The Brzustewicz Brothers in their first pro game against each other. (Photo Credit: Ontario Reign)
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Recap: Wranglers lose lead in the third period and drop second in a row
Photo credit: Photo Credit: Christopher Mora/Ontario Reign
Oct 21, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 21, 2026, 09:36 EDT
This game was the first of likely multiple matchups between Hunter and Henry Brzustewicz this season for a brew brother battle. Hunter was fired up for this game and looked to get an edge on his little brother after losing to him in junior in a playoff series the last time they played each other.
There was no scoring and minimal stoppages through the first period then early in the second, the Wranglers got on the board first with a goal from Tyson Gross. Ontario scored their first later in the period and Rory Kerins scored in the dying seconds of the second period to regain the lead. The Reign came back and tied it early in the third then the same goalscorer, Martin Chromiak scored in the last three minutes, earning the home team a 3-2 win. The Wranglers drop their second in a row on the road.
Lineup notes
The Flames made a roster move on this game day due to the injury to Mikael Backlund. Sam Honzek needed to be placed on the injury reserve list and Wranglers leading scorer, Ben Jones was called up and travelled back to Calgary to be with the big club. This move caused line shifting and Alex Gallant slotted back into the lineup to fill the empty spot. The D-pairings stayed the same but up front was all shuffled up.
Connor Zary and his line of Dryden Hunt and Luke Philp hopped back up to the top line after being lined up as the third line last game. Sam Morton took Jones’ spot on the second line with Rory Kerins and Alex Nylander. Andrew Basha moved up a line and Tyson Gross and William Stromgren moved from the top line to the third line in this game. The Wranglers coaching staff is running with who is performing but their depth is allowing them to roll three to four lines pretty well.
Arsenii Sergeev started two games in a row last week and Kirill Zarubin is getting his turn by starting last game against the Bakersfield Condors and getting the nod for this game against the Reign. Based on the shuffle they’re going with so far, that would put Sergeev in net on Saturday and Zarubin in net on Sunday when they travel to Abbotsford.
Wranglers lines
Dryden Hunt – Connor Zary – Luke Philp
Rory Kerins – Sam Morton – Alex Nylander
Andrew Basha – Tyson Gross – William Stromgren
Alex Gallant – Carter Wilkie – Nikita Pavlychev
Mike Benning – Hunter Brzustewicz
Axel Hurtig – Brayden Pachal
Abram Wiebe – Jake Livingstone
Kirill Zarubin
Game at a glance
Zarubin was matched up against Carter George for this game and both got pretty evenly tested through the first period. It was a period played with very minimal stoppages and when the scoring chances came, the goalies didn’t hold onto the puck long and the play continued. Ontario got the first high danger chance of the game with a shot off the post around the midway mark of the period. Shortly after at the 11:30 mark, Dryden Hunt tried a deke move in front of the Reign’s net and was denied.
There weren’t any whistles until about the 14 minute mark of the period and at that point, they were able to catch up on some media timeouts. Calgary got one more chance in the dying seconds when Basha and Stromgren came up on the rush but Stromgren’s shot just narrowly missed. At the end of 20 minutes, there were no goals and no penalties and the Reign were outshooting the Wranglers 12-9.
The Reign came out with a big push to start the second period but the Wranglers were able to tame them quickly and pull momentum into their favour. At 2:22, William Stromgren made a great pass to Tyson Gross through the neutral zone and Gross roofed it to get the first goal of the game. Axel Hurtig got the secondary assist on this marker.
A smooth set up from William Stromgren and Tyson Gross finishes it with a goal.
On the next shift, Nikita Pavlychev put up a big hit and needed to answer for it. Kaleb Lawrence came to the defence of his teammate and they dropped the gloves briefly then took their fighting major penalties.
Nikita Pavlychev puts up a big hit shortly after the goal and drops the gloves with Kaleb Lawrence to answer for it
At 13:18, Hunter Brzustewicz was called for holding and just under 30 seconds into this penalty kill, the Reign scored their first goal of the game off a short side shot over the glove of Kirill Zarubin. A few minutes later, the Reign took a penalty for tripping and after this power play, the Wranglers were able to pull ahead once again. With just seven seconds to go in the period, Dryden Hunt set up Rory Kerins for a great shot from a distance. Abram Wiebe picked up the secondary assist.
Nasty work from Rory Kerins. Seems like Dryden Hunt knows it too. He picked up the primary assist.
At the end of the second period, the Wranglers were up 2-1 in goals and 19-18 in shots. The Wranglers lead would be a short one as just 18 seconds into the third period, the Reign netted one off a shot from Martin Chromiak. Calgary needed to be strong again at 3:38, when Dryden Hunt was called for roughing. Once things got back to even strength again, Zarubin made a huge save off Lane Pederson at 7:03 and kept this game even at two a side.
The score remained tied 2-2 and at 14:52, Sam Morton drew a holding call, giving the Wranglers a chance to pull ahead late in the game. The Wranglers had good pressure on the power play and managed three shots on goal but no scoring change. At 17:10, Martin Chromiak scored his second goal of the game and gave the Reign their first lead of the game late in the third. The Wranglers pulled Zarubin at 18:09 and took a timeout shortly after. The Reign managed one attempt at the empty net that went wide and Calgary wasn’t able to find that last equalizing goal. The Wranglers fell 3-2 and shots finished 26-23.
Scoring stat summary
Axel Hurtig – 1A
Abram Wiebe – 1A
Rory Kerins – 1G
William Stromgren – 1A
Dryden Hunt – 1A
Tyson Gross – 1G
Highlights
Next up
The Wranglers will play three games for the second week in a row with their next weekend series taking place in Abbotsford, BC to play the Canucks. Their next games will be on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s game gets started at 6:00 p.m. MT and Sunday’s game will be at 4:00 p.m. MT to wrap up their six game road trip.
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