Ontario Reign vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds Series Preview and Prediction

The rivalry between the Ontario Reign and Coachella Valley Firebirds has been brewing all season and now they’ll meet in the playoffs.

The battle for the I-10 freeway kicks off tonight! The Reign and Firebirds have played in close matchups with their fair share of heated moments in some of them. Both teams won four games apiece in the eight-game season series, seven of which were decided by two goals or less.

Tale of the tape

Regular season:

Goals for:

CV: 252 (1st)

ONT: 231 (10th)

Goals against:

CV: 182 (2nd)

ONT: 198 (6th)

Power play:

CV: 18.4% (14th)

ONT: 21.8% (2nd)

Penalty kill:

CV: 83.4% (11th)

ONT: 80.2% (23rd)

Postseason

Goals for:

CV: 15 (8th)

ONT: 19 (2nd)

Goals against:

CV: 12 (12th)

ONT: 6 (1st)

Power play:

CV: 23.1% (9th)

ONT: 13.0% (17th)

Penalty kill: 

CV: 77.8% (13th)

ONT: 88.2% (4th)

Season leading scorers

CV:

Kole Lind: 17 goals, 48 assists, 65 points

ONT:

TJ Tynan: 9 goals, 57 assists, 66 points

Schedule

Game 1: Wednesday, May 15th, @Coachella Valley, 7 PM PST

Game 2: Friday, May 17th, @ Coachella Valley, 7 PM PST

Game 3: Sunday, May 19th, @ Ontario, 7 PM PST

*Game 4: Friday, May 24th, @ Ontario, 7 PM PST

*Game 5: Sunday, May 26th, @ Coachella Valley, 3 PM PST

Series preview:

A 2-2-1 format

Let’s get this one out of the way first. As you can tell by looking at the schedule this series will be a 2-2-1 format instead of a 2-3 format. The previous series the Reign had with the Canucks was the latter due to the teams being far apart, miles-wise. So, the American Hockey League (AHL) goes with a 2-3 format to reduce travel, and the team who was the high seed will decide if they want the first two games at home or start the first two games on the road and play the remaining three at home.

With the Firebirds and Reign separated by 80 miles using the I-10 freeway, this series will be a 2-2-1 format as both teams can bus to each arena. Games one and two will be played in Acrisure Arena, then the series will shift to Toyota Arena for games three and four. If the series goes the distance game five will be played in Acrisure Arena if necessary.

Hit the road

For the first time these playoffs the Reign will start a series on the road. They’ve won their only two road games, which were game two against Bakersfield and game three against Abbotsford. Ironically they were both series-clinching wins for Ontario. The Reign were third in points percentage on the road in the regular season, while the Firebirds led the league in that category. Interestingly, the road team won six of the eight regular-season meetings between the two clubs. That’s something to watch out for with home ice being a key factor in this series.

The hatred is real

The games in the regular season were close, but there were some fireworks to go with it. The first meeting saw Firebirds captain Max McCormick give a few whacks to Reign netminder David Rittich after the whistle on several occasions which saw post-whistle shenanigans.

Photo credit: Mike Zitek/Coachella Valley Firebirds

The second meeting saw former Reign defenseman Tobias Bjornfot get hit from behind into the boards by Firebirds forward Jacob Melanson. Melanson was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the hit and Bjornfot would be transferred to a local hospital for evaluation.

The next meeting saw Samuel Helenius and Melanson drop the gloves 2:27 into the game in retaliation for the Bjornfot hit.

There were plenty of altercations and post-whistle shenanigans that followed throughout the season, which included a hit by Hayden Hodgson that led to a three-game suspension. I expect a lot of animosity throughout the series.

Who to watch for?

I have two players to watch for in this series. Let’s start with Ontario’s side. Samuel Fagemo has scored only one goal in five playoff games after scoring at an insane clip once he returned to the organization after being claimed off waivers. While the Reign have gotten contributions throughout their lineup, Fagemo has been relatively quiet. After sparking the comeback in the Reign’s series-clinching win in game three against the Canucks, can that be the one that wakes Fagemo up? If you’re a Reign fan you would hope so. Fagemo led all Reign skaters in the season five goals against the Firebirds.

Now, onto Coachella Valley’s side. Kole Lind led all Firebird skaters with eight points in the season series against the Reign, but all eyes should be on someone else. That player is the Seattle Kraken’s 2022 first-round pick, Shane Wright. Wright recorded 47 points in 59 games, which was fifth in team scoring for the Firebirds. Like Fagemo, Wright was relatively quiet last round but recorded a goal in the series-clinching game four win for Coachella Valley. All eyes will be on him as many expect a good playoff showing from him.

Prediction:

This is a tough one. Coachella Valley is the most complete, deep, and structured team Ontario will face up to date these playoffs. Erik Portillo and the Reign defense will need to be ready the moment the puck drops as the Firebirds led the league in shots on goal per game at 35. I think Ontario will pull this one out as they have shown they can hang in there with the Firebirds, and just like their previous series and all season, their depth will play a factor.

Pick: Reign in five

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Coachella Valley Firebirds

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