Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 10/28-11/3

It’s been a long time since I’ve done this segment. I started it two years ago but didn’t have time, with a bunch of schoolwork building up, I, unfortunately, had to abandon it. However, beginning this week, I will be bringing back the Three Stars of the Week for the Ontario Reign.

Since it’s been a while I will refresh everyone’s memory on how this weekly segment will work. After each week, I will name the three stars for the Reign during the week. It can range from individual players, a whole line, or just the special teams.

The Reign swept this past weekend’s series against the Henderson Silver Knights. The Reign outscored the Silver Knights 12-4 in the two games and won back-to-back games for the first time in the young season. Quite a few players had a good week, with four of them scoring their first goal of the season. Two of those players were newcomers scoring their first as a member of the Reign.

It’s time to name our three stars for this past week. Let’s get started!

Third star

Erik Portillo

Stat line: One game, one goal against, 34 saves on 35 shots faced, .971 save percentage

Erik Portillo missed three games with an illness before this past weekend. The only game he started was the Reign’s 5-0 opening night loss to the San Jose Barracuda. After getting through his illness and a week’s worth of practice Portillo got the start in game one of the back-to-back for the Reign.

Portillo didn’t see much action in the first period as the Reign outshot the Silver Knights 18-5 in the opening 20 minutes. The next 40 minutes would be a different story. Portillo faced 30 shots in those final 40 minutes stopping 29 of them, including all 15 shots faced in the third period.

Portillo made three big saves including sliding across to rob a Grigori Densienko tap in back door with the left pad. For his effort in this game alone, he was named the third star of the week.

Second star

Shawn Element

Stat line: Two games, two goals, zero assists, two points, +3 rating, five shots on goal

Shawn Element is known for his physicality, not his scoring. That was not the case this past weekend. He’s a player who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves, be physical in board battles, and go to the net. This week he was known for his scoring. Element scored a goal in each game to give him three goals in six games played. In Friday’s game, Element went to the front of the net and deflected a shot that came from the right point off the stick of Jack Millar for his second of the year

In Saturday’s game, Element scored a short-handed goal in the final minute of the second period. He went top-shelf on Jordan Papirny to give the Reign a 6-3 lead. Through the Reign’s first seven games, I would’ve never predicted Element would lead the team in goals (three). Maybe he does have that scoring element in his game after all. For his performance, he was named this week’s second star of the week.

First star

First line

Stat line: Two games played, three goals, eight assists, 11 points, +4 rating, 13 shots on goal

The first line was this week’s first star of the week. The first line for the Reign consisted of Charles Hudon, Glenn Gawdin, and Jeff Malott. The trio combined for 11 points at five-on-five and the power play. Hudon and Gawdin had four points, while Malott had three. Every line for the Reign contributed in the two games last week, but the first line did what they hadn’t done yet this season. That was to make an impact on the scoresheet. For their performance, they are this week’s first star of the week.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign

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