Wranglers rally past Pacific-leading Eagles 3-2 in OT, move within four of division lead

CALGARY – The Calgary Wranglers opened the new year by rallying for a 3–2 overtime win over the Colorado Eagles at the Saddledome, erasing a two-goal first-period deficit to pick up two points against the Pacific Division leaders.

Colorado jumped out early, scoring twice in the opening period. Nikita Prishchepov opened the scoring at 13:20, followed by Tye Felhaber’s goal at 15:19 to give the Eagles a 2–0 lead.

Calgary responded late in the first period on the power play. William Strömgren got the Wranglers on the board at 17:04, finishing a setup from Dryden Hunt and Rory Kerins to cut the deficit in half.

The Wranglers tied the game early in the second period, again with the man advantage. Martin Frk scored at 7:16, converting a setup from Hunt and Strömgren to make it 2–2. That goal forced overtime, as neither team was able to break through during a scoreless third period.

Calgary carried play as the game went on, outshooting Colorado 33–25 overall and holding a 16–6 edge in shots after the first period. The Wranglers finished 3-for-6 on the power play, while Colorado went 0-for-4.

In goal, Owen Say made 23 saves on 25 shots for Calgary, finishing with a .920 save percentage. At the other end, Isak Posch stopped 30 of 33 shots for Colorado.

The game was decided 1:16 into overtime when Dryden Hunt scored his first game-winning goal of the season on the power play, finishing a play set up by Martin Frk and Rory Kerins.

Hunt finished with a goal and two assists. Strömgren recorded a goal and an assist, giving him eight points in his last three games. Rory Kerins added two assists, extending his point streak to 10 games.

The victory was Calgary’s 15th of the season and moved the Wranglers to 38 points, four points back of Colorado for the Pacific Division lead. The Eagles sit at 42 points and hold six games in hand. The Wranglers return to action Friday with a 7:00 pm MT matchup against the Tucson Roadrunners at the Saddledome, followed by another meeting with Tucson on Sunday afternoon. Calgary then heads to Abbotsford for a two-game road set on January 10 and January 11.