Wranglers Silence Laval Crowd, Prove Late-Season Fight Still Alive

A five-goal second period inside a raucous Place Bell, against the team atop the AHL's North Division, is not what most observers pencil in for a club trending toward a second straight missed postseason. Calgary's Wranglers produced it anyway.

The Wranglers erased a first-period deficit to beat the Laval Rocket 5-2 on April 4 in what doubled as the franchise's first-ever appearance in Laval, playing in front of more than 10,000 fans and answering any suggestion that the remaining calendar is a formality. Calgary outshot the 85-point Rocket 29-18, chased starting goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen from the crease before the second period was finished, and did it with five different goal scorers.

The evening's unmistakable centerpiece was Rory Kerins. He posted a four-point night, the first of his professional career, earning first-star honors and adding to a stretch that now shows 13 points across his last six games. His season total sits at 50 points in 52 games. Kerins opened Calgary's second-period surge by tipping a Lucas Ciona shot from the wall to level the score, then converted a one-timer off a Dryden Hunt feed to push the lead to 3-1. He then set up Martin Frk with a give-and-go through the slot to make it 4-1, the playmaking as sharp as the finishing.

William Stromgren and Sam Morton filled out the five-goal frame. Stromgren worked the puck out of the corner himself, walked to the right circle, and picked his spot. Morton converted a two-on-one with Frk to close the burst. Arsenii Sergeev held the Calgary net throughout as Laval pushed in the third, keeping structure intact when the Rocket needed a response.

The trip carried an additional layer of context. Aydar Suniev did not make the journey after being called up to the Calgary Flames earlier on April 4, a live signal that the pipeline from the AHL roster to the NHL parent club remains in motion regardless of the Wranglers' standings position.

Saturday's rematch in Laval ended in a 3-3 tie through regulation and overtime before the Rocket won in a shootout, 4-3. Calgary's goals included a power-play one-timer from Frk set up by Kerins 71 seconds into the third period, a play they reportedly rehearse together daily during warm-ups, and it was on that assist that Hunt collected his 300th career AHL point. The Wranglers walked away from the weekend with three of a possible four points.

For evaluators in Calgary watching the 2026-27 roster take shape, the Laval series did more than pad a record. Kerins demonstrated he can carry a line and manufacture offense against legitimate competition. Sergeev showed composure in a loud building on the road. The 29-18 shots-on-goal differential against a division leader tells a more honest story than the standings do about where certain pieces of this group stand heading into the offseason conversation.