Connor Zary wasted no time making his AHL return count.
Back in the Calgary Wranglers lineup for the first time since the 2023-24 season, Zary scored the opening goal and helped push Calgary to a 2-1 win over the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday night. Ben Jones added his first goal of the season, and the Wranglers protected the lead the rest of the way to stretch their winning streak to three.
The game also marked the first AHL appearance for Brayden Pachal since the 2022-23 season with the Henderson Silver Knights, and his first as a Wrangler. Calgary also had Carter Wilkie and Alex Gallant in the lineup for their first games of the season after Jonathan Castagna and Aydar Suniev were called up to the Flames this week. Kent Anderson and Will Dineen came out to make room.
Arsenii Sergeev handled the crease for Calgary against Matt Tomkins, and the first period belonged more to the goalies than the score sheet. The Wranglers got the game’s first power play at 4:45 after a Bakersfield tripping call, but that advantage was cut short when Mike Benning went off for tripping while quarterbacking the top unit.
Sam Morton nearly broke through at 7:07 on a breakaway, but Tomkins shut it down. Bakersfield was later penalized for high-sticking at 18:10, and the period ended scoreless with Calgary ahead 10-7 in shots.
The second period finally brought a breakthrough. After Calgary’s brief carryover power-play time disappeared quickly, Hunter Brzustewicz was whistled for tripping at 4:55, giving Bakersfield a chance to build some pressure. Calgary steadied itself, though, and at 10:34 Zary finished a feed from Dryden Hunt to open the scoring.
Calgary kept pressing from there. Rory Kerins had a dangerous look at 16:11, stretching to settle a pass before Tomkins turned away his breakaway chance.
Then came a scrappy neutral-zone sequence at 16:58 that ended with a Bakersfield roughing call. The Wranglers cashed in at 17:59 when Brzustewicz fired from the point and Jones redirected it in, with William Stromgren picking up the secondary assist.
That 2-0 cushion held into the third, but Bakersfield made it interesting early. Quinn Hutson, the Condors’ former rookie all-star and now sophomore, beat Sergeev at 5:11 by ringing a shot off both posts.
From there, Calgary spent much of the next stretch controlling the zone and managing the clock. Dryden Hunt took a tripping penalty at 10:09, and at 12:08 Axel Hurtig was called for hooking while Tucker Robertson received a diving/embellishment call, creating a short stretch of shorthanded and four-on-four hockey.
Bakersfield pressed late, pulling Tomkins at 17:17 and forcing Calgary to defend for more than two minutes. Sam Morton eventually got the puck out and iced it, and after a reset the Wranglers used their timeout to settle things down.
Bakersfield answered with one of its own. Brett Sutter said the closing stretch was “the longest two minutes and a half minutes of my life,” and Calgary held on.
The Wranglers finished with a 26-22 edge in shots. Sergeev earned the third star, Jones the second, and Zary the first.
Afterward, Zary reflected on the return with a clear sense of relief and enjoyment:
“It felt awesome. I think to score, to win, to be playing in a tight game at the end where things matter and every little play matters was exciting.
That’s what you live for right? Like I’m here to play hockey.
I’m here to have fun and when you can enjoy moments like that and the boys are up on the bench because someone blocked a shot in a 2-1 game, that’s the best part about it. So I think that was a lot of fun for me and I think just mentally kind of overcoming a couple of hurdles over the last week has been a lot, but to get out there and play hockey and win a game, it’s all fun.”
Next up, Calgary gets a day off before returning to the Saddledome on Sunday for its first afternoon game of the season. Puck drop is set for 1:00 p.m. MT as the Wranglers try to make it four straight wins to open the homestand.
In Other News...
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Flames May Be Near A Brutal Decision On Connor Zary
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Now the pressure is on to find a trade before the situation gets uglier. Zarys contract can be bought out at one-third value, which would leave Calgary with a $600,000 cap charge for two more seasons, and contract termination remains on the table if nothing materializes. For a team already trying to sort out its lineup and its books, it is the kind of decision that can linger well beyond one players spot on the roster. [Read more 🡒]