Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 11/11-11/17

Another week has passed and it’s time for our Three Stars of the Week honors for the Ontario Reign, who went 2-1-0 in three games. Before we name the three stars, let’s quickly recap the last week’s three games for the Reign.

4-1 win over Tucson

The Ontario Reign and Tucson Roadrunners met for the first time this season. Jaxson Stauber (TUC) and Erik Portillo (ONT) got the start for their respective clubs. The Reign took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Francesco Pinelli backhand shot. The Roadrunners would tie it 2:26 later on a Hunter Drew breakaway that happened because the puck bounced over the stick of Jakub Dvorak at center ice.

Glenn Gawdin would give the Reign the lead back early in the second period off a quick release in the inner slot. Reilly Walsh and Gawdin would each add goals in the third period as the Reign cruised to a 4-1 victory with a solid performance overall. Erik Portillo improved his record to 4-0-0 with a .971 save percentage in five career games against Tucson, stopping 23 of 24 shots in the victory.

5-3 win over Colorado

The Reign would head to Colorado to face the Eagles to kick off a two-game weekend series. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in bizarre as Neil Shea’s shot went in but the referee waved it off thinking it hit the bar and came out. Pinelli would score two minutes later, but since it was the first stoppage of play after Shea’s shot, the officials reviewed the play and called Shea’s shot a goal, which negated Pinelli’s goal.

No worries though, Walsh would tie the game 36 seconds later on the power play.

Each team would add a goal in the middle frame, one by Chris Wagner for Colorado and Kaleb Lawrence for Ontario. The Reign would get outshot 16-8 in the final 20 minutes but capitalized on their chances. Tyler Madden’s rebound goal and Gawdin’s short-handed breakaway tally would give the Reign a 4-2 lead before Jacob MacDonald would cut the lead in half off an offensive zone faceoff win by the Eagles.

The Reign did everything they could to protect their one-goal lead by blocking shots, getting big saves from Pheonix Copley, and doing all the little things to win. Luckily, they skated away with two points after Samuel Fagemo iced the game with an empty-net goal, giving the Reign a 5-3 victory. Copley earned his third win of the year, making 35 saves on 38 shots in arguably his best game of the season.

6-4 loss to Colorado

The Reign started this game flat and the Eagles took advantage of every mistake. The Eagles led 4-1 late in the second period until Angus Booth notched his first professional goal, going glove side on Kevin Mandolese. The Reign entered the third period trailing 4-2 and quickly erased the deficit by scoring on their first two shots, courtesy of Gawdin and Shawn Element 28 seconds apart.

The Eagles would get the goal back less than two minutes later as Devante Stephens scored on a back-door tap-in to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick. Jake Wise would add an empty-net goal to seal the victory for the Eagles. If there was something to take away from this game it was that the Reign didn’t quit and roll over after trailing three one. They fought back and can be satisfied with taking a split in a building where they had lost 11 of the previous 15 meetings.

Here are your Reign’s three stars of the week:

Third star

Pheonix Copley

Stat line: One game played, three goals against, 35 saves on 38 shots, 1-0-0 record, .921 save percentage

It’s been a slow start for Pheonix Copley as he’s returning from season-ending ACL surgery last year, as expected. In the Reign’s 5-3 win against the Eagles, Copley made 35 saves to help the Reign secure the victory in his best game of the season. Copley made big saves and tracked the puck well in this game. Let’s see if this is a momentum builder for the journeyman netminder because the Reign could use it.

Second star

Angus Booth

Stat line: Three games played, one goal, two assists, three points, +2 rating, five shots on goal

Angus Booth was named this week’s second star after being named the third star the previous week. Booth scored his first professional goal in the Reign’s 6-4 loss to Colorado and a point in all three games during the week. Booth has earned head coach Marco Sturm’s trust by playing well to start the season.

First star

Stat line: Three games played, four goals, two assists, six points, +2 rating, ten shots on goal

Who else but the Gawd Father himself? Glenn Gawdin being the Reign’s first star for this week was a no-brainer. Gawdin recorded six points in three games for the Reign, including two game-winning goals in both the Reign wins. Gawdin has done everything for the Reign, such as playing five-on-five, power play and penalty kill, and leading the team in scoring. He’s been one of the better players for the Reign after a slow start to the year. He earned the Reign train conductor hat after the team’s win over Tucson for his performance.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign

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