Coming off their first win in eight games, the Calgary Wranglers (30-18-4-2) found themselves in a rematch against the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday night at Saddledome, with the visitors avenging a previous night’s defeat by emerging with a 8-4 victory.
Ultimately, it was a game of bad bounces, snipe shots, and special teams. Abbotsford was nearly perfect on the power play, going 3-for-4 and scoring man advantage goals on starter Devin Cooley and his replacement Waltteri Ignatjew.
Outside of the non matching penalties the Canucks took, they played a much cleaner game as the Wranglers didn’t capitalize on their three power-play opportunities.
Despite the lopsided score, Calgary finally had a chance to reconnect their new top line of Rory Kerins, Martin Frk, and Dryden Hunt.
Kerins had the Wranglers’ second goal at 1:29 of the second period and their third goal at 3:56 of the third. Meanwhile, Hunt netted his 13th of the year at 4:35 of the final frame after a lengthy review.
Although the Wranglers got within two goals at the beginning of the third, things unravelled much earlier, in the second after Kerin’s first of the night, as the Canucks scored three in a span of 2:15 to open the flood gates.
Once Abbotsford captain Chase Wouters made it 4-2 at 6:30, interim head coach Joe Cirella opted to switch Cooley for Ignatjew, with the starter finishing the night with 14 saves on 18 shots (.777 SV%).
Coming in cold off the bench, Ignatjew gave up two power-play goals on the first two shots he faced before settling in to make 12 saves in relief.
As mentioned, Hunt made things interesting at 6-4, but Danila Klimovich sealed the deal with a goal at 9:56 and then an empty net tally at 16:04. After that, the game was way out of hand and the two teams combined for six penalties in the game’s final three minutes.
For the second straight night, Abbotsford scored first with a Cole McWard tally at 6:27 of the first. Calgary tied it less than three minutes later when Parker Bell netted his sixth of the season, and second of the weekend at 9:03.
The visitors regained the lead at 10:20 when Akito Hirose scored, going up 3-1 with an Aatu Räty tally at 13:56. Thanks to a late surge with a couple of scoring opportunities, the Wranglers were only outshot 12-10 in the opening frame. Overall, despite the four goal difference on the scoreboard, Calgary was competitive, only outshot 34-29.
Things are getting rather tight in the Pacific Division, as the Wranglers remain in second place, as the Colorado Eagles leapfrogged everyone into first place with 67 points. However, the Coachella Valley Firebirds are now tied with Calgary with 66 points apiece, and the two teams will meet at the Saddledome for a two-game set that begins on Tuesday.