By: Annie Nadin
PALM DESERT, Calif. – Rory Kerins isn’t pretending this is just another game.
“This isn’t a clean slate,” he said Friday. “We lost Game 1. We’ve got to win the next two.”
There’s no faking the stakes, no dressing up the rivalry, and certainly not forgetting how Tuesday night ended.
Kerins, the Wranglers’ leading scorer this season with 33 tallies and 61 points in 63 games, was the hero in regulation.
With seven seconds left in the third period, he buried the game-tying goal to force overtime.
RORY = CERTIFIED BEAUTY 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZjP3YWUMW6
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) April 23, 2025
But after three extra frames, it was Coachella Valley who found the back of the net to win 4-3.
“We’re not gonna go away,” he said after practice on Friday. “We know if we play our best, we can play with anyone in this league. We proved that in the last half of that game, and we’re excited to get a second chance.”
There’s a quiet fire in Kerins when he talks about this series – not loud, not flashy, but sharp. Focused. The kind that comes from history. From having been here before. From unfinished business.
The Wranglers have spent the week tightening up their game since the loss, their sights firmly set on Game 2 and evening things up before a scheduled Game 3 that would happen Sunday.
“Yeah, just focusing on some areas we need to get better at,” Kerins explained. “But I think all week we’ve had a pretty quiet confidence about us, and we’re pretty excited to play tomorrow.”
It’s the little things that need to change, not the effort, not the identity.
“Just trying to get pucks from up high in the zone down low,” he said. “And if you get your shot blocked, you’ve got to recover it. That’s probably the big thing we’ll be focused on.”
The intensity of Tuesday’s game, and the disappointment of its ending lingers in the background. But it’s not weighing anyone down. If anything, it’s fuel.
“This team’s got a lot of fight,” Kerins said. “We’re not done.”
Rory Kerins tied game 1 and forced over time in the first round series against the Firebirds.
Post practice he shared “just trying to get pucks from up high in the zone to down low. I think that’s a big thing”. pic.twitter.com/77CVbIyOdH
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) April 25, 2025
