Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 6-3 loss to Colorado

Another slow start and sloppy play cost the Ontario Reign as the home ice woes continued in their 6-3 loss to Colorado on Tuesday.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

COL: Chris Wagner (1), ASST: Spencer Smallman (4), Keaton Middleton (8)

COL: Sam Malinski (4), ASST: Oskar Olausson (9), Tanner Kero (15)

Second period: 

COL: PP Brad Hunt (13), ASST: Sam Malinski (8), Jean-Luc Foudy (3)

ONT: PP Taylor Ward (4), ASST: Tyler Madden (7), Francesco Pinelli (4)

ONT: Samuel Helenius (8), ASST: Kim Nousiainen (5), Hayden Hodgson (5)

COL: PP Jean-Luc Foudy (1), ASST: Callahan Burke (9), Brad Hunt (16)

Third period:

COL: Chris Wagner (2), ASST: Sam Malinski (9)

ONT: Cody Haiskanen (1), ASST: Akil Thomas (16), Kevin Connauton (6)

COL: PP Jason Polin (2), ASST: Ivan Ivan (11), Jack Ahcan (17)

Stats

Goals:

COL: 6

ONT: 3

Shots: 

COL: 32

ONT: 26

Power plays:

COL: 3/7

ONT: 1/5

Here are the three takeaways from Tuesday’s 6-3 defeat:

Deja vu

It happened again. Another slow start for the Ontario Reign put them behind the eight-ball, as they trailed by two going into the first intermission. Puck management and defensive breakdowns showed up again and have been an issue for a while now. Yes, the Reign have lost three players to call-ups and injuries to Jacob Doty, Andre Lee, and Jacob Moverare, but it doesn’t excuse them for coming out of the gates playing poor hockey to start games, especially at home.

This play from the Reign lately isn’t a good recipe for success. Playing a solid 60 minutes of hockey is a good recipe for success, and they have to get back to that, or the same results will keep happening. The first step will be getting off to a better start.

Home woes continue

You can’t explain it. The parent club in Los Angeles had issues winning on their home ice early in the season before they went on their current losing streak, no matter where they take the ice. Somehow, the virus of playing on home ice trickled down to the minor league team. The Reign are currently 8-9-3, which is 25th in the AHL in win percentage (.475). If you look at their road percentage (.659), they are sixth in the AHL. It’s hard to figure out why, and nobody will have the answers to why they play better on the road than at home.

Three issues on home ice this year for the Reign have been scoring, goals against, and the penalty kill. All three showed up again last night. The Reign are top ten in goals for and against on the road but are on the other side of the spectrum when playing on home ice, being bottom ten in both. As for the penalty kill, it’s ranked first on the road but 29th at home. That gap size is a big reason why it has fallen to 17th overall.

After surrendering four power-play goals in their last home game to Bakersfield, the Reign allowed three more last night. In their last five home games, opponents are 10-for-23 (43.5%) on the power play. The home woes need to be turned around fast, as nine of the next twelve games will be played on home ice for the Reign. Given their road success, maybe Marco Sturm might want to think about having his team spend the night at a hotel before home games.

Standings getting tighter

The standings in the Pacific Division are tight. Only five points separate the first seed, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and the fifth seed, the Reign. With the Colorado Eagles winning last night, they are one point behind the Reign in the standings. These two clubs will meet again and will have plenty of meaning to it.

While the AHL isn’t about chasing the Calder Cup, organizations still would like their clubs to get playoff experience, as it can be beneficial when they graduate to the NHL. Even though the atmosphere is different, experience is valuable.

Below is how the playoff bracket is set up:

Photo credit: AHL.com

The top seven teams make the playoffs in the Pacific Division. Any more slippage, Ontario will be on the outside looking in.

NOTES:

*Chris Wagner registered his first two goals of the season for the Eagles.

*Cody Haiskanen recorded his first career AHL goal in the third period.

*Francesco Pinelli has recorded a secondary assist in back-to-back games.

*Samuel Helenius has three goals in his last two games.

*Akil Thomas has six points (2-4-6) during his current four-game point streak.

*Erik Portillo made 26 saves on 32 shots faced. His .917 save percentage is third among qualified rookie netminders.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign and Colorado Eagles meet again this Friday at 7 PM at Toyota Arena. The game can be seen on AHLTV.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign

 

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