Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 5-4 loss to Tucson

A late third-period comeback falls short as the Ontario Reign dropped game two of the weekend series against the Tucson Roadrunners, 5-4.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

TUC: Cameron Hebig (7), ASST: Curtis Douglas (9), Max Szuber (4)

TUC: Milos Kelemen (9), ASST: Travis Barron (4), Cameron Hebig (8)

Second period:

TUC: Colin Theisen (2), ASST: Josh Doan (11), Ryan McGregor (8)

ONT: Akil Thomas (15), ASST: Tyler Madden (6), Cody Haiskanen (2)

TUC: Milos Keleman (10), ASST: Montana Onyebuchi (5)

Third period:

TUC: Josh Doan (16), ASST: Ryan McGregor (9)

ONT: PP Charles Hudon (15), ASST: Kevin Connauton (5), TJ Tynan (29)

ONT: Samuel Helenius (6), ASST: Hayden Hodgson (4), Steven Santini (7)

ONT: Samuel Helenius (7), ASST: Steven Santini (8), Francesco Pinelli (3)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 4

TUC: 5

Shots: 

ONT: 33

TUC: 29

Power plays:

ONT: 1/2

TUC: 0/1

Here are the three takeaways from Saturday’s 5-4 loss:

Slow start again

The first period was almost a carbon copy of the first period in Friday’s game. Once again, the Reign came out flat and hemmed in their end as the Roadrunners used their speed and stick-checking to cause turnovers. The only difference between the first periods in Friday and Saturday’s game is the Reign were up after 20 minutes on Friday but found themselves trailing in Saturday’s game.

Sometimes, you can get away with it, and other times you will not. Eventually, you will get burned playing with fire. Unfortunately, the Reign fell behind the eight ball early due to poor puck management and could not recover from it. Playing a full 60 minutes needs to be the message going forward.

Comeback falls short

Oh, so close! After trailing 5-1 with 15:21 remaining in regulation, the Reign got a power-play goal from Charles Hudon and two late goals from Samuel Helenius to trim the deficit to one with 3:54 remaining. While the Reign made it a game late, they dug themselves a hole too deep to climb out of.

The best chance the Reign had in the game was near the halfway mark of the second period when Roadrunners’ forward Patrik Koch received a five-minute major for head-butting Hudon after a whistle when Matthew Villalta made a save and covered the puck. The Reign, trailing 3-1 at that time, didn’t generate quality looks on that five-minute power play and came away empty-handed. Just over two minutes after the penalty expired, Roadrunners forward Milos Keleman beat Reign netminder Aaron Dell with a wrist shot from the right circle off the rush to give the Roadrunners their second three-goal lead of the night.

It was that kind of game. Any mistake the Reign made or rush chances they gave up, Tucson capitalized. Give credit where credit is due.

Real Deal Akil strikes

Akil Thomas has been one of the bright spots for the Reign this year. After missing most of last season with a shoulder injury, he has played in all 41 Reign games. A healthy, focused, and engaged Thomas is a dangerous hockey player. After being cold to start the year, Thomas has found a rhythm since December and has been a key contributor and reliable when played in any situation. His 15th goal of the year put him in a tie for second on the team in goals with Hudon and gave him his 30th point on the season, the fifth Reign player to do so.

Samuel Fagemo, Alex Turcotte, and Brandt Clarke have received praise for their play with the Reign, but Thomas’ play shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle.

NOTES:

*Akil Thomas’ goal in the second period gave him his 16th point in his last 13 games (8-8-16).

*Aaron Dell made his Reign debut and stopped 24 of 29 shots faced.

*Samuel Helenius recorded the first multi-goal game of his AHL career by scoring two late third-period goals.

*Francesco Pinelli’s secondary assist on Helenius’ second goal was his first point since December 30th (12-game pointless streak).

UP NEXT: The Reign will return home to play the Colorado Eagles on Tuesday, January 30th. The game starts at 7 PM and can be seen on AHLTV.

Featured image credit: Tucson Roadrunners

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