Ontario Reign: Takeaways From 4-2 Victory Over Tucson

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

TUC: Curtis Douglas (5), Maveric Lamoureux (10), Julian Lutz (7)

Second period:

ONT: Aatu Jamsen (6), ASST: Jack  Millar (9)

TUC: PP Max Szuber (6), ASST: Kailer Yamamoto (31), Andrew Agozzino (17)

Third period:

ONT: Glenn Gawdin (17), ASST: Charles Hudon (33), Jack Millar (10)

ONT: Francesco Pinelli (14), ASST: Jeff Malott (27), Joe Hicketts (22)

ONT: EN Samuel Fagemo (23), ASST: Glenn Gawdin (30), Jeff Malott (28)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 4

TUC: 2

Shots:

ONT: 29

TUC: 23

Power plays: 

ONT: 0/3

TUC: 1/1

Here are the takeaways from yesterday’s 4-2 victory:

Pheonix Copley gets the start

Pheonix Copley starting between the pipes has been a common theme for the Reign since Portillo has been sidelined with an injury. Rather than give Copley and Dryden McKay a start in each game, Marco Sturm tabbed Copley as the starter for both games, giving him his ninth start in 10 games. As he has done lately, Copley did his job and made timely saves, including a breakaway save on Kailer Yamamoto to keep the Reign within one with 2:07 to play in the second period. Copley finished the game with 21 saves on 23 shots and posted a .917 sv% in the two games in Tucson.

Aatu Jamsen scores his sixth of the year

Aatu Jamsen was inserted back into the lineup as the fourth-line center after being a healthy scratch in Tuesday’s game. Jamsen came out with some jump and was engaged early on with a few hits. That would play a factor early in the second period because Sturm rewarded him by moving him to the first line with Jeff Malott in the penalty box serving his fighting major. The short-lived move paid off as Jamsen scored 1:35 into the middle frame with a wrist shot sniped by the blocker side of Matthew Villalta. It was Jamsen’s sixth goal of the season as he continues to adjust to the style of play in North America after coming over from Europe.

Francesco Pinelli scores the game-winner, continues to make strides

Francesco Pinelli made an impact late in the game. With the Reign trailing by a goal around the midway point of the third period, Sturm made one tweak that sparked the comeback. That tweak saw Pinelli elevated to the first line, centering Jeff Malott and Samuel Fagemo, and Glenn Gawdin sliding down to the third line centering Charles Hudon and Jamsen. Gawdin tied the game at two with 9:51 to play, but it was Pinelli who played the hero role.

Pinelli gave the Reign a 3-2 lead with 2:37 to play on his 14th goal of the season (a new career-high in his young professional career). The goal extended his point streak to four games (2 G, 3 A). What I liked about the trio of Malott–Pinelli–Fagemo was they created chances and got the puck behind the Tucson net. The latter was important because Hicketts cycled the puck behind the Tucson net to Malott and Pinelli put himself in a high-danger scoring area. Malott dished the puck to Pinelli and the rest is history.

It was around this time last year Pinelli found a role as Ontario’s fourth-line center and started to improve his game down the stretch after an adjustment phase to start the season. This year Pinelli has looked comfortable with the puck, much more involved in the game, a bigger role on the penalty kill, and has even added the physicality element to his repertoire.

Depth is key

The Reign always rely on their depth and they needed it last night. After a slow start, they finished strong as Gawdin, Malott, and Jack Millar led the way with two points each. Getting contributions from Gawdin and Malott are normal, but two assists from Jack Millar is a plus. Millar has been Ontario’s underrated defenseman this year and has quickly earned Sturm’s trust in key defensive situations. Joe Hicketts, Jamsen, Fagemo, Pinelli, and Hudon chipped in with either a goal or an assist. Eight players in total found the scoresheet for the second straight night. That is the blueprint for the Reign’s success.

Martin Chromiak returns to the lineup

Martin Chromiak returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with an injury. He was slotted on the third line as the right wing. He finished the game scoreless and no shots on goal.

Power play is still an issue

The Reign power play continues to be an issue. While they scored a big insurance goal on the man advantage in Tuesday’s victory, it was non-existent in Wednesday’s victory. It’s getting late in the season and the power play sits at 17.3% (22nd). Simply not good enough with the playoffs around the corner. Zone entries, particularly on the first unit, continue to plague the team. I wonder if Sturm will go outside the box and move one of Pinelli or Jack Studnicka up to the top unit to help with that and run five forwards with Gawdin running the point. At this point, I’d try anything.

Mid-week sweep

Instead of meep meep, it was weep weep for Roadrunners. The Reign pulled off the mid-week sweep with a pair of 4-2 wins. Both wins came at a crucial time with the Reign entering the two-game series on a five-game skid and the Pacific Division standings getting tighter and tighter. The victory moved Ontario into a tie with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the second seed in the division and two points behind the Colorado Eagles for the division lead. This win, plus the Bakersfield Condors loss in regulation last night, saw the Reign’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot go from 24 points to 20.

NOTE:

*The Reign are 7-16-1-0 when trailing after two periods. Their 33 wins are the most in the Pacific Division.

UP NEXT: The Reign aren’t in action until Sunday, March 16th, in a home game against the Henderson Silver Knights. It’s St. Patrick’s Eve showdown in the final meeting between the two clubs. The game starts at 3 PM PST and can be seen on FloHockey and KCAL+ (channel 9.6). You can also listen to the game on the ESPN LA app or ontarioreign.com/radio.