Tyson Gross scored twice, but the Calgary Wranglers couldn’t dig all the way out of an early hole and dropped a 6-4 decision to the Colorado Eagles on Saturday.
Calgary was trying to finish off the back end of a back-to-back after taking game one against Colorado’s affiliate, but the Eagles came out flying and built a 3-0 lead before the Wranglers found their footing. The comeback effort got real in the second period, when Gross, Dryden Hunt and Rory Kerins all scored to pull Calgary within one. But Colorado answered again in the third, and the Wranglers never quite got the equalizer before an empty-netter sealed it.
The lineup had a wrinkle before puck drop. With Kevin Bahl a last-minute scratch for the Flames on Friday because of injury, there was a chance Calgary might also be short a defenceman if the big club needed help on the blue line.
That ended up being the case, as Brayden Pachal was out for this one. No transaction has been confirmed.
Kyle Walker stepped in on defence, while Arsenii Sergeev got the start in goal with Kirill Zarubin backing him up after Owen Say had picked up the win the night before.
Sergeev’s night started with a nightmare. Colorado scored on its first shot of the game just 22 seconds in, with Adam Beckman opening the scoring right away. The Eagles kept pressing, and while Sam Morton got Calgary’s first look with a backhand attempt after spinning into the slot, the Wranglers were mostly on their heels early.
Colorado nearly added another at 5:20 when Beckman tried a wraparound and thought he had sneaked it through, but after review the goal was waved off. Calgary then killed off the game’s first penalty, a holding call against Alex Gallant at 8:18, but the Eagles struck soon after anyway. On a three-on-one rush, Alex Gagne blasted a bar-down shot past Sergeev at 11:10.
Just 54 seconds later, Beckman scored again, and that was the end of Sergeev’s night. He was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots, and the Wranglers called timeout before turning to Zarubin.
At that point, Calgary had only three shots on goal. The period did settle a bit from there, and Axel Hurtig tried to spark his side by dropping the gloves with Cooper Gay at 17:02.
The first period got even tougher late when Hunter Brzustewicz was called for slashing at 18:43, sending Calgary to the penalty kill to start the second. The Wranglers were still down 3-0 when the middle frame opened, but they finally started to push back.
Colorado scored again just 17 seconds into the second on a redirected one-timer from Gavin Bridnley, stretching the lead to 4-0. Calgary then got a little room at 3:52 when Mike Benning and Taylor Makar were handed offsetting minors after a collision near Zarubin’s crease. Benning was called for slashing, Makar for goaltender interference.
The turning point for Calgary came shortly after. On a delayed penalty sequence at 6:31, the Wranglers generated pressure in the offensive zone and Tyson Gross finished the play by poking the puck into the net at 7:05. Sam Morton and Dryden Hunt got the assists.
That opened the door. At 8:50, Hunt found space in the slot and ripped a shot top shelf to make it a two-goal game. Alex Nylander and Ben Jones assisted on the goal.
Calgary kept chipping away, and at 16:12 Rory Kerins drove to the crease and beat Miner to cut the deficit to one. Andrew Basha and Axel Hurtig picked up the assists. The Wranglers kept the pressure on through the rest of the period, and after 40 minutes they had climbed back to within 4-3 while also pulling ahead in shots 26-22.
Colorado got the next big bounce early in the third. Nikita Prishchepov scored off a rebound 2:33 into the period to restore a two-goal cushion.
The Wranglers kept working for another answer, though they took a hit around the eight-minute mark when Nikita Pavlychev took a puck to the face on a clearing attempt by the Eagles and left the ice to be treated. He did not appear to return.
Calgary got a power play at 12:26 when Alex Gagne was called for hooking, and it paid off at 13:19. Ben Jones fired the shot, Tyson Gross got the last touch, and the puck slipped past Miner to bring the Wranglers back within one.
The goal was originally credited to Jones before being changed to Gross. Luke Philp and Jones were awarded the assists, and Philp reached a milestone with his 100th AHL assist.
The Wranglers had one more power play chance at 16:50 and pulled Zarubin for a six-on-four at 17:29, but they couldn’t cash in. Colorado eventually iced it with an empty-net goal with 16 seconds left.
Calgary finished with 30 shots to Colorado’s 37, but the Eagles made their early chances count and held on for the 6-4 win.
Gross finished with two goals, while Hunt had a goal and an assist. Kerins scored once, and the assists were spread across Morton, Jones, Philp, Basha, Nylander and Hurtig.
The road trip rolls on next week with a stop in California. The Wranglers will play one game in Bakersfield against the Condors on Tuesday before heading to Nevada later in the week to face the Silver Knights.
Puck drop for the next one is set for 8:40 p.m. ABT.
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