kiffinmcginnis 
Martin Frk‘s hat-trick, along with Jordan Spence’s and T.J. Tynan‘s three-assist nights, led the Ontario Reign over the Tucson Roadrunners.
Goal Breakdown
1st Period
ONT Sodergran (3) ASST: Jordan Spence (16), Austin Wagner (4)
ONT Martin Frk (15) ASST: T.J. Tynan (29), Brayden Burke (9)
ONT Austin Wagner (6) ASST T.J. Tynan (30), Brayden Burke (10)
2nd Period
ONT Aidan Dudas (7) ASST: Adam Johnson (5), Gabriel Vilardi (10)
TUC Travis Barron (5) ASST: Michael Carcone (10)
TUC Cameron Crotty (1) ASST: Matias Maccelli (20)
ONT Martin Frk (16) ASST: T.J. Tynan (31), Jordan Spence (17) (PP)
ONT Jaret Anderson-Dolan (9) ASST: Helge Grans (7) Jacob Moverare
3rd Period
ONT Martin Frk (17) ASST: Jordan Spence (18), Jaret Anderson-Dolan (12)(PP)
TUC Matias Meccelli (10) ASST: Cameron Hebig(4), Ben McCartney (6)
Stats
Goals
ONT: 7
TUC: 3
Shots
ONT: 30
TUC: 28
Power-play
ONT: 2/2
TUC: 0/3
Here are three things that stood out in Saturday’s win:
1. The return of Martin Frk
Is Martin Frk a human being, or does he spend time in the sun to grow his power? Did he land in Kansas and grow up in Smallville?
Frk was a presence from the beginning of the game, firing on goal twice ā only one hit the target ā in the first minute of the game. He would then become superhuman and score a hat trick as easy as cutting a cake. Frk put on a possession clinic through the game, showing the flashes of what makes him a valuable piece of the Los Angeles Kings organization.
For the game, Frk had his hat trick (free hats were given at the arena for first responderās night, so it took some extra time to pick them all up), six (6) shots on goal, and two of his goals were power-play markers. The only downside is that a man who scored three goals ended with an even plus-minus, which really shouldnāt happen.
š©š©š© – @Frky91 pic.twitter.com/DLPqbrLHoo
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) January 23, 2022
Frkās friendly contributors for the evening were Tynan and Spence, ending the game with three assists apiece.
2. Special Teams got the work done
One of the three things to watch in this game was special teams. The Ontario Reign outpaced the special teams’ expectations by connecting twice on the power-play and killing off the three assessed penalties.
Frk on the PP – a tale as old as time pic.twitter.com/7yfOILntc9
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) January 23, 2022
In a chippy game, the Roadrunners let their emotion get the best of them in a moment when they could have worked to draw more penalties from a team that was basically on cruise control from the final 4 minutes of the first period.
Coming into the game, there wasnāt a huge amount going for the special teams as far as penalty kill, but the Reign quietly put to bed any idea the Roadrunners may have had to get a goal or two back while on the man advantage.
3. Defense has to tighten up to keep winning
It may not matter when youāre scoring seven goals, but there is a structural deficiency on Ontarioās back end. Many times throughout the game, the Roadrunners broke the blue line, and the Reign just seemed behind the play.
The structure was not there, and the Runners had specially long stretches of time in the offensive zone. As anyone who watches hockey knows, you have to have a strong defensive structure to make sure that you can keep your shots-against down and your ability to move play to the other end going.
Many times, the Reign had some issue getting the puck out of the zone and just cleared it rather than being able to take some sustained play forward into the Tucson zone. The team’s offense cannot be relied on to score seven goals a night to win games. The structure has to come through.
The Ontario Reign and Roadrunners meet again on Sunday, with puck drop at 3:00 pm PT.
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