Wranglers fall late as Canucks rally for 5-4 win
Clark Bishop marked his 500th AHL game with a two-goal, one-assist night, but Calgary’s 4–2 lead slipped away as Abbotsford scored three in the third, including a late winner, to take a 5–4 decision at the Saddledome.
Photo by David Moll / Calgary Wranglers
CALGARY — A milestone night for the captain turned into a late collapse, as the Abbotsford Canucks erased a two-goal deficit and stunned the Calgary Wranglers 5–4 with a third-period surge at the Saddledome.
Clark Bishop, skating in his 500th American Hockey League game, delivered early and often. Early in the first, Arsenii Sergeev robbed Danila Klimovich with a diving stop on a wraparound to keep the game scoreless. Then the Wranglers captain opened the scoring at 11:31 of the first period after Carter Wilkie forced a turnover behind the Abbotsford net and fed Bishop alone in the slot. Bishop went high glove to make it 1–0 Calgary, a lead they carried through 20 minutes.
The second period opened with pace and chances at both ends. Arsenii Sergeev turned aside a breakaway from Nils Åman moments after a Calgary power play, but Abbotsford broke through at 4:44 when Bennett Schimek finished a backhand setup from Sawyer Mynio, with Arshdeep Bains adding the secondary assist to tie the game 1–1.
Calgary responded with its special teams.
On the power play, Bishop struck again at 6:24, banging home a rebound at the top of the crease after a Gavin White point shot, with William Strömgren adding the second assist. Minutes later, the Wranglers went back to the man advantage and Rory Kerins finished a cross-crease feed from Dryden Hunt to extend the lead to 3–1.
Abbotsford answered to keep it close. Danila Klimovich buried a rebound at 14:34 off a Jimmy Schuldt shot, with Åman recording the secondary assist to make it 3–2. But Calgary regained control late in the frame when David Silye scored his third of the season at 18:52, finishing a slick pass from Bishop, with Brennan Othmann also picking up an assist, restoring a 4–2 lead heading into the third.
Then it unraveled.
Ben Berard cut the deficit to one at 4:13 of the third with an unassisted backhand finish, and the ice began to tilt. Klimovich struck again at 17:14, tying the game 4–4 with assists from Schuldt and Åman as Abbotsford continued to push.
The decisive moment came in the final minute. Sergeev made a sprawling right-pad save but lost his blade on the play and could not recover to his feet. Moments later, a turnover at the blue line led to an open look, and Berard capitalized with 37.9 seconds remaining, scoring his second of the night unassisted to complete the comeback and give Abbotsford a 5–4 win.
Abbotsford outshot Calgary 42–28, including a dominant 15–4 margin in the third period. Calgary finished 2-for-3 on the power play, while Abbotsford went 0-for-1 but generated its offense at even strength when it mattered.
In goal, Sergeev stopped 37 of 42 shots for an .881 save percentage. At the other end, Ty Young turned aside 24 of 28 for an .857 mark, but held firm as the momentum shifted late.
Bishop led Calgary with two goals and one assist in his milestone night, earning first-star honours. Berard’s two third-period goals drove the comeback as the second star, while Klimovich’s two-goal effort rounded out the three stars.
Calgary, coming off a strong weekend in Laval and closing in on the end of its regular season home slate, will get an immediate chance to respond Saturday night in the rematch with Abbotsford before heading on the road to finish the campaign in Colorado.
Wranglers Rally, Fall in Six-Round Shootout to Abbotsford
Calgary erased a two-goal deficit in the third period before falling 3–2 in a six-round shootout to Abbotsford, outshooting the Canucks 38–19 and collecting a point with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
Photo by David Moll / Calgary Wranglers
CALGARY — The Calgary Wranglers erased a two-goal deficit Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Saddledome but fell 3–2 in a six-round shootout to the Abbotsford Canucks, earning a point in a game with Pacific Division playoff implications.
Calgary entered the day three points outside a top-seven playoff spot in the division and pushed this one to the limit before settling for a single point.
Abbotsford opened the scoring at 2:04 of the first period. Danila Klimovich snapped a loose puck blocker-side shot for his ninth of the season. Chase Wouters recorded the assist to make it 1–0.
Joe Arntsen extended the lead at 9:59 of the second after Chase Stillman found the defenseman joining the rush down the left side. Arntsen beat Arsenii Sergeev under the glove for his second of the year, with Nils Åman adding the secondary assist to make it 2–0.
Calgary responded late in the third. Aydar Suniev cut the deficit at 14:27, wiring a shot from the right side near the top of the circle to beat Young for his 13th of the season and his third goal in four games. Dryden Hunt and Turner Ottenbreit collected the assists.
Just 1:24 later, Justin Kirkland tied it at 15:51 after Daniil Miromanov’s pass slid underneath the goaltender directly to Kirkland, who was waiting on the other side. He made no mistake from in close, scoring his sixth of the season. Martin Frk added the secondary assist.
Calgary finished with a 38–19 edge in shots.
Overtime carried urgency. William Stromgren broke in alone and appeared to slide the puck across the goal line while being hauled down, crashing into the goaltender in the process. The play was waved off, and the extra frame continued. Both netminders held firm through a series of odd-man chances, sending the game to a shootout.
The shootout extended six rounds before Jett Woo sealed it for Abbotsford.
Sergeev stopped 17 of 19 shots for a .895 save percentage. At the other end, Young turned aside 36 of 38 for a .947 mark.
The Wranglers have now gone beyond regulation in six of their last 10 games and 23 times this season. Sergeev made his second straight start Sunday, while Dryden Hunt has recorded two points in two games since returning from injury.
With 17 games remaining and division rivals in action later Sunday, including Henderson hosting Colorado and Tucson visiting San Jose, the Pacific Division playoff race remains fluid.
Calgary earned a point. The chase continues.
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