Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 4-1 loss to San Diego

Pavol Regenda’s two-goal night for the San Diego Gulls helped spoil the home opener for the Ontario Reign.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

SD: PP Pavol Regenda (1), ASST: Sasha Pastujov (1), Olen Zellweger (1)

Second period: 

None

Third period: 

SD: SH Pavol Regenda (2), ASST: Trevor Carrick (1), Andrew Agozzino (1)

SD: Jacob Perreault (1), ASST: Colton White (1), Olen Zellweger (2)

ONT: Mikhail Maltsev (1), ASST: Taylor Ward (1), Joe Hicketts (1)

SD: EN Glenn Gawdin (1), ASST: None

Stats

Goals: 

SD: 4

ONT: 1

Shots: 

SD: 32

ONT: 41

Power plays:

SD: 1/2

ONT: 0/6

Here are the three takeaways from last night’s loss:

Special teams play a factor

The Ontario Reign outshot the San Diego Gulls in two of the three periods but couldn’t capitalize on their power play opportunities. The Reign had six chances on the man advantage and came away empty on all of them. However, as the game progressed, they started to look more in sync and get in a rhythm but couldn’t beat San Diego netminder Alex Stalock. I wouldn’t freak out too much about the power play if I were you. The Reign have plenty of talent on both power play units, and I don’t expect many 0-for-6 nights going forward. Allowing a short-handed goal is something they’ll probably want to clean up, though.

As for the penalty kill, I thought that group was solid. They were aggressive, did a good job standing up at the blue line on zone entries by the Gulls, and didn’t allow many chances. Unfortunately, the one chance they allowed ended up in the back of their net as Pavol Regenda was left alone in front of the net to give the Gulls a 1-0 lead. The power-play goal opened the scoring, and both goals scored by Regenda in the game came on the special teams.

 

Two special teams goals to zero was a big difference in the game.

Too little, too late

The Reign had their chances all game, especially in the third period, where they recorded 21 shots on goal. After Mikhail Maltsev’s goal brought the Reign within two goals (3-1) with 9:51 to play, the Reign dictated play. They created chances, caused turnovers, and even had second-chance opportunities but couldn’t finish them. That’s something the Reign will need to do from the opening faceoff, as a majority of the team looked flat in the opening frame.

“We were late on a lot of pucks, battles, net front, you name it. We were just a little bit behind”, head coach Marco Sturm said after the game. Luckily, the Reign have a chance to correct that and be more prepared for Sunday.

Brandt Clarke and Alex Turcotte impress

In 4-1 losses, there aren’t a lot of positives you can take out of a game. However, two players caught my attention. Let’s start with the forward position. Alex Turcotte played arguably his best game as a professional. Turcotte was all over the ice, creating chances, causing turnovers, and battling for those 50/50 pucks. As you know by now, it has been rough for Turcotte as he has been dealt a horrible hand with injuries the past two seasons. A healthy and productive season from Turcotte will be critical for the Reign and his development.

The other player was Brandt Clarke, who many probably won’t be surprised to hear he stood out. Clarke was aggressive in the offensive zone, looked to create and take charge, and led all skaters with ten shots on goal. “I thought he was definitely our best defenseman. He made stuff happen. He wants to be the difference. He was definitely good tonight”, said Sturm after the game. Aren’t those great things to hear?

UP NEXT: These two teams will square off again on Sunday. The game starts at 3 PM PT and can be seen on AHLTV.

Featured image credit: Ontario Reign

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