Recap: Calgary Wranglers feel the call up effects in Bakersfield blow out
6 months ago
The Calgary Wranglers and Bakersfield Condors faced off on Saturday night for their AHL version of the Battle of Alberta. The Oilers and Flames’ affiliate had their own battle to duke out at the same time their parent clubs were facing off in Calgary. The Wranglers unfortunately fell in their competition as well but by a higher score differential of 7-3.
Lineup notes
Matt Coronato’s reason for his absence from Friday’s game was confirmed when the Flames announced his call-up on Saturday morning. Both he and Adam Klapka slotted in the lineup for the Flames on Saturday night against the Oilers.
Oliver Kylington on the other hand, did make the next step in his return-to-play plan but that did not include any game action at any level on Saturday. The team confirmed he completed his conditioning stint with the Wranglers and the next steps are to resume practising with the Flames and evaluate from there.
Game at a glance
Dustin Wolf was on backup duty in Calgary so he was not available for this game. Oscar Dansk got his second straight start. On the other end, Olivier Rodrigue got the nod for the Condors. Bakersfield got shots on goal very early with the first one being registered only eight seconds in. This quick start also resulted in the first goal of the night for the home team at 2:48.
Jayden Grubbe got a breakaway in the Wranglers zone and beat Dansk five-hole. Ben Jones tried to catch up to him but was not quite fast enough. The Condors got the first goal of the game and also the first penalty call of the game. This one would burn them when Rory Kerins netted one at 6:01. Cole Schwindt got the puck up to Mitch McLain, who passed it to Kerins to finish the play.
The Wranglers would be the next team to the box shortly after and the Condors gave them a taste of their own medicine. Lane Pederson scored the second goal for Bakersfield at 8:22. Pederson ripped a one-timer past Dansk and got them the lead once again.
Shortly after, the Wranglers had another penalty to kill and were successful in those efforts. They evened up the score again at 11:56 with a tally from Clark Bishop. William Stromgren fed the puck up to him right in the slot and he finished the play perfectly.
They were able to play even strength for a few minutes then the Condors pulled ahead once again with the fifth goal of the period and their third of the night. Seth Griffith came up the rush and got the puck on his stick to tap in. Another one-timer that got the best of Dansk. This goal came at 13:45.
That was the last of the scoring in a very eventful opening frame. By the end of 20 minutes, the Condors were up 3-2 and narrowly ahead 9-8 in shots. The second started quieter on the scoring front but the Condors could not be stopped. At 7:32, Seth Griffith scored his second of the night on the power play. Dansk was screened and Griffith picked a corner and connected. This put the game up to a 4-2 score.
The Wranglers kept things together for a few more minutes but were scored on once again at 16:29 then on the next play at 16:51. Ben Gleason and Max Wanner were credited with these goals. Wanner’s goal to make it a 6-2 game ended Oscar Dansk’s night. Connor Murphy came in relief to finish the second.
Murphy only had one shot to turn away and the score remained 6-2 at the end of 40 minutes. Shots in the second were 15-11 favouring Bakersfield. In the third, the Wranglers got a small amount of momentum back off a power play goal from Ben Jones at 3:57. He backhanded a rebound in and Mark Rassell and William Stromgren assisted.
Shortly after this goal, Brad Malone was called for hooking Ilya Solovyov. Malone heavily protested the call to the one-ice official and was ejected as a result. Raphael Lavoie served his hooking and unsportsmanlike conduct calls in his place.
The Wranglers did not capitalize on this sequence of events and ended up giving up another goal at 11:08 by Noel Hoeenmayer. This ended up being the only goal against Connor Murphy and Dansk was credited with the 7-3 loss when the third came to a close.
Calgary had a 10-9 edge in shots in the third but Bakersfield finished the game ahead 33-29 in the shot category. This loss dropped the Wranglers down a spot in the Pacific Division to third place and Coachella Valley overtook their second-place spot.
Next up
The Wranglers will return home to practice this week but will continue to be on the road for their upcoming games. They go back to California next weekend to face the San Jose Barracuda on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game will start at 8:00 p.m. MT and Saturday’s will start an hour earlier at 7:00 p.m. MT.
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