Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 11/18-11/24

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

4-2 win over Henderson

The Ontario Reign faced the Henderson Silver Knights for the fourth time in less than a month. Andre Lee returned to the Reign on loan and started on the third line, making his AHL season debut. The first period was sleepy as both teams clogged up the neutral zone forcing the other to dump and chase, sprinkled in with some icing calls.

The Reign woke up in the second period and scored three goals (Samuel Fagemo, Kaleb Lawrence, and Charles Hudon) to take a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Gawdin would add an empty-net goal for his third point of the night to ice the game. Henderson would add a late goal, but it wouldn’t matter as the Reign won the game with one of their better 60-minute performances.

4-1 win over San Diego

The Reign ended their two-game road trip for the week with a Saturday night matchup against the San Diego Gulls. Erik Portillo started this game after being loaned back to the Reign the morning of. Unlike Wednesday’s game against Henderson, this one started with chances for both sides. The Reign didn’t have a solid period defensively but managed to take a 2-0 lead into intermission on goals from Fagemo and Jack Studnicka.

Roman Kinal got the lone tally in the second period immediately after a Reign power play. Jeff Malott would score on a rebound goal moments after the power play expired to give Ontario their two-goal lead back. Hudon would add an empty-net goal to seal the deal, giving the Reign a 4-1 victory over their rivals down south. Gawdin would record another three-point night in this one.

Here are your Reign’s three stars of the week

Third star

Francesco Pinelli

Stat line: Two games played, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, -1 rating, two shots on goal

You’re probably wondering why Francesco Pinelli is this week’s third star without recording a point. That’s because something caught my eye during the game against Henderson. Pinelli did something we haven’t seen him do since turning pro: fight! Yes, you read that correctly. Pinelli got into his first professional fight late in the second period against Kai Uchacz.

Pinelli is off to a slow start with six points in 15 games, but the difference between this year and last year is he’s playing with confidence and not tight with the puck like he did last year. However, that will need to translate into points soon.

Second star

Erik Portillo

Stat line: One game played, one goal against, 33 saves on 34 shots, 1-0-0 record, .971 save percentage

Erik Portillo made only one start during the week after being up with the LA Kings and was loaned back to the Reign the day of the game against the Gulls. Portillo stopped 33 of 34 shots, earning his fourth win of the season and improving his save percentage to .906. Portillo had to make some big saves early as the Reign had trouble handling the puck and making crisp tape-to-tape passes. Although there were big rebounds Portillo gave up, he recovered well in tracking the puck after to make a follow-up save. Rebound control will be a work in progress. It was the second straight game he allowed one goal.

First star

Glenn Gawdin

Stat line: Two games played, one goal, five assists, six points, +3 rating, four shots on goal

Who else but the Gawd Father himself? For the second straight week, Glenn Gawdin is the first star, tallying back-to-back three-point games for six points. Gawdin recorded one goal, an empty-net goal, and three primary assists. 19 of Gawdin’s 20 points have come during November (ten games) after recording one point in October (five games) and is third in the league in scoring now. Nobody may knock Gawdin off from the first star if this kind of play from him continues.

YouTube video courtesy of Hockey Fights Plus

Featured image credit: San Diego Gulls

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