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Recap: Matthew Phillips scores game-winner, Wranglers sweep Condors series in 2-1 win

Originally posted on Flamesnation | By Paige Siewert | Last updated 12/31/22

The Calgary Wranglers were back in action against the Bakersfield Condors after dealing a 9-2 stomping on Wednesday night. This second game also ended up going the Wranglers’ way. They finished up their series with a much more modest score of 2-1.

Game at a glance

If you saw the last game’s score between these teams earlier this week and tuned in expecting another goal spree, you would be quite disappointed. Dustin Wolf got the night off and Oscar Dansk got the start in net for the Wranglers.

In the first period, Dansk only had to face seven shots and he kept all of those in front. The Wranglers also didn’t have any luck getting the puck in the back of the net in the first 20 minutes and finished the first with 13 shots of their own.

In the second, the scoring started. 11:04 into the period, Alex Peters of the Condors kicked things off with a goal Dansk surely wants back. They won the face-off at centre ice and cleared the puck into the Wranglers’ zone. Dansk went behind the net to play the puck and it deflected straight into the back of the net. Here’s a look at Dansk’s shutout killer.

They all look like breakaways in the box score Petey. #Condorstown pic.twitter.com/8tthefxwsb

— Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) December 31, 2022

By the 12:59 mark of the period, the Wranglers quickly answered back with a breakaway goal by Emilio Pettersen. This has turned into a speciality of his this season and has got to make him in the top three choices when it comes to potential shootout options in the future. Pettersen’s eighth goal of the season was assisted by Colton Poolman and Cole Schwindt.

Emilioooooo! pic.twitter.com/QGYC2aMOVO

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) December 31, 2022

That concluded the scoring through two periods of play with the Condors gaining a 22-20 lead in shots with the score all tied up. In the third period, it would be Matthew Phillips who would score the go-ahead goal for the Wranglers. This also ended up being the game-winner as well.

Phillips came into the Condors zone with a little bit of an ankle-breaking fake out on the defenseman and scored the second Wranglers goal of the game. The lone assist went to Connor Zary.

Phillips…right back at it! pic.twitter.com/RuQtxYLbV5

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) December 31, 2022

While that was the last of the goals, Ben Jones got a huge chance later in the period on a penalty shot. He was looking for a backhand shot to flip over the opposing goaltender but ended up losing control of the puck and not getting a very strong attempt in. No damage was done as the one goal lead was enough to carry the Wranglers to the end of the game.

Dansk got the win in net by stopping 30 out of the 31 Condors shots and two Wranglers made the three-star accolades of the night. Oscar Dansk was awarded the second star and Matthew Phillips was awarded the first.

Next up

The Wranglers aren’t done with their road trip this week just yet. They will play the second half of a back-to-back against another California team, the Ontario Reign. This New Year’s Eve game will just be a one-off against the Reign before they return home in early 2023. Game time for Saturday’s match-up is set for 7:00 p.m. MT.

This article first appeared on Flamesnation and was syndicated with permission.

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