The Calgary Wranglers and Coachella Valley Firebirds kicked off their last two game set of the regular season on Friday night. Calgary looked to get some confidence out of this series after suffering quite a beating the last time they faced the Seattle Kraken affiliate. They’re also at the point of the season where they have some position protection to do if they plan on qualifying for playoffs.
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The Wranglers successfully got their revenge and put their best effort forward in nearly two months with a 3-1 win on home ice.
<h2>Lineup notes</h2>
Sam Honzek made his much awaited return for his first game since Feb. 23. He missed nearly the last month with a lower body injury. David Silye remained out of the lineup and out of the two call-ups from Rapid City, Charles Martin did not dress but Connor Murphy dressed as back up for Waltteri Ignatjew. 
Calgary was able to return to a 12 forward and six defencemen system for this game and didn’t need to position Jonathan Aspirot up front. The most notable absence from this game was Tyson Barrie, who has been skating on the top pairing with Ilya Solovyov in previous games.
<h2>Wranglers lines</h2>
Rory Kerins &#8211; Sam Morton &#8211; Martin Frk
William Stromgren &#8211; Clark Bishop- Sam Honzek
Lucas Ciona &#8211; Kyler Kupka &#8211; Ty Tullio 
Alex Gallant &#8211; Connor Mylymok &#8211; Parker Bell
Ilya Solovyov &#8211; Jonathan Aspirot 
Yan Kuznetsov &#8211; Hunter Brzustewicz
Artem Grushnikov &#8211; Jeremie Poirier
Waltteri Ignatjew 
Connor Murphy (Backup)
<h2>Game at a glance</h2>
The Wranglers opted to start Waltteri Ignatjew to kick off this series and Nikke Kokko was in net on the other end of the ice. This game had a good pace to get started and it was the Firebirds who were testing the Wranglers netminder early. They were pretty consistently doubling up the Wranglers in shots in this opening frame. Thankfully, Ignatjew was dialed in and keeping things out of the back of the net. Including this impressive save sequence.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
IGGY 👏 IGGY 👏 <a href="https://t.co/FFzyVLHAwP">pic.twitter.com/FFzyVLHAwP</a>
&mdash; Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1903261587391254579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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There weren’t many stoppages in this opening frame, but when the Wranglers were set to be on the first power play of the game, they stretched out the delayed penalty call for a minute and it paid its dividends. Ilya Solovyov was a standout player in this shift and ended up going for the shot and Ty Tullio was on the doorstep to elevate the rebound over Kokko. This goal came at 17:16 and was also assisted by Lucas Ciona. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Wranglers play keep away on this delayed penalty call for nearly a minute and Ty Tullio elevates a rebound to score his first goal as a Wrangler <a href="https://t.co/QQFGXjAtyk">pic.twitter.com/QQFGXjAtyk</a>
&mdash; Paige Siewert (@thathockeygirly) <a href="https://twitter.com/thathockeygirly/status/1903259201457033636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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This was Tullio’s second goal of the season and first as a Wrangler. This boost carried Calgary to the end of the period where they held a 1-0 lead over the Firebirds despite being out-shot 13-7 in the first frame. Tullio did confirm post-game that despite his Oilers affiliation in the past, he’s all in on the Flames now.
The second period had some emotions starting to show themselves. Behind Coachella Valley’s net, there were a handful of scrums between competitors but nothing to the point of drawing a penalty call for either side. The Wranglers flipped things around for zone time and caught up to the Firebirds in shots just past the midway mark of the period.
The Wranglers got another goal on the board at 16:25 when Martin Frk went for a backhand shot in deep across the crease. Rory Kerins and Sam Morton assisted on this marker.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
A backhand beauty from Martin Frk pucks the Wranglers up 2-0 <a href="https://t.co/xWjHykKv6F">pic.twitter.com/xWjHykKv6F</a>
&mdash; Paige Siewert (@thathockeygirly) <a href="https://twitter.com/thathockeygirly/status/1903271818838020272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Right off the next face-off, Connor Mylymok and Ian McKinnon dropped the gloves for one solid tussle. This sequence of events resulted in offsetting fighting majors and game misconducts for fighting at puck drop. Worth it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
We have a fight! Connor Mylymok and Ian McKinnon drop the gloves right off the draw <a href="https://t.co/g0dexsTfmi">pic.twitter.com/g0dexsTfmi</a>
&mdash; Paige Siewert (@thathockeygirly) <a href="https://twitter.com/thathockeygirly/status/1903272242437632026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Wranglers were on the penalty kill shortly after when Jonathan Aspirot was called for hooking inside of the last two minutes of the period. Sam Honzek finished off the period with a shorthanded breakaway that he was denied on in the last 12 seconds of the period. By the end of 20 minutes, Calgary led 2-0 and pulled ahead in overall shots by outshooting Coachella Valley 15-6 in the middle frame. 
The opening half of the period showed signs of shots slowing down. The frame started with three seconds of Aspirot’s penalty to kill off but that was not cause for concern. When the Firebirds were starting to get some shots in Ignatjew, Mitchell Stephens ended up being called for goaltender interference at 6:03. 
Calgary didn’t end up registering a shot on this man advantage then had a penalty of their own to kill off at 9:02 when Ilya Solovyov was called for cross-checking. This power play included some of Coachella Valley’s best chances to get on the board but Ignatjew continued to put up solid saves to prevent that from happening. 
The Firebirds pulled Nikke Kokko for the extra attacker at 17:05 in an attempt to get back in this game. This ended up working in their favour when Mitchell Stephens scored for Coachella Valley at 18:15. Waltteri Ignatjew was 1:45 from his first shutout of the season, which would’ve been the icing on the cake for this game and well-deserved recognition for his effort.
William Stromgren took some of the pressure off shortly after at 18:47 when he scored on the empty net. Sam Honzek and Yan Kuznetsov assisted on this third Wranglers goal. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Stromgren seals the deal with the empty netter!!! <a href="https://t.co/A7zm3BkqWq">pic.twitter.com/A7zm3BkqWq</a>
&mdash; Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1903286509215846703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Firebirds fought for another goal and put a lot of pressure in the Wranglers’ zone but a combined effort from Ignatjew and his defenders blocking shots secured this 3-1 win at the end of regulation. Shots finished 34-25 for Coachella Valley and all three stars were awarded to Wranglers. Waltteri Ignatjew got the first star, Ty Tullio earned the second and Martin Frk earned the third.
Head Coach, Joe Cirella was very happy with the result post-game. He said, 
<blockquote>“Well done by them. It was it was awesome. I thought we had a great week in practice and they committed to working hard and you know, I think that that just shows you out there, what happened, so I&#8217;m very happy.”</blockquote>
He continued to say the focus wasn’t 100% on getting revenge on the Firebirds but after video review, the guys put two and two together and knew what they needed to do like the pros they are. Waltteri Ignatjew shared his content for getting back at Coachella Valley in his post-game interview as well.
<h2>Scoring stat summary</h2>
Rory Kerins &#8211; 1A
Ty Tullio &#8211; 1G
Lucas Ciona &#8211; 1A
Martin Frk &#8211; 1G
Ilya Solovyov &#8211; 1A
Yan Kuznetsov &#8211; 1A
Sam Honzek &#8211; 1A
Sam Morton &#8211; 1A
William Stromgren &#8211; 1G
<h2>Highlights</h2>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Highlights | 03.21.25" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aYFfBg4dv9Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>Next up</h2>
The Wranglers look to keep it rolling for game two later this weekend. This series switches things up from the typical back-to-back series the Wranglers have been seeing lately. They’ll have a day break between games and get right back at it to close out their season series against the Firebirds. Sunday’s game gets going at 12:00 p.m. MT. 
Sponsored by bet365:
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The Calgary Wranglers and Coachella Valley Firebirds kicked off their last two game set of the regular season on Friday night. Calgary looked to get some confidence out of this series after suffering quite a beating the last time they faced the Seattle Kraken affiliate. They’re also at the point of the season where they have some position protection to do if they plan on qualifying for playoffs.
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The Wranglers successfully got their revenge and put their best effort forward in nearly two months with a 3-1 win on home ice.
<h2>Lineup notes</h2>
Sam Honzek made his much awaited return for his first game since Feb. 23. He missed nearly the last month with a lower body injury. David Silye remained out of the lineup and out of the two call-ups from Rapid City, Charles Martin did not dress but Connor Murphy dressed as back up for Waltteri Ignatjew. 

Calgary was able to return to a 12 forward and six defencemen system for this game and didn’t need to position Jonathan Aspirot up front. The most notable absence from this game was Tyson Barrie, who has been skating on the top pairing with Ilya Solovyov in previous games.
<h2>Wranglers lines</h2>
Rory Kerins - Sam Morton - Martin Frk

William Stromgren - Clark Bishop- Sam Honzek

Lucas Ciona - Kyler Kupka - Ty Tullio 

Alex Gallant - Connor Mylymok - Parker Bell

Ilya Solovyov - Jonathan Aspirot 

Yan Kuznetsov - Hunter Brzustewicz

Artem Grushnikov - Jeremie Poirier

Waltteri Ignatjew 

Connor Murphy (Backup)
<h2>Game at a glance</h2>
The Wranglers opted to start Waltteri Ignatjew to kick off this series and Nikke Kokko was in net on the other end of the ice. This game had a good pace to get started and it was the Firebirds who were testing the Wranglers netminder early. They were pretty consistently doubling up the Wranglers in shots in this opening frame. Thankfully, Ignatjew was dialed in and keeping things out of the back of the net. Including this impressive save sequence.

https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1903261587391254579

There weren’t many stoppages in this opening frame, but when the Wranglers were set to be on the first power play of the game, they stretched out the delayed penalty call for a minute and it paid its dividends. Ilya Solovyov was a standout player in this shift and ended up going for the shot and Ty Tullio was on the doorstep to elevate the rebound over Kokko. This goal came at 17:16 and was also assisted by Lucas Ciona. 

https://twitter.com/thathockeygirly/status/1903259201457033636

This was Tullio’s second goal of the season and first as a Wrangler. This boost carried Calgary to the end of the period where they held a 1-0 lead over the Firebirds despite being out-shot 13-7 in the first frame. Tullio did confirm post-game that despite his Oilers affiliation in the past, he’s all in on the Flames now.

The second period had some emotions starting to show themselves. Behind Coachella Valley’s net, there were a handful of scrums between competitors but nothing to the point of drawing a penalty call for either side. The Wranglers flipped things around for zone time and caught up to the Firebirds in shots just past the midway mark of the period.

The Wranglers got another goal on the board at 16:25 when Martin Frk went for a backhand shot in deep across the crease. Rory Kerins and Sam Morton assisted on this marker.

https://twitter.com/thathockeygirly/status/1903271818838020272

Right off the next face-off, Connor Mylymok and Ian McKinnon dropped the gloves for one solid tussle. This sequence of events resulted in offsetting fighting majors and game misconducts for fighting at puck drop. Worth it.

https://twitter.com/thathockeygirly/status/1903272242437632026

The Wranglers were on the penalty kill shortly after when Jonathan Aspirot was called for hooking inside of the last two minutes of the period. Sam Honzek finished off the period with a shorthanded breakaway that he was denied on in the last 12 seconds of the period. By the end of 20 minutes, Calgary led 2-0 and pulled ahead in overall shots by outshooting Coachella Valley 15-6 in the middle frame. 

The opening half of the period showed signs of shots slowing down. The frame started with three seconds of Aspirot’s penalty to kill off but that was not cause for concern. When the Firebirds were starting to get some shots in Ignatjew, Mitchell Stephens ended up being called for goaltender interference at 6:03. 

Calgary didn’t end up registering a shot on this man advantage then had a penalty of their own to kill off at 9:02 when Ilya Solovyov was called for cross-checking. This power play included some of Coachella Valley’s best chances to get on the board but Ignatjew continued to put up solid saves to prevent that from happening. 

The Firebirds pulled Nikke Kokko for the extra attacker at 17:05 in an attempt to get back in this game. This ended up working in their favour when Mitchell Stephens scored for Coachella Valley at 18:15. Waltteri Ignatjew was 1:45 from his first shutout of the season, which would’ve been the icing on the cake for this game and well-deserved recognition for his effort.

William Stromgren took some of the pressure off shortly after at 18:47 when he scored on the empty net. Sam Honzek and Yan Kuznetsov assisted on this third Wranglers goal. 

https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1903286509215846703

The Firebirds fought for another goal and put a lot of pressure in the Wranglers’ zone but a combined effort from Ignatjew and his defenders blocking shots secured this 3-1 win at the end of regulation. Shots finished 34-25 for Coachella Valley and all three stars were awarded to Wranglers. Waltteri Ignatjew got the first star, Ty Tullio earned the second and Martin Frk earned the third.

Head Coach, Joe Cirella was very happy with the result post-game. He said, 
<blockquote>“Well done by them. It was it was awesome. I thought we had a great week in practice and they committed to working hard and you know, I think that that just shows you out there, what happened, so I'm very happy.”</blockquote>
He continued to say the focus wasn’t 100% on getting revenge on the Firebirds but after video review, the guys put two and two together and knew what they needed to do like the pros they are. Waltteri Ignatjew shared his content for getting back at Coachella Valley in his post-game interview as well.
<h2>Scoring stat summary</h2>
Rory Kerins - 1A

Ty Tullio - 1G

Lucas Ciona - 1A

Martin Frk - 1G

Ilya Solovyov - 1A

Yan Kuznetsov - 1A

Sam Honzek - 1A

Sam Morton - 1A

William Stromgren - 1G
<h2>Highlights</h2>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYFfBg4dv9Y
<h2>Next up</h2>
The Wranglers look to keep it rolling for game two later this weekend. This series switches things up from the typical back-to-back series the Wranglers have been seeing lately. They’ll have a day break between games and get right back at it to close out their season series against the Firebirds. Sunday’s game gets going at 12:00 p.m. MT. 

Sponsored by bet365:
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