Kyle Garcia 
The Ontario Reign snapped their three-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday night.
A BIIIG Reign win on HFC night!#ReignTrain | #TUCvsONT | @calbaptist pic.twitter.com/W1CVTiaebh
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) November 11, 2023
Goal Breakdown
First period:
None
Second period:
ONT: Akil Thomas (1), ASST: Alex Turcotte (8), Brandt Clarke (6)
ONT: Jacob Doty (3), ASST: Samuel Helenius (2), Charles Hudon (5)
TUC: Dylan Guenther (3), ASST: Josh Doan (1), Nathan Smith (6)
Third period:
None
Stats
Goals:
TUC: 1
ONT: 2
Shots:Â
TUC: 31
ONT: 22
Power plays:
TUC: 0/4
ONT: 0/7
Here are the three takeaways from Friday’s 2-1 victory
Thomas gets his first
Akil Thomas has had a rough start to the season for the Ontario Reign. Through the first ten games of the season, he recorded two assists and, at times, looked almost invisible. It’s safe to say yesterday was his best game of the young season. Early in the second period, he batted the puck out of mid-air for his first goal of the season after Alex Turcotte’s shot was stopped by Tucson’s netminder Anson Thornton. It was Thomas’ only shot on goal for the game.
What a goal by @AkilThomas2 for the first goal of the game!#ReignTrain | #TUCvsONT |@calbaptist pic.twitter.com/TqMTql56Jm
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) November 11, 2023
Overall, Thomas had a good game as he was much more involved in puck battles and on the forecheck. Although he played on the wing for the game, he was tasked with winning several key faceoffs down the stretch as the Reign protected their one-goal lead late in the third period. He’s a player who needs one goal to get himself going. Perhaps this goal is the one.
Doty provides balance
Jacob Doty is known more for his fighting than for his scoring. Through 11 games, he now has the same amount of goals (three) as he does fights. Doty recorded his third goal of the season with a blast from the high slot, which ended up being the game-winning goal.
A stunning one timer by @dotes__ !! The Reign are now 2-0#ReignTrain | #TUCvsONT | @calbaptist pic.twitter.com/K2JJu15qXh
— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) November 11, 2023
Doty is one goal away from tying his career-high, which he set in the 2015-2016 season as a member of the Chicago Wolves. Doty brings a veteran presence to a young Reign team, who will protect and stick up for his teammates. That’s his role, and he is good at it. Any offense he brings adds more balance to the team.
Portillo bounces back
Erik Portillo had a bounce-back performance after surrendering five goals in his last outing at Colorado. Tucson tested the rookie early with a big push, including a breakaway from forward Jan Jenik, who got stopped by Portillo’s left pad in the first period.
The first big chance of the game comes from Roadrunners forward Jan Jenik and Portillo denies him with the left pad on a breakaway. #ReignTrain
— Kyle Garcia (@Kopitar4HOF) November 11, 2023
Portillo still has some things (rebound control particularly) he’ll need to work on, but that takes time when adjusting to the professional level. The important part is that he showed he can bounce back after a disappointing outing. With the score being close as it was, the Reign needed him to be on his game, and he did just that. Facing 31 shots, he turned aside 30 of them to earn the first star of the game.
Three stars of the game:
1) EriK Portillo (30 saves) (ONT)
2) Jacob Doty (one goal) (ONT)
3) Akil Thomas (one goal) (ONT)#ReignTrain— Kyle Garcia (@Kopitar4HOF) November 11, 2023
UP NEXT:Â The Ontario Reign return to action Sunday afternoon as the Colorado Eagles are in town for a late afternoon matchup. The game starts at 3 pm PT and can be seen on AHLTV.
Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign