Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 4-0 Victory Over San Jose

Carter George stole the show as the Ontario Reign secured the weekend split with a 4-0 win over the San Jose Barracuda.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

ONT: Martin Chromiak (17), ASST: Joseph Cecconi (15), Reilly Walsh (26)

ONT: Reilly Walsh (5), ASST: Kaleb Lawrence (2)

Second period: 

ONT: Reilly Walsh (6), ASST: Jack Studnicka (26), Andre Lee (12)

Third period: 

ONT: PP Taylor Ward (12), ASST: Charles Hudon (43), Martin Chromiak (20)

Stats

Goals: 

ONT: 4

SJ: 0

Shots: 

ONT: 29

SJ: 32

Power plays: 

ONT: 1/4

SJ: 0/3

Here are the three takeaways from last night’s 4-0 victory

Have a game, Carter George!

Carter George was reassigned to the Reign last week by the LA Kings after his OHL season ended with the Owen Sound Attack getting swept by the London Knights in the first round. After practicing with the team this week, the 18-year-old netminder made his professional debut. George has had plenty of hype and potential surrounding him, and his debut lived up to it. George stopped all 33 shots he faced and was absolutely poised and in control in the crease.

He was confident and didn’t look out of place or nervous. George didn’t need to make many big saves early on, but he did as the game progressed. In the middle frame, he made a save with the blocker on Filip Bystedt’s mini breakaway chance and another one on Luca Cagnoni’s fluttering attempt during a five-on-three, and one in tight on Patrick Giles’ short-handed breakaway late in the frame, to name a few.

He was spectacular. Phenomenal. Exceptional. Whatever adjective you want to use. The 18-year-old didn’t disappoint. He was named the game’s first star for his performance. Kings fans got a glimpse of what their future goalie could be in net.

Reilly Walsh records a Gordie Howe hat trick

Reilly Walsh had his best game of the season. He recorded a secondary assist on Chromiak’s opening goal. He scored 57 seconds later on a blast by the glove of Yaroslav Askarov for his 5th of the season off a faceoff win by Kaleb Lawrence. The defender wasn’t satisfied with a goal and an assist in the opening frame, though. He recorded a fight, sticking up for teammate Aatu Jamsen (a clean hit by John Gormley on Jamsen), to give himself a Gordie Howe hat trick less than 10 minutes into the game. I’m not sure, but that might be the fastest Gordie Howe hat trick I’ve seen a player record in a game.

He added another goal, at four-on-four, in the middle frame to extend the Reign’s lead to 3-0. Walsh became the second player on the Reign to record a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Barracuda this year (Jamsen being the other). It’s been a rough year for Walsh overall, but he gave his best performance on the offensive end in this game (2 G, 1 A). He was the game’s second star.

Playoff feel

The last five games (three against the Barracuda) for the Reign have had a playoff feel to them. The games have been physical, intense, and chippy. Last night was no different. Kaleb Lawrence caught my attention as he was in the middle of several post-whistle scrums and sticking up for Otto Salin after the rookie was on the receiving end of a big hit. Marco Sturm mentioned two weeks ago how the 6-foot-7 monster is a ‘strong kid’ and we’re seeing him not afraid of dropping the gloves or getting into post-whistle shenanigans.

This weekend might have been a preview of what to expect from the two teams, because if the playoffs started today, they would meet in round one. We’ll have to see how this final week plays out, but it’s a possibility these two could square off to open the playoffs.

NOTES:

*Martin Chromiak notched his 17th goal of the season. It was his 5th goal against San Jose in eight games.

*Otto Salin made his North American debut. He played on the third pairing and had one shot on goal. There were several instances of the 21-year-old being active in the offensive zone.

*Quentin Musty made his professional debut on the Barracuda side. He was drafted in the first round by the San Jose Sharks in 2023.

*The Barracuda went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were 10-for-30 on the man advantage against the Reign entering the game.

*The Reign are 25-0-0-0 when leading after two periods.

*The Reign finished the season 5-3-0-0 against the Barracuda

*Aatu Jamsen left the game in the second period after receiving a hit from Jimmy Schuldt and didn’t return.

*Angus Booth returned to the lineup after missing the previous 21 games due to an injury.

*With the win, the Reign secured home ice advantage in the first round (best-of-three). If you haven’t heard yet, Ontario will have the opportunity to host two potential playoff games at Crypto.com Arena.

UP NEXT: The Reign return home on Wednesday for a matchup against the Colorado Eagles to kick off a three-game homestand. Puck drop is at 7 PM PST and can be seen on FloHockey or KCAL+ (channel 9.6). You can also listen to the game on the ESPN LA app or ontarioreign.com/radio.

Featured image credit: Andreea Cardani/San Jose Barracuda

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