ICE WARRIORS: Mustangs reach the top

In less than three years, the Las Vegas Mustangs 17-and-younger ice hockey team has evolved from being one of the worst squads on the West Coast to being one of the best.

After rising from the depths of a 4-35-2 campaign two years ago to an impressive 35-15-2 record last season, the Mustangs, comprised of high school players from across Southern Nevada, have continued to excel this year.

The Mustangs, who went 11-1-3 to win their Southwest League -- which features teams from Phoenix, Ariz., Los Angeles, San Diego, Long Beach and San Jose, Calif., and Utah -- were 44-9-3 overall, at press time.

The Mustangs, who are slated to host a tournament from Feb. 22-24 at the Santa Fe Ice Arena against some of the top teams in the West, already have several quality wins on their resume.

They beat a national prep power, Shattuck St. Mary's, and several other prominent high school teams at a prestigious national tournament in December in Denver and recently won two of three games against the Los Angeles Kings' high school team.

"It was huge," said former pro hockey player Rob Pallin, director of the Santa Fe Ice Arena and head coach of the Mustangs. "It kind of put us on the map and opened up a lot of doors. They're really playing well and getting national exposure.

"It's going to help the kids get noticed, as far as their college careers go, and it's helped the kids believe they can play at the top level. It's just something how youth talent in hockey (in Las Vegas) is getting better and better."

Pallin, who played with Brett Hull, said beating Shattuck St. Mary's was as impressive as beating the Kings.

"That was huge, just because of the fact those kids are recruited from all over the United States and pay $20,000 a year to go to school, and I have kids who were born and raised in Las Vegas," he said.

Micah Sanford recently became the first lifelong Las Vegan to earn a Division I scholarship to play hockey (University of Nebraska, Omaha) and Pallin said several of his players could follow suit.

"There's a lot of talented kids on this team and a lot of these kids will be playing Division I hockey one day," he said. "I've been there before and some of these kids are better than I was at the high school level."

Josh Jasek and Adam Naglich are the Mustangs' top two scorers. Jasek, a 6-foot junior at Mojave, scored 42 goals and dished out 52 assists in the season's first 52 games while Naglich, a 6-foot senior at Bonanza, had 33 goals and 39 assists.

"Josh is just a really hard-working, very skilled player. He finds the net (from) anywhere (on the ice) and he's one of the strongest kids I've ever seen play," Pallin said. "He's quick, he's fast and he's tough. He's just a great all-around player anyone would want on their team. He has the whole package -- he has size, he can shoot, he can pass, he's intimidating and he's a great leader and captain of the team."

Naglich was one of the top roller hockey players in town until he switched to ice hockey two years ago.

"It's unbelievable the strides this kid has made in just his second year playing ice hockey. The kid's phenomenal," Pallin said. "He's a wizard with the puck, he sees the ice very well and he's a really scrappy player. He's really strong on the puck and he has great hands.

"You can have a lot of talented roller hockey players and some don't adjust to ice hockey, but this kid has really dedicated himself. He really has what it takes to go on to the next level."

The balanced Mustangs also feature several other strong scorers, including Ed Samuels, J.C. Caron and Eddie DelGrosso.

Samuels, a sophomore at Palo Verde, is third on the team in scoring despite being, at 15, the youngest player on the squad. Samuels had 24 goals and 38 assists at press time.

Caron, a senior at Cimarron-Memorial, had 16 goals and 27 assists while Del Grosso, a junior at Vo Tech, had 14 goals and 24 assists as a defenseman.

Paul Lowden and Cody Fulwiler have split time in net for the Mustangs. Lowden, a senior at The Meadows, was 15-2-1 at press time while Fulwiler, a junior at Mojave, was 26-6-2.

Lowden, 6-feet, 180 pounds, missed part of the season with a broken leg, but has played well since returning.

"He's just a top-notch goalie. It's just the start of his career, but I can see him having a wonderful junior career and playing college hockey somewhere," Pallin said. "He gets great grades, so I could see him playing in the Ivy League. He's a big kid in the nets and he's fast as a cat."

Justin Grossman, who graduated from Palo Verde last year, and Shawn Darby, a senior at Green Valley, have played on the Mustangs since they started.

The Mustangs also feature Travis Roseberry, a senior at Cimarron-Memorial who was one of the team's leading scorers last year before suffering a knee injury.

Other players on the team include Spike Neely, Josh Shiode, Sean Fox, Mike Sullivan, Steve Novotny, T.J. Craig, Chris Anderson and Justin Johnson.

"What we're really gearing up for is our regionals, because we want to win nationals," Pallin said. "There's never been a Las Vegas team to ever be represented at the national tournament."


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