Ontario Reign: Four Takeaways From 5-1 Win Over Calgary

The Ontario Reign took game one of the back-to-back against the Calgary Wranglers with a 5-1 victory on Tuesday night.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

None

Second period:

ONT: Kenny Connors (3), ASST: Jared Wright (1), Francesco Pinelli (5)

ONT: Cole Guttman (2), ASST: Glenn Gawdin (6), Andre Lee (6)

CGY: Dryden Hunt (5), ASST: Rory Kerins (9), Hunter Brzustewicz (5)

Third period:

ONT: SH Jared Wright (3), ASST: Joe Hicketts (7), Kenny Connors (4)

ONT: Taylor Ward (7), ASST: Akil Thomas (7)

ONT: Koehn Ziemmer (1), ASST: Aatu Jamsen (3), Jack Hughes (4)

Stats

Goals: 

ONT: 5

CGY: 1

Shots: 

ONT: 27

CGY: 29

Power plays: 

ONT: 0/3

CGY: 0/3

Here are the three takeaways from Tuesday’s 5-1 victory:

A pair of 2022 draft picks shine

A mid and late round pick from the 2022 draft shone bright for the Reign last night. Kenny Connors (4th round, 2022) and Jared Wright (6th round, 2022) had strong games and were rewarded with a multi-point game, each recording a goal and an assist.

Connors opened the scoring 2:05 into the middle frame with a wrist shot from the left circle. Wright gave Ontario some insurance early in the third period with a short-handed tally, after a great stand-up at the blue line on a Wranglers’ zone entry from Connors, to give the Reign a 3-1 lead. It was the third goal of the season for both players.

Wright continues to be relentless on the forecheck and strong along the walls, while Connors has also been steady in the faceoff circle and in the defensive end. Both prospects have also gained trust as a pairing on the penalty kill. Their puck pressure, stick placement, and speed make a good combo for the two

Spreading the wealth

Connors and Wright led the way with two points each, but the Reign had almost everyone involved offensively last night. Five different goal scorers and 12 players recorded at least one point. It was the eighth time in 13 games that the Reign scored four goals or more. Getting balanced scoring and contributions from both veterans and rookies is usually a great recipe for winning games and development in the AHL.

Counce back for Copper!

It hasn’t been the greatest start for Pheonix Copley. In his first four starts, he allowed four goals or more in three of them. Last night looked more like the Copley we saw from last season. His 28 saves were the most he has made in a game this season, and he looked more poised between the pipes. The win gave him his second of the year.

Penalty kill, turning it around?

The penalty kill has struggled all season. At a 76.9% conversion rate, that is good for 28th in the league, which ranks in the bottom five. However, in the last three games, the Reign have killed off eight straight penalties.

In fact, on all three of the Wranglers’ power plays, there were maybe one or two chances allowed by my count, and everything was kept to the outside. The puck pressure and taking away the passing lanes were sharper. They have a lot of ground to make up, so we’ll see if that unit can keep up the good work.

NOTES:

*Koehn Ziemmer scored his first professional goal late in the third period. He has a point in back-to-back games.

*Aatu Jamsen also recorded a point in back-to-back games. His assist on Ziemmer’s goal was a great show of patience when getting the pass across the ice on the 3-on-1. He has seven points in 13 games.

*Jack Hughes recorded an assist in back-to-back games.

*Kenny Connors and Jared Wright recorded their first professional multi-point games.

*Cole Guttman scored his second goal of the season and has a point in back-to-back games.

*Taylor Ward tallied his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

*Defenseman Jack Millar didn’t finish the game. We’ll see how that impacts tonight’s rematch game.

*Angus Booth returned to the lineup after missing the last four games.

*The Reign are 5-2-0-0 when scoring first and 7-0-1-0 when leading after two periods.

UP NEXT: These two teams will meet again tonight as the puck drops at 6 PM PST. You can watch the game on FloHockey or listen to it on the Ontario Reign radio network and on the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers

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