Wranglers Run Out Of Magic, End Trip With Tough Loss

The Calgary Wranglers (27-13-1-0) finished their road trip to California with a tough 6-1 loss to the Ontario Reign (22-13-1-1) on Tuesday night.

On Saturday, the Wranglers rallied to force overtime and defeated the San Diego Gulls before taking the first game against the Reign on Sunday in overtime.

Despite Tuesday night's final score, Calgary opened the scoring in the first period when David Silye tallied his fourth of the year at 16:35.

After a nice breakout pass from Jeremie Poirier, Adam Klapka sprung Silye on a breakaway and he deked around the Reign goalie Pheonix Copley to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, that was all the offense the Wranglers would mustard as the Reign dominated the scoresheet after.

First, Charles Hudon tied the game at 1-1 with a power play goal at 19:33. Then, the home team tallied four goals in the second period, starting with Andre Lee at 1:42, followed by Taylor Ward (3:55), Tyler Madden (13:56), and Francesco Pinelli (17:12).

To start the third period, the Wranglers made a goalie switch, substituting Connor Murphy with Waltteri Ignatjew. However, Samuel Fagemo wrapped up the night's scoring with a lamplighter at 7:31, giving Ontario a 6-1 victory.

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Murphy finished the night after 40 minutes, surrendering five goals on 26 shots. In relief, Ignatjew stopped six of seven shots. At the other end, Copley had 19 saves on 20 shots.

Although the score was lopsided, the Wranglers had plenty of opportunities to get back into the contest with five power plays, but failed to score on any of them. Meanwhile, the Reign went 2-for-4 and collected a shorthanded goal (Pinelli) in the second.

Despite the loss, the Wranglers (55 points) remain the top team in the Pacific Division, maintaining an eight-point cushion over the Coachella Valley Firebirds (47 points).

Calgary, one of three teams in the AHL with over 50 points, returns home for a two-game weekend set against the Gulls on Saturday and Sunday at the Saddledome.