The Ontario Reign dropped both games to the San Diego Gulls this weekend and the losing streak extends to five games.
Final. #ReignTrain | #ONTvsSD pic.twitter.com/gJDgO59p75
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) March 9, 2025
First period:
ONT: Luke Rowe (2), ASST: Charles Hudon (32), Francesco Pinelli (11)
ONT: Jeff Malott (18), ASST: Samuel Fagemo (10), Glenn Gawdin (29)
Second period:
SD: PS Justin Bailey (16), ASST: None
SD: Judd Caufield (17), ASST: Nathan Gaucher (11), Tyson Hinds (13)
SD: Nikita Nesterenko (13), ASST: None
Third period:
ONT: Jack Studnicka (14), ASST: Taylor Ward (11), Luke Rowe (6)
SD: Jan Myšák (16), ASST: Yegor Sidorov (15), Nico Myatovic (5)
SD: EN Nathan Gaucher (8), ASST: Nikita Nesterenko (21), Judd Caufield (12)
Goals:
ONT: 3
SD: 5
Shots:
ONT: 30
SD: 37
Power plays:
ONT: 0/1
SD: 0/1
Notes from yesterday’s 5-3 loss:
The Reign started strong after a tough loss on home ice to these same Gulls less than 24 hours before this game. Ontario at one point outshot San Diego 9-3 to start, 11-8 overall after 20 minutes, and took a two-goal lead into the intermission on goals from Luke Rowe and Jeff Malott.
Rower with a rocket
#ReignTrain | #ONTvsSD pic.twitter.com/SagUo9kQBh
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) March 9, 2025
As mentioned above, the Reign got off to a strong start, but it would not be enough. The second period woes, which were the Achilles heel of the Reign at points during the season, have resurfaced. The Reign have been outscored 11-2 in the middle frame in their last seven games, which was capped off by a three-goal period for the Gulls. The Reign have gotten off to strong starts recently, but their poor play in the middle frames needs to change or results like this will continue.
Simply unstoppable#LetsGoGulls | #ONTvsSD pic.twitter.com/14pvMU66hx
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) March 9, 2025
Out for a stroll
#LetsGoGulls | #ONTvsSD pic.twitter.com/nli22fWkWn
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) March 9, 2025
Who gave Nesty that much room to work with????#LetsGoGulls | #ONTvsSD pic.twitter.com/Oeh4XrnH2f
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) March 9, 2025
Marco Sturm mentioned that after Friday’s game, with plenty of upcoming games for the Reign, they would need to be smart in managing the goalie workload. Dryden McKay got his first start with the Reign, giving Pheonix Copley a much-needed day off after starting the previous seven. I agree with the decision because the Reign are going to need Copley to be the clear-cut number-one goalie with Erik Portillo out with an injury and not overworking him will be critical.
McKay stopped 32 of 36 shots but Marco Sturm seemed pleased with the 27-year-old’s effort. The Reign have another back-to-back in Tucson this week and I wouldn’t be surprised to see McKay get a start for one of those games.
Death, taxes, and Francesco Pinelli owning the Gulls in the 2024-25 season. The 21-year-old centerman entered yesterday’s contest with four straight multi-point games against the Gulls and added a secondary assist to extend his point total to nine in six games against Ontario’s SoCal rivals.
If you’re the Gulls, you’re probably thankful you have one game remaining against the Reign in the regular season, considering Pinelli has found a way to make an impact in this year’s season series. The second-year pro has 24 points in 53 games this year for Ontario.
Speaking of Pinelli, he did have a new linemate. Aatu Jamsen moved up to the third line with Pinelli and Charles Hudon as Martin Chromiak was unavailable. Chromiak got hurt in Friday’s game and didn’t finish the contest. That’s something to monitor with the Reign being hit with the injury bug these last two weeks.
Tonight’s @ontarioreign line rushes in SD –
Malott – Gawdin – Fagemo
Lee – Studnicka – Ward
Hudon – Pinelli – Jamsen
Element – Lawrence – DotyHicketts – Millar
Jones – Cecconi
Walsh – RoweMcKay
Copley— Jared Shafran (@ShafReign) March 9, 2025
I mentioned Malott scored earlier and we will come back to him here. Malott’s goal in the opening frame gave him his 100th in his AHL career and it was his first in seven games. It wasn’t just goal number 100, it was also his 200th point in his AHL career. Congrats, Malott!
Malott with a wrist shot
#ReignTrain | #ONTvsSD pic.twitter.com/kouZiWx49v
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) March 9, 2025
The Reign are slipping as the losing streak reached five games. This is the longest losing streak of the season and ties for the longest one the Reign have had since their 10-game losing streak in the 2022-23 season (2/26/23 – 3/21/23). That was Sturm’s first year behind the bench in Ontario. Seeing how tight the seeding is for the division, the Reign can’t afford to let this losing streak continue and leave points on the table as their lead for fourth place over the San Jose Barracuda is one point.
UP NEXT: The Reign will travel to Tucson for a two-game series. The first game is on Tuesday, March 11th, at 6:30 PM PST. The game can be seen on FloHockey and you can listen to it on the ESPN LA app or ontarioreign.com/radio.
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A recent trade pitch from Heavy.com has the Toronto Maple Leafs acquiring veteran defenseman Mike Matheson from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Simon Benoit, restricted free agent Nick Robertson, and a 2028 third-round pick. While the idea might seem intriguing on paper—especially for a Toronto team looking to add offensive punch from the blue line—the numbers don’t add up terribly well. Matheson, entering the final year of his eight-year, $39 million contract, carries a $4.875 million cap hit. In this hypothetical deal, the Leafs would send out Benoit’s $1.35 million salary and the unsigned Robertson, meaning the club would be taking on over $3.5 million in additional cap obligations. As it stands, the Maple Leafs don’t have that kind of space to play with. In fact, the deal would put them roughly $675,000 over the salary cap, forcing GM Brad Treliving to make additional moves just to stay compliant. That’s a steep price for a player they don’t necessarily need. Toronto’s blue line is already deep, especially with recent additions like Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The team also has Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe, with Brandon Carlo acquired at last season’s trade deadline. Treliving has made it clear he likes the “length” and physicality of his defense corps. While Matheson would add some offensive flair—he posted 31 points in 80 games last season—he doesn’t offer enough of a game-changing upgrade to justify the cap crunch when the real need is more scoring up front. If the idea is to gain that scoring from the back end, it can only mean Toronto has run out of realistic options for their top-six forward group. Canadiens Likely Don’t Love This Trade Either The Canadiens, for their part, could benefit from shedding salary on a player they no longer really need and acquiring two young, controllable pieces. However, as one commenter on the post noted, GM Kent Hughes likes Matheson and has already said there is no rush to trade the defenseman. The Canadiens need a second-line center, and the return from Toronto doesn’t help fill that need. From Toronto’s perspective, this move feels like a forced fit. For Montreal, it removes a tradeable asset and doesn’t bring them back what they’re ideally looking for.
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The Green Bay Packers offense was dealt a bit of a blow early in training camp. Friday, third-round rookie wide receiver Savion Williams was a spectator for practice after suffering a concussion. Williams, chosen by the Packers with the No. 87 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, is aiming to climb the depth chart at a crowded wide receiver position this summer. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Williams ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.48 seconds during the NFL Combine and has the profile of potentially becoming a reliable possession receiver and after-the-catch weapon for quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense. Reaching those benchmarks and climbing the depth chart will have to wait, though, as Williams works his way through the concussion protocol and back onto the field for practices during training camp and the preseason this summer.