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Wranglers Blow Two-Goal Lead, Rally For Overtime Win Over Moose

ryan gagne
·2 min read

The Calgary Wranglers extended their current win streak to three games on Friday night, defeating the Manitoba Moose 5-4 in overtime at the Saddledome.

Martin Frk was the overtime hero, scoring his second of the night thanks to a beautiful feed from Clark Bishop to split the Moose defenders and pot the game-winner.

Frk's ninth goal of the season capped off a wild overtime session, featuring breakaways for both teams. Wranglers' leading scorer, Rory Kerins, was denied one-on-one by Thomas Milic before receiving another feed alone in the slot that was turned away.

Ultimately, the game didn't seem destined for overtime after the first period, with Calgary jumping out to a 3-1 lead and Manitoba making a goalie switch at the end of the period.

First, William Strömgren scored his ninth goal of the year at 8:01, followed by Frk at 11:35. The Moose cut into the Wranglers' lead, but Dryden Hunt, playing in his 300th AHL game, scored a power-play goal at 19:49 to restore the two-goal lead.

The Moose countered again at 3:37 of the second before David Silye netted his third of the season at 7:53 to extend the Wranglers' lead.

However, that was it for regulation scoring for the home team, as Manitoba made things quite interesting with goals at 17:20 and 18:36 of the third period, forcing overtime, which led to Frk's heroics.

Related: Wranglers Finish 2024 As Top Team In AHL Pacific Division

Waltteri Ignatjew made 24 stops between the pipes to pick up his sixth win of the season and improve to 6-3-1. The 25-year-old Finnish netminder hadn't played since Dec. 14 and has a 3.69 GAA and .877 SV% this season.

Friday night's three stars included Frk, Strömgren, and Hunt. Meanwhile, Frk all Wranglers' skaters with three points, followed by Bishop and Strömgren, the only ones to collect two points.

Calgary remains undefeated under interim head coach Joe Cirella and continues to pace the AHL with 47 points, thanks to a 23-9-1-0 record. Their next game is a rematch against the Moose on Sunday afternoon.