Wranglers have great excuse for bad hair

To pay tribute to his grandfather, a prostate cancer survivor, Wranglers left wing Josh Lunden grows a mustache each November.

Along with Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel and 12 of his teammates, Lunden is one of hundreds of thousands of men worldwide who have sprouted staches for Movember - an annual mustache-growing charity event held in November that raises awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

"It's kind of fun to grow out your mustaches for such a well-known cause," Lunden said. "My grandfather was affected by that, so it hits close to home. It's something I do every year, and it's something that's important to my family."

Mougenel also has a personal connection to the cause. His close friend and former teammate Mike Tamburro lost his father, Rock, to prostate cancer more than a decade ago.

According to the American Cancer Society, one man in six will get prostate cancer during his lifetime, and one in 36 will die of the disease.

"It's something that affects so many men," Mougenel said. "One thing we can always do is give back. It's a good thing to do, to create awareness for something that affects everybody."

While there's nothing comical about cancer, there is something funny about growing a mustache - or trying to, in the case of several Wranglers.

"I hate it. It gets in your food, it's annoying and I'm actually looking forward to shaving it off," Mougenel said. "It hasn't been too lucky. (My wife) hates it and my (7-month-old) daughter hates it. Everybody will be glad when it's gone."

An informal poll in the Las Vegas locker room had Lunden, Mike Madill and Sean Wiles setting the handlebar for the team's best mustaches, while Geoff Paukovich's and Judd Blackwater's were the worst.

"Hey, is that Tom Selleck over there?" Paukovich playfully called out to Wiles, who took the comment as a compliment.

"It's kind of fun walking around with a mustache," Wiles said. "I might go Mocember."

As for Paukovich's barely visible thin, blond attempt at facial hair, Wiles said, "Pauko has got an awful mustache. It hasn't grown in two weeks."

Said the 6-foot-4-inch Paukovich: "I don't have any excuses. I just can't grow a mustache that makes me look older than 15."

If Wiles is the second coming of "Magnum, P.I." - or late Queen singer Freddie Mercury, take your pick - then team captain Madill must be Burt Reynolds Jr.

Blackwater wishes he could grow a thick forest of facial hair under his nose like "Anchorman" Ron Burgundy, but the best he could do was sprout a couple of weeds.

"Judd's is the worst," Mougenel said. "It's kind of a predatory mustache."

Andrew Sarauer was doing his best to avoid that look.

"I bring it down on the sides a little bit or else I'd look like too much of a creep," he said. "I kind of like a beard better, just because it's not as creepy."

Bretton Stamler wore a beard until Wednesday - when he shaved it for a Movember team photo - in a futile attempt to camouflage his blond "muzzy," one of many monikers for a mustache.

"I had a beard because it looks so brutal being seen in public with this thing," he said. "It's blond, so you can't even see it. If you take a picture of it, you've got to zoom in.

"(My girlfriend) doesn't like it. When I shaved, she wasn't too impressed."

Besides a muzzy, Wranglers players referred to their staches as a caterpillar and a cookie duster, while other nicknames include a soup strainer, flavor saver, lip sweater and misplaced eyebrow.

A mustache is referred to as a mo in Australia, where Movember started in 2004. The worldwide movement raised $299 million, including $126.3 million last year.

The Wranglers (6-7-3) wore special Movember jerseys in Friday's 2-1 shootout loss Orlando (9-9-3) at Orleans Arena that were auctioned off during the game to benefit the Nevada Cancer Coalition.

November is over, but the Movember fundraising competition will continue until Dec. 9. To donate, visit movember.com. The Wranglers' team page is at us.movember.com/team/503513.

While most players planned to shave their staches in short order, Lunden wasn't so sure.

"I might go another month," he said. "I'm not 100 percent sold on shaving it yet."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.