Wranglers Score Four Unanswered to Defeat Eagles, 5-1
Dec 23, 2023
LOVELAND, CO. – Calgary scored four unanswered goals, while goaltender Dustin Wolf turned aside 31 of the 32 shots he faced, as the Wranglers defeated the Colorado Eagles 5-1 on Saturday. Eagles forward Ben Meyers netted Colorado’s lone goal, as goaltender Justus Annunen suffered the loss in net, allowing four goals on 23 shots.
Calgary would get out to an early lead when forward Dryden Hunt drove through the right-wing circle and snapped a wrister that would beat Annunen, giving the Wranglers a 1-0 edge at the 7:25 mark of the first period.
Colorado would generate an equalizer when Meyers grabbed a pass inside the blue line before weaving between the circles and lighting the lamp. The goal was Meyers’ sixth tally of the season and tied the game at 1-1 with 8:08 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
Calgary would go on to outshoot the Eagles 16-11 in the period and the two teams would head to the first intermission still deadlocked at 1-1.
The Wranglers would seize control in the second period, as forward Cole Schwindt took advantage of a power play when he lunged across the crease and poked the puck under the pad of Annunen and into the back of the net. The goal gave Calgary a 2-1 lead at the 2:04 mark of the middle frame.
The lead would grow just 1:02 later when forward Ben Jones snagged a rebound off the end boards and bashed it home to stretch the Wranglers advantage to 3-1.
Just minutes later, Colorado forward Jason Polin would receive a match penalty for an illegal check to the head, forcing the Eagles to kill off the ensuing five-minute major.
Colorado would take care of business on the penalty kill, but after failing convert on three second-period power plays of their own, the Eagles would surrender one more in the second stanza. The tally would come when forward William Stromgren swept home a rebound at the top of the crease to push Calgary’s lead to 4-1 at the 12:18 mark of the period. The goal would also signal the end of the evening for Annunen, who would give way to Trent Miner in net for the duration.
Colorado would be unable to stage a rally in the third period, as the lone goal of the final frame came from Schwindt who buried a shot from the bottom of the right-wing circle to extend Calgary’s advantage to 5-1 with 6:20 left in the contest.
The Eagles outshot the Wranglers by a final count of 37-31, finishing the night 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will be back in action when they travel to take on the Iowa Wild on Thursday, December 28th at 5:00pm MT at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $23. You can find more information on ticket packages, theme nights, and promotional offers, by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
