Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 2-1 Win Over Tucson

The Ontario Reign needed two goals in the second period as they hung on for a 2-1 road victory over the Tucson Roadrunners.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

None

Second period:

ONT: Jack Studnicka (12), ASST: Cole Krygier (2), Andre Lee (3)

ONT: Charles Hudon (15), ASST: Caleb Jones (12), Samuel Helenius (2)

Third period:

TUC: PP Egor Sokolov (14), ASST: Aku Raty (12), Curtis Douglas (6)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 2

TUC: 1

Shots:

ONT: 31

TUC: 22

Power plays:

ONT: 0/3

TUC: 1/5

Here are the three takeaways from Friday night’s victory:

Both netminders play well

Both goalies played well in this one. Matthew Villalta (Tucson) had to be ready from the opening faceoff as the Reign were on their toes and outshot the Roadrunners 10-2 at the midway point of the opening period; he stopped all 17 of the Reign’s shots on goal, including three or four quality chances. For the game, Villalta made 29 saves on 31 shots and made big saves, highlighted by his save on Samuel Fagemo’s backhand attempt on a breakaway in the second period, and another breakaway save on Glenn Gawdin’s attempt and a follow-up save on Martin Chromiak after Gawdin’s attempt in the final frame. He was great in net for Tucson.

On to Pheonix Copley.

Copley has turned it around in his last three games, allowing only one goal or less in his last three starts. Copley didn’t face the same quantity of shots as Villalta did early but had to make big saves at key moments in the third. His best save came on Cameron Hebig’s attempt in the slot with 6:18 remaining with the Reign holding on to their 2-1 lead. Marco Sturm has gone with a goal rotation for the last three weeks, and if the Reign can keep getting solid play from Copley and if Erik Portillo can turn the corner they can be a tough team to beat.

Mixed lines give good energy

Sturm mixed up the line combinations for this game. Below are the line combinations from Wednesday and Friday’s games.

If you’re keeping score at home, here’s what happened:

  • Healthy scratches: Shawn Element, Aatu Jamsen, Jakub Dvorak, and Reilly Walsh.
  • Inserted into the lineup: Samuel Helenius (third-line center), Jacob Doty (fourth-line right wing), Cole Krygier (third defensive pairing), and Luke Rowe (third defensive pairing).
  • The third line (Andre Lee, Jack Studnicka, and Taylor Ward) from Wednesday’s game was the second line yesterday.
  • Samuel Fagemo moved up from the second line to the first.
  • Charles Hudon moved down from the first line to the third.
  • Martin Chromiak moved down from the second line to the third.
  • Francesco Pinelli moved down from the second-line center to the fourth line and Tyler Madden moved from center to wing.

With all the new combinations, the Reign played well, especially in the opening 20 minutes. The Studnicka line, the only line to stay intact and is normally tasked with shutting down the opposition’s best line, scored another goal at five-on-five. That line has scored at least one five-on-five goal in five of the last six games.

All four lines played well, however, the fourth line of Madden, Pinelli, and Doty brought the energy in the first period. They caused turnovers and created chances but couldn’t get one past Villalta. Pinelli had three shots on goal after the opening 20 minutes and the whole line played great as Sturm rewarded them with more ice time late in the first period and early in the second. Unfortunately, penalties kept them out of a rhythm and the Reign from rolling four lines consistently in the final 20 minutes. It’ll be interesting to see if Sturm will opt to go back to these line combinations tonight.

A successful second period is the difference

It’s no secret that the second period has been trouble for the Reign this year. Entering yesterday’s contest, the Reign had a -6 (42-48) goal differential in the second period through 40 games. In game 41 of the season, it was good fortune for them. The Reign outscored the Roadrunners 2-0 on odd-man rush goals from Jack Studnicka and Charles Hudon 39 seconds apart. Both goals involved a defenseman jumping in on the rush and receiving the primary assist on both goals.

The two goals were the difference and were all the Reign needed to get past the Roadrunners. Ontario is automatic when leading after two periods of play and playing a good second period to ensure them a lead after the middle frame will further help with that success.

NOTES:

*Jack Studnicka scored a goal in three consecutive games and has seven points in his last six games. He is on fire and playing like a stud(nicka).

*Charles Hudon’s goal gave him his 88th point in 93 games played with the Reign. He is four points away from 400 in his AHL career.

*Pheonix Copley improved his save percentage to .906.

*Samuel Helenius earned a secondary assist in his first game back with the Reign (he was loaned back to the Reign by the Kings on Wednesday).

*The Reign are 14-2-0-1 when scoring first and 15-0-0-0 when leading after two periods.

UP NEXT: These two teams meet again tonight at 6 PM PST. It’s the final game for both clubs before the all-star break, which starts on Sunday.

Featured image credit: Kate Dibildox/Tucson Roadrunners

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