Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 5-4 SO win against Colorado

After blowing two two-goal leads in the first and second periods, the Ontario Reign survived for a 5-4 shootout win.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Samuel Helenius (2), ASST: Tyler Inamoto (2), Wyatte Wylie (1)

ONT: PP Akil Thomas (7), ASST: Charles Hudon (9), Samuel Fagemo (9)

COL: PP Tanner Kero (3), ASST: Brad Hunt (10), Oskar Olausson (4)

COL: Ivan Ivan (3), ASST: None

Second period:

ONT: Charles Hudon (9), ASST: TJ Tynan (21), Brandt Clarke (21)

ONT: PP Hayden Hodgson (1), ASST: Andre Lee (2), Tyler Madden (3)

COL: Brad Hunt (8), ASST: Spencer Smallman (3), Wyatt Aamondt (2)

COL: Wyatt Aamondt (6), ASST: Brad Hunt (11), Ivan Ivan (6)

Third period:

None

Overtime: 

None

Shootout:

Round one:

ONT: Akil Thomas – GOAL

COL: Ivan Ivan – GOAL

Round two:

ONT: Taylor Ward – GOAL

COL: Tanner Kero – NO GOAL

Round three:

ONT: Samuel Fagemo – GOAL

COL: N/A

Stats

Goals: 

COL: 4

ONT: 5

Shots:

COL: 31

ONT: 33

Power plays: 

COL: 1/5

ONT: 2/5

Here are the three takeaways from Saturday’s 5-4 shootout victory

Release the bears!

The annual Teddy Bear Toss game is one everyone looks forward to. Last year’s Teddy Bear Toss game went scoreless through 40 minutes before Andre Lee broke the scoreless tie at the 2:27 mark of the third period. Last night, there was no long wait for the fans to launch the teddy bears onto the ice. Tyler Inamoto’s shot from the left point went off of Samuel Helenius and trickled over the goal line, triggering the toss of the teddy bears. Inamoto was credited with the goal at first, then it was Jacob Doty, and then ultimately, it was credited to Samuel Helenius. It was his second goal of the season and first in eight games.

Back-and-forth

There were plenty of highs and lows in this game. The Reign started the game with better energy than they did on Wednesday, resulting in a 2-0 lead 10:13 into the opening. Looking good, right? Not so fast, said Colorado, a team that won’t lay down easily. Colorado got a power play goal from Tanner Kero and a goal by Ivan Ivan (yes, you read that correctly) off a failed clearing attempt by Inamoto in the low slot 1:45 apart to tie the game at two and snatch momentum from the home team.

That momentum from the visiting team carried over into the second period as the Reign were on their heels, as Colorado established an aggressive forecheck that led to offensive zone time but couldn’t get the go-ahead goal. The Reign quickly snatched that momentum back with a four-on-four goal from Charles Hudon and a power-play goal from Hayden Hodgson 40 seconds apart to regain their two-goal lead.

Just like the end of the first, Colorado didn’t roll over and quit. Brad Hunt and Wyatt Aamondt scored 1:52 apart to tie the game at four with 1:04 left in the middle frame. The Reign have done a good job protecting leads all season but had a hard time doing so last night. The good part, as head coach Marco Sturm alluded to in his postgame interview, is that the blown leads happened at the end of the periods, which allowed the team to quickly regroup as the intermissions were nearing.

Sammy plays hero

After going two-for-two in the shootout, Smauel Fagemo was tabbed as the third shooter for the Reign. Last year, Sturm used Fagemo four times in the shootout and scored three times, as all three goals were in walk-off fashion. Fagemo walked it off for the Reign last night, going to his signature shot glove side in the shootout. When asked about using Fagemo in these situations in the shootouts, Sturm referred to Fagemo as his “safety” when it comes to that moment. As a coach, it’s nice to have that one player in your back pocket for those situations.

Notes:

*Jacob Ingham served as the backup netminder as David Rittich was recalled to the LA Kings on an emergency basis Friday afternoon.

*Akil Thomas’ power-play goal in the first period was his second of the season, which is tied for third on the team with Brandt Clarke.

*Hayden Hodgson’s power-play goal in the second period was his first as a member of the Ontario Reign.

*Charles Hudon’s two-point night was his fifth of the season and third against the Eagles, his former team.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign hit the road for a two-game trip in Abbotsford before the Christmas break. Game one of the two-game series is Wednesday at 7 PM and can be seen on AHLTV.

Featured image credit: Ontario Reign 

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *