In all, Rodden goes 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI, and the Mariners walk away with a 3-3 tie.

After filing a story, I walk away at 4:29 p.m.

But my day isn’t done.

— 5:23 p.m.: Don’t get me wrong: the Coyotes are no Goliath. At 28-36-5, they sit in seventh place in the Central Division, an afterthought in every significant sense.

Including their accommodations.

In 2021, the city of Glendale and Desert Diamond Arena chose not to renew their operating agreement, casting the Coyotes out. In the seasons since, the team has tentatively relocated to Mullett Arena — cozy capacity 4,600, dubbed “The Party Barn” — home of the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Coyotes have been uncomfortably crashing on the couch.

And while the franchise flounders, hope for a new home is beginning to fade. Last May, a proposal to build a $2.1 billion arena in Tempe was rejected by the city’s residents. Mullett Arena, meanwhile, features precious little Coyotes branding. The crowded concourses are stocked with bar carts and two “team stores,” which look more like portable closets.

A few minutes before 5:30, I park at a lot outside the arena, facing a banner tied to a chain link fence. Its three-word slogan doubles as a self-deprecating dig.

You guessed it:

“Built to Last.”

— 9:06 p.m.: This is why we wander.

With 12:23 left in a scoreless game, Jared McCann takes a pass in the right slot, considers a shot, then zips a pass to rookie defenseman Ryker Evans. The 22-year-old kid from Calgary fires over the lunging frame of Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka for his first career NHL goal.

You want hope? Here he is.

As Evans pumps his fist and shouts, “Yes!”, McCann hugs him so hard they coast five feet backward. The Kraken are 12 minutes away from a streak-snapping win.

Or an agonizing alternative.

— 10 p.m.: Hakstol stands in a makeshift tent attached to Mullett Arena, hands stuffed in his pockets, attempting to explain why it went awry.

The Coyotes’ Clayton Keller notched the tying goal with just 1:08 remaining, before Arizona winger Dylan Guenther ended the agony in overtime. It’s the Kraken’s seventh consecutive loss, and an all-too-similar story — after Las Vegas found the winning goal with 1:20 left the night before.

“Bottom line: We were in excellent position to win this hockey game,” a harried Hakstol says. “There’s no question that we worked hard to put ourselves in that position. That’s a game we should have been able to close out.”

This, unfortunately, is a familiar refrain.

But one day, the Kraken will win again.

I think.

Here’s to hoping.

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