Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 3-1 Victory Over Bakersfield

All the scoring came in the first period as the Ontario Reign put together a solid effort for a road victory over the Bakersfield Condors.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: PP Samuel Fagemo (10), ASST: Reilly Walsh (6), Charles Hudon (6)

BAK: Alex Swetlikoff (1), ASST: Ethan de Jong (2), Cam Dineen (4)

ONT: Glenn Gawdin (8), ASST: Joe Hicketts (12), Jeff Malott (14)

ONT: Glenn Gawdin (9), ASST: Charles Hudon (7)

Second period:

None

Third period:

None

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 3

BAK: 1

Shots: 

ONT: 37

BAK: 26

Power plays:

ONT: 1/4

BAK: 0/2

Here are the three takeaways from Saturday’s victory:

Gawdin ends a strong month in style

Glenn Gawdin found the scoresheet after having his five-game point streak snapped in Friday’s victory over Texas. Gawdin scored two goals, both in different ways. The first goal he re-directed the puck in front of the net off a Joe Hicketts shot from the left point. The second goal was a quick release, off a centering pass from Charles Hudon, in the slot that went bar down glove side on Olivier Rodrigue.

The two goals capped off a wonderful month for Gawdin. Ontario’s 1C finished the month with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 12 games. Eight of those games were multi-point games. Gawdin’s first goal was also his third game-winning goal of the month. Like he did the entire month, Gawdin did everything in this one for the Reign by playing five-on-five, and special teams.

He should be the AHL’s Player of the Month.

Copley solid between the pipes again

Marco Sturm said in his post-game interview after Friday’s game that Pheonix Copley would start Saturday’s game, and he was true to his word. Copley was making his second straight start for the second time this season, but was the first time starting both games on a back-to-back. After backstopping the Reign to a 4-0 victory with a 27-save shutout, Copley followed that performance with a 25-save effort last night.

Copley was sharp again and I noticed his glove hand was like glue, securing the puck every time he made a save. Copley made nine saves in the first period but had to be on red alert to start the middle frame as the Condors outshot the Reign 6-0 to start the frame. The 32-year-old netminder made three big saves, including a partial breakaway save on Matthew Savoie.

It’s hard to top a shutout performance from your previous start but Copley may have done just that. That’s three straight games of allowing two goals or less and four consecutive games of having a save percentage over .900. This is a good sign for Copley and the Reign.

Young defensemen improving

Rosters always change in the AHL. The Reign have seen 14 new players, including a young and inexperienced defensive core. Angus Booth (20) is in his first professional season. Luke Rowe (26) and Jack Millar (25) are in their first full season after turning pro from college last year. Jakub Dvorak (19) is playing in his first season in North America and Cole Krygier (24) is in his second full year. Hicketts and Reilly Walsh are the only players on the backend with experience.

The young defensemen have factored in the Reign’s success in November. Booth has been solid from the start, playing against the top players of opposing teams, penalty kill, and has made a nice pairing with Rowe after playing most of the year with Hicketts. Millar has recently slotted in the top pair with Hicketts while getting penalty kill time, too. Booth, Millar, and Rowe have taken on big roles to start the season, but all five defensemen keep improving every game, deserve the praise, and have flown under the radar during this hot stretch for the Reign.

Let’s hope they keep it up!

NOTES:

*With this win, the Reign are now 8-0-0 when leading after two periods.

*Copley earned the Reign Train conductor hat after the game for his performance.

*Samuel Fagemo recorded his 10th goal of the year, second on the power play, and at least a goal in four straight games.

*Ontario’s penalty kill has been excellent the past eight games. They’ve killed off 24 of their last 25 penalties (96%).

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign will return home to face the Texas Stars for the second time in three days on Tuesday, December 3rd. The game starts at 7 PM PST and you can watch it on FloSports or KCAL+ (channel 9.6). If you can’t watch the game you can listen on the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: Bakersfield Condors

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