Ontario Reign: Takeaways From 4-1 Loss Against Tucson

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Taylor Ward (10), ASST: None

TUC: Andrew Agozzino (13), None

Second period:

TUC: Julian Lutz (2), ASST: Sam Lipkin (4), Hunter Drew (7)

TUC: Montana Onyebuchi (2), ASST: Hunter Drew (8), Sam Lipkin (5)

Third period:

TUC: EN Kevin Connauton (6), ASST: None

Stats

Goals:

TUC: 4

ONT: 1

Shots:

TUC:  21

ONT: 37

Power plays:

TUC: 0/2

ONT: 0/3

Takeaways from the 4-1 defeat:

Bad second period hurts Ontario

Once again the Reign let a bad second period dictate the flow of the game and it cost them. They couldn’t connect on passes and had a tough time skating through the neutral zone, Tucson was very aggressive in attacking the puck carrier, giving Ontario trouble. The Reign then got caught being poor defensively in their end, and it led to Tucson capitalizing on two grade A scoring opportunities.

The Reign can’t continue to play this way, especially with the recent goal-scoring drought. They need to limit their mistakes and focus on the little things in their zone. Tucson could very well end up being a team the Reign face in the Calder Cup Playoffs, and they need to play smarter hockey, as their weaknesses at 5v5 are being exposed, and Tucson can take full advantage of that with their aggressive style.

Scoring droughts for key players

The Reign haven’t been able to find a lot of goals lately and last night was no different with the only goal coming from Taylor Ward. Samuel Fagemo only has one goal in his last 10 games played. The best shooter on Ontario’s roster had his looks last night but couldn’t find a goal. Charles Hudon hasn’t found the scoresheet in his last three games after being scorching hot before the trip to Colorado. Glenn Gawdin and Jack Studnicka have been held scoreless in their last five games. Jeff Malott only has one assist in his last five games as well. Francesco Pinelli has no points in his last seven games played.

It’s the worst time for the goals to dry up, especially with an always changing Pacific Division. I’d like the Reign to stop trying to make the perfect play, it’s great in theory, but sometimes you find more success with traffic in front, with a hard-working goal, other than a perfect passing play that takes a while to set up. The Reign had 20 shots on goal in the third period and had sustained offensive zone pressure. That’s something they can build on going forward, that last 20 minutes, outside of their poor power plays, is what they need going forward.

NOTES:

*Ward scored the only goal for the Reign, his 10th of the season.

*Fagemo led Ontario with five shots on goal.

*Hunter Drew for Tucson had two assists. His first multi-assist game for Tucson this year.

*Former Reign Defenseman Kevin Connauton scored his sixth goal of the season for the Roadrunners with an empty net goal.

*Former Reign Goalie Matthew Villalta was nearly perfect, stopping 36 of 37 shots for his 14th win of the season. There was a nice moment before we began talking to Marco Sturm, he told Villalta he had a good game.

UP NEXT: The Reign return to action on Friday, March 7th, against the San Diego goals for Classical Rock Night in Ontario. Puck Drop is at 7:00 PM and can be viewed on FloSports, and Kcal+ (channel 9.6).