The Calgary Wranglers split their weekend series with the Abbotsford Canucks, losing 5-1 on Saturday night.
On Saturday night, the Calgary Wranglers fell to the Abbotsford Canucks by a 5-1 score, the opposite of what happened between the two Pacific Division rivals on Friday night.
Interestingly, Wranglers interim head coach Brett Sutter started Devin Cooley for the second straight night, following his stellar 30-save performance from the previous night.
The visitors jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Martin Frk tallied his 16th of the season at 17:21, thanks to an assist from Sam Morton.
While battling for the puck along the boards, Morton fed Frk in the slot and, with a Canucks' defender on his back, managed to snipe one over the glove of Nikita Tolopilo.
It was the only goal the Wranglers managed to get past Tolopilo, who finished the night with 27 saves.
Meanwhile, Calgary's lead evaporated 49 seconds later when Aatu Raty tied things up at 1-1 at 18:10.
Things further unraveled for the Wranglers in the second period, with the Canucks scoring three goals from Arshdeep Bains (13:31), Dino Kambeitz (14:41), and Max Sasson (17:19). Bains netted his second in as many nights, while Sasson's tally came on the power play.
Down 4-1 in the late stages of the third period, Sutter pulled Cooley, and Kirill Kudryavtsev scored an empty net goal at 16:05 to seal the victory, reversing the score from Friday night's contest.
Ahead of his trip to Palm Desert, CA, for the AHL All-Star Classic, Cooley finished his night with 24 saves. He's now 1-2-0 since returning from an injury that sidelined him for two weeks.
Despite the loss to the Canucks, who remain sixth in the AHL's Pacific Division, the Wranglers head into the break with the best record in the Western Conference at 29-14-2-0. Their 60 points rank second in the league behind the Hershey Bears (61 points).
Milestone Night
When Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary got injured on Jan. 7, the NHL team called up Rory Kerins, the Wranglers' top scorer, with 34 points in 34 games.
The AHL All-Star went to the NHL and played in five games, collecting four assists. He was reassigned back to the Wranglers earlier in the week and was in the lineup for Friday's contest in Abbotsford, which just happened to be game No. 99.
The 22-year-old sixth-round pick skated in his 100th AHL Game on Saturday night. Although Kerins hasn't scored in his return, he's still on pace for a 30-goal and 60-point season.
