The Calgary Wranglers are feeling the pressure of the last few games of the regular season and are desperate to secure a playoff spot. Coming off a four game losing streak and a loss on Tuesday to the Tucson Roadrunners (who are below them in the standings), they needed to get it together on Wednesday. Calgary’s top line was clicking on all fronts in this game and single-handedly led their team to a 4-3 victory.
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<h2>Wranglers lines</h2>
Rory Kerins &#8211; Sam Morton &#8211; Ty Tullio
Sam Honzek &#8211; Carter Wilkie &#8211; Martin Frk
William Stromgren &#8211; Clark Bishop &#8211; Parker Bell
Kaden Bohlsen &#8211; Lucas Ciona
Ilya Solovyov &#8211; Jonathan Aspirot
Yan Kuznetsov &#8211; Hunter Brzustewicz
Joni Jurmo &#8211; Jeremie Poirier 
Artem Grushnikov 
Devin Cooley
<h2>Game at a glance</h2>
There were only a couple of changes for this game after falling to the Roadrunners on Tuesday night. Charles Martin came out of the lineup and Artem Grushnikov took his spot as the extra blue liner. Calgary made a goaltending swap and started Devin Cooley for this game. The Roadrunners opted to go with the same netminder as the night prior, with Jaxson Stauber getting the start.
The Roadrunners were the first on the board with a marker at 5:16 from Travis Barron. Barron blocked a shot, then caught up to the rush going the other way to elevate his shot over Devin Cooley.
Shortly after this goal, the Wranglers found themselves on their first power play of the game but it was cut short by a cross-checking call against Lucas Ciona. After these penalties expired, the Roadrunners and Wranglers were exchanging rushes and Tucson was inches away from making it a 2-0 game with a shot that rang off the crossbar at the midway mark of the first.
The next goal wouldn’t come until later in the period when Sam Morton scored the equalizer at 16:49. He carried the puck with his stick deep in the zone and elevated his shot enough to get it over Stauber. Ty Tullio and Rory Kerins assisted on this opening goal.
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How do ya like that!! <a href="https://t.co/it8unQuOGb">pic.twitter.com/it8unQuOGb</a>
&mdash; Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907617743333126566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Morton was feeling himself after this goal and so was his line. The remaining five shots from Calgary in this period came off the sticks of the top line. At 19:10, Morton struck again with a go-ahead goal before the opening frame came to an end. He scored off a redirect in the slot and Tullio and Kerins also earned the helpers on this goal. They had to take a look at this one for a kicking motion but the goal stood. 
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Morty is double trouble 🤫 <a href="https://t.co/sLJdRUf4nI">pic.twitter.com/sLJdRUf4nI</a>
&mdash; Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907618400618295735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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By the end of the first period, the Wranglers were ahead 2-1 and had an astounding 20-8 edge in shots. The Roadrunners tried to tame the Wranglers a bit better in the second and succeeded in lowering their shots against but not in scoring. 
Just 3:40 into the period, Rory Kerins scored after passing the puck back to Ty Tullio and Tullio got it back to him by the time he reached the net to redirect the puck in. Hunter Brzustewicz picked up the secondary assist on this third Wranglers goal. 
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Rory with the quick redirect 🥅🔥 <a href="https://t.co/fAs8IS0T8O">pic.twitter.com/fAs8IS0T8O</a>
