Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 6-2 loss to Bakersfield

Special teams fell apart as the struggles at home continued for the Ontario Reign on Sunday afternoon. They fell to the Bakersfield Condors, 6-2.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Hayden Hodgson (2), ASST: Akil Thomas (13), Andre Lee (3)

BAK: Carter Savoie (3), ASST: Noel Hoefenmayer (10), Jayden Grubbe (4)

BAK: PP Matvey Petrov (3), ASST: Xavier Borrgault (9)

Second period: 

ONT: Alex Turcotte (7), ASST: Taylor Ward (10)

Third period: 

BAK: PP Drake Caggiula (7), ASST: Lane Pederson (11), Philip Broberg (12)

BAK: PP Seth Griffith (7), ASST: Lane Pederson (12)

BAK: Drake Caggiula (8), ASST: Ben Gleason (8), Brad Malone (12)

BAK: PP Xavier Borrgault (5), ASST: Max Wanner (4), Alex Peters (6)

Stats

Goals: 

BAK: 6

ONT: 2

Shots:

BAK: 31

ONT: 29

Power plays: 

BAK: 4/6

ONT: 0/4

Here are the three takeaways from Sunday’s 6-2 loss:

No home cooking

Something about playing at home has been an issue for the Ontario Reign. It seems to be an issue for the organization as the LA Kings (NHL) have struggled, too. The record at home for the Reign is 8-8-3 (.500), good enough for 23rd in the AHL by winning percentage. Compare that to their road record 13-6-1, (.675), which is good enough for 4th in the AHL by winning percentage. Some things are hard to explain, and this is one of them. Ten of the next 15 games will be played at Toyota Arena, so the Reign need to find that home magic fast.

Special teams decide this one

During the recent five-game road trip, special teams were a huge factor in the Reign wins. These past two home games saw the special teams battle go the other way. The power play for the Reign went 0-for-4, and the penalty kill allowed four goals on six power play opportunities for the Condors. A penalty kill that once sat in the top ten entering yesterday’s contest now sits at 12th in the AHL at 82.5%.

Two key moments on special teams turned the tide. The first one came in the second period. With 7:34 remaining in the middle frame, the Reign had a five-on-three for 1:28 and didn’t score. That kept the game tied.

The second key moment came in the third period. The Condors had a five-on-three of their own for 1:55. The difference was they scored on their five-on-three 25 seconds into it. All game, the Condors got to their spots and got quality looks on first, second, and third chance opportunities. Their puck movement and shot selection made it look easy.

Remember when I mentioned the home woes earlier? Well, at home, the power play for the Reign is ranked 16th in the AHL, while the penalty kill is 28th. Both are ranked in the top ten on the road.

Andre Lee exits early

Jacob Moverare got hurt late in Saturday’s game and didn’t finish the contest. Late in the third period, Andre Lee got tangled up with Condors defenseman Markus Niemalainen and fell into the boards. Lee had to be helped off the ice and was seen not putting any weight on his right leg. Losing Lee for a significant amount of time would be a huge blow to a Reign team that has lost key contributors to injuries or call-ups lately.

No update was given by Marco Sturm in his postgame interview.

Notes:

*Jack Campbell (BAK) made 27 saves for his 8th victory of the season.

*Bakersfield improved to 10-1-2 in their last 13 games.

*Alex Turcotte recorded his 7th goal of the season.

*Hayden Hodgson scored his first goal since December 16th.

*Martin Chromiak has gone ten games without scoring a goal.

*The Reign currently sit in fourth place in the standings (One point ahead of the Abbotsford Canucks).

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign return to action on Friday, January 26th, to kick off a two-game series on the road against the Tucson Roadrunners. The game starts at 6 PM and can be seen on AHLTV.

Video credit: Ontario Reign YouTube channel

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign

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