Wranglers set to face Roadrunners in first round of AHL playoffs

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The Calgary Wranglers finished the regular season on a five-game losing skid.

Now is the time to snap out of it.

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The Flames’ farm-clubbers will travel Monday to Arizona for a best-of-three playoff series against the Tucson Roadrunners. The Wranglers, after slotting seventh in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a 35-28-9 record, will be on the road for the entirety of this opening-round showdown. They will need to advance to score more home dates at the Saddledome.

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Game 1 is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. MT at Tucson Arena. The series continues Friday and, if necessary, a winner-take-all finale will be played Sunday.

The Roadrunners, top affiliate for the on-the-move Arizona Coyotes, earned second spot in the Pacific Division at 43-23-6. These rival squads split four regular-season matchups, winning two apiece.

The Wranglers’ playoff roster includes eight dudes who suited up for the Flames this winter — forwards Matt Coronato, Adam Klapka, Jakob Pelletier and Cole Schwindt, blue-liners Yan Kuznetsov, Jordan Oesterle and Ilya Solovyov and rising-star netminder Dustin Wolf.

Several of those guys should be full-timers at the NHL level next winter, and this Calder Cup playoff push is both a valuable development tool and a chance to prove they are ready for a promotion.

“Other than the Stanley Cup playoffs and playing games that matter as you get towards the end of the season (in the NHL), it’s the next best thing,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “When you have young guys that are in those situations, there is a heightened level of pressure. Every play in a game matters. You learn quickly what the difference is between winning and losing. So it’s a valuable thing.”

The Roadrunners boast a talented forward group, headlined by Dylan Guenther and Josh Doan.

wgilbertson@postmedia.com

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