Kerins scores twice, Gridin seals shootout win as Wranglers snap six-game skid vs Moose
WINNIPEG — The Calgary Wranglers snapped a six-game losing streak Monday afternoon, defeating the Manitoba Moose 3-2 in a shootout in American Hockey League action.
The Moose opened the scoring in the first period when Ville Heinola found the back of the net at 13:37, finishing a play set up by Mason Shaw and David Gustafsson. Manitoba doubled its lead in the second period as Gustafsson scored at 13:09, with Heinola recording the assist.
Calgary responded later in the second period when Rory Kerins gave the Wranglers life on the power play, converting at 16:55 off feeds from Sam Morton and Matvei Gridin. The momentum carried into the third period, where Kerins struck again at 15:41, cleaning up a bouncing puck in front of the net to tie the game. Daniil Miromanov and Martin Frk were credited with the assists.
Overtime solved nothing, sending the game to a shootout. Rookie Matvei Gridin scored the decisive goal, while Arsenii Sergeev shut the door, denying attempts from Nikita Chibrikov, Danny Zhilkin, and Heinola to secure the victory.
Sergeev stopped 25 of 27 shots for a .926 save percentage and was perfect in the shootout. At the other end, Domenic DiVincentiis delivered a strong performance for Manitoba, turning aside 38 of 40 shots for a .950 save percentage to help push the game beyond regulation.
The Wranglers finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Moose went 0-for-1.
Around the hockey world earlier in the day, Team Canada advanced to the gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, defeating Switzerland 2-1 in semifinal action. Marie-Philip Poulin scored both goals for Canada, recording her 19th and 20th Olympic tallies to surpass Hayley Wickenheiser as the country’s all-time Olympic goal-scoring leader. Canada will face the United States for gold on Thursday.
Calgary now heads to Bakersfield to face the Condors at Dignity Health Arena on Friday, February 20, with puck drop scheduled for 8:00 p.m. MT.