Captain Brett Sutter’s goal 3:45 into the third period stood up as the difference as Calgary defeated Coachella Valley, 3-2, in Game 2 of the Pacific Division finals on Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Tied at 1-1, the best-of-five series concludes in Palm Desert beginning with Game 3 on Monday night.
The Wranglers rebounded from a 6-3 loss in Game 1 on Thursday with a solid effort on both sides of the puck. Connor Zary and Jakob Pelletier also scored, Jeremie Poirier recorded two assists and Dustin Wolf stopped 31 of 33 shots in the win.
Sutter scored on a deflection of a Kristians Rubins shot to give Calgary a 3-1 lead, their first two-goal cushion of the postseason.
Kole Lind and Gustav Olofsson scored for the Firebirds, while Joey Daccord made 24 saves.
Calgary was 1-for-2 with the man advantage and killed off all four of Coachella Valley’s power play chances in Game 2.
Pacific Division Finals (best-of-5)
P1-Calgary Wranglers vs. P2-Coachella Valley Firebirds
Game 1 – Thu., May 11 – Coachella Valley 6, CALGARY 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., May 12 – CALGARY 3, Coachella Valley 2
Game 3 – Mon., May 15 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
Game 4 – Wed., May 17 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 19 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern