AHL Game Recap: Manitoba Moose vs Calgary Wranglers (02/14/2026)

The Manitoba Moose played their most complete game of the season, thumping the Calgary Wranglers 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at Canada Life Centre.

Heading into this contest, both the Moose and Wranglers came into the game on a losing skid, and Calgary opened the first few minutes looking like the team hungrier to snap that skid.

Calgary posted three shots on goal, and two of them were in dangerous territory and could’ve opened the scoring. However, Manitoba’s defence cleared out rebounds and pressed the Wranglers’ attack, and that stuck for the majority of the game.

Samuel Fagemo, continuining his strong stretch of play, proved just why he’s been one of Manitoba’s most reliable scorers.

David Gustafsson controlled the pace heading into Calgary’s end, and he passed the puck to Isaak Phillips, who then made a nice drop pass to Samuel Fagemo to open the scoring. Fagemo fired the puck top shelf to make it a 1-0 game for Manitoba 4:14 into the first period, and this is when the tide turned to Manitoba’s favor.

A power play chance for Manitoba wasn’t successful, but they continued to have extended possession in Calgary’s end, making it difficult for the tired penalty kill unit to change off the ice.

Play continued to mostly sit in Calgary’s end, and Ivan Prosvetov had to stay sharp as Manitoba looked to pounce on any chances available.

Then it happened, Ashton Sautner sent a hard shot from the blue line off the faceoff, and the puck sprang loose for Danny Zhilkin to bury the rebound and make it 2-0 Manitoba. This wasn’t the first or the last rebound opportunity Manitoba had to nearly add to their lead, either.

Manitoba kept pressuring any and every attacker whenever they found themselves in their end, and the play that shifted the play back into Calgary’s zone was created from Walker Duehr big hit on Hunter Brzustewicz.

Winnipeg-born defenseman Nick Cicek gave Duehr his thoughts on the play, and on an ensuing defensive zone draw for Manitoba, the speed of Manitoba’s youngsters burned Calgary’s defense who were already rattled from their youngster being hit.

With 43 seconds left to play in the first period, the Wranglers were destined to head to the penalty kill, but a three-on-one with Brayden Yager, Nikita Chibrikov, and Danny Zhilkin gave Manitoba extra insurance heading into the second period.

Yager got the puck from Chibrikov off Zhilkin’s controlled zone entry, and the trio of youngsters for the Moose made it a 3-0 lead for Manitoba.

The shots were 10-8 in favour of the Moose after the opening 20 minutes, certainly weren’t any indication of how Calgary utilized quantity, and Manitoba prioritized high-danger scoring chances.

Manitoba opened the second period with a similar slow start, and Calgary came out with a bit more bite to try and close the gap that Manitoba were creating.

Some strong rush chances for Manitoba were turned aside by Ivan Prosvetov, and Calgary had a bit of breathing room as Manitoba didn’t have too many dominant stretches in the second period.

Even with multiple power play chances, Manitoba couldn’t capitalize and put the game further out of reach. This lack of power play scoring, especially on home ice, has been a season-long issue for the Moose, and tonight certainly amplified their need to strike when the iron’s hot.

Calgary continued to get close on Milic, and they utilized the chances available to them, but their inability to capitalize on rebounds kept them from getting on the scoreboard in the opening 40 minutes.

At the halfway point of the period, Fagemo scored his second of the game after the Moose crashed the crease, and it certainly felt like the referees were going to take a look at the play just in case of goaltender interference.

Fagemo’s second pushed the Moose to a 4-0 lead, and it was the lone goal of the second period, but a big boost for the Moose as they looked to put the game more out of reach.

Manitoba opened the third period by flipping the script, and they had more energy, but that proved to be disastrous as Calgary settled into its game.

Milic’s shutout bid was ended at the 42:48 mark of the game, and it was the beginning of events that made this a rough start to the period for Manitoba. Martin Frk fired a nice shot to make it 4-1 Manitoba and breathe some life into the Wranglers game, but that was the end momentum Calgary had tried to build.

Just a couple of minutes later, David Gustafsson was called for high-sticking, and a Wranglers power-play goal would’ve made the remaining part of the game interesting.

At last, Manitoba kept the Wranglers from getting within two goals, and in the process, they restored their four-goal lead. Walker Duehr scored on a shorthanded breakaway, and he beat Prosvetov low glove side to make it 5-1 Manitoba.

This was the goal that solidified the win over Calgary, and the Moose certainly had their ups and down leading up to the end of the game.

A late power play for Calgary could’ve given them so late life and belief they could pull within one or two goals, but Thomas Milic stayed steady and finished the night off, having stopped 23 of 24 shots he faced.

The rematch between these two Canadian clubs is set for Monday, with puckdrop scheduled for 2:00 pm CST.