or pass from outside.

Now the "anonymous boo birds" are probably going to blame the Wrangler "D" and the forwards. "Blah, blah, blah player X played horrible, if they had so and so, they wouldn't be in this position." And/or, "Get rid of the coach and blah, blah, blah." What I am going to challenge is that Wranglers played as hard as they possible could and to the best of their ability. I saw the Wrangler "D" go to make a hit, only to have that Titan make the pass at the last second. Now the "D" was out of position and "whamo!" a shot on goal. Again, the Wranglers are just not used to playing a fast skating and quick play team.

What Wrangler offense there was, was effective. If I were handing out stars, 1st star goes to Jeffrey Purslow for assisting two goals. Jeff is a play maker. 2nd star to Lucas Walsh for his first Junior goal. And 3rd star goes to Sam Jossie for the goal. Jeff, Lucas and Sam demonstrate game in and game out dedication and effort. But they're not the only ones, last night I saw the Wranglers play 60 minutes of hockey and act as if they were only down by 3 or 4 goals not by 8 or 9. Can the Wranglers pass better, can they position themselves better, yes they can, and they need to continue to work on these skills. Right now I'm not in the mood to play the blame game - that's just too easy. Rather I want to be supportive and encourage these boys to finish out the season by playing hard and as best as they can. They did that last night against the Titans.

Finally, it's hard for the Wranglers or any team to play effectively when the zebra's turn out to be jack-asses. Last night's officiating was beyond saying it stunk or was horrible, it was abysmal. The referee lollygagged his way around the rink, like it was a Friday evening public skate. "Hey, would turning on the spinning glitter ball and dimming the lights help?" So many calls were missed, and then so many truly horrible calls were made. I think last night's ref should try figure skating rather than hockey. If you can't call the game, then get off of the ice.

Zip, zip, zipped! GOOSE EGG

2009-01-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last night the Wranglers got shut out by the Tri-City Titans 0-8. It seemed that the game was being played in only one half of the ice, whatever end the Wranglers were defending the goal. The shot count defends that assessment since it was almost 3-1, that is the Titans shot almost three times as much as the Wranglers. The Titans had 59 shots (17-15-27) to the Wranglers 21 shots (5-11-5). The Titans worked out this game plan by getting their forwards behind the Wrangler forwards and in close to the net and even behind the Wrangler "D." The passing was close in, crisp, and varied. The Wranglers just didn't have the chance to defend against the shot, because the Titans effectively moved the puck around. Also the Wrangler forwards didn't come back to help the "D". This gave the Titans free reign of the Wrangler zone from center circle on down past the goal line. This also meant that the Wrangler "D" had to work harder to get the puck out of the Wrangler zone to create some "rare" offense.

As I said previously, the Titans need the win to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. While currently the Titans are in 4th place this spot will only be held if the Titans keep winning. The 3rd & 4th place race is so tight that one or two losses will have an effect on who's in what place. The only strategy for the Titans is to keep on winning every game, and hope that the T-Hawks and Jags lose a few.

Aaron Riemersma had a good game last night, although he didn't score. He played the puck quite a bit and was able to get it out of the Wranglers zone. He also had quite a few shots on goal. Once again the Wrangler "D" significantly helped the Wranglers, Long and Losey had a good game. Plenty of hits, a few shots, and working hard to keep the puck from getting inside the net. Chase had a couple of nice hits and had a nice break-away but failed to score. The Titans goalie Romeike is their #1 goalie and is #9 out of all NorPac goalies.

Christian Kramer made 27 saves from 32 shots in the 1st and 2nd period (game: 2.5 GAA, 0.843 save %). Then Blanton came in to finish the 3rd period and made 24 saves from 27 shots (game: 4.5 GAA, 0.889 save %). Again, both Wrangler goalies are working hard to keep some Wrangler pride alive. If not for them the score would definitely be much higher. Some of the Titans goals were definitely "fluky" that went the way of the Titans versus the Wranglers. Heard a couple of goals were because they richocheted off of a Wrangler skate. Unfortunately a goal is a goal no matter how it found its way across the goal line.

About the only unusual thing about last nights game was that there were only 9 penalties for 18 minutes. 3 penalties by the Titans and 6 penalties by the Wranglers. Unfortunately this resulted in two power play goals by the Titans.

The only way the Wranglers can affect tonights game is if they start making some BIG hits that take the Titans off their game plan. The Wranglers just don't have the talent to affect the game any other way. The second suggestion is to stay out of the penalty box. Out of 5 Wrangler penalties, the Titans scored on two of them. C'mon Wranglers play tough, and make the Titan's earn their win.

Player notes: As I said earlier, Guzman, McCormack, Vaitaitas are off the team. It seems that so too are forwards Abera and Mee. They too will be out for the rest of the season. Former T-Hawks players Korenovsiy and Waterbury are playing as forwards to help out. The Wranglers line up is "thin" with only 15 players, 5 defensemen, and 10 forwards. The Wranglers line is young too, with 5 players 16 or younger and 10 players 17 or older - with more being 18 or younger than than older. I do not believe any Wranglers are 20 years old.

Titans Come to Town Thursday & Friday

2009-01-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

The Tri-City Titans are returning to Medford for the last time this season. As I said in earlier blogs the Titans are on a mission to work their way into the Pacific Division NorPac playoffs. Currently the Titans are in 4th place today and theoretically in the playoffs, but need to worry about the Puget Sound Tomahawks (#5 place) as well as the River City Jaguars (#3 place). There are 13 games left for the Titans, including the two this week against the Wranglers. Any loss will certainly hurt in their hunt for the playoffs.

The Titans have a wealth of high scoring talent that will help them into the playoffs and will hurt the Wranglers chance to play the spoiler. Hollandsworth and Turley are #4 and #5 respectively in the NorPac scoring leaders list. And Walker is #18 on the list. Only Seattle and Eugene from the Pacific Division have 3 players in the NorPac leading scorers list. The Titans have 9 players that have 20 or more scoring points. That tells you their scoring potential.

In net the Titans have #11 NorPac goalie Romeike with a 4.01 GAA and a save percentage of 0.893. Their back up goalies are good too, both with a GAA of less than 4.00 and a save percentage and GAA better than Wrangler goalies Blanton and Kramer.

So, if the Wranglers want to be spoilers they're going to have to play one of their best games ever. Remember the Titans are a fast skating and crisp passing team. They like to spread out the offense and quickly move the odd player in for the shot or the rebound and score. They use the points effectively to make shots.

How can the Wranglers win? The forwards have got to drop in deep to the Wranglers zone to help the "D." Not that the Wrangler "D" is that bad, the Titans are that fast in swooping in for the quick score. The Wranglers have to work hard to get the puck through the neutral zone and in behind the Titans "D" quickly before the Titans forwards can come back to help their "D." I would work on making lots of shots, work hard to get the rebound, and then make the quick, errant shot. This worked for the Wranglers last time we were in the Tri-Cities. The Wranglers have got to spread out the Titans players across the ice to be effective. And, the Wranglers have got to work hard to control the puck. One of the keys will be to be physical - hit the Wranglers hard and keep them off-kilter.

Hmmm? Lots of advice for the Wranglers that they've only once or twice been able to demonstrate. Hey it got us the win in the start of the season it can get us the win late in the season. However, if we play typical Wrangler hockey - no pass, no skate, no shoot - then its going to be a long couple of games.

Player notes: The Wranglers will be without Guzman, McCormack, and Vaitaitas. These three are off the team or waiting to be traded.

NorPac Battle for Play-offs

2009-01-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

No, the Wranglers are not in the playoffs, but three teams are in a close race for 3rd and 4th place with only 3 wins separating 3rd from 5th place. So, who ends up out of the playoffs is anyone's guess. The Wranglers as spoiler for the rest of the season, is not that big of an issue since the T-Hawks, Jags, and Titans only play the Wranglers once or twice each. The real test will be the interplay between the T-Hawks and the Jags, and between the Titans and the Jags. The T-Hawks and the Titans only play one more time. If you look at the player stats and the remaining schedule, my bet would be the Tomahawks and the Titans are the two teams which make the playoffs. The Jaguars have to play Seattle and Eugene both 3 times each. That's a tough schedule.

If you look around the league, the Puget Sound Tomahawks swept a series from Seattle recently. Two consecutive wins over the Totems is impressive. Examination of the scoresheet suggests that there was a scrum when the horn sounded ending the game between the T-Hawks and Totems. Looks like the T-Hawks will be short a couple of players for the next game because of these antics. These two Totems losses moved the Totems into 2nd place, and allowed the Generals to move into 1st.

River City beat the Generals last night in their quest to reach the playoffs. It was a close one, with the Jags winning 3:01 into overtime. Eugene scored mid-way in the 1st and then never again. The Jags scored mid-way in the 3rd, and then again in overtime. I would have liked to watch that game because I betcha' it was good defensive game. Shots were almost even between both teams. At the end of the 2nd the gamesheet showed a possible scrum between Mills (Generals) and Abudakar (Jags). Then in the 3rd, the Generals continued their "dirty bird" play with Bishop getting an ejection for spearing. Spearing is one of those nasty penalties where the intent is always to injure the other player. Must be a learned play in the Generals playbook because the "dirty birds" did the same to the Wranglers Losey when we played them. In fact, the "dirty birds" are 2nd in NorPac in penalty minutes with 1,184 only following the River City Jaguars at 1,321 minutes. The recent games between the Generals and the Jags proved to me that penalties are a way of life for both teams. Abudakar got the last laugh on the Generals scoring the overtime goal.

If the Wranglers could beat the Titans this coming Thursday and Friday it would put a dent in the Titan's playoff aspirations, but I figure the Titans are on a mission to win their remaining games. The Wranglers will have to play exceptional hockey if they want to win a game. Titans have 9 players with 20 or more scoring points, with Hollandsworth and Turley at #4 and #5 respectively as top NorPac scorers. Oh well, let's go Wranglers and make the Titans earn every goal. GO WRANGLERS!

Wranglers 3, Titans 7

2009-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost." - Martina Navratilova, American Tennis Player

The Wranglers started with a blast but ended with a whimper. Starting out the 1st period leading 3-0 but then ending the game 3-7. The first period the Wranglers managed 12 shots and 3 goals on the Titan's goalie Gilmore. Wrangler goals were made by Grant Long (assisted by Abera and Blase), Josef Chase (assisted by Abera) and Camden Mee (assisted by Purslow). This must of definitely scared the Titans because they replaced Gilmore with their backup goalie McCurtain and he slammed the door shut to any more goals. Imagine the panic and sense of alarm in the Titans locker room during the first intermission. "What the...? We're losing to the Wranglers! We can't let this happen. Let's get it together and win this one." Well, the Titans came out in the second period and scored 4 goals on 22 shots, taking the lead away from the Wranglers. The score at the end of the 2nd period, Wranglers 3, Titans 4.

It was still a hockey game - the Wranglers were only down 1 goal. Let's once again imagine what it was like in the Titans locker room during the 2nd intermission. "Ok boys, we can win this one. The key is to keep putting the pressure on them. We do not want to let them get another goal. Let's go out and put the game away." The Wranglers managed 9 shots in the 2nd and only 3 shots in the 3rd to finish the game with a total of 24 shots. The Titans meanwhile continued to turn up the heat with 26 shots in the 3rd for a game total of 64 shots. Titans mission accomplished.

The Titans are a fast skating team and simply out-skated and out-manuevered the Wranglers. The "boo-birds" out there will probably want to blame the Wrangler "D" but the Wrangler forwards need to help out too. Allowing the Titans to make so many shots reflects not only on the Wrangler "D" but as well from the Wrangler forwards too. From what I heard they just couldn't keep up. The Titans have a mission to make it into the Pacific Division NorPac playoffs but to do that they have to win almost every one their remaining games. As a result, they're on a mission to win. The Wranglers only mission is to act as the spoiler and for pride to win a game.

I wasn't at the game last night, but through E-mail and telephone calls, both to Wrangler fans and Titans fans (yes, I know some) they said that the Wranglers, despite the score played a good game. I know game stars are awarded to players on both teams, but I'm going to be selfish and only award them to Wranglers. First star goes to Abeal Abera. I continuously heard his name on the broadcast last night and heard reports that he played very well and was involved in two of the three Wrangler goals. Second star goes to Grant Long. Grant played two periods as a forward and scored one goal. He is a leader that the Wranglers need right now. Third star is shared by two players - Josef Chase and Camden Mee. For Chase, he scored a goal - his first of the season - and was reported by several folks that he played with tenacity. In fact one Titans parent commented "I didn't know he could play so mean." For Mee, he too scored a goal, his third of the season, and played with a lot of heart and hustle. Honorable mentions go to Chad Steiner and Brett Losey. Chad and Brett are the two youngest Wranglers and every game they go out and give their best. I heard Chad's name quite a bit last night as well as Brett's. This was sort of a homecoming for Brett since he was traded from the Titans to the Wranglers. From what I could tell Brett took no crap from any Titans.

The Wranglers play the Tri-City Titans again next week on Thursday, Jan. 15 and Friday, Jan. 16 in Medford. Hopefully a few days of practice will help and maybe, yes maybe the Wranglers can play the role of spoiler. GO WRANGLERS!

