Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 2-1 win against Calgary

The Ontario Reign split the two-game series against the Calgary Wranglers as they hung on for a 2-1 victory on Friday night.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Akil Thomas (12), ASST: Wyatte Wylie (5), Taylor Ward (8)

CGY: Clark Bishop (8), ASST: Mitch McLain (1), Matthew Coronato (17)

Second period:

ONT: PP Akil Thomas (13), ASST: TJ Tynan (26), Charles Hudon (13)

Third period:

None

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 2

CGY: 1

Shots: 

ONT: 24

CGY: 37

Power plays:

ONT: 1/3

CGY: 0/6

Here are the three takeaways from Friday night’s 2-1 victory:

Bend, but don’t break

Entering the third period, the Reign had a lead for the first time in this two-game series. That 2-1 lead came in the dying seconds of the second period on a power-play goal from Akil Thomas. Entering the 20 minutes, they were tasked with holding and adding to that lead. Holding a lead like that against the Wranglers is a tough ask. However, the Reign played well to start the first seven minutes of the period, then were on their heels the rest of the way.

Calgary recorded 13 of the last 14 shots on goal in the period and kept the pressure on. Like most of the night, they were hemmed in their zone. Jacob Ingham was up to the task and stopped all 15 shots on goal in the period and 36 for the game. The Reign got a critical penalty kill with under five minutes and great defensive play from everyone, still holding that 2-1 lead. When the final buzzer sounded, they survived, hung on for a 2-1 victory, and escaped Calgary with a series split. They bent but didn’t break.

Special teams shine again

While the Wranglers dominated the Reign at five-on-five play again, the Reign won the special teams battle again. Let’s start with the penalty kill. The Reign were short-handed six times, including four times in the middle frame. They killed off all six penalties, and at least two of the kills didn’t allow any quality scoring chances. All penalty killers did a great job taking away the passing lanes, getting in shooting lanes, blocking shots, and not allowing easy zone entries after clearing attempts. And, when those shots got through to Ingham, he turned them aside. The Reign killed off all ten penalties in the two games. Excellent work.

Now, let’s go over to the power-play. Would you believe me if I told you the Reign would get a power-play goal from someone not named Samuel Fagemo? At this rate, maybe not. Fagemo got both of the Reign goals in Thursday’s loss on the power play but didn’t factor in the scoring last night. The lone power-play goal of the game came off the stick of Thomas, whose quick shot from the low slot, off the pass from TJ Tynan, went over the right shoulder of Dustin Wolf for his 13th goal of the season to put the Reign up 2-1 with two seconds left.

Both teams got one goal at five-on-five, but the power play goal ended up being the difference in the scoring. Head coach Marco Sturm, in the past, has mentioned a game can sometimes come down to special teams, and it did last night as the Reign won that battle.

Akil playing like the real deal, something to prove

While this was a team effort to hold the lead, two players stood out last night. Those two players were Thomas and Ingham. It’s been a wild past year for the duo as both spent most or all of last season rehabbing from injuries (Thomas with a shoulder injury and Ingham with a back injury). Both players played a role in Ontario’s 2-1 victory.

Thomas scored both the Reign goals to give him 13 on the season. While Fagemo has gotten all the attention for his hot streak, and rightfully so, don’t forget about Thomas. He has quietly had a good stretch of seven games, recording 10 points in that span, and has points in five straight games.

After a strong training camp with the LA Kings and start to the season in Greenville with the Swamp Rabbits, Ingham has found his way up to the Reign after Pheonix Copley’s injury forced the Kings to call up David Rittich. Albeit a small sample size, Ingham has recorded a .941 save percentage in four games (three starts) since being called up. He came into this season with a chip on his shoulder and has backed it up with his play. You have to feel good for him.

Notes:

*Akil Thomas now has 10 points in his last seven games (6-4-10) and a five-game point streak (5-2-7).

*Jacob Ingham stopped 36 shots (15 in the third) to earn his third win of the year. He has won all three of his starts.

*The Reign went 10/10 on the penalty kill in the two-game series. The penalty kill now ranks 4th (85.4%) in the AHL.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign are off for the next three days. Their next game is on Tuesday to kick off a two-game series against the Abbotsford Canucks. The game starts at 7 PM and can be seen on AHTLV.

Featured image credit: Angela Burger/Calgary Wranglers

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