Wranglers Get First Win
The Rogue Valley Wranglers won their first game in franchise history Friday night at The Rrrrink in Medford, OR. against the Coeur D’ Alene Lakers. The win snapped a 25-game losing streak to open the inaugural season, as they won 4-2.
The Lakers, who showed no signs of “bus-legs”, came out hard against the Wranglers early in the game, but Pavle Ogrizovic scored his 11th goal of the season in the first period, the only score amidst a defensive battle between two evenly matched teams.
After tying the score up in the second period, Coeur D’ Alene brought a bit of momentum into the third period, but Rogue Valley was equal to the challenge, thanks in large part to goaltender Nick Cafrelli, who had allowed only 2 goals off of 41 total shots against him in the game. Scoring in the third period for the Wranglers was Trevor Clegg, his first of the year, and the game winner was scored by Captain DJ Giguere. Steffan Buck pounded the nail in the coffin with a back-handed shot from his own zone to the empty net to finish the game.
“I felt like our boys definitely earned the victory,” Coach Kevin Schwartz said. “It was clear that we wanted the game more than they did, and we came out on top. It put a lot of wind in our sails for the next night. It was a hard fought battle both ways, we just wanted it more.”Not only is it the first for our franchise, but it also marks the beginning of something new. I don’t think there will be another win for the rest of my career that can match what this one feels like for me on a personal level.”
“It’s been a long first half of the season, but with the new guys on our roster, we have turned a corner and so expectations are higher for the second half”.