Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 5-2 Loss to Coachella

A three-goal first period for the Coachella Firebirds put the Ontario Reign in a deep hole they couldn’t climb out of.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

CV: Max McCormick (1), ASST: Ben Meyers (2), John Hayden (2)

CV: Jacob Melanson (2), ASST: Eduard Sale (3), Ty Nelson (3)

CV: SH Ryan Winterton (1), ASST: Max Lajoie (1)

Second period: 

ONT: Shawn Element (1), ASST: Jack Studnicka (2), Reilly Walsh (1)

CV: Jani Nyman (1), ASST: Lleyton Roed (2), Cale Fleury (1)

Third period:

ONT: Francesco Pinelli (1), ASST: None

CV: EN Logan Morrison (1), ASST: John Hayden (3), Gustav Olofsson (2)

Stats

Goals: 

ONT: 2

CV: 5

Shots: 

ONT: 30

CV: 40

Power plays: 

ONT: 0/4

CV: 0/5

Here are the three takeaways from last night’s 5-2 defeat:

Reign can’t put out the fire

Any hope the Reign had of avenging a playoff series defeat at the hands of the Firebirds this past spring was dashed in the opening minute. After a failed exit out of the defensive zone, Firebirds forward Ben Meyers picked up the puck near the blue line and found Max McCormick all alone in front and his backhander snuck through Pheonix Copley and rolled over the line to open the scoring for the hosts.

Jacob Melanson would make it 2-0 on a wraparound goal, which saw Copley be overly aggressive in the crease when challenging the shot, with 7:02 remaining after the Firebirds intercepted a Jack Studnicka pass entering the offensive zone.The goal looked very similar to the overtime winner he surrendered to Bryan Rust last season.

Ryan Winterton would a breakaway goal short-handed to make it 3-0, a lead that stood at the buzzer to end the opening frame. The Firebirds outshot the Reign 19-9 in the first 20 minutes and were quick to every loose puck and one step ahead of the Reign, who came out flat. Falling behind the eight ball early and having the game snowball the way it did made it difficult for the Reign to overcome that deficit as the game wore on. Slow starts have been a common theme in the young season for the new-look Reign and it was more of the same last night.

Spreading the wealth

Speaking of a new-look Reign team, the Firebirds have gone through plenty of roster turnover themselves. Andrew Poturalski, Cameron Hughes, Kole Lind, Jimmy Schuldt, and Chris Driedger have all moved on to other organizations. Shane Wright and Ryker Evans have graduated from the AHL and are contributing to the Seattle Kraken. Also, head coach Dan Bylsma is now the new bench boss for the Kraken and Jessica Campbell has moved up with him as an assistant coach.

Despite the new faces, it looked like the same Firebirds from the previous two seasons. Speed, transition, and an emphasis on defensemen being active on the rush. 13 skaters recorded a point for the Firebirds last night to the Reign’s four players. If you’re getting contributions like that throughout the lineup, you’re going to win games. The depth of the Firebirds was on full display led by John Hayden’s two assists.

Aatu Jamsen draws into the lineup

After being a healthy scratch in the last game, Aatu Jamsen was inserted back into the lineup for Jacob Doty. Jamsen played on the fourth line with Francesco Pinelli and Shawn Element, both of who were responsible for the Reign goals. Jamsen is slowly getting acclimated to the bigger and faster style and smaller ice sheet in North America.

Last night, he showed his creativity and skill with his skate work by evading defenders on two occasions and the craftiness and quick hands to create a scoring chance in the first period, which he drew a penalty on. However, there was one instance in the third period on a three-on-one rush chance where he looked to make the extra pass instead of putting the puck on the net. As the season progresses he’ll learn from that as he continues to adjust to the the things mentioned above.

NOTES:

*Shawn Element recorded his first goal as a member of the Reign in the second period.

*McCormick recorded his first goal of the season. The captain of the Firebirds has 18 points in 18 career games against the Reign.

*Five players drafted by the Kraken (Melanson, Sale, Nelson, Winterton, and Nyman) recorded a point in last night’s game.

*Pinelli recorded his first goal on a great individual effort. After the first period, Marco Sturm made some line changes that saw him and Martin Chromiak paired together.

*The power play continues to struggle as they went 0/4 and are now 1/21 (4.8%) on the season.

UP NEXT: The Reign return home to take on the Henderson Silver Knights on Sunday, October 27th. The game starts at 3 PM PT and can be seen on FloHockey TV.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Coachella Valley Firebirds

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