Wranglers lose a heartbreaker, dropping triple overtime 4-3 decision to Firebirds

The Wranglers rallied from 3 goals down to force overtime Tuesday night in Coachella Valley but eventually lost to the Firebirds 4-3 n triple overtime. (Photo: X@AHLHockey)

Coachella was unkind to Calgary Tuesday night, as the Firebirds scored in the third overtime to win Game 1 of their AHL playoff series 4-3.

Mitchell Stephens scored his second of the night two minutes into triple overtime to give Coachella Valley the win.

The Wranglers battled all night, falling behind 3-0 after two periods, before they rallied for three third-period goals from Dryden Hunt, Lucas Ciona and Rory Kerins, who tied it with seven seconds left on the clock.

Wrangler coach Trent Cull said he was encouraged by his team’s resiliency even if they ultimately fell short.

“We had a tough first couple periods,“ Cull said, in a post-game interview with Wrangler TV. ”We took way too many penalties. It’s tough to be successful having too many penalties, but for the most part, the kill was successful, they did a really good job.”

“We found a way to switch things up a little bit in the third, and caught a little fire, and I thought the guys did a really good job getting us back in the game,” he added. “I felt like we were kind of running out of steam a little bit in the second overtime, but I thought we had a good first overtime but unfortunately that’s how it goes – triple OT — I guess."

The Wranglers will spend the rest of the week recovering in the California desert, before playing Game 2 Saturday, with their season on the line, in Coachella.

Game 3, if necessary will be Sunday night in Coachella Valley

Game time is 7 p.m. PST.