RSS 2.0 FeedVol. 4, No. 2, February 2008, Sports
Wrangled
February is the month the Wranglers must survive on the road and prepare for a grand March homecoming. Las Vegas plays 10 of its 14 February games away from the Orleans arena. That sets the team up for nine consecutive home tilts in March.
Home has been profitable to the Wranglers over the years, but their first 2008 home stand was an under-achievement. The Wranglers inexplicably dropped three straight games to the same team, Fresno, within five days—all on its own ice. The Wranglers remain one of the ECHL’s top teams, but the league’s unique schedule highlights the aberration.
Flyers coach Paul Holmgren once bemoaned extended home stands and road trips.
“You keep your focus better when the schedule is staggered,” Holmgren indicated. “You don’t keep the same level for each game if you have too many in a row at home.”
The Wranglers may agree. Despite having a double-digit cushion in its division, Las Vegas went 2-4 on its second-longest home stand of the season. How does it happen? Over the course of an October-April marathon, every team hits a rough patch of ice. Teams hope to avoid them on the extended home stands.
The theory does not appear to hold true in reverse. Getting hot on the road does not occur as often as a team getting cold at home.
Home has been profitable to the Wranglers over the years, but their first 2008 home stand was an under-achievement. The Wranglers inexplicably dropped three straight games to the same team, Fresno, within five days—all on its own ice. The Wranglers remain one of the ECHL’s top teams, but the league’s unique schedule highlights the aberration.
Flyers coach Paul Holmgren once bemoaned extended home stands and road trips.
“You keep your focus better when the schedule is staggered,” Holmgren indicated. “You don’t keep the same level for each game if you have too many in a row at home.”
The Wranglers may agree. Despite having a double-digit cushion in its division, Las Vegas went 2-4 on its second-longest home stand of the season. How does it happen? Over the course of an October-April marathon, every team hits a rough patch of ice. Teams hope to avoid them on the extended home stands.
The theory does not appear to hold true in reverse. Getting hot on the road does not occur as often as a team getting cold at home.
Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.
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