Ferraro twins expect to return to Wranglers

By Rob Miech

Thursday, July 17, 2008 | 1:55 p.m.

Identical twins Chris and Peter Ferraro received verbal offers from Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan a week ago and expect to return to the team for the upcoming season.

Signing contracts, according to Chris Ferraro, is a mere formality.

“It’s always more comforting when you sign on the dotted line, just so it’s there,” he said. “But, obviously, ‘Gully’ is as true to his word as anyone. It’s not something we worry about.”

While recruiting in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Thursday, Gulutzan confirmed that the Ferraros most likely will return to the Wranglers in the fall.

He said Peter Ferraro, a right wing who led Las Vegas with 73 points last season and powered them to a ECHL Kelly Cup Finals appearance against Cincinnati, showed interest in coming back soon after the season ended.

Gulutzan was a bit more hesitant about Chris Ferraro, who missed a big chunk of the season after getting blind-sided by Victoria thug Chris Gomez on March 1.

Chris Ferraro returned toward the end of the series with Cincinnati.

“We still have to talk about that a little,” Gulutzan said. “He’ll probably be back in some capacity.”

A case against Gomez is somewhere in the Canadian court system. Ferraro said he has not heard anything about it for a couple months. He expects to testify at some point.

The Ferraros leave for home in Port Jefferson, N.Y., to conduct camps for a month.

The Wranglers have made the playoffs in four of their five seasons. Each time, they lost to the eventual Kelly Cup champion.

“The season didn’t end the way we would have like it to, but Cincinnati did an excellent job,” said Chris Ferraro. “They did their homework on us and got some tough goaltending.

“Everyone here was disappointed, but it wasn’t like it was an upset. My brother and I have established a home here and this is where our hearts are.”