Wranglers Rally For Home Victory As Special Teams Dominate

After a clunker to end their California road trip, the Calgary Wranglers returned to the friendly confines of the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, the Wranglers' special teams, especially the power play, spearheaded the rally, and by the final buzzer, Calgary defeated the San Diego Gulls 7-5.

Veteran Tyson Barrie played his first AHL game since 2013 and fit seamlessly into the Wranglers' back end, picking up a power-play goal in the second period.

Meanwhile, the eventual game-winner came off the leg of Sam Morton, who knocked in a shorthanded goal at 16:31 of the third period.

There was a long pause before the whistle, and Gulls' netminder Calle Clang tried his best to dig the puck out of the net. However, the goal was under review for an extended time despite the replays showing the puck in the net.

As mentioned, the Wranglers' special teams dominated the night, with three power-play goals and one shorthanded goal. Meanwhile, San Diego didn't connect on their lone power play.

Calgary got back into the game using the man advantage in the middle period. In the first, the Gulls went up 2-0 on goals from Carson Meyer (4:56) and Tristan Luneau (18:13). Then, Sam Colangelo made it 3-0 at 1:39 to open the second.

The comeback started with Yan Kuznetsov scoring his third of the year at 5:58 with a shot from the point before Barrie scored the Wranglers' first power-play goal at 9:32 with a snipe top shelf.

Adam Klapka tied the contest at 12:35 with another power play tally, burying a feed from Morton and William Strömgren in the slot.

The good times didn't end as David Silye scored his fifth of the season as he found a loose puck in a scrum at 16:45. However, Calgary's first lead lasted all of seven seconds as Sasha Pastujov made it 4-4 heading into intermission.

Strömgren kept the Wranglers' perfect night on special teams intact as he fired home a one-timer off a feed from Martin Frk and Morton at 6:35.

San Diego's Ryan Carpenter scored with a sixth attacker at 19:19 to make things interesting at 6-5. Once Frk collected an empty net goal, Morton's reviewed goal ended up serving as the winner on a night where the Wranglers rallied for seven goals after falling behind 3-0.

Although Devin Cooley was back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on Jan. 10, Walterri Ignatjew was back in goal and made 30 saves, including 15 in the third period alone, to pick up his 10th victory of the season.

Overall, Calgary got goals from seven players, and nine players registered at least one point, with Morton leading the way with three.

Despite a handful of skaters earning a negative plus/minus rating, the Wranglers remain the top team in the Pacific Division thanks to a 28-13-1-0 record.

Calgary and San Diego reconnect on Sunday afternoon with a 1:00 tilt at the Saddledome.