Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 4-3 Win Over Bakersfield

The Ontario Reign protected the galaxy against the Bakersfield Condors on Star Wars Night in their 4-3 victory.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

ONT: Francesco Pinelli (9), ASST: Charles Hudon (32), Tyler Madden (15)

BAK: PP Raphael Lavoie (27), ASST: Phillip Broberg (25)

Second period: 

BAK: SH Adam Erne (6), ASST: Brad Malone (13), Phillip Broberg (26)

ONT: Andre Lee (5), ASST: Jacob Doty (3)

Third period: 

ONT: Nikita Pavlychev (5), ASST: Andre Lee (4)

BAK: PP Seth Griffith (13), ASST: Raphael Lavoie (19), Phillip Broberg (27)

ONT: PP TJ Tynan (9), ASST: Martin Chromiak (17), Charles Hudon (33)

Stats

Goals: 

BAK: 3

ONT: 4

Shots: 

BAK: 35

ONT: 29

Power plays: 

BAK: 2/3

ONT: 1/5

Here are the three takeaways from Saturday’s 4-3 victory:

Andre Lee returns and makes an impact

Andre Lee missed the last 24 games after suffering a lower leg injury on January 21st in the Reign’s 6-2 loss to the Condors. Lee played on the third line with Samuel Helenius and Jacob Doty, players he is familiar with as he has played on a line with them in the past. Just like he did on November 17th when he made his season debut and scored two goals after missing the first 12 games because of an injury suffered in the preseason, Lee found the scoresheet and made an impact.

Lee scored a goal blocker side on Condors’ netminder Olivier Rodrigue in the second period after causing a turnover knocking defenseman Phillip Broberg down near the boards, creating a loose puck for Doty. Lee added a primary assist on Nikita Pavlychev’s goal early in the third period to give himself his third multi-point game of the season. That’s not a bad way to welcome yourself back to the lineup.

Condors’ power play > Reign’s penalty kill

The Reign won the last two contests and have been the better team at five-on-five against the Condors but Bakersfield has gotten the upper hand in the special teams department. Last night they got power-play goals from Raphael Lavoie and Seth Griffith and a short-handed goal from Adam Erne. Just like the last meeting a week ago in Ontario, the Condors recorded two power-play goals which kept them in that game, and the same happened in this game. Let’s take the stats back a little further. On the season, the Condors are 9-for-24 (37.5%) on the man advantage against the Reign but have done the damage on the road by going 9-for-18 (50%).

In the last three meetings in Ontario, the Condors are 8-for-11 (72.7%) on the man advantage, including a 4-for-6 game on January 21st. They’ve capitalized on rush chances and setups to cash in on their opportunities. While there is only one meeting left in the season against the Condors, the Reign’s penalty kill will need to improve against them or stay out of the box as much as possible. Perhaps even both, especially if they meet in the playoffs.

Intensity rises

Intensity and emotions were at a high in this one. With the standings being close, home-ice advantage up for grabs, and three meetings in the last two weeks, the physicality ramped up. It even felt like a playoff game. Hayden Hodgson and Philip Kemp received fighting majors 3:37 into the second period after Hodgson’s hit on Philip Broberg. Taylor Ward followed up with a fight of his own six and a half minutes later against Cameron Wright after Ward didn’t like Wright’s actions of clipping Tynan on an offensive zone entry moments before the fight.

There were plenty of post-whistle scrums all game, including one with 13 seconds remaining that involved Charles Hudon, Lane Pederson, and Lavoie. Pederson and Hudon each got two minutes for roughing and 10-minute misconducts, while Lavoie got two for roughing. If these teams meet in the playoffs it could be a grueling, physical series. They would face off in the best-of-three preliminary round if the playoffs started today.

NOTES:

*TJ Tynan’s power-play goal in the third period was the game-winner. It’s the 15th game-winning goal of his AHL career.

*Martin Chromiak recorded his 30th point of the season with his primary assist on Tynan’s goal.

*Nikita Pavlychev has a goal in back-to-back games against the Condors.

*Francesco Pinelli recorded his ninth goal of the season.

*Erik Portillo became the second rookie goalie in the Ontario Reign’s AHL history to record 20 wins in a season.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign travel to Henderson for an April 3rd matchup with the Henderson Silver Knights. The game starts at 7 PM PT and can be seen on AHLTV.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign 

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