Thunder (and/or Wranglers) Fans, Post Your Memories Here

Winston Wolf

Registered User
May 15, 2003
12,089
6,690
Philadelphia
I have to admit that I didn't go to many Wranglers' games or even follow them much, even if I was a die hard hockey fan. After attending many NHL and Thunder games, the ECHL games just really didn't come close to grabbing my attention.

The Thunder, on the other hand, were fantastic! For me, that's the best sporting event that Las Vegas has held long term. Bob Strumm really did a fantastic job bringing in high profile players to create a buzz around Vegas. I honestly don't think there's many guys that went through Vegas that I didn't meet. Not many IHL teams could say they had guys like Curtis Joseph, Yashin, Demitra, Bonk, Nedved, and many others playing for their team. Not just those guys, but anyone that had some semblance of fame from Bryan Fogarty to Brent Gretzky was brought in. Beyond those guys, we had some real characters. Darcy "Chainsaw" Loewen, Patrice Lefebvre, Ruslan Salei (RIP), Sasha Lakovic (nearly 500 PIM in like 60 games), Pokey Reddick, Clint Malarchuk, and even Manon Rheaume (although she was a b****). Heck, every single one of those guys played in the NHL, too.

I vividly remember meeting Bonk several times. There was a certain trading card, "The Bonk Files" that he said he wasn't allowed to sign. I probably tried like 5 different times before giving up. I also remember the time when CuJo and Yashin played. Those guys were both big deals at the time and considered real deal NHL superstars; there was definite excitement even if they weren't going to be staying long.

Malarchuk, Lefebvre, and Quinney were all around the organization for a while and really great guys and good ambassadors of the game to Vegas. Obviously they were only there for six seasons, but most of the naysayers probably aren't aware they ever existed or had a loyal following. They folded after six seasons, but that had more to do with the IHL itself rather than lack of interest and Las Vegas has grown a hell of a lot in the meantime.

Anyways, I'm pretty damn excited to see real hockey in Vegas again!


Edit: I also remember an autograph event with Jagr where he made everyone wait about 4 hours for his scheduled appearance, before finally showing up and signing autographs for like $50 a pop (this was a long time ago, that was a lot of money!) The excuse given to the crowd was that he was depressed from losing so much gambling.
 
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segelrj

Registered User
Jun 22, 2016
33
0
Ohio via Las Vegas
There are so many, it'd be hard to come across just one, but one of the greatest experiences of my life, being a young goaltender and a huge fan of his, was getting to skate on the ice with CuJo after a game. I was 7 or 8 at the time and I got to pick the brain of one of my favorite players, I was geeking so hard I have no idea how I was able to skate. :laugh: I, also, remember when they produced a VHS after the Year 2 or 3 and it included an interview with Bonk in which the interviewer asked "Why do you love hockey?" and Bonk replied "I don't like hockey, I just like it because of the girls." :laugh:

Loved Lefebvre, Loewen, and Lakovic, killed me when they all went to our bitter rivals. Used to really like Quinney until I tried to get an autograph from him after a game and his WAG said that my friend and I needed to pay for the autograph (really poor form from a "never was"). Loved the rivalries with Long Beach and Utah (both the Golden Eagles and Grizzlies), for the longest time.

Was a bit older when the Wranglers came to town and was a season ticket holder until I moved away for college. Loved how the organization did a lot for the fans, especially the season ticket holders; every night we were able to meet coaches and players, it was awesome. Loved how the team tried to sign local talent, like Eddie DelGrosso and my old teammate Chris Francis. It was pretty cool to see Scott Gomez play with Alaska when they'd come to town during the lockout year; still think we would've won the Kelly Cup that year had he not been on their team.

All-in-all, I hope Foley picks Billy Johnson and Bob Strumm's brains, bc they were able to make hockey work pretty well in Las Vegas, and still think those teams could've survived if it weren't for Carol Harter (superb***h) and Boyd Gaming. Would love to see them in some kind of special advisor roles with the franchise.
 

BattleBorn

50% to winning as many division titles as Toronto
Feb 6, 2015
12,069
6,017
Bellevue, WA
I was young when the Thunder were here, but my favorite thing in the world was going to the Thomas and Mack to watch the Thunder play. My uncle had a crush on Manon Rheaume, so I got him to start taking me a lot more often while she was here and (kind of) the face of the team.

My uncle wound up moving to Salt Lake and always prodded me with Grizzlies stuff, he sent me Utah Grizzlies Starter jacket when Starter jackets were the coolest thing for a kid to have, it stayed in my closet. :laugh:

I didn't hit the Wranglers as much as I should have, probably 30 or so games while they were here. I had a couple friends that moved here from Alaska and usually hit those games. I got suite tickets to the game with the Ferraro line brawl, that was a fun time and likely my favorite Wranglers game. Alaska fans and their stupid bells are awful and I loved to hate them. :laugh:
 

Ginormousthumbs

Registered User
Jul 7, 2013
6,665
3,869
West Side
Never saw the Thunder. When I moved back in 2004 it was during the Wranglers playoff run which ended early.
During the lockout, I went to almost every home game. Of course that year they missed the playoffs. I needed my fix and it was fun. A group of us even made a trip to San Diego to watch them play the Gulls.
Could never pull the trigger on season tickets. Too much roster turnover and conflicts with my NHL schedule. Never had a problem getting tickets though, even on game day. They had a good run and I wouldn't label them being a failure. It was for the greater good.
 