Wranglers 0, Titans 11

2009-01-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

"You need to play with supreme confidence, or else you'll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit." And, "Losing a game is heartbreaking, losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy." - Joe Paterno, Penn State Football Coach

Wranglers 0, Tri-City Titans 11. Wrangler shots on goal 32 (5-11-16). Titans' shots on goal 52 (13-21-18). Titans' hat tricks: Hollandsworth and Turley. Wranglers had a season high on shots of 32. Ok then, that about does it on last night's game analysis.

Recently, I have rejected quite a few comments from fans because they blame the loss on this player, or that player is weak, or so and so is no good, blah, blah, blah. Many comment that I'm favoring the "D" or this player or that player. What I'm trying to do is pick out some positive - a bit of a glimmer - out of a worthless season. There is no blame on any one player that can account for the lack of production by the Wranglers. You might have your favorite player and that's great, but one player does not make a team; nor does one player make a losing season.

The players that make up the Wranglers - forwards, defensemen, goalies - all have varying levels of skill, talent, goals, and desires. Put ANY one or two players on another NorPac team and I believe they would not only play to their utmost, but exceed and excel and continue to get better. Again, I'm not being selective, pick ANY two or maybe three players and I firmly believe they would contribute success to their new team. However I believe the opposite is true too. Pick any two players from any other NorPac team, put them on the Wranglers bench and within time their success would be diminished and eventually they would be no better than any other Wrangler player.

A team is a group of people linked in a common purpose. The function of the team is to conduct complex tasks towards a goal. The more similar the members are, the more cohesive the team is. The success of every individual is bound to the success of the team. No hockey player, no matter how talented, ever won a game by themselves. "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky will tell you himself his success was a result of a team. Every team needs a leader, a boss, a manager, or perhaps in hockey a coach. The purpose of the leader is to ultimately create a way for people to contribute to make something extraordinary happen. A leader builds trust so people will follow them. Sounds so very simple, huh? Well, it's not.

My Wrangler game analysis isn't about players, it's about team and leadership. Clearly there is no concept of team. Players playing independently - doing what they want and when - and not playing cohesively - playing together. Can you fault a player for this? In the absence of leadership people still want to succeed. Since there is NO leadership, there cannot be a team other than a collection of players assembled to do one thing - play hockey. I would even go so far as to ask players, "What is the goal of tonight?" I bet you would get several varying answers, not a cohesive similar answer. Next if you were to ask a follow up question on "How are you going to accomplish that goal tonight?" The answers would even be more varied and dissimilar. No real common purpose other than to play hockey. No supreme confidence. Why the varying answers? Because there's no common unity or confidence. Why no unity or confidence? Because there is no leadership (coaching) and as a result there is no team. The ugly consequence will be that the Wranglers will continue to lose games; a "lose/lose" blame game will continue - "It's your fault, no your fault, blah, blah, blah"; and, players will lose their sense of excellence and worth. It's a vicious downward cycle to the end of the season - a tragedy.

Outside of being a hockey fan, I am a manager in business. Whenever somebody comes to me to complain, I listen, then I ask, "So, what can be done?" I whined above, and now ask myself "What can be done to stop this downward cycle?" It's going to take decisive and consequential action. To start, I would recommend getting the necessary leadership (coaching) now. Getting rid of, or acquiring new players is a temporary fix, the real fix is building the team through effective leadership. This will start to heal the tragedy of players by building their sense of excellence and worth. Wrangler Management, if you read this... stop the tragedy, fix the problem - NOW. The consequences if you do or don't will last longer than you think.

Pumper?! Nah, It Was A Thumper!

2009-01-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

"You can have all the talent in the world, but if the pumper's not there, it doesn't matter."~Glen Sather

Pumper? What's a pumper? The Wranglers don't have a pumper, so I guess that explains it. I didn't even see that much talent. What a pathetic game for the Wranglers. In the 1st period the Wranglers faced 28 shots, and only made a whopping 2 shots. What the...? In the 2nd period the Wranglers tried to put on some offense but it wasn't enough. General's goalie Kevin Aslett easily defended against the meager 9 shots the Wranglers mustered. Unfortunately Wrangler goalie Blanton who replaced Kramer after the Generals scored 6 unanswered goals on him, let's in two goals making the score, Generals 8, Wranglers 0 at the end of the 2nd period. Finally, Joseph Summa scored about mid-way through the 3rd period from the point saving the Wranglers from the shut-out and total disgrace. He can have the 2nd game star for the Wranglers. Unfortunately the General's answered back. Final score, the General's 12, the Wranglers 1. What about the 1st or 3rd star? No 1st star goes to any Wrangler. 3rd star... I'd give it to either Long or Chase.

If we were counting hits, it was all "dirty birds" er... General's hockey. The Wranglers didn't seem to want to make contact with any General's player. A few hits were made late in the 3rd period, but it was too little too late. What bothered me, was that too many times I saw #24 (McDonald) from the Generals just camped in front of the Wrangler net with the Wrangler "D" skating around him, giving him free reign to shoot at will. "Pretty boy Frei" scored a hat trick. Are the Wrangler "D" afraid of moving any General player from in front of the Wrangler net? Right now, I'm thoroughly fed up with most of the Wrangler "D." Long, Summa and Chase are playing an aggressive game, but the remaining Wrangler "D" are just not producing.

The Wrangler forwards were consistently about 2-3 steps (or maybe a day) behind the Generals. Passes going no-where. Missed passes. No passes. I guess the "No Passing Zone" sign is posted in the offensive zone again. It seemed to me that once again that any Wrangler offense was done by a few of the Wrangler "D" (again, Long, Summa and Chase). I'm not sure what's going on with the Wranglers. They have fallen back in to their lackluster skating and hockey effort, probably just going through the motions to finish the game. It just looks like they just are not having any fun. I bet a few can't wait until the season ends. Yesterday I used the Mariucci quote that said, "Everyday the team plays worse and worse..." Well, tonight the Wranglers didn't play like "tomorrow" they played like "next week."

The Wranglers next travel to the Tri-Cities to play the Titans on Thursday and Friday night. After losing to Seattle and Puget Sound the Titans will be hard pressed to make it to the Pacific Division NorPac Playoffs. Right now it seems like River City and Puget Sound have #3 and #4 place locked up. It would be nice if the Wranglers could eke out a win against the Titans but if they continue to play as they have the last 3 games - fat chance.

60 Shots!

2009-01-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

"Every day you guys look worse and worse. And today you played like tomorrow.” - John Mariucci, 1956 US Olympic Team Hockey Coach

CHRISTIAN KRAMER-JOHNSON! Man-o-man can you stand on your head. Mr. Wrangler Goalie faced 60 shots. If we could only have the 1st period back... "CKJ" faced 21 shots in the 1st period and let 4 in. For the rest of the game he closed the door to the Wrangler net. 2nd period he faced an amazing 26 shots and didn't let any in. Then for the 3rd period he fought off a mere 13 shots and once again didn't let any in. If you generally figure that for every 5 shots one goes in, the score could have been 12-0 but instead it was only 4-0. Way to go Christian, your effort made sure that the Wranglers kept some respect. You get my 1st star.

The Wranglers offense made a whopping 15 shots for the whole game - 9 1st period, 4 2nd period, and TWO 3rd period. That is just awful offensive production. From what I saw, but I'm just a fan not an official observer, the Wrangler "D" made most of the shots. (Chase probably got credit for the lone 2 shots on goal in the 3rd period.) Also, it seemed that the Wrangler "D" were the only ones to move the puck into the Generals zone. Besides CKJ the Wrangler "D" kept the Wranglers in the game. Secondly, behind not making any shots, there was no offense. I'm here to tell you, it is not Pee Wee or Squirt hockey where you can carry the puck down the ice. So many times I saw the Generals simply skate up and steal the puck from a Wrangler. It was just so frustrating to watch. I looked for the "No Passing Zone" sign in the rink but couldn't find it, but obviously a few of the Wranglers saw it. You know what, if you pass the puck around it makes it harder to steal the puck. It also spreads the defense out increasing your chance to score. Again, didn't you all learn this in Pee Wee's or Squirt's? Now, the only reason I can figure you don't pass is because: One, you don't trust your line mate (understandable the lines keep on getting mixed up); Two, you don't know who to pass to (Ok, I'll buy that, the lines keep on getting mixed up); And, three, you are a "showboater." I don't believe any Wranglers have earned "showboat" status. If I were the coach you'd be benched.

From what I heard and saw was that the Generals were targeting a few Wranglers. A pretty poor butt-ending to defenseman Losey. Hopefully he's okay. He gets tonight's Energizer Bunny Award of "takes a licking and keeps on ticking."And, the Generals tried to harass and threaten Chase because in the first period he face-washed and cross-checked the General's European pretty boy Frei. Hey! It's hockey and part of the game is getting into your opponent's head to disrupt their game. Chase gets the second star. From what I've seen all season, the General's like to play a bit of dirty hockey; they didn't earn over 1,070 penalty minutes for fair play. They earned those penalty minutes. Finally, if I awarded a 3rd star it would go to either Long or Summa, I thought they played a good game.

One bright spot, although not too bright, in fact a dim glimmer, was that I did start to see some consistency in the lines. I hope they keep them and don't try to "mix it up." I just don't think mixing up the lines is needed, especially this late in the season. I did notice and was surprised that the Wranglers were playing with a pretty short bench. I didn't see Miller or Guzman play, so what's up with that? Will they play tomorrow night? Obviously they must have done some antics to get scratched. I hope that Losey returns tomorrow night, but we'll see. Vaitaitas is out for the next game for his "butt-ending" antics. The two new players from Puget Sound (Waterbury & K?) got some ice time and did okay.

Well, hopefully the Wranglers can put this behind them, make some passes, generate some offense, shoot at the net (not the goalie), and score tomorrow night. Again, wouldn't that be sweet, a juicy win over Eugene. You can only hope... GO WRANGLERS!

Back To The Future... Wranglers Lose 1-5

2009-01-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

"... into the flux capacitor... it just might work. Next Saturday night, we're sending you back to the future!" That's what I felt like last night, it was the same old Wrangler hockey... poor passing, carrying the puck, marginal hits. It just wasn't the same Wrangler team that played on Friday night. You could tell right off from the initial face-off, it was going to be a long game; ending with the Wranglers losing 1-5.

Grant Long started the game off with a shot from the point that found nothing but net (assisted by Robison and Riemersma). But that was it for Wrangler scoring. Sure the Wranglers made plenty of shots on net, more than they normally do - 34 (9-14-11) but I would say most were easy saves for the Jags backup goalie, Whitmore. A few Wrangler shots definitely had potential, but the puck doesn't always bounce or slide the Wrangler way. However, it sure did for the Jags. Two goals were ones that just trickled in - barely. But once the puck crosses the goal line it is a goal regardless of speed or placement.

The Jags put up a consistent offense against the Wranglers. They initially pounded us with hits that seemed to take us off our game, just what we did to them on Friday night. They also effectively moved the puck around the zone, passing it deep, passing it out to the points, and making shots on goal and looking for scoring opportunities. Of course they found plenty. The Jags had 42 shots on goal, beating the Wranglers for the 1st and 2nd period. In the 3rd period, the Jags put in their 3rd and 4th lines to give them some game experience. The Wrangler "D" tried hard but just could not seem to contain or control the Jag offense. The Jags kept the Wrangler "D" off kilter by moving the puck around the zone effectively and quickly.

The Jags were definitely fired up for Saturday night's game. You could see they came to the RRRink to play and win. Two of their players - Abudakar and Henkel - will not be playing in the next couple of games because of their foolish fighting antics. Fortunately no Wranglers fully bit on the antics so there should be no game misconduct suspensions.

One of the things I'm beginning to notice is that if the Wranglers have a good game, they relax back into their old ways of showboating with the puck, failing to pass the puck, poor passing, and desparation shooting by the next game. Playing consistency is definitely an issue. That's just too bad. Hockey is a team sport not a spotlight on a single player event. The Wranglers play the best when the play as a team, just like against Eugene and like Friday night against the Jags. If they choose not to play as a team, it's going to be a long season (as it already is).

The Wranglers play 2nd place Eugene on Monday and Tuesday night, Jan. 5 & 6. C'mon boys, let's not give 'em the run of the house, rather show them a few hits and make them earn any goals. Better yet, let's make 'em sweat by beating them. GO WRANGLERS!

Player notes: Matt Miglioretto was traded to a Junior C team in Fontenac, Illinois. Not sure who the Wranglers acquired in return. The Wranglers also acquired a player from Puget Sound -Tanner Waterbury. He saw limited action last night both as a forward and on defense. He is originally a goalie, but can play the ice too. I suspect we might see more trades soon since many teams will try to bolster their roster with good players as they enter the playoffs. We'll have to wait and see, but I would bet that Grant Long would be a strong trade contender.

Wranglers 4, Jags 5

2009-01-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well that's what I want this blog to be about, re-capping the game last night. The Wranglers were close, oh so close to winning, or getting a tie, but alas they lost in the last 17 seconds. Regardless of the score, once again I was treated to a different Wrangler team. This is not the same Wrangler team that played prior to mid-December. Something has changed. Each Wrangler line comes out on the ice with vigor and determination. I LIKE IT, the fans like it, and I think the Wranglers themselves like it.

