Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 2-1 Victory Over San Diego

The Ontario Reign hung on for a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Gulls to set up an important clash against the Abbotsford Canucks in the season finale.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

None

Second period:

ONT: PS Charles Hudon (20), ASST: None

ONT: PP Kaleb Lawrence (5), ASST: Caleb Jones (19), Glenn Gawdin (36)

Third period: 

SD: PP Sam Colangelo (20), ASST: Ryan Carpenter (29), Tristan Luneau (42)

Stats

Goals:

SD: 1

ONT: 2

Shots: 

SD: 28

ONT: 28

Power plays: 

SD: 1/4

ONT: 1/6

Here are the three takeaways from last night’s 2-1 victory:

Youth making an impact

The youth had their moments in the last two games; last night was no different. Kaleb Lawrence continues to fill the role as the fourth-line center and scored the game-winning goal on a deflection on the power play. Lawrence doesn’t play on the power play, but with Andre Lee on the first unit replacing Charles Hudon (more on him later), Marco Sturm opted to go with the 6-foot-7 forward. He’s been playing big boy hockey and has been a reliable 4C — especially in faceoffs as of late — for Sturm.

Carter George was spectacular again in the net for the Reign. Coming off his 33-save shutout performance, the 18-year-old made his first home start and made 27 saves in the victory. He has looked confident, calm, and in control in the crease.

Martin Chromiak and Lee didn’t get on the scoresheet, but the two were on the ice late in the game and made key defensive plays in the final minute to preserve the Reign’s lead. Chromiak made an effort to get the puck out of the Reign zone while Lee knocked a loose puck out of harm’s way to deny a quality rebound chance for San Diego. Small details like those don’t go unnoticed.

The newcomers, such as Otto Salin, Koehn Ziemmer, and Jared Wright, are getting their feet at the pro level, and in Salin’s case, for North America. All three had decent games, but Wright’s speed was noticeable throughout the night. The 22-year-old is extremely fast and could be a bottom-six and penalty kill option for Sturm in the playoffs. After all, he does have experience playing in the Frozen Four the last two years at Denver University for David Carle’s squad.

Two players don’t finish the game

The Reign had key players go down in this game. Angus Booth took a big — and questionable — hit from Travis Howe in the first period and didn’t return to the contest. It’s unfortunate for Booth, as the 20-year-old has been a main staple on the backend for Sturm and just returned from injury two games before this one.

Hudon went down in the second period after his penalty shot goal. When looking at the replay of the penalty he drew, there wasn’t anything noticeable that looked like a cause for concern. Hudon would return late in the second period, but didn’t play in the third period, and Shawn Element, Ziemmer, and Lee rotated shifts in his spot.

Speaking of Lee, he also took a hit up high in the game. Luckily for the Reign, he returned in the third period and finished the game. Potentially losing two or three key players before the playoffs would be a devastating blow, but as they say, next man up. We’ll have to wait and see if any of the three play in the finale tonight.

Down to the wire

It’s game number 72, and the standings aren’t solidified yet. With the Reign win and Abbotsford Canucks win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the second seed for the division will come down to tonight’s clash. The winner grabs the second seed and faces the seventh seed — either the Bakersfield Condors or Tucson Roadrunners — in round one. Tucson is in a win-and-get-in situation. However, if both Tucson and Bakersfield lose in regulation, the former will clinch the seventh and final playoff spot in the division because of the regulation wins tiebreaker.

The loser of the Reign/Canucks game will secure the third seed and face either the Calgary Wranglers or San Jose Barracuda (those two play each other on Sunday and is the only game being played that day). Buckle up for the fun and exciting finish!

NOTES:

*George’s stats in two games for the Reign are a 0.50 GAA and a .984 sv%. He isn’t eligible to start next season in the AHL due to his age and CHL rules.

*Lawrence scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season and extended his point streak to three games (2 G, 1 A). His goal stood as the game-winner.

*Hudon’s goal gave him seven straight seasons of scoring at least 20 goals. The Reign now have four 20-goal scorers for the 2024-25 campaign.

*The Reign finished the season series against the Gulls with a 4-1-2-1 record.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign conclude the season at home against the Abbotsford Canucks tonight at 6 PM. You can watch that game on FloHockey or KCAL+ (channel 9.6) or listen on the ESPN LA app or ontarioreign.com/radio. It is fan appreciation night.

Featured image credit: Jon Huerta/Ontario Reign

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *