By: Annie Nadin

The Wranglers fell 3-2 in a shootout to Abbotsford at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday, with Sam Morton and Martin Frk providing the goals for Calgary in a tightly-contested matinee.

BOX SCORE

Neither side was able to crack the deadlock through 40 minutes.

The visitors finally broke through early in the third when Abbotsford All-Star Ben Berard opened the scoring, slipping one past Arsenii Sergeev to give the Canucks a 1-0 edge.

Calgary answered the right way.

Off a clean faceoff win, Dryden Hunt fed Morton who snapped a top-shelf finish past Jiri Patera to square things 1-1.

Abbotsford regained the lead when Lukas Reichel beat Sergeev during a quick strike in transition, but once again the Wranglers pushed back.

Another faceoff win set the stage.

William Stromgren collected the puck and quickly dished it to Frk, who buried it from the top of the crease to knot the game 2-2 and force the extra frame.

Overtime solved nothing despite chances at both ends.

The skills competition proved decisive.

Justin Kirkland was turned aside as Calgary’s first shooter, while Berard found twine on Abbotsford’s opening attempt.

Stromgren was denied by Patera on the Wranglers’ second try, and Chase Stillman sealed it for the visitors.

Sergeev was a bright spot throughout, turning aside 40 of 42 shots as Abbotsford outshot Calgary 42-34.

With the shootout loss, Calgary picks up a point and moves to 51 on the season.

Abbotsford remains 10th in the Pacific Division with 44 points.

The two sides will run it back on Sunday, March 1 at 1 p.m. for the Wranglers’ Hot Wheels Game Day presented by Carstar at the Saddledome.

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