Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 3-2 loss to Bakersfield

The Ontario Reign’s losing streak extended to five games with a 3-2 road loss to the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday night.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

BAK: Noah Philp (4), ASST: None

Second period: 

BAK: Raphael Lavoie (5), ASST: Justin Bailey (5), Brad Malone (8)

BAK: Raphael Lavoie (6), ASST: Justin Bailey (6), Brad Malone (9)

Third period: 

ONT: Austin Wagner (5), ASST: Jacob Moverare (5), TJ Tynan (26)

ONT: Taylor Ward (6), ASST: Jordan Spence (20)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 2

BAK: 3

Shots: 

ONT: 48

BAK: 32

Power-plays:

ONT: 0/5

BAK: 0/3

Here are the three takeaways from Wednesday’s 3-2 loss:

Turnovers lead to goals

The Ontario Reign played an inconsistent game. In the first half of the game, they looked like a team that was sleepwalking. Unfortunately, several turnovers ended up in the back of the net. The first one came off the stick of sure-handed veteran Cameron Gaunce. His turnover in his own end ended up right on the stick of Noah Philp who buried his 4th goal of the season. 1-0 Condors.

The second turnover came in the second period when Alan Quine tried passing the puck through the middle of the ice at the blue line to Jordan Spence and had it picked off. While Matthew Villalta made the save on the initial shot, Raphael Lavoie crashed the net and put home the loose change. 2-0 Condors.

The third goal by the Condors came off yet another turnover. With the Ontario Reign attacking on the rush, a turnover once again saw the Condors strike. A 2-on-0 led to a goal, which ended up being the game-winner by Raphael Lavoie. 3-0 Condors.

Credit the Condors for pouncing on the Reign’s mistakes. They made them pay as the Reign dug themselves a deep hole they couldn’t get out of.

Too little, too late

The Ontario Reign made a big push in the final period to try and force overtime. In the last 40 minutes of play, the Reign outshot the Condors 38-19 and even hit a few posts. However, they couldn’t solve Calvin Pickard until the third period. Austin Wagner re-directed a Jacob Moverare shot at the 3:32 mark of the third period to finally put the Reign on the board.

The Reign even had their chances on the power play and couldn’t convert, but had some good looks. The Reign didn’t get another goal with 45 seconds remaining, which came off the stick of Taylor Ward. After Jordan Spence’s shot was stopped by Pickard, Ward potted home the rebound to bring the Reign within one, 3-2. Unfortunately, the score would stay the same in the final seconds as the Reign dropped their fifth straight game.

Inconsistency

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Reign. They started off the season hot, then had a cold spell of losing five straight in November, then went on a winning streak, and now have lost five straight again. What is the cause? When looking at the struggles for the Reign this year, there are two things you can point out. First off, the power play has been disappointing at times. Last year the Reign shattered the league record with a 27.5% conversion rate on the power play. This year they are 22nd with a conversion rate of 18.6%.

The formation of the power play is the same as last year, however, there is no Martin Frk blasting 109 MPH slap shots from the left circle. Could that be it? Perhaps. At times the Reign power play is stagnant where only Tynan and Spence are trying to generate something and it could be a reason for the lower percentage this year as well. I’m sure Marco Sturm and the coaching staff are doing everything they can to fix it.

Last but not least, the scoring. This Reign team, entering last night’s contest was bottom three in scoring. Last year they were first. When you look at the roster it’s hard to understand why that is. At times they are one and done with their opportunities and don’t get that second or third chance. Last year they were good at that. Got to get back to that.

UP NEXT: The Reign train travels back home for a matchup against the San Jose Barracuda on Friday night. The game starts at 7 PM PT and can be seen on AHLTV.

Feature image credit: Bakersfield Condors

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