Jonathan Castagna made sure the Calgary Wranglers’ season opener ended with a smile.
Calgary opened the 2026-27 campaign at home against the Abbotsford Canucks and never trailed in a 4-2 win, getting goals from Castagna, Tyson Gross and Mike Benning before Castagna iced it with an empty-netter late in the third period. The Wranglers were sharp right from the start, scored three of the game’s first four goals, and held off an Abbotsford push that made things interesting down the stretch.
The night also brought some news before the puck dropped. During the pre-game introductions, the Wranglers unveiled their updated leadership group, with Rory Kerins named the third captain in team history. The alternate captains are Ben Jones, Sam Morton, Dryden Hunt and Alex Gallant.
Castagna wasted little time setting the tone. Calgary’s first shot of the game ended up in the net at 5:13 when he banked a puck off the end boards and finished the chance, with Jake Livingstone and Luke Philp drawing the assists.
A few minutes later, the Wranglers were killing off a penalty to Sam Morton, and that didn’t slow them down for long. At 11:30, Tyson Gross snapped one upstairs after being set up by Dryden Hunt and Alex Nylander.
Morton went back to the box 32 seconds later on a tripping call, but Calgary’s penalty kill stayed clean again. The Wranglers also got their first power play at 15:12 after Anri Ravinskis was called for slashing, though that chance came and went without changing the score. After 20 minutes, Calgary had the 2-0 lead and a 9-3 edge in shots.
Abbotsford came out with more pressure in the second period, but the Wranglers answered quickly. At 1:46, Mike Benning’s point shot took a deflection in front and slipped through for Calgary’s third goal of the night. Ben Jones and Alex Nylander picked up the assists, giving Nylander his second helper of the game.
The Canucks kept pushing after that, and the middle frame eventually produced their first goal. After Nikita Tolopilo tripped Sam Morton on a scoring chance at 10:19, Calgary’s power play was interrupted when Hunter Brzustewicz was called for interference at 11:21. Once both penalties passed, Abbotsford kept applying pressure, and at 18:18 Trey Fix-Wolansky’s shot created a rebound that Ty Mueller buried.
That made it 3-1 after two, and the third period turned into a grind. Rory Kerins was assessed a cross-checking penalty to carry over from the end of the second, and Abbotsford continued to spend time in Calgary’s end. The Canucks got back within one at 8:15 when Jimmy Schuldt scored after a tripping call against Kirill Kudryavtsev had expired.
Calgary had two power-play chances in the third, including one at 9:48, but couldn’t generate much on either. Abbotsford pulled Nikita Tolopilo with 2:08 left, and Castagna made the visitors pay at 18:27 with his second goal of the night. Will Dineen earned the assist on the empty-netter.
Afterward, Castagna admitted the idea of a third goal was on his mind. He said:
“I mean, it definitely crossed my mind. I’m sure you can ask the guy I hit in the side of the face.
I think he felt that I was trying to get the third one too. But it in hindsight maybe could’ve been a little chip out of the zone there but emotions got the best of me and I went for it.”
The Wranglers closed out the final 90 seconds and finished with the 4-2 victory. Abbotsford actually ended up ahead in shots, 32-21, while Calgary managed only four shots in the third period. Still, the Wranglers took all three stars: Arsenii Sergeev was third, Castagna second, and Benning first.
The rematch comes Saturday at 5:00 p.m. MT at the Scotiabank Saddledome, with the parent clubs set to meet later that night as well.
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The bigger question now is what happens when Demko is ready to return. Vancouver will have to sort through its goalie picture at a time when Merilinen has made a strong early case to stay in the mix, and that kind of unexpected depth can quickly turn into a roster puzzle. For a team that had been watching him since the summer, the timing has only made the conversation more complicated. [Read more 🡒]