Today's Wranglers Sim

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In what might come as a surprise to some, the Calgary Wranglers currently find themselves 4th in the North American Conference, and only 4 points out of 3rd. Captain Saku Kotkakoivu leads the league in points with 93 points in 54 games, and is tied for 2nd with 43 goals. There are a lot of positives on this Calgary team this season, and Saku is leading the charge. Let's take a look at their past couple of games.

 

Los Angeles Stars vs. Calgary Wranglers

With the Stars being one of the bottom feeders of the league, this is a game that Calgary was expected to win, and they did just that. In the 1st Period, Calgary got off to a good start when Phil The Rock Johnson opened the scoring at 4:16 with his 33rd goal of the season. Later in the period, LA's Deagun Rust would take a penalty and send the Calgary Wranglers to the powerplay. Saku Kotkakoivu would make sure to capitalize on that chance by scoring his 41st of the season, with assists going to AirRig GoodBrandSun and Phil The Rock Johnson. The Wranglers would hold that 2-0 lead into the next period. In the 2nd Period, it was Wranglers dominance as they outshot the LA Stars 19-8. Stars goalie Tater Tot had a hell of a period, but Shane Lazeski was able to triple the Wranglers' lead with his 25th of the season, putting the Wranglers up 3-0. In the 3rd Period, Calgary's Bob Beach would take an early penalty and Los Angeles would take advantage. 2 minutes into the period, Nic McMuffin scored his 20th of the season with a PP marker, cutting Calgary's lead to 3-1. However, only a couple minutes later, AirRig GoodBrandSun restored the 3 goal lead when he scored his 9th of the season at 4:38, giving Calgary the 4-1 lead. That 4-1 score would hold until the end of the game for a Wranglers win. Tater Tot saved 43 of 47 for LA, and Ben Dahl saved 33 of 34 for Calgary, being one of Calgary's stars.

 

Calgary Wranglers vs. Vancouver Wolves

This was another game that Calgary should win, but them and Vancouver aren't so far apart in the standings, so it could be a battle. In the 1st Period, Calgary outshot Vancouver 9-5, but both goaltenders shut the door. The 2nd Period was a bit back and forth where Calgary once again outshot Vancouver, this time 13-8. The Vancouver Wolves were able to score the only goal of the period at 14:29 when Kakapo Bushtit scored his 23rd of the season, putting Vancouver up 1-0. In the 3rd Period, the story changed. 2:06 into the period, captain Saku Kotkakoivu scored for the Wranglers and tied this one up 1-1. Vancouver's Robin Galante Nilsson was then quick to respond when he scored at 5:49, getting his 11th of the season and restoring Vancouver's lead. But under a minute later at 6:29,  Saku Kotkakoivu scored once again, tying this one up at 2-2. Play would go back and forth, but with under 5 minutes to go, Shane Lazeski gave Calgary the go-ahead goal and eventual winner, and the Wranglers took this one 3-2.