Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 12/2-12/8

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.

5-3 loss to Texas

The Ontario Reign kicked off the week with a Tuesday matchup against the Texas Stars. Arttu Hyry opened the scoring 41 seconds in to give Texas an early 1-0 lead. The Reign would get goals by Samuel Fagemo and Francesco Pinelli later in the period to take a 2-1 lead heading into the intermission. The Stars would flip the script by outscoring the Reign 2-1 in the middle frame, giving us a 3-3 tie through 40 minutes.

Antonio Stranges gave the Stars the lead on a shot that rang off the post and in by Pheonix Copley less than six minutes into the third period. The Reign had a four-minute power play they didn’t convert on and couldn’t solve Magnus Hellberg in an attempt to tie the game. Matej Blumel would ice the game with an empty-net goal, snapping the Reign’s four-game win streak. This was a game in which the Reign didn’t play their best through 40 minutes despite having a chance to win it in the final 20.

2-1 SO victory over San Diego

The Reign dominated this game, especially the first 40 minutes. They outshot the Gulls 30-8 but trailed 1-0 thanks to Oscar Dansk’s spectacular goalie performance. Ontario would finally break through early in the third period when Jack Studnicka found Andre Lee back door in transition to tie the game at one. No other scoring would happen the rest of the frame which meant overtime; the first overtime game for the Reign this season.

The Reign would have to kill off an Angus Booth tripping penalty to force a shootout, and they did. Taylor Ward scored the lone goal in the skills competition while Erik Portillo stopped all three shots, leading the Reign to their fifth victory in six games.

5-3 victory over Bakersfield

Another game against the Condors means another close game. Bakersfield struck early in the second period on Noah Philp’s sixth goal of the season, but Charles Hudon answered with two goals to give the Reign a 2-1. Jacob Perreault, making his Condors debut, tied the game late in the frame with his first of the season off a missed pass by the Reign in the defensive zone.

Philip Kemp broke the tie near the midway point of the third to give the Condors a 3-2 lead. Ontario didn’t go away that easy as three unanswered goals by Martin Chromiak, Joe Hicketts, and Jeff Malott (empty net) would give the Reign a 5-3 victory. It was the second straight game the Reign won when trailing in the third period. It was also the second straight game the Condors blew a third-period lead.

Third star

Francesco Pinelli

Stat line: Three games played, one goal, two assists, three points, +4 rating, six shots on goal

Francesco Pinelli is this week’s third star with three points in three games. Pinelli recorded a multi-point game (1G, 1 A) in the Reign’s 5-3 loss to Texas. Pinelli was engaged all week long and it showed with the chemistry he has developed with Martin Chromiak and Taylor Ward on the third line.

He was driving play and not afraid of shooting the puck all week. While it’s not the start Pinelli might have wanted, his play with the puck has improved, doesn’t look to pass it off once he gets it, and has added a little grit to his game. His nine points (3G, 6 A) in 20 games are an improvement from last year’s first 20 where he had four points (3G, 1A).

Second star

Martin Chromiak

Stat line: Three games played, one, two assists, three points, +4 rating, eight shots on goal

Martin Chromiak is this week’s second star with three points in three games. Chromiak’s only goal of the week came in the Reign’s 5-3 victory against the Condors. It was Chromiak’s first goal in 10 games (11/10/24 against the Coachella Valley Firebirds). During that nine-game goal drought, Chromiak only had two assists.

When Chromiak isn’t afraid to shoot the puck and use his good skating abilities he can be a threat. That’s the issue, though. There are times you don’t see enough of it. For the duo of him and Pinelli, this strong week of play is one they can build off of moving forward. The 22-year-old winger has 10 points (4G, 6A) in 20 games.

First star

Joe Hicketts

Stat line: Three games played, one goal, one assist, two points, -2 rating, five shots on goal

The captain, Joe Hicketts, is your first star this week. While Hicketts scored only two points, he did much more that won’t show in the box score. Hicketts led by example again, whether it be blocking shots, diving to breaking up passes on the penalty kill, or as Marco Sturm alluded to after Sunday’s game ‘playing banged up.’

There’s a reason the team named him the captain. He has led by example and been a mentor for the inexperienced defensive unit. Those small things rewarded him on Sunday with the game-winning goal in Ontario’s victory over Bakersfield.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign

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