Wranglers rally falls short in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — The push was there. The response was real. But the result slipped away.

The Calgary Wranglers erased an early deficit with a four-goal surge through the second and third periods, but a hat trick from Nathan Gaucher lifted the San Diego Gulls to a 5-4 win Sunday night.

Calgary fell behind 2-0 in the opening period, with Gaucher opening the scoring and Ryan Carpenter adding another before the Wranglers could settle into the game.

What followed was Calgary’s best stretch.

The Wranglers answered with three goals in the second period, flipping the game in their favor through a balanced offensive push. Carter King got Calgary on the board at 14:41, finishing a play set up by Dryden Hunt and Alex Gallant. Just 29 seconds later, Clark Bishop tied the game, converting off feeds from David Silye and Nick Cicek.

Calgary kept coming.

Dryden Hunt capped the surge at 16:04, finishing from Aydar Suniev and Daniil Miromanov to give the Wranglers a 3-2 lead, turning momentum fully in Calgary’s direction.

But the margin didn’t hold.

San Diego responded late in the second, with Gaucher striking again, while Cal Burke added a power-play goal as the Gulls regained control heading into the third.

From there, it came down to one moment.

Gaucher completed the hat trick at 19:14 of the third period, breaking the deadlock late and putting San Diego ahead for good. Calgary found a final push, with Sam Morton scoring at 19:59 to bring it within one, but time ran out before the equalizer could come.

The numbers told part of the story.

San Diego outshot Calgary 30-23, including an 11-7 edge in the first period that set the tone early. Calgary’s power play went 0-for-3, while the Gulls capitalized once on five opportunities.

In goal, Arsenii Sergeev stopped 25 of 30 shots for an .833 save percentage, giving Calgary a chance despite the early deficit and sustained pressure from San Diego.

For Calgary, the response mattered.

After falling behind, the Wranglers showed push, pace, and finish through the middle frame, generating offense from multiple lines and forcing San Diego to adjust.

But against a team that converted its chances, it wasn’t quite enough.

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