Right off from the start I don't believe the Jags knew what they were in for. They were greeted by a hard charging Wrangler line that delivered some big hits, and were making great passes and shooting on goal. Sure the Jags scored first, but the Wranglers answered back less than a minute later by a beautiful 2 on 1 rush. It was simply textbook perfect, two players, a fake shot, a pass, and then GOAL! Nick Guzman passed it perfectly at the last second to Chad Steiner for a beautiful goal. That's what hockey is all about. 4:15 later Nick Guzman found the net again (assisted by Summa and McCormack). The Jags answered back before the end of the period making for a 2-2 tie. Shots were almost even, 10 for the Jags and 8 for the Wranglers. There definitely was a level of excitement in the building.

The second period was scoreless as each team tested each other's weaknesses. Several times the Wranglers were presented with "gift-wrapped" scoring opportunities but failed to open the package. Christian Kramer also made some incredible saves robbing the Jags of several scoring opportunities. Shots in the period were 16 for the Jags and only 7 for the Wranglers. While the Wranglers were still playing good, I believe they lost their focus. I spotted several mistakes of poor defensive play in front of the net - you got to move them out. Offensively some players kept the puck too long instead of passing it. Sometimes there were some poor decisions made - like skating it in close rather than shooting on net. Both goalies were having trouble controlling the puck making for too many dangerous rebounds. For both sides, it seemed that the tempo had went down.

Whatever loss of momentum in the 2nd period, it picked up in the 3rd period. River City came out determined to "close the door" on this game. After an early goal by the Jags the Wranglers answered back with 2 goals; the third goal was by Chance Robison (assisted by Purslow and Long) followed by the forth goal by Steven McCormack (assisted by Guzman and Chase). The Wranglers held the lead for about 2 minutes when the Jags answered back with a goal to even the score. What followed was fast and furious play by both the Jags and the Wranglers to put the game away, or save it for overtime. Finally there was 00:18 on the clock with a face-off deep in the Wrangler zone. One second later the Jags scored on a slow, trickle in shot from the face-off. Score: Jags 5, Wranglers 4. Shots for the period were 11 by the Jags, and only 7 by the Wranglers.

Not sure what failures in execution happened and I will let that rest with the Wrangler players on the ice. Perhaps it was a lapse in focus, perhaps it was a bouncing puck, perhaps it was just luck. Whatever happened it sealed the Wranglers fate for the night. Too bad. I personally believe the Wranglers could have pulled it out with a win if it would have gone into overtime. Total shots for the game were 37 for the Jags and only 21 for the Wranglers. Again, almost a 2-1 shot differential between teams. While the Wranglers don't shoot much, they do make their shots count, but I still believe more shots would equal more goals.

Several players deserve some recognition for their determined and tenacious play. Jeff Purslow, while Jeff didn't score he surely deserves some credit for his hustle. He had a great breakaway scoring chance. Next time Jeff. Aaron Riemersma, while Aaron didn't score he seemed to be always in the play, delivering a hit, and threatening to score. Chad Steiner, he get's the "energizer bunny" award for "taking a lickin' and keeps on tickin." You earned that goal Chad. Finally the Summa - Chase defensive line, they made some things happen. Many times either Summa or Chase lead the charge into the Jags zone and threatened to score. Also, they didn't allow any Jags camp in front of the Wrangler net.

Let's keep this good play up boys. Avoid the temptation to carry the puck, rather pass it forward to a hard charging Wrangler. Avoid the temptation to wait for the puck to arrive to you, rather skate hard to the puck - be proactive and make the play. Avoid the temptation to not make the hit, rather make the hit - chances are it can develop into a big play. C'mon Wranglers let's play the role of the spoiler, make these teams earn their way into the playoffs. Again, good game boys, lets do it tonight with a big win. GO WRANGLERS.

Jags & Wranglers Play This Weekend

2008-12-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers meet up with the River City Jaguars on Friday and Saturday nights this coming weekend. The Jags were recently bumped down to 5th place and out of play-off contention recently after losing to Seattle, Tri-Cities, and Eugene. So, they are going to be wanting a couple of wins to try and get back into play-off contention. Seattle and Eugene are securely in 1st and 2nd place, leaving 3rd and 4th place for Puget Sound, Tri-Cities or River City. Three teams vying for two places. So, the latter part of the season will be competitive for these teams. The Wranglers are out of play-off contention and can only play the role of spoiler for the above teams. Which would be fine with me.

The Wranglers play River City 3 more times, Tri-Cities 4 more times, and Puget Sound 2 more times. Wouldn't it be oh so sweet if the Wranglers could win 2/3 of the above games, which would give the Wranglers a minimum of a 7-41 season. Of course, I would love to have the Wranglers win all of the above, but I'm trying to be realistic. The Wranglers have 20 games left in the season, and any win is "gravy" over this losing season. Unfortunately there is no way the Wranglers can turn this into a winning season.

Could the Wranglers do it? Yes, I believe they could easily win 6 or more games over the above teams. If the Wranglers played the way they did against Eugene recently they could definitely win several games. In fact, I'm kinda angry now that I know how the Wranglers played against the Generals and why they didn't play that hard and aggressively in earlier games. In case you missed it, the Wranglers played the Generals well, very well. Good passing, cycling the puck in the offensive zone, good defensive hitting, and skating were done by the Wranglers. My question was why? Was it because it was Eugene? Or was it because of the Christmas break? My suspicion was that it was a combination of both. Sure the Wranglers would love to spoil a game, and the players wanted to go home.

Again, the Jags are coming to Wrangler-town to win and get back into play-off contention. They do not want to lose to the hapless last place NorPac Wranglers - nobody does. The Jags know how to score, Kevin Nighbert is #15 on the NorPac scorer's list, and 7 players that have more scoring points than the top Wranglers. The Jags top goalie, Sean Buckley is #12 on the NorPac top goalies list with a 4.45 GAA and 0.894 save %. They've beaten the Wranglers 4 times already.

We all know what the Wranglers have to do to win. Play hard as they did against Eugene. That is, hit, skate, pass, shoot, and score. The Wranglers have got to keep the mistakes to a minimum. Honestly, I think the Wranglers can beat the Jags, not once but twice. It's up to you boys. Let's start the new year out right with a couple of wins. GO WRANGLERS!

Player notes: Seems like a few Wranglers didn't want to go back to practice on time and instead decided to skip practice altogether. Consequently the Wranglers will be playing with a very short bench, probably only 14 players against River City this Friday and/or Saturday night. I wouldn't look for Abera, Blase, Guzman, McCormack, Miglioretto, and a few other forwards who decided to play "hooky" instead of hockey. That's too bad. What kind of message does that send to the rest of the team? "We don't care, we don't have to?" Congratulations to the boys who did make it to practice. You're winners in more ways than you know.

Local Hockey Politics

2008-12-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

There seems to be more to hockey in Medford than meets the eye. Like any town where there is youth hockey or a junior hockey program there are local hockey politics. Some players and maybe their parents too think they're all-stars, ready for the NHL. Then there are some players and parents who are are not the best but think they are and despise the ones that are good. Yup! They're in every town there is a hockey program, including Medford.

In every case local hockey politics do nothing but interfere with the success of local hockey programs. In some cases the politics ruin or diminish the success of the team or program; or affect the chances of one or more players to move on; or take out the fun and dreams of playing hockey from a player; or, push the ego's of players, parents or coaches to feel that they are better than they are. And, from what I've heard so far, hockey in the Rogue Valley is no different. You've got coaches, players, parents, and maybe a few others that are working the hockey politics not only in youth hockey but in Junior A Tier III hockey too. "Get rid of this person," "sign this player," "get rid of this one," "leave Medford and play for team X or whomever," and more. I've heard it all before.

I've got over 16 years of experience with local hockey politics between players, parents, coaches and hockey associations. And, I can tell you all the hockey politics I experienced never succeeded in anything except to frustrate and irritate everyone and come to no good. It is a Win/Lose situation where in reality everyone - players, parents, coaches, and fans - loses.

In many previous blogs I have dispensed plenty of hockey advice - pass better, cycle the puck, blah, blah, blah. Well now, I'm going to dispense more advice, local hockey politics does nothing more than to ruin or cripple a local hockey program. I've seen and experienced it. The Wranglers are in their second year trying to build a Junior A hockey program. And, the Rogue Valley Wranglers Hockey Club management is trying their hardest to build a quality Junior A Tier III program. Junior A Tier III hockey is a development program where some players develop and move on, and others never move on but they get to play competitive hockey a bit longer. I definitely believe a few Wrangler players have the potential to move on to the next level (e.g., Tier II, Tier I, WHL, college) and perhaps beyond. While there are definitely some issues, they're not insurmountable or unsolvable. Again my experience tells me the Wrangler program has the potential to be a great success - just keep the the local politics to a minimum. Let's focus on the hockey basics - hitting, defense, passing, puck handling, skating, and scoring - versus the local hockey politics. Let's support the players, the coaches, the Wranglers, and the game of hockey. Let's approach hockey in Medford with a Win/Win attitude where everyone succeeds. GO WRANGLERS!

A Wrangler Christmas Story...

2008-12-21T23:40:00.000-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the rink

Not a creature was stirring, because of the locker room stink;
The gear was strewn about the locker room without care,

In hopes that the coach would not come in there;

The practice so tough the players were dreaming of being in their beds,

With visions of unassisted goals dancing in their heads;

And Bonelli still untying his skates, and Scott stopping to think,

Saying, “I’m not going in that locker room because of the stink.”

When out on the rink lot there arose such a clatter,

Kevin sprang from his office to see what was the matter.

Away to the doors he flew like a flash.

Tore open the doors and went out with a dash.

He looked left and right he just didn’t know

The parking lot lights were so dim they failed to show,

When, what to Kevin’s wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature zamboni, and five new players near,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

Kevin knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than speed skaters they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Who! now, What! now, Huh! you forwards three!

On, I’m confused! on Why! You’re the new Wrangler “D”!

He shouted “Get out on the ice! To the blue line!

If you don’t skate quick you’ll ride the pine!"

As short-handed goals cause goalies to sigh

And when a forward’s “dekes” cause the defense to cry,

So out on the ice St. Nick’s players flew,

Just as St. Nick’s zamboni finished cutting the ice too.

Then, in a twinkling, the players transitioning out on the ice

Skating and passing that was oh so nice.

As Kevin glanced at the net, the forward was coming around

Into the net the puck went, the goal horn making a sound.

The players dressed in Wrangler red and black, sock tape from knee to foot,

Congratulating each other because of where the puck was put;

The goalie was still laying on his back,

wondering what just happened on this attack.

St. Nick the coach stood on the bench was so merry!

His cheeks were like roses, he was dressed like Don Cherry!

His skaters hit, skated, and passed so tight,

It looked as if they could have scored goals all night;

The end of a hockey stick St. Nick held tight in his grip,

And he waved it about like a whip;

He had a note pad and rink white board hanging with cords,

He didn’t flinch when a player slammed into the boards.

He was chubby and plump, and full of reason,

And Kevin laughed when he saw him, in spite of the current season;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Letting Kevin know he had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

Filling a playbook with plays; then turned with a jerk,

The pen he used was now out of ink,

And giving a nod, got on the zamboni and went out of the rink;

St. Nick’s players saluted Kevin with their sticks held up high,

And then skated away saying “Good bye.”

But Kevin heard St. Nick exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Oh So Disappointing

2008-12-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers came oh so close to giving the Eugene Generals a scare. The Wranglers realized that once you got behind their forwards, the Generals "D" was mostly ineffective. It was only when some of the forwards came back did they get the Wranglers out of their zone. I will go away remembering the score as 2-3 (not 2-5), and the Wranglers fighting hard for a tie or who knows maybe a win.

My disappointments were few, but there were some. One, that the Wranglers couldn't engineer a goal during a pro-longed 5 on 3. Two, the short handed goal. And three, some of the too long puck handling that some of the Wrangler players like to do. But, the Wranglers showed heart, hard work, effort, and improvement. There were plenty of nice passes (although a few Wranglers cannot still catch a pass), many passes caught, tenacity for the puck, offensive zone puck cycling, and a couple of goals. Here's the stats, the Wranglers made 26 shots (10-5-11) against the Generals' 55 shots on goal (21-26-8). Congratulations CKJ you stood on your head all game long to stop the General's barrage of shots. Way to go Wrangler "D" you stopped 'em from making this a blow-out. And nice job with the offensive production forwards. Two goals scored were by Steve McCormack (assisted by Summa & Abera, and then Long & Guzman). Way to go Steven.

And then, after all of that, all of the Generals' incessant whining and sniveling they finally did get stripes on their side. Again, the Wranglers played great. No, the rant is about the poor officiating and how terrible it is when a referee can definitely affect the outcome of a game. The last call by head referee Jones was terrible. Calling a 'high-sticking' penalty way after the fact, and when he really didn't see it is not the right call. Then to choose a player, "who they think" was the offender was, was... Well let's keep it clean. I saw so many missed infractions on both sides, but then to make that call effectively gutted the Wranglers. Playing 4-5 against the Generals for the remainder of the game and lose a key player made it ever so tough. All I can figure, is that local boy, Jones probably wanted to show that he could be impartial since the game was on the verge of getting out of hand. There were so many hits, many of them with elbows raised, and checks from behind but these were only lightly called. It shows me that local hockey politics still exist, and he has some burr up his saddle against the Wranglers. I also think it is just wrong to have the local hockey director referee a game - it does make the appearance of impartiality seem lacking. Well, Mr. Jones you showed your impartiality - what a joke! I hope NorPac hears about this and adjusts it's ref'ing. (Oh, you say when pigs fly?)

Finally, I would like to award some "best actor" awards. Micheal Frei for always diving after just getting hit, but throwing the odd punch here and there. Again, I heard that last night was his last game in the US. Buh bye. Second award goes to General's head coach for his "What? We didn't do anything wrong?" act. Third award goes to the head ref for his great acting job of acting like he knew what he was doing. LOL!

Wranglers 4, Generals 10

2008-12-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

This is one of those times the score doesn't reflect the game. I thought watching the game that the score was a lot closer. The Wranglers played hard and gave the Generals a run for their money. I thought the Wranglers suprised and frustrated the Generals. The game was filled with plenty of hard hitting and good play both offensively and defensively. The Generals did not as I had expected played their rookies, but instead to chose to play many of their veterans - Frei, Holder, Strahle, and others.

I thought the 1st period was one of the best periods the Wranglers played all season. The Wrangler defense and team was in top form. The Generals fired 17 shots and CKJ and the Wrangler "D" kept the Generals from scoring. The Wranglers tied it up with a goal by Abera (assisted by Guzman & Summa) but then the Generals answered almost immediately ending the period 1-2. I think the Generals were surprised. The Wranglers fired 9 shots. The Wranglers made a statement that they were not going to be intimidated or manipulated.

The Wranglers continued to play tough in the 2nd period but Generals scored two more times. The Generals were aggressive with 17 shots as compared to 7 shots for the Wranglers. The Wrangler's made a few mistakes on which the Generals quickly capitalized on with goals. Again, by some defensive mistakes - letting some odd man rushes come through and not covering all the forwards. 2nd period score, 1 Wranglers, 4 Generals.

The 3rd period started off great for the Wranglers by Miller (unassisted) shooting and scoring from the right top circle, along with goals by Abera (assisted by Robison & Guzman) and Guzman (assisted by Blase & Miller). The Wrangler goals came as a result of a couple of nice break-aways. What was nice was that the Wranglers had several nice odd man rushes of their own. Wrangler shots were 11 for the period. What I enjoyed is that each Wrangler goal was met by surprise by the Generals. Unfortunately, the Generals scored 6 goals on 25 shots in the period to seal their win. Two of the goals coming within the last minute of the game. Again, many of the General's goals were the result of individual defensive breakdowns by the Wranglers. As I have said before, hockey is a game of mistakes. Analysis of +/- ratios would be an indicator on what to improve. CKJ played good and only made a few minor mistakes but those are the ones that hurt. Otherwise I felt CKJ "played as if he was on his head." A couple Wrangler "D" were agressive enough to fight for the puck in the Generals zone and make a few shots on goal too. Way to go.

As I said earlier the game had several big hits both by the Wranglers and by the Generals. In the 3rd period Grant Long sent a message to the Generals that the Wranglers were not rolling over and playing dead. The Generals tried to answer back with several of their own hits but none of them were so crushing. This is exactly the type of hockey the Wranglers need to play - big hits, good "D", passing, and finding the back of the net. I hope the Wranglers can find the same drive and determination again today when the play the Generals. GO WRANGLERS!

Some final notes: I am so very disappointed in the behavior of the Generals. The visitor's locker room was trashed - the mirror broken, the soap dispensers ripped of the wall, and trash everywhere. The Generals should be ashamed of themselves behaving as such. You know the story... breaking a mirror is 7 years of bad luck.

I heard through the rumor mill that this will be Micheal Frei's last game with the Generals as he is returning to his native Switzerland to play.

Wranlger players, Camden Mee & Matt Miglioretto will be sitting out tonight's game.

Final Games of 2008 - Eugene on Friday & Saturday

2008-12-17T18:27:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers will meet the NorPac Pacific Division 2nd place Eugene Generals this Friday and Saturday night. This will be a very tough contest for the Wranglers. Eugene has beat the 1st place Seattle Totems 3 out of 5 times. Although the wins have been by only 1 goal. Can the last place Wranglers do it?

The Generals have 12 players that have more scoring points than the highest scorers for the Wranglers. Top of the list is Micheal Frei with 52 points (#4 NorPac), followed by Schlagel at 44 points (#7 NorPac), then Lehtola (37 pts. #13 NorPac) and McDonald (36 pts. #14 NorPac). As I have said so many times, the Generals know how to score. They are fast, agile, know how to "mix it up" to find the back door or open net, and are strong at fore checking. Several goals against the Wranglers have been short-handed goals where they have taken advantage of Wrangler mistakes. However the last time the Wranglers played the Generals on Saturday, Nov. 1 the Wranglers kept the game close only losing by 3 goals. If you remember the Wranglers kept the score close until the last half of the 3rd period when the Generals scored two goals to slam the door shut on the Wranglers. In fact, the Wranglers even scored first on that game. So, it is possible that the Wranglers - if they kept their mistakes to a minimum - could possibly steal one from the Generals. Wouldn't that be sweet?

The last few games the Wranglers have been able to cycle the puck in the offensive zone by doing some effective passing, but they've fallen short on scoring. Again, Wranglers try not to stop the puck, set it up, then shoot. Instead, richochet or redirect the puck off of your stick and into the Generals net. Make fast shots. And, be tenacious to keep control of the puck. Remember if you control the puck you keep the puck from the other team and can win the game. Pass the puck to the "D" on the points and let them shoot and get the rebound. The Wrangler "D" has got to be on point. What does that mean? If a General player comes into the Wrangler zone - HIT HIM! Be aggressive and put a body on the General who has the puck. Do not let them shoot. And, keep any player from camping in front of the net. Did you hear me? KEEP ANY PLAYER FROM CAMPING IN FRONT OF THE NET. Watch the "back door." The Generals are oh so effective at quickly moving the odd man in to find the open back door to the Wrangler net. SLAM THAT DOOR SHUT.

The Generals probably are figuring that the Wranglers don't have a chance to pull a win out. So they'll probably put Ohmart (GAA 3.39 Save % 0.892) or Levitan (GAA 3.00 Save % 0.786) in to get some experience and earn a win. That's what they did last time. They'll save Aslett in case the Wranglers get close and start to threaten a win. But, if there is no threat, Aslett will sit out. I would also expect that the Generals will play many of their younger players to give them some game experience (e.g., Jones-Edwards, Poulsen, O'Connor, McCarty, Charlson, Cigile). The Wranglers will be without forward Miglioretto.

Finally if the Wranglers could pull out even one win, it would be such a morale booster and a gift to the team. Hey! It would be a great holiday gift for me. So, GO WRANGLERS, BEAT THE GENERALS.

TIME OUT!

2008-12-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

Time out! This blog is not going to degenerate into a forum where individual Wrangler players are bashed, scrutinized and faulted. In the hope of fairness, I have chosen to delete many comments and not publish subsequent comments because (I believe) some were too derogatory and/or inflammatory. It's time to take a time out. We all have to remember that Wrangler players are from age 15 to 20 and are working their hardest to make the grade to the next level of hockey. I personally want to wish them all the best in their efforts to succeed. These young men, many are far away from home, need to be supported not chastised. Junior hockey is a league where mistakes are made, young men learn from their mistakes, and they subsequently improve and develop.

As I said when this blog was first started, it is a privately maintained and monitored blog that "supports" Rogue Valley Wranglers hockey. I do not see individual player bashing as supportive of Wrangler hockey. While some may view my various blog entries as sometimes borderline, I work hard to avoid any direct player bashing, but work hard to acknowledge player successes but at the same time note team shortcomings. Yes, I do blog my opinion on what I feel needs to be done - right or wrong. However, after these latest series of comments I will choose the words to my future blog entries as well as approving comments very cautiously and carefully.

Yes, the Wranglers are going through a tough and difficult time. Losing this many games is tough on players, coaches, management, player families, host families, and fans. Perhaps changes in players through acquisitions and trades, limiting player ice times, and coaching changes need to be made but it is not our call. I don't believe there is any one fix, but several that need to be made over time. I'll leave that up to Rogue Valley Wranglers management. We all have our opinions and this blog can act as a forum to express those opinions but it should be done tastefully, tactfully, and with some respect. To that end, I apologize to any player or individual who feels they were slighted or offended. I also apologize to those whose comments were moderated or deleted; this blog is not a forum for destructive free speech. I hope that you continue to follow this blog, be supportive of the Wrangler players, the Rogue Valley Wranglers hockey organization, and continue to provide your comments towards what can be done to improve Wranglers hockey. Or, you can simply avoid this blog and no longer participate.

Finally I will end by quoting something from Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. "Win/Win sees life as a cooperative, not a competitive arena. Most people tend to think in terms of dichotomies: strong or weak, hardball or softball, win or lose. But that kind of thinking is fundamentally flawed. It's based on power and position rather than on the paradigm that there is plenty for everyone, and that one person's success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others."

I look forward to your comments and suggestions. GO WRANGLERS!

Wranglers 2, Tomahawks 10. Ugh!

2008-12-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

"There are two types of forwards. Scorers and bangers. Scorers score and bangers bang."

-Ken Dryden

The Wranglers managed 49 shots through the game but only got TWO goals. How does a team make 49 shots (23-15-11) on goal and only get 2 goals? The Tomahawks mustered 58 shots (12-22-24) and got 10 goals. Wait a minute... how do the Tomahawks get 58 shots on goal and score 10 goals?

Wrangler scoring went as such, Guzman (assisted by McCormack & Abera) got a goal in the start of the 2nd period giving us some hope that we'd see a game. But then the T-hawks shot back with 6 goals which put an end to any Wrangler chances. Abera (unassisted) put in a 3rd period goal for some respect but it was too late. Again I ask, "58 shots, 10 goals, what the...?"

The answer is, as per yesterday's post, M-I-S-T-A-K-E-S, and lots of them. I thought the Wrangler "D" did not play it's game, sure there were one or two defensemen that played up, but for the most part no. So many times I saw a T-hawk standing in front of the net, and nobody touched him. So many times I saw a T-hawk skate up to the net and be freely allowed to shoot. On one 2nd period goal I actually saw one Wrangler "D" back off and let him move across the slot, shoot and score. What the...hit him!? There were too few big Wrangler hits on T-hawk forwards. The T-hawks owned the Wrangler zone. 58 shots means there was no defense.

On the offensive side, the T-hawk "D" was not too impressive either, but the T-hawk forwards would come back and make life difficult for any Wrangler trying to score. Perhaps it was the bright yellow pads of the T-hawk goalie, but almost every Wrangler shot was right at the T-hawk goalie. It was like his jersey or pads said, "Shoot here." Banger. So many times a Wrangler would position themselves at the "back door" the pass would come and all that was needed was a touch or richochet the puck into the empty net; but no, the Wrangler would catch the puck, stop it, set it, look at the net, then shoot. This all takes time, meanwhile the goalie has repositioned himself to stop the shot. Banger. Some Wrangler forwards still think they can skate with the puck down the ice and not pass. Banger. Some Wrangler forwards are afraid to hustle after the puck, instead waiting for the puck to get to them. Banger. A few Wrangler forwards are afraid to make a hit and be tenacious for the puck. Banger. Last night Abera was a scorer with an assist and a goal.

Let's talk goalies. On the T-hawk side, sure there were some missed opportunities of scoring, sure there were some great goalie saves, but Boyd the T-hawk goalie is not that good. After last night though his stats went up. Boyd's GAA 3.20 with a save percentage of %0.906. He's ranked 20th in NorPac with his stats. At Puget Sound he is the 2nd goalie after Reneau who has even better stats. For the Wranglers, "CKJ" played the first half of the game (almost) faced 29 shots and let 5 goals in. CKJ's GAA is 6.67 with a save percentage of %0.862, and is 46th in NorPac. About halfway through the second period Blanton replaced CKJ and faced 29 shots and let in 5 goals. Blanton's GAA is 7.33 and a save percentage of %0.863. Blanton is 47th in NorPac. By the way, the only goalies lower in NorPac at 48th & 49th place are Secondo (released) and Teilborg. Hmmm? Perhaps that partially answers how 58 shots turned into 10 goals. "CKJ" is a great drop down goalie but weak on the top shelf. Blanton is better on the top shelf, but tends to leave the 5-hole open. Two of Blanton's goals were "fluky" in that they went off Wrangler skates (once his and another a "D") and richocheted in. Tough goals but they happen. Both Wrangler goalies had a tough time controlling rebounds which a few times resulted in a score. (Again, where was the Wrangler "D"?)

What were the good things to come out of this game? 49 shots. That is awesome. In fact, that's a Wrangler season record. I saw the puck being cycled in the corners and a start of a scoring attack. Not as many missed passes. Passes were mostly on point. The 1st period was great - 23 shots on goal. If we can keep these things up, and improve our shots, tighten up the "D" I believe we can win some games. But it takes communication and coordination boys. I bet the coaches are going to have some tough practices waiting for you this week, especially since the Generals are coming to town. If they want to stay up with 1st place Seattle they got to win. It's your house, are you going to let 'em win? Oooo rah, let's get tough Wranglers!

Missed It By That Much, Wranglers 2, Jaguars 3

2008-12-13T09:17:00.001-08:00

Junior hockey is a game of opportunities. It just depends who is going to capitalize on the mistake - the home team or the visiting team. Last night the Wranglers made three mistakes and the Jags took advantage of them to score.

Mistake #1. Do not skate with the puck in your zone, rather make the pass.
Mistake #2. Somebody is in front of your net, then push them out.
Mistake #3. What's more important, a line change or an on-coming rush?

If the Wranglers would have dealt with the above mistakes, I firmly believe the score would have been 2-0. Sure, there were other mistakes made by both the Wranglers and the Jaguars but neither side were able to seize the opportunity and score. The first Wrangler goal by Abeal Abera came because of a Jaguars mistake - the goalie left the net, the puck came around and Abeal pushed it in. Now the score was a manageable and winnable 1-2 for the Wranglers. A minute later, Purslow caught the pass in front from behind the net by Riemersma and hit nothing but the back of the net. The Jaguars mistake was that they didn't control the puck from deep in their zone and get it out to a waiting forward. The Wranglers seized the opportunity by Robison fighting hard for the puck, passing it to Riemersma, and Riemersma to Purslow. Score now, 2-2. The Jags were scared, the Wranglers optimistic. The rest of the 2nd period was an even fought battle. In the 3rd period for over 12 minutes it was an even battle, although the Jags were winning the battle by having more shots on goal than the Wranglers, but Blanton put up a great effort making 16 saves on 17 shots for the period. (Jag shots on goal were 45, 13-15-17.) Then the mistake by the Wranglers, the Jags were pressing towards the Wranglers blue line, an errant clearing attempt richocheted the wrong way, two Wranglers ran for the bench, leaving the lone defenseman to fight off a 4 on 1 rush. Unfortunately the Jags scored. We then had to endure the "teddy bear toss" which I believe unfairly delayed the game. The Jags then worked hard to defend their lead and the Wranglers couldn't make the comeback. "Missed it by that much."

All in all though it was one of the Wranglers better recent performances. The Wranglers put up 29 shots on the Jags goalie Powell (9-10-10). The passing was not great but good and I'll take good any day over bad. The offensive cycling was not great but good and again I'll take good over bad. The Wranglers had some excellent chances at making some goals but again, "missed it by that much." The Wrangler "D" played good - there were some good hits, battles won in the corners, and kept a body on the Jaguar forwards who played deep around the net. The Wrangler forwards also came back to help the "D" which prevented the Jags from scoring.

What I didn't like is that effort by some players seemed lacking. They didn't hustle to the puck, or hustle to catch the pass, made lame passes, and made no or lame checks. C'mon boys despite what issues you have off the ice, you've got to give 100% on the ice. It's just not fair to your teammates who are putting out the effort. I also saw way too much "puck-hogging" for this level of hockey. You cannot take the puck by yourself and skate through 3 defending players. If you can, you're not in NorPac but at the next level. Instead pass the puck. Another thing I noticed was that all too often the Wrangler forwards were up at the Jags blue line waiting for the puck, when the "D" were deep in the Wrangler zone. That's a lot of ice to cover. The Jags recognized this and had players at the Wranglers blue line and at the red line to intercept these 3/4 ice passes. Finally, I noticed that some Wrangler forwards have this unique manuever in which as they skate and turn their back to the puck. You can't catch a pass when it's behind you.

I was happy with the coaches - Bonnelli for the "D" and McLain for the forwards. They pushed out line combinations that worked well for the game and the Wranglers. They can only do so much, the players have to really make it happen.

I hope tonight the Wranglers players can recognize some of their mistakes and correct them, that is more effort, make the pass, and keep any T-hawk player from camping in front of the Wrangler net. Along with some good play, no great play by the goalie, "D" and forwards the Wranglers have a shot at beating Puget Sound. Remember, the T-hawks are a physical team that will grind and press on and on. Keep Tessin, Belorad, and Kaufman covered and harrassed to keep them from scoring. The T-hawks just like the Jags will try to seize on those mistakes made and turn them into opportunities. I hope the Wranglers do the same, except turn those opportunities into GOALS. GO WRANGLERS.

Jags & T-Hawks This Weekend

2008-12-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers have two games with two different opponents this weekend. Game one on Friday night (Dec. 12) with the River City Jaguars. And, game two on Saturday night (Dec. 13) with the Puget Sound Tomahawks.

Quickly, Jags are a scoring team and they're in 4th place. They'll probably be in 3rd place after Friday night ('cuz I suspect they'll beat the hapless Wranglers), but then after Saturday night they'll be back in 4th place because the T-hawks will beat the hapless Wranglers. The Tomahawks are a persistent team that will grind you down.

Okay, okay, so I'm not being as supportive as I should be, but the Wranglers haven't shown me anything that should have me thinking anything else. Each week I write... the Wranglers have got to pass, blah, blah, blah... the Wranglers have got to set up an offense, blah, blah, blah... the Wranglers have got to shoot on goal, blah, blah, blah. So shoot me! We all know what needs to be done including the players. I'm not blaming the players, rather I haven't seen the coaching and play building for the Wranglers. I'm not so sure the Wranglers know what to do with the puck once they cross the red line. They're unsure who to pass to, because there's no such thing as lines. I support the players because I see the talent, and I know they are not competely responsible for a 1-22 season. After a while the blog entries seem like you're listening to a broken record player... pass, offense, shoot... pass, offense, shoot... pass, offense, shoot...

The Wranglers played both teams last weekend so review those blog entries to learn about what the Wranglers will be facing, except increases in scoring points by Jags Nighbert and Nicklas, and T-hawks players Tessin and Kaufman. Both the Jags and the T-hawks lost their last games. The Jags were soundly beat by the Generals on Monday 0-6, and the Coeur d'Alene Lakers beat the T-hawks on Sunday 4-3. So the Jags and the T-hawks will be looking to rebound for their losses to stay in playoff contention.

I'm not all the Grinch, I enjoy the Wranglers and hope the best for them. Perhaps my Christmas wish calendar that I will open on Friday and Saturday will show me a Wrangler each day and they'll win. I've already sat on Santa's lap and said, "All I want for Christmas are a bunch of Wrangler wins." And, my Wrangler socks are hung with care with dreams of sugar-plum goals. So, please surprise me with one or two wins this weekend! Go Wranglers. See you in Portland and in Bremerton.

Player notes: The Jags will be without Nourse because of a game misconduct from Monday's game with Eugene. Several Wrangler players were out of practice this week suffering from colds or flu, but I haven't heard of any "official scratches." Assistant Coach Dan Switalla will not be on the bench (no reason given).

Other notes: There's supposed to be snow this weekend in the Puget Sound area. So, we'll see about attending Saturday nights game.

Frustration! Wranglers 1, Jaguars 7

2008-12-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

"Hey! Who's on defense? No, Who is the center. What? What is a forward. Huh? He's another forward. What? Forward. Who? Center. Why? He's on defense. Who is? No, Who is the center. What? Forward. I'm confused. That's the other defenseman. Who? Who is the center. I don't care. That's the goalie. What? Forward. I don't care. Like I said he's the goalie. Why? Defenseman. I'm confused. The other defenseman. Help! That's the backup goalie." Sound familiar?

Shots for the Wranglers were definitely lacking, a whopping total of 13 (4-5-4). River City had a total of 36 shots (11-17-8). Perhaps, no perhaps about it, it was the road trip, combined with lack of sleep, and a game less than 24 hours later that contributed to the Wranglers poor performance. They just couldn't seem to get it together. Again, poor passing, no puck control, little or no hits, and little or NO DEFENSE. This game got out of control because the Wrangler "D" did not follow through. A couple of defensive lines just didn't get the back door player or the player coming into the slot. Also, if someone is going to camp in front of the Wrangler goal you got to move them out. Otherwise it's just a manner of time that they're going to score. And that's what happened. If you look at the +/- ratio you're going to see who are the effective lines and who are not.

The road trip, bus ride, and another game less than 24 hours definitely had an affect on the Wranglers. You could see it, skating through the neutral zone was "oh so slow." The fast moving Jags took advantage of this misfortune by stealing the puck and shooting on goal. The leading Jags scorer Kevin Nighbert even got a hat trick out of tonight's game.

If there was a bright spot for the Wranglers it was that there were no major penalties that would result in upcoming game suspensions. So the Wranglers should have a good line up for next weekend's games.

Oh well I'm glad this one's over. Kind of like the economy, these are tough times for Wranglers and Wrangler fans. The Wranglers travel to Portland to play the River City Jaguars this coming Friday night, Dec. 12. Then on Saturday, Dec. 13, the Wranglers once again travel to Bremerton to visit the Puget Sound Tomahawks. I hope the Wranglers have a good practice week, work on building lines with the new forwards, and working on hockey basics - passing, skating, shooting, and checking.

Today! River City Jags And Wranglers Meet

2008-12-07T11:09:00.001-08:00

The Wranglers and the Jaguars meet today at 3:30 PM for a rare Sunday game. This will be a bit of a tough one for the Wranglers since they played last night up in Bremerton against the Tomahawks, got on the bus for the long, all-night ride back to Medford, and then another game. Whew! Now that's tough.

As I said in a previous post, the Wranglers have a couple of new additions to the roster #20 Lucas Walsh, and #16 Nick Guzman. I believe these two will help with the Wrangler scoring and offense. Nick has got great "hands" which he demonstrated against the Tomahawks. He's aggressive too. This might be just want is needed for the Wranglers. Now, if his chemistry can mix with the two producing "D" - Long and Miller - along with the forwards - Blase, Purslow, Riemersma and others - the Wranglers might be able to change things up, score and win today's game. Wouldn't that be just grand.

River City is beatable. They've lost 3 of their last 4 games, and one was a real blow-out. So, they are vulnerable. Their power play (13.8%) is 9th in the league as compared to the Wranglers who are 13th in the league (6.1%). In penalty kill the Jags are 9th (81.2%) whereas the Wranglers are 12th (76.3%). Eight Jags have more scoring points than the top Wrangler player. Nighbert is 13th on NorPac's Scoring Leader list. Nighbert (30), Nicklas (20), and Mayers (20) each have 20 or more scoring points. So the Jags know how to score. We've seen it and experienced it. The top Jag goalie is Buckley with an 0.894% save percentage.

What's needed to win... As I have said all along the Wranglers have got to skate to effectively make and get the pass, which allows them to control the puck, and set up an offense. Like last night, move quickly through the neutral zone to set up the offense. Next, the Wranglers have got to make the shot. All too often they skate into the corner then look to see where to pass. Rather, make the shot, get the rebound, and shoot. Finally, they've got to continue to make hits, not "namby-pamby" hits, but BIG hits. The Wranglers started to show big hits that last night - keep it up, no, get more. By making big hits, the Wranglers control the game too.

However, my expectations are tempered because fatigue could be a factor for the Wranglers. Hopefully this game won't turn out like past games where it seemed like the Wranglers were trying to herd cats. Instead I hope they can reach deep inside, pull out the beast and play tough. C'mon Wranglers "de-tooth" and "de-claw" the Jags, and make them into a bunch of pussies. GO WRANGLERS!

Player notes: Abera will be back after his suspension. Unsure about Losey - he did get a game misconduct, but does that go for today too? Miglioretto sat out last night's game. Heard there might be a few more scratches for today's game.

Better, But Still Another Loss - Wranglers 2, T-Hawks 8

2008-12-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers lost to the Puget Sound Tomahawks 2 -8 last night in Bremerton. My frustration yesterday gave way to a different hockey game played Saturday night. While yes, the Wranglers still lost by 6 goals, I would say they played a much better game. One, the passing was much improved - not only did they pass the puck from stick to stick, but the skating improved making it possible to make that good pass. Two, the Wranglers made some hits. While I would have liked more, the Wranglers did make some good hits. And three, more shots on goal. In fact, *** NEWS FLASH *** the Rogue Valley Wranglers had almost as many shots on goal - 28 as the Tomahawks -31. In this game I started to see the Wranglers cycle the puck in the corner, use the points, have someone in front of the net, and pass it around. Way to go Wranglers - now that's old time hockey.

The Wranglers have two new additions to the team which proved definitely noticeable. #20 Lucas Walsh from the Seattle Jr. Admirals AA, and #16 Nick Guzman from the Seattle Totems. Nick was acquired in the trade for Cafrelli back in November, and last night was his first start for the Wranglers. In fact, during last week's Totems-Wranglers games Guzman had two assists in goals against the Wranglers. As I sat and watched the game all I could say about Nick was, "Wow, that kid has got dekes." Several times he "deked" around T-hawk players like they were standing still. Nick scored both goals for the Wranglers - one assisted by Miller, and the other unassisted. Would it be safe to say that without Guzman the score would have been 0-8?

Another noticeable item was that the Wranglers played with some passion. The Wrangler "D" were not putting up with the T-hawks harrassing our goalies. New young defenseman Losey got into a fight with a T-Hawk - decision undecided. And, after T-hawk Lindberg slashed our goalie not once but twice, Chase pursued him and got into a scrum - letting Lindberg and the Tomahawks know to stay away from Wrangler goalie or else - decision Chase on that fight. Chase reminded Lindberg again later by placing Lindberg's butt on the ice with a good check. Again, while I would have liked more Wrangler hits, the Wranglers did start to make some hits. They need to keep this up.

What I noticed is that the Tomahawks got most of their scoring from outside the circles. They would crash the net with a couple of players, create enough confusion and distraction right in front of the net, then fire shots from outside. While I'm definitely not an expert I thought most of the T-hawk goals were top-shelf. Wrangler goalie Jared Blanton played admirably for most of the game, but was pulled mid-way through the 3rd period after a shot from the left side, top-middle circle was sent in glove side top shelf. He faced 24 shots, but let in 7 goals. "CKJ" came in for the last half of the 3rd, faced 4 shots and let 1 in. The T-hawk goalie was great in net. Several times the net appeared wide open only to have a Wrangler shoot wide or T-hawk goalie Gayet make a great save. Several times I commented during the game, "The Wranglers can't buy a goal." Shots for the Wranglers were 28 (11-7-13) and 31 (12-8-8) for the Tomahawks.

Another thing I definitely noticed was that the Wrangler skating speed increased which then helped getting the pass. Sure there was the errant pass that went nowhere, or to a T-hawk, but I did notice a reduction in passes that were either too long or short. Again, skating hard starts to eliminate poor passing since effective passing is an excercise in proper timing. Additionally, the speed through the neutral zone was greatly improved. Several times the Wranglers moved effectively through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone quickly before the Tomahawks could set up any sort of a defense. The Wranglers then set up an offense which produced the shots. Keep it up. Again, the Wranglers are starting to play "old time hockey."

Again, I had to remind myself, the Wranglers lost another one and it wasn't close - a 6 goal differential, but if they can keep up the offense and the hits who knows maybe Santa might deliver a few wins to the Wranglers.

Today, the Wranglers play the River City Jaguars at the RRRink in Medford at 3:30 PM. Imagine this, play a game last night, travel by bus all night back home, sleep a couple of hours, then play another game. Uff da! Good luck Wranglers, kick some Jaguar booty today - you deserve it. GO WRANGLERS!

Wranglers 1 - Tomahawks 7

2008-12-06T00:26:00.000-08:00

My mother taught me at any early age that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. My first thought was to just post the score with nothing else, but I couldn't do that. So to get through this version of the Wrangler blog you will have to fill in the blanks. It was the best I could do to try and stay nice.

To help you I bought a vowel - "A". I would have bought another but that was all I could afford with only one goal. But, because the Zamboni was broken they gave me a free vowel and I chose "E". So here goes, it's the Wrangler version of "Wheel Of Fortune." An imaginary Wrangler Girl will turn the letters for you. Good luck. Of course, you can always substitute any word you want.

TONIGHT I THOUGHT THE WRANGLERS PLAYED JUST _ _ A _ _ _ .
THE PASSING WAS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E.
NO, IT WAS _ A _ _ E _ _ _.
THE PLAYERS PLAYED _ _ A _ AND WITH NO E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
THEY JUST _ _ _ _ ' _ HAVE A _ _ ZIP.
SEVERAL TIMES I SAW PASSES THAT WERE _ _ _ _ _ _ OR WERE _ _ _ _.
HOW CAN THE WRANGLERS BE THAT _ A _?
THEY LOOKED THAT _ A _.
I SERIOUSLY BELIEVE THE TOMAHAWKS ARE BEATABLE, AND IF THE WRANGLERS REALLY WANTED TO WIN IT SEEMED THEY _ _ _ ' _ _ TRY.
ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS PASS _ E _ _ E _, MAKE SOME _ _ _ _, AND MAKE SOME _ _ _ _ _.
BUT, THERE _ E _ E _ ' _ ANY HITS!
AND, THEY LOOKED SO _ _ _ _.
MY _ _ A _ _ _ _ _ _ E _ COULD SKATE _ A _ _ E _.
FINALLY, I THOUGHT THE _ _ A _ _ _ _ _ WAS _ E _ _ _ _ _E.
IN FACT, I THINK THEY SHOULD BE _ E _ _ _ _ E _ NOW.
NO WONDER THE WRANGLERS HAVE THE _ E _ _ _ _ THEY DO.

Shots for the game were 26 for the Wranglers (9-12-5) and 50 (14-19-17) for the Tomahawks. It is interesting to note that 5 of the 7 Tomahawk goals were made during power plays. The only Wrangler goal came at the start of the 2nd period during a 5 on 3 power play by Grant Long, assisted by Paul Blase.

The other interesting note is that there was no ice cut for the game or in between periods since the Zamboni was broken. Instead they had rink staff out on the ice with shovels picking up the extra shaved ice. Hmmm? They say that the parts were ordered and the Zamboni should be operational tomorrow. The other routine that was not done prior to the game was that there was no national anthem or announcement of a starting line up. Were these anomalies enough to affect the Wranglers play?

Hopefully the Wranglers will play _ E _ _ E _ tomorrow. If not, I'm not sure I can continue to be a Wrangler fan. It was so _ A _ _ to watch. C'mon Wranglers lets kick it up a couple of notches, at least just one. Please.

Wranglers & Tomahawks Meet This Weekend

2008-12-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers are traveling to play the Puget Sound Tomahawks this Friday and Saturday night in Bremerton, Washington. The last time the Wranglers played the Tomahawks - almost two months ago - they lost both games 6-4 and 6-1. If you remember, the second game was quite ugly with penalties for both teams. Hopefully the T-hawks have cooled down and are ready to play the Wranglers again. This time on the T-hawks home ice. However, not all is well in Tomahawk town, the Tomahawks have lost 5 of the last 6 games and have went from 3rd place in the NorPac Pacific Division to 4th. So I believe the Tomahawks will be looking for a couple of easy wins at the Wranglers expense to help them stay up in the standings.

The Tomahawks are blessed with 3 players - Tessin (33 points, #10 rank), Belorad (27 points, #15 rank) and Kaufman (24 points, #23 rank) - in the NorPac Top 25 player rankings. 7 additional Tomahawk players have more scoring points than the top Wrangler player. So, the Tomahawks know how to score, but not too much. The T-hawks are almost even in GF (79) and GA (81). Their home record is 6-7.

Can the Wranglers beat the Tomahawks? Now, several of you have commented that if we don't count the 3rd period the Wranglers have played quite well. I watched the Wranglers and would tend to agree, but if you look at the scoresheets, the Wranglers were outscored 14 - 2 in the 1st and 2nd periods, and a whopping 11 - 2 in the 3rd period, or a disappointing 35-4 in the last 3 games. So the Wranglers have a lot of work to do if they are going to beat the Tomahawks. As I have said so many times, the Wranglers have to concentrate on:

Defense - that is, if any Tomahawk player has the puck in the Wrangler zone - HIT HIM;
Hustle, hustle, hustle - that is, skate to the puck to catch the pass or to intercept the pass;
Tenacity - that is, focus on the keeping the puck on your stick except when shooting;
Teamwork - that is, spread out and make crisp, decisive passes to your team;
Transition - that is, work on getting the puck out of the Wrangler zone through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone - this can only be done through hustle and teamwork; and,
SCORE! - not only close in but from the points, get a forward in front of the net to get the rebound.

Two wins - while almost unimaginable, would be such a boost to morale and a comment to all the other NorPac teams that the Wranglers are for real. Again, I seriously do believe that there is enough Wrangler talent that not only one but two wins are possible. Go WRANGLERS beat the Tomahawks!

Player notes: The Wranglers will be without Abera since he's still out a couple of games because of penalty antics. PJ Brown is out for the rest of the season. Unsure about McCormack. The Wranglers have a new forward from the Seattle area that recently started the team.

Thank you for your comments

2008-12-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I want to say "thank you" for the recent comments that you have posted on this blog. I enjoy reading your comments. And, I enjoy the Wranglers and hope the best for them and I hope you do too. I recognize that losing this many games is tough, but I believe they are doing the best they can and are making the necessary adjustments and changes. The Wranglers are a young and inexperienced team when you compare them to other teams in the league. For example, the Totems average player age is near 20 years old. The Wranglers average player age is just above 18 years old. Two years is quite a difference when you're talking about development in young men; they're stronger and faster. However, keep your comments coming and spread the word to all your Wrangler friends about this blog and get them interested in Wrangler hockey. If there is something that you want me to comment on let me know. Remember Wrangler hockey exists because of YOU! GO WRANGLERS!

Ugh! Fugettaboutit

2008-11-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

Last night the Wranglers lost to the Totems 2-14. The Totems pretty much at will put up a NorPac scoring demonstration against the Wranglers. While I will say the Wranglers put up a good fight at times showing plenty of determination and hustle, they were no match for the tenacious Totems. Once again the Totems put on the show in the 3rd period making an incredible 9 goals. The Totems know how to hit, they are fast, they have great puck handling skills, and know how to score. What more can I say?

The Wranglers tried to mix up the line-ups a bit by putting Grant Long as a center versus on defense, and putting Nik Vaitaitas on as a forward. Heck, they even suited Teilborg, the 3rd goalie and got him on the ice. I can't say if all that shuffling worked. Grant didn't last long on offense because he returned to defense - probably got too frustrated because of the poor passing. Nik stayed the whole game on offense. And, Teilborg put out a very good effort as a forward. But alas, even with all this manipulation the offensive timing of the Wranglers just seemed off. Passes were beyond or behind players, or too soft, or whatever. I surmise these issues exist because the Wranglers are not a fast skating team. So many times the Totems would out skate the Wranglers in the neutral zone catching them or out manuevering them so they could intercept the pass or slow them so the pass went to a Totem. At times you could see the frustration on the faces of the forwards as they came off the ice. The only bright spots in the game offensively were the goals scored by Riermersma (assisted by Summa) in the 2nd period and by Jossie (assisted by Vaitaitas) in the 3rd period. But it just wasn't enough against the very talented and again tenacious Totems.

Another bright spot was the effort the offense put on in the 2nd period. The Wranglers actually out shot the Totems in the 2nd period. Wrangler shots in the 2nd were 13 to the Totems 12. First and 3rd period Wrangler shots were dismal - 5 shots in the 1st, and only 6 in the 3rd for a total of 24 shots for the game. The Totems fired a total of 55 shots in the game (19-12-24). And, their 3rd period shots showed the results with the 9 goals. Blanton just seemed to get tired as the game wore on finally being replaced as a "puck toss" from center ice simply found its way to the back of the net. Anouther game "OUCH!" "CKJ" tried hard but when he dived low, they shot high; again, frustrating, very frustrating.

I thought the Wrangler "D" played as best as could be expected in this blow-out. My opinion is that they do not deserve full responsibility for the goals. They delivered some good hits, made some saves, and got the puck out of the zone. But, one more time... the Totems are so fast, the passing is so precise, their offensive player positioning is so good, they cycle the puck, they are tenacious for the puck, and can almost score at will. The Wrangler "D" could not cover all five of the fast moving Totems. So many times the Totems had odd man rushes - 2 on 1, 3 on 1, or even a 4 on 1, out of the neutral zone and into the Wrangler zone making it very hard to defend. Finally, many times I saw Wranglers putting a body on a Totem, but the Totem player managed to stay on his feet, keep the puck, and make a shot on goal. That had to be frustrating, very frustrating to the Wranglers.

The Wranglers will travel to Bremerton, Washington to meet the Puget Sound Tomahawks for two games this weekend - Friday and Saturday, then quickly travel back to Medford for a Sunday game against River City. Lets hope the Wranglers continue to take these hard lessons into their practice week and make the needed improvements. From what I hear the Wranglers will get a new forward on Tuesday. They'll need him since Abera is out for the Tomahawk games for his Friday night game antics. It also seemed that McCormack got injured in Saturday's game so he might be questionable. Go WRANGLERS!

Wranglers Lose 2 - 10 To Totems

2008-11-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers lost to the Seattle Totems last night 2-10. First period the game was close with the score 1-2, but immediately into the 2nd period the Totems scored along with two more making the score 1-5. In the 3rd period, the Wranglers added one more goal and then the Totems added 5 more goals making it 2-10. The Wranglers first period score was by Paul Blase with an assist by Chance Robison. The Wranglers 3rd period score was by Grant Long (assists McCormack, Losey). Wrangler shots for the game were 27 (8-9-10), and 52 shots for Seattle, (20-16-16).

The first period was a tough fought period. I believe Seattle was startled at the hustle and the intencity of the Wranglers. There were some big hits made by both sides making it clear that the Wranglers were not going to be pushed around for an easy win. Seattle was definitely testing the Wranglers by pounding them with 20 shots and for the most part keeping the puck in the Wranglers zone. Jared Blanton defended the goal tough, the defense played up, and the forwards played strong. The game seemed close and possibly winnable for the Wranglers.

