CAVENDISH FARMS REPORT - 01.03.23

The Wranglers have lost three-straight games, something they haven't done since the beginning of the year when they went 0-3 to start the season.
Calgary is currently sitting precariously on top of the AHL standings with 75 points, and for a group that has grown accustomed to winning, it can be a tough mental exercise to ride out an extended losing skid.
Losing three in a row against a team in the Silver Knights' position, near the bottom of the standings in the Pacific Division, has been a tough pill to swallow. That being said, Henderson played a solid, fast-paced, physical game and received great goaltending in all three games against Calgary last week.

"(Henderson) seems to have our number and play us very hard and I think they are a lot better than their record shows," explained Matthew Phillips, when assessing the group's play against the 'Knights this season.
Looking ahead, Calgary heads to Coachella Valley to face the Firebirds on March 1 for another tough test that has implications on first place in the division. The Firebirds sit one point back of the Wranglers for first place in the Pacific, with four games in-hand and a 0.755 points percentage, compared to the Wranglers 0.708.
With just 19 games remaining on the schedule, the magnitude of Wednesday's tilt against the Firebirds is not lost on Phillips or his teammates.
"For Coachella, we haven't seen them in a long time, but take one look at the standings and figure out that's a pretty big game," Phillips expressed.

PREVIOUS RESULTS:

POWERPLAY NEEDS A BOOST:

The Wranglers' powerplay dried up in the desert, going 0-for-13 in Henderson and 3-for-19 in their last three games (currently sitting at 22.5% efficiency.) Despite the results - or lack thereof - Phillips feels like the group is starting to click again, but needs to focus on the finer details to get back on track.
"I think we did a lot of things much better. We had some really good looks on the powerplay there. Posts and close rebounds," Phillips explained. "It kind of felt like we were a bounce away, and then on the flip-side, it almost felt like the small mistakes we did make ended up in the back of the net."
Phillips has played most of the season alongside Radim Zohorna on the Wranglers' top line and has notched seven powerplay goals as well. The recent addition of Emilio Pettersen to that top unit has started to produce results 5-on-5, but the chemistry between Phillips and Pettersen has also translated to the powerplay. Pettersen has six points (5g, 1a) in his last five games, including two extra-strength goals against the Knights.
"Radim and I have been playing together for a while now and know each other pretty well. Adding (Pettersen) in there is good. He's been playing with a tonne of energy lately and he's very skilled and creates a lot with the puck and I think he and I see the ice in a similar way, so he's good to play with."

ONE TIMERS:

• Ilya Solovyov appeared in his 100th career AHL game on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. The 22-year old scored the O.T. winner against the Colorado Eagles on Feb.17 for his first goal with the Wranglers.
• The Wranglers signed (G) Garrett Metcalf to a PTO last week. Metcalf - who was officially acquired from the Utah Grizzlies - previously played five games with the San Diego Gulls this season. (1-4-0).
• Jeremie Poirier has been heating up with five points (5a) in his last five games. He picked up his first fighting major on Feb. 23 against the Silver Knights and currently leads all rookie defencemen with 33 points (5g, 28a) in 50 games.

QUOTABLES:

Matthew Phillips on the play of rookie D-man Poirier, including his first career AHL fight:
"I think he's come a long way this year for us and he's a very important player for us. For him to have that passion in the third there and to drop his gloves is impressive and good on him."
Mitch McLain on the group's focus moving forward on the current road trip:
"We just got to take the positives out of this and something we did is we competed real hard. Going in there, we just gotta flush it, we've got a new series with them, we've got our own little rivalry, you could say, so we just need to go in there and get the two points."
Wranglers AC Joe Cirella on playing (D) Josh Brook and (D) Poirier as forwards at different points during Henderson series:
"We felt we needed a new body. Right now with the callups and the injuries we just felt it would give us a different look. Just looking to mix things up and try something new and see if that would work."