Kyle Garcia 
Credit: Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign’s season came to an abrupt end on Sunday night with a 5-2 loss in game three to the Colorado Eagles.
Goal breakdown
1st period:
COL: Mikhail Maltsev (4) ASST: Keaton Middleton (3), Kiefer Sherwood (3)
2nd period:
COL: Jayson Megna (5) ASST: Jacob MacDonald (3), Kiefer Sherwood (4)
COL: Stefan Matteau (3) ASST: Andreas Englund (1), Alex Beaucage (3)
ONT: Martin Frk (2) ASST: Vladimir Tkachev (4)
3rd period:Â
COL: Jacob MacDonald (1) ASST: Mikhail Maltsev (2)
ONT: PP Samuel Fagemo (3) ASST: T.J. Tynan (2), Christian Wolanin (3)
COL: EN Jayson Megna (6) ASST: Andreas Wingerli (2)
Stats
Goals:
COL: 5
ONT: 2
Shots:
COL: 33
ONT: 33
Power-plays:
COL: 0/1
ONT: 1/2
Three takeaways from Sunday’s 5-2 loss:
1. A quick and shocking ending
Sunday night was not the ending the Ontario Reign and their fans had in mind. Back in October, you could tell that this Reign team was special. And by the looks of it, they looked like a team that could go all the way to the Calder Cup finals.
Those hopes were dashed after getting swept by the Colorado Eagles Sunday night. The Reign have not made it to the Calder Cup finals since their last season in Manchester (2014-2015 season). Since relocating to Ontario in 2015, Ontario has only made it to the Conference finals once (2015-2016 season).
It was a quick, shocking, and disappointing ending for the Ontario Reign and their fans. A year where it seemed they could have a deep playoff run and possibly get into the Calder Cup finals ended in heartbreak. The Reign will have to wait for another year to get another shot at capturing a Calder Cup championship.
Thanks for another great season Reign Fans! We’ll see you in the fall.🖤🌧🚂#ReignTrain pic.twitter.com/oRXXfhC8wj
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) May 16, 2022
2. Samuel Fagemo gets the Reign’s first power-play goal of the series
It’s rare when the Ontario Reign doesn’t score on the power play. It’s rare when they don’t score on the power play in two games, but that’s what happened. Prior to Game 3, the Reign, the AHL’s number one ranked powerplay, was 0-for-11 in the first two games of the series. Give credit to the Colorado Eagles, though. Shutting down the Reign power play hasn’t been easy all year long, and they made the necessary adjustments.
Heading into the third period, the Reign had one power play opportunity and could not convert. Finally, in the third period, Samuel Fagemo beat Eagles netminder Justus Annunen to bring the Reign closer at 4-2 with 6:31 to play.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Samuel Fagemo graduates to the big club in LA at the start of next season. He has made big strides in his game this season.
Back to the game.
Unfortunately, that would be the last goal scored by the Ontario Reign despite a late push to tie and force overtime. Ontario finished the series 1-for-13 on the powerplay (7.7%).
Here’s @samuelfagemo’s power play goal! pic.twitter.com/pAihKEryDv
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) May 16, 2022
3. Great goaltending by Colorado
For the year, the Ontario Reign led the AHL with 3.81 goals per game. In this series, they scored just seven goals in the three games (2.33 goals per game). That is where you have to give credit to Eagles netminder Justus Annunen and the Colorado defense. Colorado blocked a lot of shots, and the ones that got through Annunen steered them away.
Through five playoff games, Annunen has a 2.11 goals-against average and a save percentage of .933. He has stepped up his game these playoffs and was able to keep the highly touted Ontario Reign offense in check through three games. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the opponent.
UP NEXT: A long summer. See you in the Fall Reign fans!