The Calgary Wranglers played a kids day Next Generation themed game on Sunday with custom jerseys, Matt Coronato collectible pins, free kids shirts and Hunter Brzustewicz posters after the game. It was a well-attended game of 6,341 and the team put up a great effort in front of the crowd. Calgary went toe to toe with a highly ranked Colorado Eagles team and ended up falling 2-1 due to a two deflection goal performance from Taylor Makar.

Lineup notes

The biggest lineup note of the day was the return of Rory Kerins. Kerins has been out of the lineup with a lower body injury since Feb. 25 and made a seamless transition back into the lineup. The Wranglers also lost Brennan Othmann to a Flames call-up on Saturday. However, he did register his first point as a Flame with an assist on Adam Klapka’s goal. Since their last game, Calgary also recalled Xavier Bernard from the Rapid City Rush and signed University of St. Thomas goaltender Aaron Trotter on an amateur tryout. Bernard slotted in for this game and Trotter backed up Sergeev. Martin Frk was not with the team this game but it was stated earlier this week, his wife was due to have their second child any day.

Wranglers lines

Dryden Hunt – Sam Morton – Aydar Suniev

Rory Kerins – Justin Kirkland – William Stromgren

Carter King – Clark Bishop – Carter Wilkie

Alex Gallant – David Silye – Parker Bell

Nick Cicek – Gavin White

Turner Ottenbreit – Daniil Miromanov

Xavier Bernard – Simon Mack

Arsenii Sergeev

Game at a glance

Arsenii Sergeev was back in net for this game and the Eagles went back to Trent Miner, the same netminder as Friday’s game. Colorado started this game hot and tested Sergeev early. At 5:38, Taylor Makar (brother of the Avalanche’s Cale Makar) deflected a shot from the point past Sergeev and took an early lead for the visitors.

Calgary got their bearings and kept up with the pace the Eagles had started the game with. They put up a flurry of shots and scored an answer back goal at 10:08 with a wrist shot from Rory Kerins. Justin Kirkland came in with the zone entry and Gavin White hit Kerins with the set up pass.

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Rory Kerins scores in his first game back after missing about a month with an injury

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7:52 PM · Mar 29, 2026

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The Wranglers put up a few more shots to try and take an early lead but ended up being called for the first penalty of the game at 15:22. Daniil Miromanov went off for interference. Nine seconds into this penalty kill, Turner Ottenbreit was called for cross-checking and Calgary had a five-on-three to kill off for nearly the whole two minutes. They succeeded and went into the first intermission tied 1-1. Shots through the first period were 14-12 Eagles.

Early in the second period, the Wranglers needed to penalty kill again as Parker Bell was called for high-sticking at 2:50. They succeeded on this kill as well then got a chance on the power play at 7:31, when the Eages were called for hooking. This power play came and went then the rest of the period was played out without any other players in the penalty box.

Calgary and Colorado exchanged chances then at the end of the second, the result was the same as the end of the first. A 1-1 game, this time, the Eagles outshot the Wranglers 12-5. The third period continued the competitive grind the previous two periods were played with. At 3:18, the Wrangers got another power play chance when the Eagles were called for slashing. Daniil Miromanov managed a few shots on this opportunity.

After that, even strength was fast paced and back and forth again. This game felt as if it were trending to go to overtime until Makar struck again at 16:41. This was a similar goal as the first, just this time the puck deflected off his skate and in. After this goal, the Wranglers only gave up one shot against and dug deep to try and find that next goal.

They took a timeout and pulled Arsenii Sergeev at 18:23 for the extra attacker. Sergeev needed to return back to the net for a faceoff with 1:13 left in regulation then went back to the bench for the last minute. Calgary held the offensive zone and had their top guys out trying to find that equalizer. They timed out on that effort and ended up falling 2-1. Shots finished 36-32 for Colorado.

Rory Kerins talked to the media after the game and alluded to some nerves he had coming back into this game but was happy with how he bounced back. He said:

“I know we lost, but that’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I worked pretty hard to give myself a chance to come back, maybe a bit earlier than people thought.”

Head coach Brett Sutter was also very impressed with the effort in this game and mentioned he challenged the guys that morning to take less penalties. They gave up five power play goals in their last game on Friday and had a perfect penalty kill in this game. Regarding Kerins returning, he said:

“It was great. I thought he had a really good game. I thought his feet looked really good and didn’t see too much rust. Scored a big goal for us. He always has a certain energy about him that he brings to the bench, brings to the locker room. It was awesome having him back.”

Sutter also said something to Kerins right after that goal and confirmed he told him himself, it was nice to have him back.

Scoring stat summary

Rory Kerins – 1G

Gavin White – 1A

Justin Kirkland – 1A

Highlights

Next up

The Wranglers’ next series will be on the road against the Laval Rocket over Easter weekend. They’ll play on Good Friday at 5:00 p.m. MT and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MT.

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