Ontario Reign: Four Takeaways From 4-3 Loss to San Jose

The Ontario Reign fought back after trailing 2-0, but two late goals from the San Jose Barracuda ended in a defeat.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

SJ: Lucas Carlsson (4), ASST: Kasper Halttunen (1), Pavol Regenda (4)

SJ: Filip Bystedt (2), ASST: Quentin Musty (8), Luca Cagnoni (6)

Second period:

ONT: PP Martin Chromiak (6), ASST: Aatu Jamsen (4), Akil Thomas (8)

Third period:

ONT: PP Andre Lee (4), ASST: Glenn Gawdin (7), Kenny Connors (6)

ONT: PP Andre Lee (5), ASST: Glenn Gawdin (8), Cole Guttman (5)

SJ: Luca Cagnoni (4), ASST: Cam Lund (9), Colin White (8)

SJ: Colin White (4), ASST: Ethan Cardwell (3)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 3

SJ: 4

Shots:

ONT: 27

SJ: 29

Power plays: 

ONT: 3/5

SJ: 0/3

Here are the four takeaways from last night’s 4-3 defeat:

Winning the special teams battle wasn’t enough

The Ontario Reign’s power play entering the game had been in a brutal 3-for-27 stretch in the last eight games. It looked like that trend would continue when they started the game 0-for-2 and couldn’t generate any chances on the man advantage, but it didn’t.

The Reign scored on all three of their next power play opportunities, with two goals from Andre Lee and one from Martin Chromiak. The puck movement and shot mentality on those three power plays are what we need to see more of from the Reign going forward.

The penalty kill wasn’t too shabby either. The Reign’s penalty kill has killed off 13 of the last 14 (92.9%) opposition power plays. That unit has done a much better job as of late, being sharper in their structure and execution.

Unfortunately, for the Reign, three 5-on-5 tallies and one at 4-on-4 from the Barracuda won out in the end.

Barracuda capitalizes on mistakes and opportunities

The Reign dug themselves a hole in the first period with two mistakes. A failed zone exit led to an extended shift in the offensive zone for San Jose on Lucas Carlsson’s tally. Late in the frame, Filip Bystedt found the soft spot in the Reign defense on his goal on a dish from Quentin Musty. The Reign play man-on-man in the defensive zone, and when a player (or more) is caught puck-watching, it leaves someone open.

On Colin White’s game-winning tally, the Barracuda won the physical battles behind and in front of the net. When mistakes or opportunities happen, they can wind up in the back of your net. Despite that, the Reign fought back to take the lead and tried to tie the game at the very end. That speaks volumes about how resilient this Reign team is.

Pheonix Copley plays well despite the loss

Although he was on the losing end of this game, I thought Pheonix Copley played well. He kept the Reign in the game when the team was down 2-0, giving them a chance to tie it. He made a handful of key saves, with his best one on Cam Lund’s breakaway attempt just past the halfway point of the second period.

He would’ve topped that with his highway robbery on Luca Cagnoni’s goal, but after video review, the officials must have seen an angle that gave them clear evidence his glove broke the goal line, reversing the on-ice call from no goal to a good goal. Lund found Cagnoni from behind the net at the left post with a wide-open net, leading to Copley flashing the leather on Cagnoni’s attempt.

That had to have been a gut punch for Copley, as that might have been the save of the game and possibly the year, but ends up with the loss.

Prospect tracker

Kenny Connors continues to be rock solid as the Reign’s third-line center. He added another secondary helper on the power play on Lee’s first power-play goal. He was moved up to the power play in Francesco Pinelli’s absence. Connors doesn’t play on the power play, so getting moved up there means he’s earned it with his play. He has seen time on the penalty kill and has good instincts, does a good job with his stick placement, and pressure up high. The first-year pro has nine points (3 G, 6 A) in 15 games, including at least one point in all three games on this road trip.

NOTES:

*Francesco Pinelli left the game in the middle frame and did not return.

*Andre Lee’s two power-play goals snapped a nine-game goalless drought for him.

*Glenn Gawdin’s two primary assists gave him five points (2 G, 3 A) in his last four games.

*Martin Chromiak’s power-play goal was his fourth of the year. That leads the team.

*Akil Thomas’ assist on Chromiak’s power-play goal gave him his seventh point (2 G, 5 A) in six games. His 12 points lead the team.

*Aatu Jamsen quietly has a point in four of his last games.

*This loss was the first time the Reign lost back-to-back games. They are now 5-1-0-0 following a loss.

*Luca Cagnoni and Colin White led the way offensively for the Barracuda, recording a goal and an assist each.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign return to game action with a home matchup against the Bakersfield Condors on Friday, November 21st. It will be the first game of a home-and-home series against the Condors. The puck drops shortly after 7 PM PST. You can watch the game on FloHockey or KCAL+ (channel 9.6). You can also listen to the game on the Ontario Reign radio network or the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: Andreaa Cardani/San Jose Barracuda

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