&mdash; Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907625886406586510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Tucson followed up this goal with some pressure and six shots on goal over the next six minutes of play. At 11:43, they lost some momentum with an interference call against them. Just six seconds into the power play, Rory Kerins struck again off a tic-tac-toe passing play following the faceoff win. Martin Frk and Jonathan Aspirot picked up the assists.
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&quot;big opportunity for the Wranglers to extend their lead&quot; ➡️ Wranglers extend the lead <a href="https://t.co/Od663EvMrV">pic.twitter.com/Od663EvMrV</a>
&mdash; Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907630138432585920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Wranglers were the next ones to be shorthanded when Martin Frk was called for holding but the penalty killers succeeded in preventing any damage. The Roadrunners did get a goal back at 17:20, though, when Curtis Douglas took a shot that popped off Cooley’s pad and continued into the back of the net.
Tucson got another goal just 27 seconds after this marker from Hunter Drew. Cooley’s vision was impaired after being snowed by his opponents on the rush and Drew used this point of discombobulation to get a rebound past the Wranglers&#8217; netminder. 
The Wranglers thankfully found some relief at 18:05 when Artem Duda was called for a delay of game penalty. By the end of the second period, the Wranglers’ comfortable 4-1 lead was all of a sudden a much closer 4-3 game. Shots in the second period were 11-8 for Tucson. 
In the third period, the Wranglers started with five seconds of power play time and were quickly penalty killing when Jonathan Aspirot was called for interference just 20 seconds in. The Roadrunners tried to capitalize on this opportunity but Cooley held things down in his crease.
You could see the tables tilt in Tucson’s direction as they worked towards an equalizing goal. These teams exchanged power plays around the midway mark of the period and the Roadrunners found themselves shorthanded again at 14:35. Once this penalty kill succeeded, they pulled Stauber for the extra attacker and had an additional edge at 19:05 when Yan Kuznetsov was called for tripping.
The stressful last minute of play wrapped up with some pressure in the Wranglers’ zone and just after the final buzzer sounded, the Roadrunners scored. Just a second too late. The Wranglers earned a much-needed win with a huge night from their top line, who combined for nine points. 
The final score was 4-3 and Calgary finished with a slight edge in shots 33-32. Rory Kerins was given the first star for his four point night and his game winner and Sam Morton earned the second star for his two goals. 
<h2>Scoring stat summary</h2>
Hunter Brzustewicz &#8211; 1A
Rory Kerins &#8211; 2G, 2A
Ty Tullio &#8211; 3A
Martin Frk &#8211; 1A
Sam Morton &#8211; 2G
Jonathan Aspirot &#8211; 1A
<h2>Next up</h2>
After the events of Wednesday’s games, two more Pacific Division teams secured playoff spots. The Ontario Reign and the Abbotsford Canucks. This win puts the Wranglers a step closer to clinching and a more comfortable fifth place spot in the standings. Their next test will be this weekend for a two game home series against the Ontario Reign. Game one goes at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday and game two is at 1:00 p.m. MT on Sunday.
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The Calgary Wranglers are feeling the pressure of the last few games of the regular season and are desperate to secure a playoff spot. Coming off a four game losing streak and a loss on Tuesday to the Tucson Roadrunners (who are below them in the standings), they needed to get it together on Wednesday. Calgary’s top line was clicking on all fronts in this game and single-handedly led their team to a 4-3 victory.
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<h2>Wranglers lines</h2>
Rory Kerins - Sam Morton - Ty Tullio

Sam Honzek - Carter Wilkie - Martin Frk

William Stromgren - Clark Bishop - Parker Bell

Kaden Bohlsen - Lucas Ciona

Ilya Solovyov - Jonathan Aspirot

Yan Kuznetsov - Hunter Brzustewicz

Joni Jurmo - Jeremie Poirier 

Artem Grushnikov 

Devin Cooley
<h2>Game at a glance</h2>
There were only a couple of changes for this game after falling to the Roadrunners on Tuesday night. Charles Martin came out of the lineup and Artem Grushnikov took his spot as the extra blue liner. Calgary made a goaltending swap and started Devin Cooley for this game. The Roadrunners opted to go with the same netminder as the night prior, with Jaxson Stauber getting the start.

The Roadrunners were the first on the board with a marker at 5:16 from Travis Barron. Barron blocked a shot, then caught up to the rush going the other way to elevate his shot over Devin Cooley.

Shortly after this goal, the Wranglers found themselves on their first power play of the game but it was cut short by a cross-checking call against Lucas Ciona. After these penalties expired, the Roadrunners and Wranglers were exchanging rushes and Tucson was inches away from making it a 2-0 game with a shot that rang off the crossbar at the midway mark of the first.

The next goal wouldn’t come until later in the period when Sam Morton scored the equalizer at 16:49. He carried the puck with his stick deep in the zone and elevated his shot enough to get it over Stauber. Ty Tullio and Rory Kerins assisted on this opening goal.

https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907617743333126566

Morton was feeling himself after this goal and so was his line. The remaining five shots from Calgary in this period came off the sticks of the top line. At 19:10, Morton struck again with a go-ahead goal before the opening frame came to an end. He scored off a redirect in the slot and Tullio and Kerins also earned the helpers on this goal. They had to take a look at this one for a kicking motion but the goal stood. 

https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907618400618295735

By the end of the first period, the Wranglers were ahead 2-1 and had an astounding 20-8 edge in shots. The Roadrunners tried to tame the Wranglers a bit better in the second and succeeded in lowering their shots against but not in scoring. 

Just 3:40 into the period, Rory Kerins scored after passing the puck back to Ty Tullio and Tullio got it back to him by the time he reached the net to redirect the puck in. Hunter Brzustewicz picked up the secondary assist on this third Wranglers goal. 

https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907625886406586510

Tucson followed up this goal with some pressure and six shots on goal over the next six minutes of play. At 11:43, they lost some momentum with an interference call against them. Just six seconds into the power play, Rory Kerins struck again off a tic-tac-toe passing play following the faceoff win. Martin Frk and Jonathan Aspirot picked up the assists.

https://twitter.com/AHLWranglers/status/1907630138432585920

The Wranglers were the next ones to be shorthanded when Martin Frk was called for holding but the penalty killers succeeded in preventing any damage. The Roadrunners did get a goal back at 17:20, though, when Curtis Douglas took a shot that popped off Cooley’s pad and continued into the back of the net.

Tucson got another goal just 27 seconds after this marker from Hunter Drew. Cooley’s vision was impaired after being snowed by his opponents on the rush and Drew used this point of discombobulation to get a rebound past the Wranglers' netminder. 

The Wranglers thankfully found some relief at 18:05 when Artem Duda was called for a delay of game penalty. By the end of the second period, the Wranglers’ comfortable 4-1 lead was all of a sudden a much closer 4-3 game. Shots in the second period were 11-8 for Tucson. 

In the third period, the Wranglers started with five seconds of power play time and were quickly penalty killing when Jonathan Aspirot was called for interference just 20 seconds in. The Roadrunners tried to capitalize on this opportunity but Cooley held things down in his crease.

You could see the tables tilt in Tucson’s direction as they worked towards an equalizing goal. These teams exchanged power plays around the midway mark of the period and the Roadrunners found themselves shorthanded again at 14:35. Once this penalty kill succeeded, they pulled Stauber for the extra attacker and had an additional edge at 19:05 when Yan Kuznetsov was called for tripping.

The stressful last minute of play wrapped up with some pressure in the Wranglers’ zone and just after the final buzzer sounded, the Roadrunners scored. Just a second too late. The Wranglers earned a much-needed win with a huge night from their top line, who combined for nine points. 

The final score was 4-3 and Calgary finished with a slight edge in shots 33-32. Rory Kerins was given the first star for his four point night and his game winner and Sam Morton earned the second star for his two goals. 
<h2>Scoring stat summary</h2>
Hunter Brzustewicz - 1A

Rory Kerins - 2G, 2A

Ty Tullio - 3A

Martin Frk - 1A

Sam Morton - 2G

Jonathan Aspirot - 1A
<h2>Next up</h2>
After the events of Wednesday’s games, two more Pacific Division teams secured playoff spots. The Ontario Reign and the Abbotsford Canucks. This win puts the Wranglers a step closer to clinching and a more comfortable fifth place spot in the standings. Their next test will be this weekend for a two game home series against the Ontario Reign. Game one goes at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday and game two is at 1:00 p.m. MT on Sunday.

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