Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 5-3 Loss to Abbotsford

It was a tie game entering the third period, but the Abbotsford Canucks prevailed with a 5-3 win over the Ontario Reign in the season finale.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Glenn Gawdin (26), ASST: Taylor Ward (15), Martin Chromiak (21)

ABB: Linus Karlsson (23), ASST: Victor Mancini (9), Max Sasson (29)

ONT: Andre Lee (6), ASST: Jack Studnicka (29)

ABB: Victor Mancini (4), ASST: Christian Wolanin (36), Linus Karlsson (15)

Second period: 

None

Third period:

ABB: Akito Hirose (4), ASST: Jujhar Khaira (11), Chase Wouters (17)

ONT: Kaleb Lawrence (6), ASST: Jacob Doty (6)

ABB: Max Sasson (13), ASST: Phillip Di Giuseppe (5), Linus Karlsson (16)

ABB: EN Arshdeep Bains (11), ASST: Chase Wouters (18), Aatu Raty (23)

Stats

Goals: 

ABB: 5

ONT: 3

Shots: 

ABB: 27

ONT: 26

Power plays: 

ABB: 0/2

ONT: 0/2

Here are the three takeaways from last night’s 5-3 defeat:

Third seed it is

The task was simple for both teams: win the game and secure the second seed. The Reign started fast and strong, scoring twice in the opening frame, but Abbotsford had an answer for each goal. There was no scoring in the second period, but the scales slowly tilted in the favor of the visitors as Ontario was pinned in their zone for most of the frame.

In the 72nd game, it would come down to the final 20 minutes, where it was anyone’s game. As the Canucks have done for the past month, they found a way to win. Abbotsford scored three times in the final 20 minutes to secure the win and the second seed in the division, and will face the Tucson Roadrunners in the first round.

With the loss, the Reign will settle for the third seed and will face either the Calgary Wranglers or the San Jose Barracuda. Those two teams play this afternoon, and the Reign will find out who their opponent is once the game ends. However, what we do know is what day, time, and venue the games will be played at.

Here is the first round schedule (due to Disney on Ice taking place at Toyota Arena this week, the Reign will be playing games one and two at Crypto.com Arena):

  • Game 1: Thursday, April 24th, 7 PM (PST) at Crypto.com Arena
  • Game 2: Saturday, April 26th, 6 PM (PST) at Crypto.com Arena
  • Game 3: Monday, April 28th, 7 PM (PST) at Toyota Arena (if necessary)

Lawrence scores again, Wright continues to impress

Kaleb Lawrence found the back of the net once again. The fourth-line center for Marco Sturm’s squad has impressed as the season has moved along. The big forward has learned how to play big, use his size to his advantage, and be a reliable option in the faceoff dot. But lately, it’s been his offensive touch that has been the headliner. Although it wasn’t a pretty goal, it was his work ethic that led to the goal, with a good bounce going his way. The 22-year-old finished the season with a four-game point streak (3 G, 1 A). Heating up at the right time for the playoffs.

Jared Wright didn’t score but continues to show his relentless forechecking ability and his blazing speed, possibly making him an option for the bottom six in round one if Charles Hudon isn’t available and Taylor Ward is elevated to the first line like he was yesterday. He even made two solid defensive plays in the middle frame by tying up a Canuck stick to avoid a rebound chance, and blocking a shot and getting an important clear moments after saving a goal to get a much-needed line change as Ontario had been hemmed in their zone for over a minute.

Despite recording a point in three games, Sturm has been happy with LA’s 2022 sixth-round pick. “Good. It’s a learning curve for him. […] Even today, he was totally fine. I’m actually really happy about his game”, Ontario’s head coach said after the game.

Not bad for a pair of late-round picks this past week.

Copley confirmed starter for game one

When I asked Sturm about the goalie situation last year heading into the playoffs, he said he likes to have a number-one. With Erik Portillo being on the shelf since mid-February, Sturm has relied heavily on Pheonix Copley since, and it looks like he will do so to start the playoffs. While the 33-year-old netminder didn’t have his A-game in this one, Sturm confirmed after the game that he is already penciling him in as the game one starter.

But Ontario’s bench boss also stated they’ll have to wait to see if the Kings take a third goalie for their series. Last year, LA called up Aaron Dell before their series against the Oilers to serve as the number-three goalie, and could do something similar this year. Unless anything changes, Copley is confirmed to be the game one starter.

UPDATE (4/21): Copley has been called up to the Kings.

NOTES:

*Glenn Gawdin played in all 72 games this year for the Reign. He played in his 400th AHL game last night and scored his 26th goal of the season.

*Jack Studnicka also played in all 72 games for the Reign.

*Joseph Cecconi played in 74 games (51 with Iowa and 23 for Ontario). It was the most games played by any player in the regular season.

*Andre Lee finished with 20 points in the regular season with his goal in the opening frame. He finished the season with five points (1 G, 4 A) in five games.

*The Reign ended the regular season with a record of 43-25-3-1.

*Abbotsford finished the regular season by winning 16 of their last 18 games.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign will start their first-round best-of-three series on Thursday, April 24th, at 7 PM PST. They will play either the Calgary Wranglers or the San Jose Barracuda.

Featured image credit: Mike Zitek/Ontario Reign

Tags:

Leave a Reply

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