Ten seconds in to the 2nd period the Totems scored which "stung" the Wranglers. It definitely took some of the "wind out of the Wrangler sails." And the goal made a statement, that the Wranglers have got to play tough. Again the Totems pounded the Wranglers with 16 shots for the period. After the 5th goal by Seattle, Wrangler Head Coach McLain pulled Blanton and replaced him with Christian Kramer-Johnson hoping that he could better defend the Wrangler net and possibly salvage the game for the Wranglers. Both goalies made some amazing saves - some with luck, some with definite skill. In the 2nd period "CKJ"only let one goal in. My opinion was that the 2nd period was owned by the Totems. The Wranglers managed 9 shots, but they couldn't seem to get an offense going against the hard hitting and pressing Totems.

The 3rd period was at the start better for the Wranglers in that they got a goal making the score 2-5, but then that was it, Seattle slammed the door shut by coming back with 5 goals in the last 10 minutes burying the Wranglers. The most embarrassing point came on the final Totem goal, when the new Wrangler defensman Losey on a 5 on 3 Wrangler power play inadvertedly, or accidentally, or poorly, passed the puck to the Totem who took it in for a score. OUCH! The Totems did an excellent job at fore-checking whenever the Wranglers were on a power play. By doing that, it kept the puck in the Wrangler zone eating up valuable power play time and enabled the Totems to potentially score. Something the Wranglers could learn from.

What I noticed about the Totems was TENACITY. Tenacity is defined as: "persistent in maintaining, or seeking something valued or desired" and in hockey that is the puck which in turn will lead you to a goal. The Totems players were full of tenacity for the puck and the desire to score. Many times I noticed Totem players desperately fighting for the puck and most of the time winning the battle. If the Wranglers practiced this tenacity it probably would lead to holding on to pucks passed, not getting the puck stolen, hustling to the puck, and the most important - GOALS. Wranglers have got to learn what it takes to be tenacious. C'mon Wranglers get that passion for the puck, learn to be tenacious. If you can do that then I do believe you can beat any team you face, especially the Totems. INTENSITY, TENACITY, GO WRANGLERS!

Wranglers & Totems Play This Weekend

2008-11-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Totems come to Wrangler Town this weekend for a couple of games. It will be interesting to see what Wrangler team shows up for the games. In order for the Wranglers to compete with Seattle the Wranglers will need to shoot, pass, and hit. Three things that have recently been scarce with the Wranglers.

The Totems have 9 players that have 10 or more points from goals and assists. Three players - Schulze, Stombaugh, and Galvin have over 30 points. Schulze (#16) and Stombaugh (#15) are also NorPac scoring leaders in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. So far the Totems have scored 92 goals against their opponents in the last 18 games. What's more is that the Totems are top in NorPac with the Power Play at 24.1%. So the Totems know how to shoot and score. And, we all know the Totems know how to hit. The Totems still lead the league in penalty minutes with 690.

The very last game the Wranglers played the Totems, the Wranglers kept the score low at 3-0 and played a very respectable game. They frustrated the Totem players by keeping them from standing in front of the net, doing some good hitting, and keeping a good watch on Schluze and Stombaugh. Schulze only had an assist that game but no goal. However, the Wranglers failed to score in either game and were disappointing in the number of shots on goal (23, 17). The Totems fired over 50 shots on goal in each game. If the Wranglers are not careful the Totems could take the games away from the Wranglers early.

I've heard that the Wranglers have traded Webster to Tri-Cities for a new defenseman, and that PJ Brown is out with an injury. There are also some positional changes for the Wranglers. How will these changes affect the game with Seattle? We'll have to wait and see. I just hope the games don't turn into a blow-out. I really would like to see the Wranglers pull out a mid-season upset. It would be "oh, so sweet." Predictions? Sorry, I don't do that any more.

Good luck Wranglers! Beat the Totems.

Titans 11, Wranglers 0. Ugh!

2008-11-22T21:35:00.001-08:00

Wranglers lose to the Titans 0-11. Titans made a total of 84 shots on goal in the game to only 22 shots for the Wranglers. The Titans were full of hustle, hits, and tenacity for the whole game. Just look at the Titans shots on goal and that will tell you they were in control of the game; 1st period 26 shots, 2nd period 25 shots, and 3rd period 33 shots. The second period was the best for the Wranglers in that the Titans scored only 1 goal. The 3rd period was the worst for the Wranglers with the Titans scoring 7 goals.

Listening to the game it became clear that the Wranglers could not control the puck through the neutral zone. The Wranglers seemed to continually lose the puck in the neutral zone. The other thing I noticed from the broadcast was that the Titans were making most of their shots from the points. You would hear time and time again, "Shot made from the point. Deflected by traffic in front. Another shot, rebound, the puck is passed out to the points. Another shot, score." Again, I will say, if you control the puck you control the game and if you control the game, you have a good chance of winning. Not controlling the puck and your chance of winning the game is almost nil. That's basic hockey. There's not much else to say or write about.

The Wranglers had 7 power plays, but failed to score on any. The Wrangler's Power Play is the worst in all of NorPac at 5.6%. In addition, there were passes lost and missed shots on goal. It was painful to listen to the game. The Wranglers need help. Any suggestions?

The Wranglers will play against the Seattle Totems next weekend, Nov. 28 & 29 in Medford at the RRRink. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Titans Thump Wranglers 6-1 on Friday Night

2008-11-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers lost to the Tri-City Titans 1-6. Only the goal by Paul Blase (assisted by McCormack) in the 3rd period kept the Wranglers from being shut out. From what I could tell from the broadcast was that the Titans kept the game in the Wranglers zone. The Titans had a strong fore-check keeping the Wrangler "D" busy without a lot of help from the forwards. 48 shots on goal in the game by the Titans proved it.

Again, from the limited announcing it sounded that both teams could not hold on to the puck making turnovers a consistent problem in the neutral zone. Several times I heard "the pass was intercepted" or "a soft pass" or "pass to where nobody was home." These indicate to me the usual problem of poor passing. But, I wasn't there so I cannot say that poor passing was a problem.

I was not surprised that Christian Kramer-Johnson was pulled at the end of the second period and replaced with Jared Blanton for the 3rd period. "CKJ" faced 41 shots in two periods but let in 5 goals. The announcer said of "CKJ" during the 2nd period, "The Wrangler goalie is standing on his head stopping shots. If not, the score would be a lot higher." After last night his states are: GAA 4.40 and Save % 0.899. These are still very respectable stats for a goalie. Sure, you would like that GAA to be lower, but you try harder next game. Blanton did a good job in relief, stopping what sounded like some tough shots on goal made by the Titans. He faced 7 shots and unfortunately let 1 go in. Blanton's stats are: GAA 6.33 and Save % 0.895.

What hurt the Wranglers the most were the 25 shots made by the Titans in the 2nd period. That's a lot of shots. Listening to the broadcast it seemed like the announcer was always saying, "Shot, rebound, another shot, rebound, another shot." Also I heard, "The Titans are in the corner battling for the puck with a Wrangler; the Titans came away with the puck." I recognize I'm listening to the home announcer, but it sounded like we lost a lot of corner battles. As I said in an earlier post, if you want to win the game you've got to control the puck. The Titans making 48 shots doesn't sound like the Wranglers controlled the puck all too often.

What I did like to hear was that the Wranglers were making shots on goal. Last night the Wranglers had a total of 28 shots (11-8-9). Not bad, but we need and want more. Several times I heard, "#24 Blase comes in makes the shot" or "#10 shoots" (the announcer had a hard time pronouncing Aaron's name 'Riemersma' so he just said #10), or "Long takes aim and shoots." I heard a lot of Wrangler player names and numbers making shots on the Titans. Unfortunately for the Wranglers, the Titan's goalie Gilmore was having a good game. Keep up shooting the puck on net boys.

Last time we played the Titans on Oct. 3 we lost the first game by 5 goals - 2-7, but came back the next night for a win 5-4. Let's hope history repeats itself and we can do that again. Let's win tonight's game. I'll be sitting by the "old time radio" er... laptop computer, listening to the game. "GO WRANGLERS!"

Wranglers Tangle With The Titans This Weekend (Nov. 21 & 22)

2008-11-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers will play the Tri-City Titans this weekend in the Tri-Cities. I believe it will be a tough series for the Wranglers. The Titans want revenge for their loss to the Wranglers back in early October. And, the Titans want some wins. The Titans (4-14) are just up from the bottom of the Pacific Division of NorPac. Only the Wranglers (1-16) are lower. If the Titans got a couple of wins, it would help them gain on River City and Coeur d'Alene. Finally, the Wranglers want a couple of wins because it would help move them up on the Titans and maybe break them from being in the NorPac cellar.

The Titans have a lot more scoring power than the Wranglers with 7 players having more goals and assists than the top Wrangler players - 10 points or higher. Two Titans (#19 Hollandsworth & #8 Turley) have 15 or more goals and 10 or more assists each in 18 games. Even one of the Titan's defensemen (#16 Tansy) has more points in assists (10) than the top Wrangler scorers. The Titan's power-play effectiveness (17.9%) is almost three times more effective than the Wranglers (6.1%). Only the Wranglers penalty kill effectiveness (78%) beats the Titans (76%). The Wranglers lead the Titans in penalty minutes by over 100 minutes. Finally, the Titans have 75 in "goals for" (GF) versus 30 for the Wranglers. The Titans have recently beaten the Tomahawks three times and the Wranglers once. The Titans have also scored well against Eugene, River City, and Seattle. So, it is going to be a tough series for the Wranglers to win; the odds are against them.

What do the Wranglers need to do? As always - set up an offense, shoot the puck on net, and be tough on defense. It is unclear whether PJ Brown (F) or Adam Webster (D) will be playing. And, Nik Vaitaitas (D) is still out for an infraction committed earlier against Eugene. So the Wranglers could be 'thin' on defense. On offense, the Wranglers have got to set up an offense by spreading out, passing the puck, and shooting on net. Hopefully the Wrangler plan is to put someone in front of the Titan goalie to block his view and keep him nervous. If the Wranglers cannot do what's needed then it will be a long bus ride home. C'mon Wranglers pull it together, do what is needed, shoot the puck and find the back of the net.

We need a great game from the forwards - Riemersma, Blase, McCormack, Mee, Robison, Jossie and the rest. Of course some goals scored by the "D" (Long, Miller, Summa, & Chase) would be nice too. The "D" and Wrangler goalie (CKJ or Blanton, or Teilborg) need to be stingy and keep the Titans from scoring. I would love nothing more than to welcome the Wranglers back to Medford after winning a series from the Titans.

Final note! I will not be traveling to the Tri-Cities to watch the Wranglers but will try to listen to the game online. So, my game analysis might not be what you expect.

CDA Lakers Finish Weekend Sweep of Wranglers

2008-11-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

Although the Wranglers lost, it was a good game for the Wranglers, probably the best out of the three games. Passing had improved (but still needs work), and the offense had improved (but still needs work). If the Wranglers could have the 1st period back, I believe they would have had a really good shot at winning the game. The 2nd and 3rd periods were evenly matched between the Wranglers and the Lakers.

The Lakers started the game with a lot of intensity, scoring just 0:42 seconds into the game. A quick left side top shelf shot by the Laker's Hoffman that simply caught the Wranglers off guard. This was followed by three more goals that initially took the wind right out of the Wranglers. I mentioned that leadership was needed, well I'm not sure what was said in between periods but for the remainder of the game the team did start to come together; the Wranglers put up a defense and started an offense. Shots were almost evenly matched with the Wranglers posting 31 shots overall to the Lakers 38. The Laker goalie, Amatto was very stiff and stingy to the Wranglers. There were several times that he robbed the Wranglers of what should have been goals.

I and the fans liked what we saw, cycling the puck behind the net, passing in the offensive zone, and shots on goal both near and far. I would have liked it if the Wranglers would have spent more time in front of the net harassing the goalie, but they did do some of that. Grant Long's goal (unassisted) was a result of none of the above, just a well placed shot that Amatto missed. Sure there were still some missed passes and some missed opportunities, but it was probably the best game played out of the three with the Lakers. If I had any "nit-picky" comments they would probably be: One, the forwards should have come back to help get the puck out of the Wrangler zone. Too many times I saw the "D" struggling while a forward just stood 3-4 feet away waiting. And two, spread out. Several times I saw the pass go to where there should have been a Wrangler only to find empty ice.

The Wrangler "D" stepped it up in this game. Many times I saw the "D" pinch in to the offensive zone and make some scoring opportunities. All the Wrangler defensemen went in, during various times of the game, pursued the puck and had good scoring opportunities. Long and Miller play well together. Summa and Webster were not taking any "guff" from any Lakers. And Chase harassed any Laker that tried to stand in front of the net. Way to go boys, that's hockey.

Finally, the Lakers beat the Wranglers because of their spread out offense and quick, crisp, passing. I was surprised at how many times they made some quick shots on goal out of almost nowhere. BUT, the Wranglers were and are starting to get that too. Keep cycling the puck, use the points, pass it around, make 'em chase the puck around, and most importantly shoot when you sense a good opportunity. This is only the second or third game where the Wranglers have exceeded 30 shots on goal (other was Fri., Oct. 3 against the Tri-City Titans). Learn from this and maybe the season will turn around. The Wrangler players need to start quoting the recent presidential saying, "YES WE CAN."

The Wranglers play the Tri-City Titans this coming weekend (Nov. 21 & 22) in the Tri-Cities.

