Barracuda Rally Past Wranglers with Four-Goal Third, 5-3
Calgary carried a 3-1 lead into the third period behind goals from Aydar Suniev, Rory Kerins and Nick Cicek before a four-goal surge from San Jose flipped momentum late at Scotiabank Saddledome. Kerins recorded a multi-point night as the Wranglers opened a four-game homestand against the Barracuda.
Photo: David Moll / Calgary Wranglers
CALGARY — A strong two-period effort slipped away in the third as the San Jose Barracuda scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Calgary Wranglers 5-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome in the opener of a four-game homestand.
Calgary opened the scoring early when Aydar Suniev tucked away his 11th goal of the season just 2:10 into the first period, assisted by Sam Morton and Carter King. Lucas Carlsson answered late in the frame to send the teams to intermission tied.
The Wranglers regained control in the second. Rory Kerins restored the lead at 5:18 off a setup from Clark Bishop, and Nick Cicek extended it at 14:00 with a wrister from the blue line through heavy traffic, beating a screened Laurent Brossoit. William Strömgren and Kerins collected assists as Calgary carried a 3-1 advantage into the third. Kerins finished with a multi-point night, recording a goal and an assist.
San Jose shifted momentum early in the final period. Braden Hache cut the deficit to one at 3:19, and Anthony Vincent tied the game less than two minutes later before adding his second of the night at 10:49 to give the Barracuda their first lead. Carlsson sealed the comeback with an empty-net goal at 19:23.
Despite limiting San Jose to 9 shots against in the third, Calgary could not halt the momentum swing, surrendering control of a game they had dictated through much of the first two periods.
Arsenii Sergeev made 25 saves on 29 shots (.862) for Calgary, while Laurent Brossoit stopped 28 of 31 shots (.903) for San Jose.
The Wranglers return to Scotiabank Saddledome tomorrow night for the second half of the weekend set against the Barracuda.
Wranglers Fall 7–2 in San Jose as Barracuda Pull Away Late
After answering early, Calgary struggled to stem the tide as San Jose tilted the ice over the final 40 minutes, turning a close game into a lopsided result despite a two-goal night from Sam Morton.
SAN JOSE — The Calgary Wranglers dropped the second game of their back-to-back Saturday night, falling 7–2 to the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena as the home side pulled away over the final 40 minutes.
San Jose struck first just 1:33 into the game when Braden Hache opened the scoring, finishing a play set up by Colin White and Egor Afanasyev. Calgary responded midway through the opening period as Sam Morton scored unassisted, tying the game and briefly slowing the Barracuda’s early momentum.
That push proved short-lived. San Jose took control in the second period, restoring the lead 31 seconds in on a goal by Oliver Wahlstrom before adding two more as the frame wore on. Mattias Hävelid and Anthony Vincent both found the net as the Barracuda turned sustained zone time into offense. Morton answered again for Calgary at 10:34 of the second, converting a feed from Rory Kerins for his second goal of the night, but San Jose continued to dictate play.
The Barracuda put the game out of reach in the third period, opening the frame with a goal from Afanasyev before adding tallies from Cam Lund and Filip Bystedt to close out the scoring. San Jose finished the night with seven goals on 28 shots, spreading offense throughout the lineup and scoring in every period.
Calgary used both goaltenders over the course of the game. Ivan Prosvetov allowed four goals on 17 shots over 30:03 of ice time, finishing with a .765 save percentage. Arsenii Sergeev followed in relief, stopping eight of 11 shots over 29:57 for a .727 save percentage. At the other end, San Jose leaned on Gabriel Carriere, who turned aside 22 of 24 shots for a .917 save percentage in 59:28 of work to earn the win.
Bystedt led the way offensively for San Jose with a goal and two assists, earning first-star honors. Morton was named the second star after accounting for both of Calgary’s goals, while Afanasyev added a goal and an assist to round out the three stars.
The Wranglers finished the night 0-for-1 on the power play, while the Barracuda were also held scoreless on four man-advantage opportunities. At even strength, however, San Jose outscored Calgary 6–1 over the final two periods and held a slight edge in shots, 28–24.
Calgary will look to reset as the road trip continues Tuesday night in Bakersfield before the team returns home later in the week for a two-game set against Tucson ahead of the AHL All-Star break.
Barracuda Pull Away From Wranglers Behind Special Teams Surge
An early Calgary goal gave way to a special-teams swing as San Jose took control in the middle frame and never looked back.
SAN JOSE — The Calgary Wranglers dropped the opener of their three-game road trip Friday night, falling 5–1 to the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena.
Calgary opened the scoring late in the first period when Sam Morton struck at 16:19, finishing a play set up by Zayne Parekh and Dryden Hunt.
San Jose responded in the second period and seized control through special teams. Donavan Houle tied the game at 7:14 before a power-play goal from Filip Bystedt at 11:48, with assists from Luca Cagnoni and Colin White.
The Barracuda extended the lead in the third period with a short-handed goal by Anthony Vincent at 3:21, followed by another power-play marker from Cam Lund at 7:12, assisted by Egor Afanasyev and Kasper Halttunen. Nolan Allan capped the scoring at 7:27, with Vincent recording the assist.
In goal, Ivan Prosvetov stopped 37 of 42 shots for Calgary (.881 save percentage), while Laurent Brossoit turned aside 22 of 23 shots for San Jose (.957 save percentage).
Vincent, who finished with a goal and an assist, was named the game’s first star. Bystedt and Lund earned second and third star honors, respectively.
The Wranglers remain in San Jose and face the Barracuda again Saturday night, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. MT.