Eagles Fall Short in 4-2 Loss to Wranglers
Oct 22, 2022
LOVELAND, CO. – Calgary forward Connor Zary scored a pair of goals, while fellow forward Matthew Phillips netted the game-winner, as the Wranglers defeated the Colorado Eagles, 4-2 on Saturday. Eagles defensemen Andreas Englund and Keaton Middleton each found the back of the net in the loss. A solid effort on the penalty kill bolstered Calgary’s efforts, as the Wranglers held Colorado 0-for-5 on the power play.
A power play would get Calgary out to an early lead, as Zary sliced to the top of the crease and hammered home a cross-slot pass to put the Wranglers on top, 1-0 at the 11:24 mark of the first period.
Colorado would answer back when Englund beat Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf with a shot from the blue line to tie the game at 1-1 with 4:41 left to play in the opening 20 minutes.
The Wranglers jumped back in the driver’s seat when Zary beat Colorado netminder Jonas Johansson from the top of the crease to put Calgary back on top, 2-1 at the 18:39 mark of the first frame.
Still trailing by one goal as the puck dropped on the second period, the Eagles would draw even when Middleton stepped into a shot from the slot that lit the lamp and tied the game at 2-2 just 5:07 into the middle frame.
Colorado would find itself on a power play late in the period, but a shorthanded rush from Wranglers forward Ben Jones would see him take a high stick to the face, setting up a penalty shot opportunity. Johansson shut down that chance with 4:37 remaining in the second stanza, as the two teams would head to the second intermission still deadlocked at 2-2.
Calgary would wrestle back the lead when Phillips slipped a shot from the side of the crease through the legs of Johansson to give the Wranglers a 3-2 advantage at the 4:41 mark of the third period.
The Eagles would pull Johansson in favor of the extra attacker in the final 90 seconds of the contest, but it would be Calgary forward Walker Duehr who would capitalize with an empty-netter with just 31 seconds remaining in regulation to seal the 4-2 victory.
Johansson suffered the loss net, allowing three goals on 37 shots, while Wolf claimed his first win of the season by making 33 saves on 35 shots.
Colorado will be back in action when they travel to take on the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday, October 26th at 8:00pm MT at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $21. Season tickets for the 2022-23 season are also on sale now and can be secured with a deposit of just $100 per seat by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