Lakers Sink Wranglers 5-1 on Saturday Night

2008-11-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

So, what more needs to be said about no passing and no offense? The first period I thought the Wranglers had made the necessary adjustments (putting somebody in front of the net, cycling the puck, passing to the points, and more) and were going to come out winning the game, but then starting with the second period and the rest of the game it went sour. Lets look at the stats... first period 10 shots to CDA's 10. Grant Long scores with an assist by Zach Miller. CDA fires back with 3 unanswered goals. First period score CDA 3, Wranglers 1. However, there was optimism that the Wranglers could do it. Next period, the Wranglers start off with a goalie change putting "CKJ" back in net. The Lakers thinking they're going to have easy pickings, fire 20 shots and get two goals. Again Christian keeps the Wranglers in the game (3.6 GAA, 0.914% Save). The Wranglers eke out 4 shots on the Lakers. 2nd period score, CDA 5, Wranglers 1. Optimism is fading. The final 3rd period is ugly with no goals scored but not a lot of shots either - 7 for CDA and 6 for the Wranglers. I figured that by this time both teams are pretty much gassed. Optimism gone. Final tally on shots, Wranglers 20, Lakers 37. Another game out shot by almost 2-1.

What I did notice is that the Lakers consistently spread their offense across the ice and made good crisp passes - either short or cross ice. By spreading their offense out and passing the puck it frustrated and tired the Wranglers. In fact, most of the second period was played in the Wrangler zone. Wow, 20 shots for one period - that's a lot of shots. How does a team get so many shots? By spreading the offense out and passing from player to player. I saw cycling behind the net, passes to the points, then down deep, then back out, it was classic hockey. To me CDA put on a clinic in the second period on how to set up an offense. And the score proved it.

The Wranglers definitely had hustle, tenacity, and talent but again no offense and poor passing. So many mistakes were made by all Wrangler players - veterans and rookies. I spoke with fans around me during the game and in between periods and their comments were, "It's obvious, there's no team chemistry." Or, "There's no team work. Looks like each Wrangler player is playing for himself." And, "I don't think there's any trust between players that's why the passing is so bad and why you find 2 or 3 Wranglers bunched up." Now I recognize they're just fans like me with no real hockey experience, but they were thinking what I was thinking - "There's no team chemistry." Perhaps the problem of poor offense and passing is because they don't trust each other or want to work together as a team. Whatever it is there's some bad Wrangler "Mojo" going around.

How do you build team chemistry? I'll apply what I know - although it's not with hockey but I believe it works with hockey - and that is leadership. Leadership builds trust, respect, cameraderie, a shared work ethic, and a "one for all and all for one" mentality. Its been demonstrated many times in sports that good leadership works and can achieve results. I believe the Wranglers have the talent and hustle to compete and beat any team in the league. I believe it. I see it. What's missing is the leadership, the glue, that brings it all together to create that winning form.

The Wranglers play a third game today against the Lakers at 3:35 PM. I hope the Wranglers can pull one win out of this series, they so desperately need it. The fans need it. Hey! I need it. Go Wranglers.

Wranglers Lose 5-3 to Lakers on Friday Night

2008-11-15T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers lost to the Coeur d'Alene Lakers on Friday night 3 to 5. There was plenty of Wrangler hustle, but there was a definite lacking of technical execution of skills. There are several skills the Wranglers need to improve on, two of these are passing and offensive positioning.

I was definitely disappointed in the poor passing and this was a definite contribution to the Wrangler's loss last night. Once again, passes were out of reach for Wrangler players - passes were either in front of or behind of, or right at the skates of the player. Or if the pass was right on to the stick, the pass was not controlled rather lost. And, many passes were right to a Laker. These kind of mistakes along with other technical mistakes plagued the Wranglers all evening long. If you cannot control the puck you cannot win the game.

Offensive positioning means putting a player in front of the Laker net and two, positioning players through out the offensive zone. So many times I saw two or more Wranglers making a hit or collapsing to the puck on the boards. By doing that the Wranglers failed to adequately cover the offensive zone and set up any kind of scoring offense. Most of the time with the Wranglers bunched up, the puck was sent to an open Laker and the rush began down the ice. Sure there was some passing to the Wrangler points which created two scores but it was the exception rather than the rule. Again, the number of Wrangler shots for the game was only 19 (4-10-5), whereas for the Lakers the shots were 44 (14-15-15). "CKJ" had a good game stopping 39 of 44 shots (3.75 GAA, 0.911% Save). The Lakers definitely kept CKJ busy with the puck. I would say that once again, CKJ kept the Wranglers in the game.

Zach Miller (#11), the newly acquired defenseman from Helena, shot from the point several times which helped the Wranglers score twice. The first goal went to Miller with an assist to Long. And the third goal was tipped in by Long on a shot by Miller (with an assist to Blase). Miller has a very nice quick and hard wrist shot that is very accurate. The second goal by Riemersma was a "fluky" goal off of Aaron's back. A goal is a goal and the Wranglers will take any they can get.

Unless the Wranglers can improve on passing they cannot set up an offense or a scoring power play. The Wranglers definitely have the hustle, the hits, and the talent to compete with any team in the league, but no scoring offense. The Wranglers are 12th in "goals for" (GF) with 28 goals out of 15 games and last (13th) in "goals against" (GA) at 101 goals. For "Power Plays" the Wranglers are 12th with a 6.1% chance of scoring on a power play. For penalty kills the Wranglers are 12th with a 77.1% penalty kill. The Wranglers have no where to go but up and improve. I believe they can do it, but they need to work on their passing which will then improve their offense. Let's go Wranglers let's turn it around tonight with win over CDA. I believe everyone - fans and players - are ready for a big win.

Wranglers Meet CDA Lakers For 3 Games This Weekend

2008-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

The Wranglers will play the Coeur d'Alene Lakers for 3 games this weekend - Friday & Saturday nights along with a Sunday afternoon game at 3:35 PM. The Lakers will be looking for some revenge because of last year's only Wrangler wins came against the Lakers. They're going to try to make sure they come away as winners this time.

So, what do the Lakers got? They've got 10 players all with 7 or more points. Three of them have 10 points or more. Mitch Fowler (#8) seems to be their leading offensive player with 11 goals and 5 assists in 15 games. Tyler Alos (#19) and Zack Haight (#87) each have 5 goals and plenty assists. Several other players (Webking, Hughes, & Dippolito) have lots of assists along with a few goals to their names too. What it looks like to me is that the Lakers know how to score. The Lakers thoroughly beat teams like Seattle, River City, and Tri-Cities this season. Their record is 5-10, which also tells me that they are inconsistent. In net, their primary goalie is Brandon Amatto with a 4.75 GAA and 0.876 save percentage. Their backup goalie - Baum - has a 4.12 GAA and 0.901% saves, but has only played 4 games.

I've watched the Lakers play this season against Puget Sound and what I saw was that they are a small and very fast team. They rush the zone hard and fast and make lots of fast and furious shots on goal. They always seem to have somebody in front of the net, they spread the ice out, and have good, crisp passing. Their points make lots of shots on goal while left wing Fowler or Alos hover around looking for the rebounds. And on defense, their forwards collapse back to help the "D" out. Puget Sound beat them by being physical, putting somebody in front of the net and powering through them. Remember the Lakers aren't too big, but they are fast. All of the Tomahawks goals came from the top of the circles or the blue line, not from around the crease -too many Lakers would collapse in to defend against the goal.

So what would I recommend for the Wranglers? First of all, shoot from the top of the zone (top of the circles or blue line). Secondly, be physical put a body on a Laker to stop or slow them down. Thirdly, don't bunch up - that is put 2-3 Wranglers on one side or close together. The Lakers have good enough passing and quickness to get out of this. And finally, the Wrangler "D" has got to be ready for their fast zone rushes, and keep and eye on left wing Fowler and the odd Laker hovering on the weak side to get the rebound.

The past few weeks the Wranglers have been starting to really "gel" as a team. Hopefully this week's practices further added to coming together and really putting together an offense. Again, the Wrangler "D" has got to step up by putting a body on anybody who comes into the Wrangler zone. I believe the coaches are trying to get the players to understand a system. And, it's starting to show. So, let's win a home series. I think now is the time for the Wrangler players to turn it around and show NorPac, the Lakers, and the fans that they can do it. Predictions? There'll be some overtime wins and maybe even a shoot-out with the Wranglers coming out on top. GO WRANGLERS!

NorPac Defensive Player of the Week - "CKJ" Nominated

2008-11-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

Got word from the Wrangler coaching staff that Chris Kramer-Johnson is being nominated as "NorPac Defensive Player of the Week." That's way cool. Certainly "CKJ" is worthy of that honor given the performance he put on last weekend - stopping 63 of 68 shots. He is ranked as #11 in NorPac because of his GAA at 3.00. His save percentage is 0.926 over 100 minutes of play.

Coach Scott Mclean said the following of Chris, "I can think of no one more deserving in the league to receive this accolade for outstanding defensive contributions to his team." Surely Chris deserves credit because without his excellent goaltending the Wranglers would not have been in either game with the River City Jaguars last weekend. I personally believe that without "CKJ" in net the score could have been much, much worse on Saturday's game. I saw some spectacular saves. In fact, one of them was on Saturday night, when a Jag coming across from the left, just above the crease, made a top-shelf shot at what he thought was an open net and a sure goal, but out of nowhere Christian raised his glove side shoulder and blocked the shot. I thought along with all the other fans that another score was coming with that annoying siren but "NO." Wow, that was special and showed Chris' determination. There were many other spectacular saves too, but that's the one I remember the most. Again, without "CKJ" in net, the score could have been much, much worse. I believe Coach Mclean agrees by saying, "Defensively, this was the fewest goals allowed by the Wranglers in a weekend series all time."

Those of you that follow the Wranglers should note that "CKJ" was the #4 goalie for the Wranglers at the start of the season. Chris comes to the Wranglers after playing AA hockey in southern California last year. This is his first year playing Junior hockey. I talked to Chris on Saturday morning and found him to be a "pretty cool guy." Chris got the call to tend the net for the Wranglers on Friday night at the start of the second period after Jared Blanton was injured in the first period. From that point on he stopped 27 of 28 shots and the score should have been 1-1. In Saturday's game he stopped 36 of 40 shots. This "practice goalie" definitely helped the Wranglers. So, I hope NorPac recognizes Chis as defensive player of the week. Keep up the awesome play Chris. You rock!

Jaguars Maul Wranglers 4-0

2008-11-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Last night's game was not my favorite. The Wranglers had hustle otherwise the score would have been higher, but I'm still trying to figure out the game played. Too many mistakes, too many penalties, too many missed opportunities, too too many...whatever. The Wranglers had more penalties (20 min. to 18 min.) than River City, less than half as many shots (17 vs. 40), and probably half as many hits. The Wranglers tried to set up an offense but the few shots made were aimed at the goalie than the back of the net. My simple analysis, it was an ugly game and River City just outplayed the Wranglers. As was said, "Hockey is a game of mistakes, and those who take advantage of mistakes win."

Several Wrangler players could not catch a pass or make a pass. I watched as passes again either went beyond reach in front of or behind players. When a pass was made to a Wrangler a few Wrangler players seemed to just let it bounce off their stick rather than control it. Not sure if they were afraid of getting hit, or lacked the confidence to control it, or knew what to do with it. At times the Wrangler's play seemed confusing - I couldn't see the plays develop in the neutral zone to go into the Jags zone. It seemed that River City controlled the game, and the Wranglers could not wrestle it from them. The Wranglers played the Jaguars game. Sure some may say that the refs influenced the game but not the whole game. Although I'm still not sure why that one goal was waved off, although it makes no difference.

I watched Jaguar player Niklas (#13) routinely camp in front of the Wrangler net and no one would move him out. When "CKJ" made the save #13 was right there and even then no-one moved him away from the Wrangler goalie. Then routinely while a Jag player was in front of the Wrangler net, the Jaguars effectively passed it around the zone probing for the Wrangler weakness and when the opportunity presented itself made the shot. "CKJ" played a good game and kept the Wranglers out of being embarrassed stopping 36 out of 40 shots. Additionally, I noticed that many more times Wrangler players were taking the brunt of the hits. I bet a few Wranglers are sore this morning. Whereas on Saturday morning I bet it was Jaguar players who were sore from Friday night's Wrangler hits.

In the past few games one period could be counted as the loss for the Wranglers with several periods really looking good for the Wranglers. Saturday night's game there was no good period for the Wranglers, shots were 5 for the 1st, 5 for the 2nd, and 7 for the 3rd. The Jags were consistent on shots per each period too, with 12-13-15. The Jaguars adjusted themselves from Friday night's play by putting focus on Riermersma to keep him neutralized as well as Blase, Purslow and other Wrangler forwards. They knew that Friday's game was just too close for them, so they adjusted and the Wranglers didn't. Again, I thought the game was too confused, it reminded me of a game of street hockey which I used to call "rat ball." No coordination, little team work, and confused. C'mon Wranglers you can do better than that.

The Wranglers need to remember that the Coeur d'Alene Lakers are coming this weekend and they want revenge for the lone Wrangler wins from last year. The CDA Lakers are small and fast and beat the Jags TWICE. So, Wranglers adjust your game or it's more of the same.