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Calgary Wranglers game day: Here comes the Reign again
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Photo credit: Jenn Pierce/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Mar 22, 2024, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 22, 2024, 19:53 EDT
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The Wranglers continue their busy week of hockey with a split road series this weekend. They’ll start with a game against the Ontario Reign on Friday night then travel to San Diego to face the Gulls on Sunday. The Reign sit two positions ahead of the Wranglers in the standings so even capturing points in one game will help their position in playoff qualification. 

Projected lineups

Calgary
Jakob Pelletier – Sam Morton – Ben Jones
William Stromgren – Cole Schwindt – Adam Klapka
Brett Sutter – Clark Bishop – Mitch McLain
Jonathan Aspirot – Riley Damiani – Lucas Ciona
Artem Grushnikov – Jordan Oesterle
Jeremie Poirier – Ilya Solovyov
Colton Poolman – Yan Kuznetsov
Oscar Dansk
Connor Murphy
Ontario
Forwards – Martin Chromiak, Tyler Madden, Samuel Fagemo, Akil Thomas, T.J. Tynan, Nikita Pavlychev, Hayden Hodgson, Samuel Helenius, Andre Lee, Taylor Ward, Jacob Doty, Colton Yohng, Ryan Francis, Charles Hudon, Francesco Pinelli
Defensemen – Tyle Inamoto, Kim Nousiainen, Cole Krygier, Steven Santini, Joe Hicketts, Wyatte Wylie, Luke Row, Kevin Connauton, Brandt Clarke
Goaltenders – Erik Portillo, Aaron Dell

Leaders

Calgary 
Matt Coronato – 40GP, 15G, 27A (Inactive on NHL call-up)
Ben Jones – 60GP, 19G, 20A
Adam Klapka – 54GP, 18G, 19A
Ontario
T.J. Tynan – 60GP, 8G, 47A
Samuel Fagemo – 42GP, 37G, 17A
Charles Hudon – 53GP, 19G, 30A

Notes and expectations

There hasn’t been much time since the Wranglers’ last match up but some news came out of the Flames organization on Thursday that directly affects them. Dustin Wolf has been up with the Flames covering for a minor injury to Jacob Markstrom but now, Dan Vladar has been shut down for the rest of the season to undergo hip surgery. This will leave Wolf up with the Flames for the remainder of the regular season. This means it’s up to Oscar Dansk and Connor Murphy to hold things down at the AHL level to try and qualify for post-season play.
By the numbers, Oscar Dansk has played in 22 games this season with a 10-9-2 record. His save percentage sits at .899 and his GAA is at 3.17. Connor Murphy is up to seven games on the year with a 1-2-2 record. His numbers top the goaltending group but he has played in significantly fewer games. As it stands, he is at a 2.37 GAA and a .927 save percentage. 
Wolf does have a large part in the identity of the Wranglers but they are not completely powerless without him. Dansk and Murphy have risen to the occasion in times of need and helped earn Calgary three out of a possible four points in their last series against the Bakersfield Condors.
Speaking of their last series, a couple of good news stories arose out of that pair of games. The projected lineup is no typo. Jonathan Aspirot is actually playing the wing with the depth they have on the blue line now. He needs to be in the lineup every night and even at a forward position, he has excelled. Aspirot sits sixth in team scoring and registered a goal off a penalty shot in his first game off the blue line.
The other positive storyline is Sam Morton. Morton has had the week of his life signing his first professional contract, playing his first professional game, picking up the primary assist on the game-winner in his first game and scoring his first goal in the league in just his second game. Not to mention, he also casually made the top 10 finalists for this year’s Hobey Baker Award. Morton is on a heater and has been a complimentary piece to the top line alongside Jakob Pelletier and Ben Jones.
There’s a lot to get excited about in this Friday night game in Ontario, CA. Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. MT and you can follow along with the stream for a fee on AHL.tv. FlamesNation contributors Mike Gould and I will have updates on X (formerly Twitter).

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