logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Recap: Wranglers win Wednesday scoring battle in an unconventional daytime game
alt
Photo credit: Photo Credit: Andreea Cardani/San Jose Barracuda
Paige Siewert
Oct 15, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 15, 2026, 02:19 EDT
Comments
The Calgary Wranglers played on Wednesday in an unconventional mid-morning weekday game in San Jose. The Barracuda hosted a special game for students to be able to attend on field trips and they were a loud crowd in this rink. It was a scoring battle in this first meeting between these Pacific Division teams and the winners only really revealed themselves in the last minute. The Wranglers scored in the last minute and put this game away with an empty net goal shortly after beating the San Jose Sharks affiliate 6-4. 

Lineup notes

There were a couple of changes from the Wranglers’ last game against the Bakersfield Condors on Sunday. Alex Gallant came out of the lineup and Nikita Pavlychev slotted in on the fourth line in his spot for his first game as a Wrangler. Luke Philp and William Stromgren switched lines and Calgary went back to Arsenii Sergeev to start this game. 

Wranglers lines

Connor Zary – Ben Jones – Alex Nylander
Dryden Hunt – Rory Kerins – Luke Philp
Sam Morton – Tyson Gross – William Stromgren
Nikita Pavlychev – Carter Wilkie – Andrew Basha
Abram Wiebe – Mike Benning
Jake Livingstone – Hunter Brzustewicz
Axel Hurtig – Brayden Pachal
Arsenii Sergeev

Game at a glance

Sergeev was put up against Eric Comrie for the goaltending match-up in this game and the Wranglers tested the Barracuda netminder right from the hop. Dryden Hunt and William Stromgren had grade-A chances in the opening minute and Ben Jones, Connor Zary, and Alex Nylander followed up with high danger chances of their own a few minutes later. When it came around for Captain Rory Kerins to get ahead of the defence and try a shot, he was slashed before he could finish his shot and the Wranglers got the first power play of the game at 9:50. 
This power play only lasted 16 seconds when Hunter Brzustewicz was called for high-sticking. Calgary ended up shorthanded at 11:21 and down two blueliners at 11:21, when Jake Livingstone was called for hooking. This special teams sequence didn’t do damage to the score but it did build up the momentum for the Barracuda to score their first and take away from the Wranglers’ strong start. At 15:23, Andre Gasseau scored the opening goal for the home team with a quick release on a partial breakaway that beat Sergeev blocker side. 
At 16:05, coincidental roughing minors were called against Ben Jones and Anthony Vincent. Shortly after these two were released from the box, Jones got the Wranglers on the board at 19:38 before the period came to an end. Jones buried a rebound from Mike Benning and Connor Zary picked up the secondary assist.
By the end of the first period, it was a 1-1 tie and the Wranglers had a slight 12-11 edge in shots. Before the first minute elapsed in the second period, Dryden Hunt and Filip Bystedt were sent to the box. Hunt for holding the stick and Bystedt for high-sticking. Things were pretty tame while these teams were on a four on four but the pressure rose around the five minute mark and Sergeev had to be solid. He was and prevented the Barracuda from taking the lead. 
Instead, it was Sam Morton who would score next at 7:06, by screening the front of the net and pushing the puck over the line. His goal was assisted by Brayden Pachal (for his first AHL point of the season) and William Stromgren. 
This kicked off a chaos of goals in the second period that was followed up by Thomas Messineo’s first AHL goal with a bar down goal at 8:29, then Andre Gasseau’s second goal of the game at 12:15 with a rebound chip-in and the home team was right back on top. At 14:42, the Wranglers retaliated with a goal from Tyson Gross assisted by Brayden Pachal and William Stromgren once again.
50 seconds later, the Wranglers earned the lead back with a goal from Dryden Hunt for his first marker of the season off a one-timer Luke Philp set him up for. Hunter Brzustewicz picked up the secondary assist on this goal at 15:32.
Before the end of the period though, the Barracuda tied it right back up with a goal from Brett Leason at 17:11, who capitalized on a Wranglers turnover. That wrapped up the six goal second period and by the second intermission, it was a 4-4 game and the Wranglers were up 22-21 in shots. 
The third period was much more contained on the scoring side and the teams were buckling down to try and find the lead again while not giving up any more on the other end. At 2:55, Carter Wilkie was called for delay of game. This was killed off and the Wranglers got a power play when the Barracuda were called for too many men at the five minute mark. 
Calgary and San Jose traded chances after these power plays and another pair of offsetting penalties were called against Dryden Hunt and Tye Felhaber for roughing. It remained a 4-4 game down to the last minute and it looked like this game might need at least an extra frame to decide it. Instead, at 19:10, Connor Zary took a clutch shot and Alex Nylander got the tip on it to take a 5-4 lead and score his first goal as a Wrangler. 
San Jose ended up pulling Comrie for the extra attacker at 19:23, and Sam Morton sealed this game four seconds later with an empty net goal assisted by Brayden Pachal. 
The Wranglers protected this lead for the last 30 seconds and secured the 6-4 win. Shots finished 35-31 for Calgary and Sam Morton was the only Wrangler on the three stars, picking up the second star for his two goal game.

Scoring stat summary

Mike Benning – 1A
William Stromgren – 2A
Dryden Hunt – 1G
Ben Jones – 1G
Tyson Gross – 1G
Luke Philp – 1A
Sam Morton – 2G
Connor Zary – 2A
Hunter Brzustewicz – 1A
Alex Nylander – 1G
Brayden Pachal – 3A

Highlights

Next up

These teams have a day apart between games, then will run it right back on Friday night. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. MT on Friday as the Wranglers look for a sweep in this first road series.

This article is presented by Jason.Mortgage

A Better Mortgage Starts With the Right Question
What are you actually trying to accomplish? Most people don’t want a mortgage. They want a first home, a bigger one, a rental property, or breathing room on their debt.
Jason starts with that question.
A mortgage broker for more than 20 years and named one of Canada’s top 30 mortgage brokers by Canadian Mortgage Professional magazine, Jason works with Dominion Lending Centres A.I.M.I. Collective, serving clients across Alberta and British Columbia. His clients include first-time buyers, move-up families, self- employed business owners, investors and homeowners looking to refinance.
He lays out the real options, makes a clear recommendation, and does the legwork so the right lender says yes.
Ready to talk it through? Contact Jason at www.jason.mortgage.
Daily FaceoffPuckPedia
News
MORE NEWS. IN YOUR INBOX.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Breaking News

calgary-flames
Calgary FlamesTeam Cap Summary
PuckPedia

Cap Summary

2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$89,682,143
$69,841,666
Projected Cap Space
$14,317,857
$43,658,334
Current Cap Space
$15,517,677
$43,658,334
Active Players
23/23
16/23

Draft Picks

Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
2
1