Ontario Reign: Four Takeaways From 5-4 OT Loss to Calgary

A valiant comeback falls short as the Ontario Reign fell to the Calgary Wranglers in overtime by a final score of 5-4.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

CGY: PP Jeremie Poirier (3), ASST: Dryden Hunt (27)

CGY: Dryden Hunt (12), ASST: William Stromgren (20)

Second period:

ONT: Andre Lee (2), ASST: Taylor Ward (8), Angus Booth (9)

CGY: Sam Morton (10), ASST: Jeremie Porier (18)

CGY: PP William Strogren (11), ASST: Martin Frk (19), Dryden Hunt (28)

ONT: PP Glenn Gawdin (14), ASST: Martin Chromiak (10), Reilly Walsh (15)

ONT: Taylor Ward (4), ASST: Jack Studnicka (11)

Third period: 

ONT: Jack Studnicka (9), ASST: None

Overtime:

CGY: Ilya Solovyov (6), ASST: Martin Frk (20), Clark Bishop (17)

Stats

Goals:

CGY: 5

ONT: 4

Shots:

CGY: 20

ONT: 36

Power plays:

CGY: 2/4

ONT: 1/4

Here are the four takeaways from Sunday’s afternoon defeat:

The comeback falls short

The Ontario Reign played sloppy in the first half of the game. They found themselves in penalty trouble again and allowed two power-play goals and a turnover at their blue line that led to Calgary’s third goal. It looked similar to their two-game series in Abbotsford. Passing wasn’t sharp and sloppy play in the neutral and defensive zones.

Then came the second half where the Reign looked like the Reign from December. Down 4-1 late in the second period, Glenn Gawdin (power play) and Taylor Ward narrowed the gap from a three-goal deficit to one. The Reign kept battling and finally found the equalizer when Jack Studnicka intercepted a Jarred Tinordi breakout pass and fired one past Waltteri Ignatjew with 5:32 to play.

However, the comeback would fall short. Ilya Solovyov’s shot in overtime went past Erik Portillo’s glove off the post and in to end a wild game that saw nine goals, two fights, and animosity from both sides. It felt like two different games combined into one. The Reign played good hockey for 35 minutes, but sloppy play in the first 30 saw them fall behind the eight ball early.

The third line comes up big

If one line had it for the Reign in this game, it would be the third line. The line of Andre Lee, Jack Studnicka, and Taylor Ward scored all three goals at five-on-five. Ward and Studnicka had a goal and an assist each, while Lee recorded his second goal of the season for the Reign. That’s five points combined by that trio.

That line was the catalyst in the Reign’s comeback bid, which started in the second period. The Reign needed secondary scoring, and that line provided it and was fantastic overall. They were moving their feet in transition, establishing a forecheck, and getting pucks on net.

Penalty kill leaking?

Ontario’s penalty kill was ranked 11th not long ago, but has slipped to 17th (82.4%) during this four-game losing streak. Taking too many penalties has been an issue for the Reign. That’s playing with fir,e and the Reign penalty kill has been getting burned. During this four-game losing streak, the opposition’s power play is 5-for-20 (25%) against the Reign’s penalty-killing unit.

The Wranglers went 2-for-4 on the man advantage with their first goal coming 2:22 into the contest. Losing Joe Hicketts, who is valuable to this Reign team, hurts, but one player shouldn’t be the reason the penalty kill is slipping the way it is. Ontario has to do better on the penalty kill overall, and it starts with staying out of the box to limit the opposition’s opportunities and getting to the loose pucks to get clears when needed.

Tough sledding for Martin Chromiak

Martin Chromiak is in a rough stretch that seems to be never-ending. Chromiak has one goal in his last 25 games and can’t buy a goal. The 22-year-old forward had four shots on goal and two great scoring chances where the puck rolled off his stick a day after being a healthy scratch. When a player is fighting it, it feels as if nothing can go right, and that’s where Chromiak is right now.

“It’s not always fun when you get scratched […] Sometimes you have to reset. Today, in the second half, I thought he was a little bit better,” Marcos Sturm said after the game on Chromiak being inserted back into the lineup.

On if the floodgates will open for the young forward if he gets that one goal:

“Usually, it does. He had some opportunities on the power play and in overtime. Sometimes you only need one. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen for him today. He needs to stay with it, stay positive, and shoot for the next one,” Sturm said.

If anybody on the Reign needs a goal badly, it’s Chormiak.

NOTES:

*Jeremie Poirier, William Stromgren, Martin Frk, and Dryden Hunt had multi-point games for the Wranglers.

*Glenn Gawdin recorded his 14th goal of the season for the Reign in the second period.

*Erik Portillo made 15 saves on 20 shots in the loss.

*This game was chippy from the start. Francesco Pinelli and Lucas Ciona fought at center ice three minutes into the game. Jacob Doty and Jarred Tinordi followed that with one of their own 13 seconds later in Calgary’s zone.

*The four-game losing streak is the longest of the season for the Reign.

UP NEXT: These two teams are at it again on Tuesday night at Toyota Arena. The game starts at 7 PM PST and can be seen on FloHockey and KCAL+ (channel 9.6). You can also listen to the game on the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign 

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