Winston Wolf

Registered User
May 15, 2003
12,089
6,690
Philadelphia
I remember going to see them play Utah quite often. Tommy Salo was a damn brick wall for them against us. I was always surprised how weak mentally he looked in the NHL, because he wasn't like that at all in the IHL. I also remember hating Butch Goring. He coached the Thunder their first year and they did great. Then he left and went to the Grizzlies and they won the championship the next 2 years.

I can't even remember how many fights broke out in the stands. Seemed like 1 out of 5 games featured a fight big enough to grab the whole arena's attention. :laugh:

It would be awesome if Bob Strumm could be involved with the team. I think he's still a scout with Columbus.

I have to dig through all my boxes and see if I can find any Thunder jerseys to wear to the games.
 

Winston Wolf

Registered User
May 15, 2003
12,089
6,690
Philadelphia
Clint-Malarchuk-March-5-199-300x264.png


:laugh:
 

rabinsurance

Registered User
Jul 5, 2007
179
60
I seem to remember the Thunder and the Detroit Vipers playing a game at the Thomas and Mack where they tested out playing 4 15-minute quarters with a half-time, as opposed to the normal set up. Does anyone else remember this?
 

HanSolo

DJ Crazy Times
Apr 7, 2008
96,449
30,711
Las Vegas
I was never a big Wranglers fan because I didn't like the quality of the hockey but I remember being there for a prison themed jersey night between them and Bakersfield. That was a fun night. But I almost lost my Nintendo ds lol
 

segelrj

Registered User
Jun 22, 2016
33
0
Ohio via Las Vegas
I remember going to see them play Utah quite often. Tommy Salo was a damn brick wall for them against us. I was always surprised how weak mentally he looked in the NHL, because he wasn't like that at all in the IHL. I also remember hating Butch Goring. He coached the Thunder their first year and they did great. Then he left and went to the Grizzlies and they won the championship the next 2 years.

I can't even remember how many fights broke out in the stands. Seemed like 1 out of 5 games featured a fight big enough to grab the whole arena's attention. :laugh:

It would be awesome if Bob Strumm could be involved with the team. I think he's still a scout with Columbus.

I have to dig through all my boxes and see if I can find any Thunder jerseys to wear to the games.

Tommy f***in' Salo...I still have nightmares from the 1996 Turner Cup Semis because of that guy. :cry:
 

jagrisgod

Registered User
Aug 21, 2008
11
0
Had a few beers at the Double Down with the new goalie on the squad. These two girls come up and start talking to us. Ask us what we do for a living. The player says "I play goal for Las Vegas Thunder". Girls say "yeah right!" And storm off. Two hours later as we are leaving the bar we see the girls in the parking lot. He runs over, jumps up and does the splits on the hood of this girls car! That player.....Manny Legace.:yo:
 

Winston Wolf

Registered User
May 15, 2003
12,089
6,690
Philadelphia
Had a few beers at the Double Down with the new goalie on the squad. These two girls come up and start talking to us. Ask us what we do for a living. The player says "I play goal for Las Vegas Thunder". Girls say "yeah right!" And storm off. Two hours later as we are leaving the bar we see the girls in the parking lot. He runs over, jumps up and does the splits on the hood of this girls car! That player.....Manny Legace.:yo:
That's awesome.

I totally forgot Manny Legace was with the Thunder for a season.
 

702

Registered User
Jun 6, 2016
364
0
I was in elementary school when the Thunder were big. I remember I couldn't wait for the big school event when Boom Boom the polar bear mascot would come and hang out lol.
 
Jun 30, 2006
5,473
2,144
I liked the thunder hockey camps, got to play games in the TM, that was pretty cool and a massive change from the Santa Fe ice. You can tell the difference that the TM had crappy ice and the Santa Fe was more solid. So I understand when players complain about ice conditions.

Clint Malarchuk was awesome, he had a ton of stories and was a great ambassador for the team. My parents had season tickets so I went to a lot of games. It's always great to see IHL players that we watched move on to the NHL in some capacity. Todd Richards being an NHL coach was a trip, he was one of the first thunder players.

I remember the Thunder playing a Russian National team, the TM was packed to full capacity and the atmosphere was crazy.
 
Jun 30, 2006
5,473
2,144
I was in elementary school when the Thunder were big. I remember I couldn't wait for the big school event when Boom Boom the polar bear mascot would come and hang out lol.

I pushed boom boom down the stairs once, and another time kicked him in the nuts or tried to. :laugh:

A lot of kids messed with him, couldn't be an easy job. Lol
 

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