Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 12/16-12/22

Another week has passed and it’s time for our Three Stars of the Week honors for the Ontario Reign, who went 3-0-0 in three games. Before we name the three stars, let’s quickly recap the last week’s three games for the Reign.

2-1 victory over Calgary

The Ontario Reign met the first-seeded Calgary Wranglers for the first time this season. As expected, this one was a close game; however, the Reign dominated possession outshooting the Wranglers 38-14. The first period went scoreless with both teams getting quality chances. Calgary only had four shots on goal and a hit post, but most of those shots were grade-A chances.

The second period saw Sam Morton strike on the power play for the visitors on a zone entry, one Erik Portillo would like to have back. The Reign, after being denied on every shot toward the net, finally solved Devin Cooley with Shawn Element’s quick shot up high late in the period.

The third period only had one goal, which came in transition by Charles Hudon on a nice breakout pass by Jeff Malott. Portillo and the defense locked it down the remaining ten minutes to secure the victory for the Reign.

4-1 victory over Coachella Valley

Up next: The third-seeded Coachella Valley Firebirds. Entering this game the Reign lost the last eight meetings (playoffs included) to their I-10 rivals. The first 40 minutes ended in a deadlock tie at one with goals from Jani Nyman and Francesco Pinelli. Samuel Fagemo broke the tie 48 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal. Protecting the lead, the Reign added two empty-net insurance goals from Hudon and Fagemo to secure a 4-1 victory. Pheonix Copley turned aside 32 of 33 shots. The win gave the Reign their first win over the Firebirds since February 23, 2024.

4-2 victory over Coachella Valley

The rematch! The Reign and Firebirds met again less than 24 hours after the Reign picked up the road victory. The Firebirds forecheck and transition game was on point, which led to a dominant first period by them. The Firebirds went to the locker room with a 2-0 lead and a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal.

The Reign entered the second period and looked like a completely new team. Fagemo got the home team on the board with his third goal of the weekend. The goal triggered the teddy bears being thrown from the fans (it was the teddy bear toss game). After Fagemo’s goal, the Reign got tallies from Malott and Jacob Doty, giving the Reign the lead heading into intermission.

The Reign would get an insurance goal from their fourth line in the third period, as they recorded their sixth straight win as they headed into the holiday break. Portillo stopped 28 of 30 shots for the Reign. Like Copley in the previous game, Portillo came up big on multiple occasions when the Reign had defensive zone breakdowns due to the puck and player movement from the Firebirds.

Honorable mentions:

Samuel Fagemo and Erik Portillo. Fagemo registered three goals in three games while Portillo stopped 41 of 44 shots faced in two games. Both players were in consideration for the three stars but will be honorable mentions here for the week they had.

Third star

Shawn Element

Stat line: Three games played, two goals, one assist, three points, +2 rating, six shots on goal

Make room for one more element on the periodic table. His name is Shawn Element. Element is this week’s third star. The fourth liner recorded one point in all three games and played a vital role. No matter who has played on that line for the Reign recently, they have produced. Bringing the scoring element this past week was huge in addition to his physical play style. He is fourth on the Reign in goals (7) and second in +/- with a +10 rating through 24 games.

Second star

Jacob Doty

Stat line: Three games played, one goal, three assists, four points, +3 rating, three shots on goal

Jacob Doty, the longest-tenured Reign player, made an impact after being inserted into the lineup when Aatu Jamsen went down with an injury. Like Element, Doty recorded a point in every game during the week, including a multi-point night in the Reign’s 4-2 win over the Firebirds. Doty also recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick, becoming the second Reign player to do so within the last four games (Jamsen was the other player). Doty is not known for offense, but contributing to the fourth-line scoring was a plus. It allows Marco Sturm to have confidence to roll all four lines.

First star

Charles Hudon

Stat line: Three games played, two goals, three assists, five points, +3 rating, 13 shots on goal

This one was a no-brainer. Charles Hudon is the first star with five points (2 G, 3 A) in three games. Hudon started the week by scoring the game-winning goal against the Wranglers. It was his fourth game-winning goal of the season, which leads the team. The 30-year-old winger would add a primary assist and empty-net goal in the Reign’s 4-1 road win over the Firebirds. Lastly, he added two primary assists the following night in the Reign’s 4-2 victory.

After a slow start to the year, Hudon has been one of Ontario’s best players since the calendar flipped to November. Hudon is currently on a five-game point streak, recording nine points (5 G, 4 A) during that stretch. He will represent Team Canada at the Spengler Cup tournament. That starts today.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign 

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