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Wranglers in a pinch, three wins needed

The Wranglers are down 3-1 in the series with Kamloops
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Garrett Hilton of the 100 Mile House Wranglers (right) tried to get the puck past Kamloops Storm players during the second game of the series on Feb. 28.

The Wranglers are off to a rough start in the playoffs. They won the opening game in 100 Mile House but lost the second home game after facing multiple Kamloops power play goals. Following a close first game in Kamloops on Monday and a second game on Tuesday, the Wranglers weren't able to bring home any points from away games.

 

Game one of the series - Feb. 24

100 Mile House obtained a lead late in the first with a goal from Colton Thomas at 4:31 (assisted by Ryan Friesen and Todd Bredo). That one was followed up quickly by another goal from Thomas at 0:47, this time unassisted, to put 100 Mile at a 2-0 lead heading into the break.

Despite multiple Wranglers power plays in the second period, the only goal came for the Kamloops Storm at 12:47.

Midway through the third stanza, the Wranglers extended their lead to 3-1 with a goal by Friesen (Stephen Egan) at 10:28.

Friesen added an unassisted empty-net goal at 1:50 to finish the game off at 4-1 for the hometown team.

 

Game two of the series - Feb. 25

In game two, the 100 Mile House Wranglers once again got off to a good start with a goal by Riley Coish (Rob Raju and Austin Turner) at 13:50 and continued to lead until the buzzer.

Things turned bad quickly, however, in the second chapter. The Kamloops Storm tied it up at 17:49. Shortly afterward, Riley Coish received a two-minute penalty for tripping followed by another two-minute penalty against Stephen Egan for boarding.

The Kamloops Storm took full advantage of the situation taking the lead for the first time at 15:14 in a five vs three situation and further extended their lead, with the remainder of the power play at 14:35. Before the end of the second period, the Storm further extended their lead to 4-1 with a goal at 2:50.

In the third period, the Wranglers showed lots of fight and managed to bring it back with a second goal by Coish (Liam Dodd and Rob Raju). Despite their efforts, the Wranglers couldn't bring it back as the Storm sealed it at 5-2 with a final goal at 4:50.

Following the second game, coach Dale Hladun said, "so far it's evenly matched I mean as much as you want to win every game, you have to respect the fact that your opponent is a good team and Kamloops plays us well. Our mindset was it was gonna be a long series. We just gotta keep chipping away and make sure we finish hits and, just like the reputation of our team, that the longer the series goes the more it can shift in our favour. I feel that we've got some good skill and we're throwing the puck around pretty well. I thought [Jakob] Severson was playing really good in net but I still think that we start chasing the puck too much. "

 

Game three of the series - Feb. 27

Game three, held in Kamloops, was a close one.

The Kamloops Storm got off to a 2 - 0 lead late in the first period with goals at 6:59 and 4:27.

It wasn't long into the second, at 13:59, when the Kamloops Storm extended their lead to 3-0, but the 100 Mile team struck back almost immediately at 13:24 with a goal by Sam Bosek (Egan), bringing it to 3-1.

In the third period, 100 Mile fought hard, killing two penalties before bringing it back to 3-2 with a goal by Friesen (Turner and Bosek). However, with only 0:37 left on the clock, there wasn't enough time left for the Wranglers to even it out and go into overtime.

"It's tough that we lost, but I thought the boys played a strong game. I didn't mind the effort at all. I thought it was a pretty close game. they managed to capitalize on their chances before we did so yeah we're not happy with the loss but I'd be a little more stressed out if we're pulling our hair out as to what to do. I just think we ran out of time that's all," Hladun said after game three.

"I thought Egan's line with Sam Bosek and Ryan Friesen were very dangerous last night. I thought they were very hard to control ... They had a lot of changes so I'm thinking they're gonna really be dangerous again tonight," he said referring to game four.

"We're getting shots on net but when the goalie can see it, it's all for not. We gotta get traffic in front of them and make him work to find the puck. So we do a couple of little adjustments today [Feb. 28 in game 4] and I think we'll be fine.

 

Game four of the series - Feb. 28

The Wranglers were able to keep it close in the first period, following a Kamloops opening goal at 12:49 by tying it back up at 11:21 with a power play goal from Jaydon Gilding (Thomas). In the second period, however, the Kamloops Storm ran away with the game. They retook the lead at 9:44 followed by a Kamloops power play goal at 5:50, succeeded almost immediately by another Kamloops goal at 5:02, extending the Storm lead to 4-1.

A Kamloops win was all but certain when they extended their lead to 5-1 in the third at 9:59. James Gordon, however, finished the game on a high note, netting 100 Mile's second score of the evening with a power play goal at 4:28, assisted by Raju and Thomas.

 

Must win games

The Wranglers now face three must win games. In order to advance, they'll have to win the next home game on March 2 (today), as well as a game in Kamloops on March 3, which would push it to a final home game on March 4.

"The first round, I found, in the playoffs and again anyone who follows the NHL or watches hockey, the first round is always the toughest. It's just everybody has a new slate, everybody starts at square one and they're all fresh to go.

"I knew this would be a long series, it will be. I think we're up for it," Hladun said following the third game.

On the other side of the bracket, the Chase Heat lead the Revelstoke Grizzlies 3-1.