First goal eludes Mangiapane, but he’ll stay in Flames lineup

COLUMBUS Andrew Mangiapane’s ears might still be ringing.

Shooting for his first big-league tally, the Calgary Flames forward call-up clanked the post during Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago.

“An inch maybe the other way, I would have had my first,” Mangiapane sighed after practice the following day. “But it’s all right. The chances are coming, and that’s the important thing. Hopefully, eventually one sneaks by and then the floodgates will open up for me.”

The Flames will swap out a forward for Tuesday’s road-trip capper against the Blue Jackets in Columbus (5 p.m., Sportsnet West/ Sportsnet 960 The Fan), but based on this praise from his boss, Mangiapane won’t be the guy sitting out as Austin Czarnik is plugged into the lineup.

“I thought he was good (in Chicago). I thought he was really good,” Flames head coach Bill Peters said of Mangiapane, who now has 11 nights of NHL know-how after logging his season debut at United Center. “I thought he was really tenacious, worked really hard, responsible away from the puck, gave our team a little more additional pace.

“He’s a guy with lots of pedigree as an offensive player. The past two years in the American League has allowed him to learn the game away from the puck. It looks like he’s an NHLer to me.”

In the Windy City, the 22-yearold — with 48 career markers in the minors — was just an inch away from being an NHL goal-scorer. Clang.

“Off the bench, the angle I was on, I thought it was in. It hit the inside of the post and out the other side,” Peters said. “He’s going to score. He’s going to score lots at the NHL level. It’ll come. Just keep playing the right way.”