Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 11/3-11/9

The Reign would then travel to San Diego that Friday to kick off a home-and-home series with the Gulls. Two short-handed tallies by San Diego and 41 saves from Ville Husso saw San Diego take game one of the weekend by a score of 6-4.

Less than 24 hours later, the two teams met at Toyota Arena in the Inland Empire. Ontario jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but San Diego clawed back to tie the game with a late third-period tally to force overtime. 1:59 into the overtime session, Kyle Burroughs , loaned to the Reign after clearing waivers six days earlier, scored the game-winner for his first goal since April 11th, 2024, when he was a member of the San Jose Sharks.

With the recap of the week over with, let’s see which players cracked this segment’s three stars of the week!

Honorable mention

Aatu Jamsen

Aatu Jamsen is an honorable mention. Jamsen posted two points (1 G, 1 A) and six shots on goal in three games during the week. The 22-year-old has four goals and two assists for six points in 12 games for the Reign. He has almost reached his output in all three offensive categories from last year (7 G, 4 A, 11 Pts in 36 GP).

Third star

Glenn Gawdin

Stat line: Three games played, two goals, zero assists, two points, +/- 0 rating, nine shots on goal

Glenn Gawdin is my third star for his two-goal performance against the Gulls in the Reign’s 4-3 overtime win. Both of Gawdin’s goals came at 5v5 in the first period and were his first goals that weren’t an empty-net goal.

It’s been a slow start offensively for Gawdin, but he still has been a reliable top-six center in all situations for Andrew Lord’s squad. Perhaps this game opens the floodgates for him offensively going forward.

Second star

Erik Portillo

Stat line: Two games played, 2-0-0-0 record, 55 saves on 59 shots faced, .932 save percentage

Erik Portillo was the second star of the week in the last of this weekly segment and stayed put for this segment. Portillo started in two of three games and won both games. Portillo’s streak of allowing two goals or fewer was snapped when he allowed three goals in the 4-3 overtime victory over San Diego.

While that streak was snapped, he extended his win streak to four games. Portillo has been better than I anticipated, as he has returned from a back injury late last season. I was expecting a slow start to the year, but that hasn’t been the case. He has a 2.27 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in eight games played.

His only blemishes of the week were his puck-handling attempts, as he looked shaky at times playing the puck behind his net, and two goals against came from it. I expect that to improve.

A goaltending pipeline highlighted by Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky, Portillo isn’t ready for anyone to forget about him yet.

First star

Martin Chromiak

Stat line: Three games played, two goals, two assists, four points, +/- 0 rating, nine shots on goal

Martin Chromiak is the first star with his four-point game in the Reign’s 6-4 loss to the Gulls. When Chromiak is active, he makes an impact on the game more often than not. In that game alone, he scored twice, recorded two helpers, and had a season-high seven shots on goal.

It was the second four-point game of his career.

Entering the season, consistency was a point of emphasis for Chromiak. It hasn’t been that way, as half of his eight points came in that game against San Diego. Chromiak was once a hidden gem in a prospect pool that was ranked first or second by many media outlets five years ago, but finds himself on the forgotten side, despite the prospect pool being shallow.

Chromiak wasn’t as noticeable the following game, but more games like his four-point game, where he makes an impact, could catch the attention of the Kings’ brass.