Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 3-2 Win Over Colorado

Despite only recording 15 shots on goal, the Ontario Reign grabbed two points, thanks to Samuel Bolduc’s pair of third-period goals.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

COL: Ivan Ivan (1), ASST: Jason Polin (1)

ONT: PP Martin Chromiak (2), ASST: Joe Hicketts (2), Glenn Gawdin (1)

Second period:

COL: Danil Guschin (5), ASST: Wyatt Aamondt (3), Jack Ahcan (4)

Third period:

ONT: Samuel Bolduc (1), ASST: Joe Hicketts (3), Kenny Connors (2)

ONT: PP Samuel Bolduc (2), ASST: Aatu Jamsen (1)

Stats

Goals:

COL: 2

ONT: 3

Shots: 

COL: 28

ONT: 15

Power plays: 

COL: 0/5

ONT: 2/8

Here are the three takeaways from yesterday’s 3-2 victory:

Special teams come up big

It was early penalty trouble for the Ontario Reign yesterday afternoon. Three penalties were taken in the opening 20 minutes, and two more were taken by Francesco Pinelli in the middle frame. Three of the five were stick infractions, but after the second period, the Reign played a clean third period, allowing them to roll four lines.

Although the Reign were short-handed five times through 40 minutes, they killed off all five Colorado power play opportunities. The penalty kill units did a great job not giving up many great-A chances, breaking up passes with their sticks, gap controls, and Erik Portillo making the saves when needed.

Even with the successful penalty kills, taking that many penalties gets a team out of rhythm from rolling all four lines, and players like Jack Hughes and Jacob Doty’s ice time were limited because of it. Staying out of the penalty box will be key moving forward because the Reign have been shorthanded on average four or five times a game to start the season.

As for the power play, they went 2-for-8 in the game, but came up huge when needed. Martin Chromiak scored on the Reign’s first power play of the game with a surprising wrist shot from the lower left circle on Kyle Keyser. Samuel Bolduc scored in the third period on a sweet give-and-go with Aatu Jamsen upon zone entry for the game-winning goal with 14:20 remaining in the game.

In a game in which the Reign struggled for offense, they capitalized on their opportunities when needed.

Erik Portillo

Erik Portillo was appointed as the starting goalie yesterday for the Reign. After being the sole bright spot in Friday’s 2-0 loss to Henderson, Portillo had another solid game again. The netminder had a busy opening 20 minutes, stopping 11 of 12 shots, keeping the game tied.

He went on to stop eight of nine shots in the second period and all four shots he faced in the third period. Portillo didn’t start the third period, as Isaiah Saville played the opening eight minutes until Portillo relieved him to finish the game he started. It’s unclear why that was the case. It could’ve been on the final save he made at the end of the second period when he got hit in the mask, but he finished the game, and that should be seen as a good sign.

Since surrendering five goals on opening night, Portillo has allowed two goals or fewer in his last three starts. Maintaining this level of play is a good step in the right direction for his development as he returns from a back injury that kept him out for the final two months of last season.

Young players get recognition

This year’s Reign roster has a plethora of prospects—some returnees from previous years, and some new faces. In addition to Portillo’s performance, three other prospects stood out from yesterday’s win. One of them was Jared Wright.

Wright is known for his blazing speed, and it was on display for Ontario’s second goal. Wright’s speed negated an icing call that led to a good scoring chance, and ultimately, Bolduc’s game-tying goal on that shift. Without Wright’s speed, it’s an icing, and that goal doesn’t happen.

Another prospect was Jakub Dvořák. I thought this was Dvořák’s best game as a member of the Reign by far, especially on the penalty kill. His gap control along the boards on zone entry was spot on. He even made good plays with his stick to break up passes. Lord also said he had a good game overall.

“I think it was great overall. HUGE step from [Dvořák]. Confident, direct, hard to play against, some good physicality, some good box out, and some good first touch passes. Really good signs.” – Lord on Dvořák’s performance in the win.

Lastly, Kenny Connors recorded an assist on Bolduc’s first goal in the third period by keeping the play alive. He’s been a good addition to Ontario’s bottom-six as a rookie, and Lord has taken notice of that and rewarded him with a shift on the power play late in the game.

“[Connors] deserves it. Great NHL rookie camp, main camp, and American League camp. He’s Mr. Consistent for a first-year player. He does things the right way, reads the game at a very high level, and has a great skill set.” – Lord on why he gave Connors a shift on the power play late in the game.

Much high praise for Connors and Dvořák from Lord.

NOTES:

*Ontario’s 15 shots on goal were the lowest shot total in their first four games.

*Portillo’s two goals against were the lowest of any in his six starts against the Eagles.

*Saville picked up his first win of the season (Bolduc scored both goals while he was in net in the third period before Portillo re-entered the game).

*Chromiak’s power-play tally was his 50th career AHL goal. It was also the 200th game of his AHL career.

*Bolduc’s two-goal game was the third multi-goal game of his AHL career. He was the game’s first star and was awarded the Reign Train conductor hat after the game.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign return to action on Friday, October 24th, against the Abbotsford Canucks. It will be the first road game for the Reign this season as they begin a five-game road trip. As for the Canucks, it will be their home opener and a Calder Cup championship banner raised to the rafters. The puck drops shortly after 7 PM PST and can be seen on FloHockey. If you are unable to watch, you can listen to the game on the Ontario Reign radio network.

Featured image credit: Megan Sanders/Ontario Reign

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