Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 5-2 Win Over Abbotsford

The Ontario Reign spoiled the Abbotsford Canucks’ home opener with a 4-1 victory to kick-start their five-game road trip.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Andre Lee (2), ASST: Jack Hughes (1), Samuel Bolduc (1)

ABB: PP Ben Berard (2), ASST: Kirill Kudryavtsev (5), Vitali Kravtsov (2)

Second period: 

ONT: Taylor Ward (1), ASST: Glenn Gawdin (2)

Third period:

ONT: Taylor Ward (2), ASST: None

ONT: PP Andre Lee (3), ASST: Francesco Pinelli (2), Taylor Ward (1)

ABB: PP Mackenzie MacEachern (2), ASST: Chase Wouters (1), Ben Berard (2)

ONT: EN Glenn Gawdin (1), ASST: None

Stats

Goals: 

ONT: 5

ABB: 2

Shots:

ONT: 26

ABB: 26

Power plays: 

ONT: 1/6

ABB: 2/3

Here are the three takeaways from Friday night’s 5-2 victory:

Jack Hughes stands out

Last week, it was Kenny Connors who stood out for the Reign. Last night, it was another young centerman who stood out for the Reign. That player was Jack Hughes. Hughes, Ontario’s fourth-line center, quietly had himself a good game in his third game as a professional.

Hughes was moving his feet all game long, drew a penalty, and recorded his first professional point with an assist on Andre Lee’s first goal of the game. Instead of signing his entry-level contract like some of his fellow draft mates from the Kings’ 2022 draft class did, Hughes signed a two-year AHL contract. This allows the organization and player to buy time for his development. Although I still think he’s better suited for the wing position, so far, he has been okay as Ontario’s fourth-line center.

Lee and Ward lead the charge

Let’s be honest, the Reign are deep and skilled at forward this year. However, it wasn’t the skilled players that led the charge offensively; it was the two hardworking and longest-tenured forwards who did. Taylor Ward and Andre Lee led the charge offensively for the Reign.

Ward (2 G, 1 A) tallied his first two goals of the season and an assist on the power play. His second goal stood as the game-winning goal, and both goals were placed perfectly top shelf.

As for Lee (2 G), he scored in two different ways. His opening goal came when he was trailing the play as Hughes found him in the slot for the game’s opening goal. His second tally came on the power play in front of the net on a rebound, where he had three whacks at the puck with his third attempt finally going in.

Lee and Ward didn’t play the hero role the way Samuel Bolduc did last game, but the two stepped up in Ontario’s first road game of the year.

The return of the Pheonix

After four starts, the Reign started a goalie not named Erik Portillo. Pheonix Copley got his first start of the season with the Reign after clearing waivers and being assigned to the Reign on Thursday. With Copely’s arrival, Isaiah Saville was loaned to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

How did the North Pole native do? If you ask me, I say he did great. Copley stopped 24 of 26 shots. Although I would’ve liked to see better rebound control on the second goal he allowed, Copley was superb in net in Ontario’s victory.

With Portillo having three solid outings in a row, and if Copley performs like he did last night, the Reign will have a good goalie tandem to fall back on to help them grab points on nights when they don’t have their A-game.

NOTES:

*Abbotsford unveiled its 2025 Calder Cup championship banner before the game.

*Glenn Gawdin recorded two points (1 G, 1 A) and has three points in his last two games. His assist on Ward’s first goal was his 300th career AHL point.

*Defenseman Tim Rego made his AHL debut and had a +2 rating.

*Joe Hicketts and Taylor Ward led all Reign skaters with four shots on goal. Ben Berard led all skaters in the game with six.

*Ontario scored first for the first time this season. In five games, this was their most complete 60-minute effort.

*Ontario has allowed two goals or fewer in four straight games.

UP NEXT: The Reign will continue their five-game road trip with a rematch against the Canucks tomorrow afternoon. The start time for that game is at 3 PM PST, and you can watch it on FloHockey. If you can’t watch the game, you can listen to it on the Ontario Reign radio network.

Featured image credit: Darren Scott Francis

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