Nylander scores late winner as Wranglers beat Barracuda 6-4

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alex Nylander scored at 19:10 of the third period and Sam Morton added an empty-net goal 17 seconds later as the Calgary Wranglers beat the San Jose Barracuda 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

The win moves Calgary to 4-1-0-0 on the season with eight points, while San Jose falls to 1-4-0-0.

Andre Gasseau opened the scoring for San Jose at 15:23 of the first period, finishing a Donavan Houle feed. Ben Jones tied it at 19:38 with his fourth of the season, from Mike Benning and Connor Zary, and the teams went to the intermission 1-1.

The second period produced six goals. Sam Morton put Calgary ahead at 7:06 from Brayden Pachal and William Strömgren, before Thomas Messineo tied it at 8:29 from Brett Leason and Ethan Cardwell. Gasseau's second of the game restored San Jose's lead at 12:15, from Tye Felhaber and Eric Pohlkamp.

Calgary answered twice in 50 seconds. Tyson Gross tied it at 14:42 from Pachal and Strömgren, and Dryden Hunt scored his first of the season at 15:32 from Luke Philp and Hunter Brzustewicz to make it 4-3. Leason pulled San Jose level again at 17:11 with an unassisted goal, and the period ended 4-4.

The third period stayed scoreless until the final minute. Nylander's first of the season, from Zary, stood as the game winner, and Morton closed the scoring into the empty net from Pachal at 19:27.

Pachal finished with three assists for Calgary. Morton scored twice, while Zary and Strömgren each had two assists. Gasseau scored twice for San Jose.

Arsenii Sergeev made 27 saves on 31 shots for the win. Eric Comrie stopped 29 of 34 in the loss. Calgary outshot San Jose 35-31. Both teams were scoreless on the power play, Calgary going 0-for-2 and San Jose 0-for-3. Attendance was 3,891.

The game opened a six-game road trip for the Wranglers. Calgary stays in San Jose for a rematch on Friday at 8 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET), then visits Bakersfield on Saturday at 8:10 p.m. MT (10:10 p.m. ET) and Ontario on Tuesday at 8 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET). The trip closes with two games in Abbotsford, on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET) and Oct. 25 at 4 p.m. MT (6 p.m. ET). The Wranglers return home on Oct. 29 to face the Laval Rocket.

This recap is brought to you in part by Animas Painting — interior and exterior painting in Calgary. Reach Rafael at 403-604-5529.