Ontario Reign: Takeaways From 3-2 SO Victory Over Henderson

The Ontario Reign avoided a late-game collapse with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Henderson Silver Knights on Sunday afternoon.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: PP Jack Studnicka (15), ASST: Samuel Fagemo (14), Reilly Walsh (21)

Second period:

ONT: Martin Chromiak (12), ASST: Jack Studnicka (19), Andre Lee (7)

Third period:

HSK: Braeden Bowman (13), ASST: Robert Hagg (15)

HSK: SH Tanner Laczynski (12), ASST: Lukas Cormier (2), Gage Quinney (26)

Overtime:

None

Shootout:

Round one:

HSK: Matyas Sapovaliv – NO GOAL

ONT: Glenn Gawdin – GOAL

Round two:

HSK: Jakub Brabenec – NO GOAL

ONT: Jeff Malott – GOAL

Stats

Goals:

HSK: 2

ONT: 3

Shots:

HSK: 22

ONT: 32

Power plays: 

HSK: 0/5

ONT: 1/6

Here are the takeaways from Sunday afternoon’s victory:

Pheonix continues to rise

Another game, another Pheonix Copley start for the Ontario Reign. Marco Sturm has treated Copley as the number-one goalie since Erik Portillo went down with an injury and yesterday was no different. Copley looked poised between the pipes, had good lateral movement, and, as he has done for the past month, gave the Reign a chance to win. The 33-year-old netminder made 20 saves on 22 shots and didn’t allow a goal on both Henderson shootout attempts.

Despite allowing a late goal, a goal Sturm said his netminder didn’t see due to possibly being screened by Joe Hicketts, Copley made multiple big saves in the overtime session to keep the game going. He was named the game’s first star.

“I’m glad he found his rhythm back after ACL, it’s a big injury. He’s been outstanding,” Ontario’s bench boss said of his goalie after the game.

Moving up in the lineup

Sturm tweaked the forward lines in the third period in Ontario’s last game against Tucson by moving Francesco Pinelli up to the first-line center and stuck with it in yesterday’s game. Pinelli has been much more engaged recently and has earned the ice time, and Sturm rewarded him with his first start on the top line in his brief professional career.

Despite having his four-game point streak come to an end, the second-year pro recorded four shots on goal, drew an offensive zone penalty, and had valuable experience playing in the top six. Now, it’s up to him to keep making an impact and force Sturm’s hand by making it hard to move him down from that 1C spot.

Shootouts are automatic

The Reign have been automatic in shootouts this season. If you don’t believe me, here are some stats below on the Reign’s shootout numbers before yesterday’s game:

  • Skaters are 11/17 (64.7%) in shootout attempts
  • Goalies stopped 16/19 (84.2%) of the opposition’s shootout attempts
  • 6-1 shootout record

Video game numbers. That’s the best way to describe the Reign’s shootout brilliance. Well, the game needed the skills competition to decide a winner, which played into the Reign’s favor. Henderson didn’t convert on both attempts, while Gawdin and Malott converted on their attempts for Ontario with their signature moves, as you would expect. Gawdin (5/5) and Malott (4/4) are a combined 9/9 (100%) in the shootouts for the Reign.

They’ve taken the last six attempts for the Reign in the shootout and converted on all of them. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

“We’ve had great goaltending [Portillo and Copley], and somehow our shooters have been really hot. It’s pretty much the same ones too. They find a way. I’m just a dummy behind the bench who just picks them,” Sturm said of his team’s shootout success after the game.

Magic number dwindles

The Reign avoided a late-game collapse and came away with the victory. Jack Studnicka, who had two points, missed the empty-net goal to set up Tanner Laczynski’s game-tying goal seconds later. Despite the momentum swing, the Reign skated away with two points to move into second place in the division and are now one point ahead of the Coachella Valley Firebirds with two games in hand. With the victory, the Reign’s magic number trimmed from 20 to 18 points.

Injury updates

We have injury updates to announce! Sturm told the media after the game that defenseman Angus Booth and goaltender Erik Portillo won’t travel with the team in their upcoming four-game road trip.

“They’re still week-to-week. We’ll see [where they are at] after the road trip,” Sturm said.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign hit the road and will be traveling outside the division for the first time since the 2021-22 season. The Reign will begin their four-game road trip on Tuesday, March 18th, in Texas against the Stars. It will be the first time the Reign will play in Texas since the 2018-19 season (12/29/18). The game starts at 5 PM PST and can be seen on FloHockey. You can also listen to the game on the ESPN LA app and ontarioreign.com/radio.

Featured image credit: Jon Huerta/Ontario Reign

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