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Wranglers Series Preview: More cross-divisional action against the Moose
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Photo credit: Angela Burger/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Jan 3, 2025, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 3, 2025, 11:08 EST
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After a two-game sweep over the Abbotsford Canucks earlier this week, the Calgary Wranglers are looking for two more wins this weekend. The Manitoba Moose are in town and the Wranglers are hungry for more action. Their last series against each other went well for the home team as Calgary scored six goals in each of their previous games on December 10th and 11th. Three out of the four meetings these two teams have had this season have resulted in six goals for the Wranglers and they sit at a perfect record against the Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate. 

Projected lines

Calgary
William Stromgren – Rory Kerins – Dryden Hunt
Adam Klapka – Sam Honzek – Martin Frk 
Lucas Ciona – Sam Morton – David Silye 
Alex Gallant – Trevor Janicke – Deni Goure
Jeremie Poirier – lya Solovyov
Yan Kuznetsov – Hunter Brzustewicz
Joni Jurmo – Charles Martin 
Devin Cooley 
Waltteri Ignatjew
Manitoba 
Mason Shaw – Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
Chaz Lucius – Brad Lambert – Nikita Chibrikov 
C.J. Suess – Kevin Conley – Parker Ford
Fabian Wagner – Danny Zhilkin – Tyson Empey
Ashton Sautner – Simon Lundmark
Dylan Anhorn – Dawson Barteaux
Dmitry Kuzmin – Tyrel Bauer
Thomas Milic
Kaapo Kahkonen

Leaders

Calgary
Rory Kerins – 32GP, 21G, 13A
Dryden Hunt – 30GP, 6G, 22A
Clark Bishop – 30GP, 14G, 10A
Manitoba
Nikita Chibrikov – 23GP, 5G, 13A
Mason Shaw – 27GP, 5G, 7A
Elias Salomonsson – 17GP, 3G, 9A

Notes and expectations

Since Trent Cull got the call-up to the interim assistant coaching role for the Flames, Joe Cirella has not done any significant line changes. He’s been a part of the success of the season (and previous seasons for that matter) and knows what works for this group. The plan is to continue on how they have been going this year. In the last couple of games, Parker Bell and Jonathan Aspirot have been out of the lineup but both may see some action this series. Aspirot should be back from the Spengler Cup and while Bell’s absence was a healthy scratch, a busy week of hockey would be a good chance for a fresh body to return to the lineup. 
Also missing in last game was captain Clark Bishop. It was not ruled as an injury so it may have been a maintenance game. If he needs some more time to recover, this series would be a good one to take some time away from as well. Instead, they have Deni Goure, Trevor Janicke and Charles Martin available as some recalled alternates from the Rapid City Rush. Goure was written into the lineup for Wednesday but could not make it to the game due to travel delays. If he was that close to playing a couple of days ago, it’s quite likely he’ll suit up in one or both of these upcoming games. 
Something we may continue to see is Sam Honzek at centre. He was centring the second line between Adam Klapka and Martin Frk in their last game against the Canucks and is up to about three games in that position this season. His confidence is starting to take a step forward and two goals for his line last game is a good measure of success. This also includes an empty net tally for himself late in the game. There is no secret this organization is looking to trade for or develop centres and Honzek is putting his name in the running for that. Hopefully, there are many more opportunities for him to come. 
The fifth and sixth meeting between the Moose and the Wranglers takes place this weekend with game one on Friday at 7:00 p.m. MT and game two on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. MT. Friday’s game includes a free T-shirt giveaway for the first 2,000 fans in attendance and both games will be streamed on Flo Hockey for a fee. The Fan960 is carrying the radio call and multiple FlamesNation contributors will have updates on X (formerly Twitter).

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