Barracuda Rally Past Wranglers with Four-Goal Third, 5-3

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.

Strömgren Delivers Overtime Winner as Wranglers Extend Streak With 4-3 Road Victory

SAN JOSE — Calgary surged back from a first-period deficit with a three-goal second-period before finishing off a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday night.

San Jose opened the scoring at 6:23 of the first period when Oliver Wahlstrom converted off a feed from Kasper Halttunen, giving the Barracuda a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission.

The momentum shifted quickly after the break. Daniil Miromanov tied the game at 1:41 of the second period, finishing a play created by William Strömgren and Nick Cicek. Less than three minutes later, Strömgren put Calgary in front with his ninth goal of the season, igniting a stretch in which the Wranglers controlled possession and tempo.

Martin Frk extended the lead midway through the period, posting his 19th of the year, assists from Rory Kerins and Étienne Morin, to give Calgary a 3-1 advantage. San Jose responded late in the frame as Wahlstrom struck again on the power play, cutting the deficit to one before the second intermission.

The Barracuda forced overtime when Brendan Hoffmann found the equalizer with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, setting up a sudden-death finish between the Pacific Division rivals.

Calgary wasted little time settling matters in the extra frame. Just 48 seconds into overtime, Strömgren finished a setup from Kerins to secure the win, capping a three-point performance that earned him first-star honors.

The Wranglers outshot San Jose 43-36, with Ivan Prosvetov stopping 33 of 36 shots for a .917 save percentage. Laurent Brossoit made 39 saves on 43 shots (.917) for the Barracuda.

Calgary returns to Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday for a rematch with the Barracuda.

Wranglers Fall 7–2 in San Jose as Barracuda Pull Away Late

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.