kiffinmcginnis The Ontario Reign’s defeat of the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday can be attributed to the high-flying offense of Martin Frk, TJ Tynan, and Jordan Spence.
It was a precision game for the Reign as their offensive capabilities were indeed on display, though there were some deficiencies on the back end. Specifically, there needs to be a little more structure when the opposing team enters the zone.
Hopefully, the Reign can clean up during their very few hours off and ensure they are ready for game two. Here are three things to watch today.
Tale of the Tape
Powerplay
ONT: 26.6% (1st)
TUC: 19.0% (15th)
Penalty Kill
ONT: 73.9% (30th)
TUC: 79.3% (23rd)
Goals Per Game
ONT: 3.9 (5th)
TUC: 2.56 (31st)
Goals Against Per Game
ONT: 3.06 (10th)
TUC: 3.53 (24th)
Key Players
ONT: T.J. Tynan – 6 goals, 31 assists, 37 points
TUC: Matias Maccelli – 10 goals, 20 assists, 30 points
Goaltending
Back-to-back games require two goalies most of the time. With Jacob Ingham starting last night (Matt Villalta is with the Los Angeles Tax Squad in New Jersey), the next man up is Lukas Parik or Garret Sparks.
While this isn’t necessarily bad, it may not be the best thing. Both goaltenders own a GAA of over 3.20, and – if more concerning – both men are running sub .900 save percentages. Sparks has played nine more games than Parik and can win games. Sparks may be the best person for the job after his call up to the NHL and an emotional win.
The goaltending for the Ontario Reign has been pretty good of late, but tightening up will be necessary if they want to keep winning games.
Does the offense ever stop?
Let me give you two numbers quickly. Ninety and seventy-three. That’s 90…and 73. Ninety is the number of points scored by the top 3 scorers on the Ontario Reign, T.J. Tynan, Martin Frk, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan.
The other number is the total number of games they have cumulatively played this season. A reminder that last night’s game against Tucson was game number 30, meaning none of these players have played every game.
The Reign are getting massive contributions from these three that propels them toward the top of the AHL. Martin Frk is currently tied for 3rd in scoring in the whole league, while Tynan is tied second for points (1st in assists). The Reign holds second place in the Pacific Division by two points – with FOUR games in hand on Stockton and Colorado – and 4th place in the AHL.
Contributions like this are how you win championships and become dominant in a league full of talent. These men prove that the future is bright for this organization night in and night out.
Staying consistent
There’s no way to say it; the Ontario Reign are a consistent team. In their last seven games, the Ontario Reign have gotten great performances from key players, leading to a 5-0-1-1 record. Strong performances will be vital to earning points as the season wears on, and the Reign have been excellent so far.
The last five games of the season have resulted in 22 goals for the Reign with only one regulation loss. The Reign holds the number 4 spot in Points percentage with 71.7% throughout the season. Scoring remaining high, and getting better goaltending will help the Reign get to a better place in the standings and keep them strong as we march closer to the playoffs.
There seems to be only one team in the AHL that is winning at a more consistent rate than the Reign, but they remain lower in the standings due to the run of consistency being recent. Hopefully, the Reign can keep it tight and keep their place in the standings strong.