The Calgary Wranglers walked out of Bakersfield with a 4-2 win on Tuesday, and they did it by getting goals at the right times and hanging on through a late push from the Condors.
Ben Jones opened the scoring just 5:11 into the game after Alex Nylander forced a turnover and set him up to finish the play. From there, Calgary spent much of the first period on the front foot, outshooting Bakersfield 13-8 after 20 minutes and carrying a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
The middle frame turned into a parade to the penalty box. The Wranglers killed off the rest of Dryden Hunt’s interference minor to start the period, then got a five-on-three when John Gormley was called for hooking at 2:10 and Tucker Robertson was whistled for delay of game at 2:55. Calgary couldn’t cash in, even with Dryden Hunt generating the best looks on the power play.
The penalties kept coming. Bakersfield was called for hooking at 7:33, then at 10:12 Will Dineen dropped the gloves with John Gormley after Ben Jones was hit awkwardly behind the Condors’ net. Both players got fighting majors, and Dineen also picked up an extra minor for unsportsmanlike conduct that Alex Nylander served.
Bakersfield finally broke through at 14:48 when Eduards Tralmaks buried a rebound, but the Wranglers answered with pressure of their own and kept piling up the shots. By the end of the second, the game was tied 1-1, and Calgary had built a 31-18 edge in shots.
The third period belonged to the Wranglers. Carter Wilkie gave Calgary the lead back at 8:27, poking in a loose puck at the doorstep for his second goal of the season. Nikita Pavlychev and Jake Livingstone picked up the assists.
Then Dineen added some breathing room at 13:16, scoring his first goal as a Wrangler by getting a piece of Livingstone’s shot from the crease. Tyson Gross got the secondary assist.
Bakersfield made things interesting when Kyle Walker was called for tripping just after that, and the Condors used the power play to pull their goalie for a six-on-four. That move paid off at 15:48 when Tralmaks scored his second of the night on a five-hole shot.
But Calgary finished the job at 19:13, when Rory Kerins hit the empty net to seal it. Livingstone earned his third assist of the game on the play.
Owen Say got the start for Calgary in his second appearance of the season and stayed unbeaten in the AHL. Samuel Jonsson started for Bakersfield before giving way later in the game. The Wranglers finished with a 45-29 shot advantage, and Ben Jones took third star honors while Dineen was named the second star.
Calgary’s lineup featured 11 forwards and seven defencemen, which gave Tyson Feist his first game as a Wrangler on the blue line. Kent Anderson was sent to Rapid City, and Feist was called up to help rotate the depth.
Brayden Pachal has also since been sent to the Flames to help cover for the season-ending injury to Kevin Bahl. The Wranglers are still carrying three goaltenders.
The Wranglers are back in action Thursday against the Henderson Silver Knights. That two-game set continues Saturday, with Thursday’s puck drop set for 9:00 p.m.
ABT and Saturday’s for 8:00 p.m. ABT.
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