Ontario Reign: Three Stars of the Week 12/29-1/4

The Ontario Reign played four games during the week for the first time this season and went 3-1-0-0.

The Reign started the week on Tuesday, December 30th, on the road against the Henderson Silver Knights. Ontario trailed 1-0 for most of the game but found a way to scratch and claw to tie the contest twice before stealing two points with a shootout victory.

The Reign Train returned home on New Year’s Eve for the first game of a five-game homestand and their final meeting against the San Jose Barracuda. After a back-and-forth game, San Jose prevailed with a buzzer-beating goal to close out the season series with the Reign and 2025.

The Coachella Valley Firebirds came into town for their first meeting with the Reign. After a strong first period, the Reign had another slow second period and found themselves down 2-1 entering the final frame. For the third straight game, the Reign battled back to tie it, and for the second game out of the three, managed to win it.

Finally, the Iowa Wild made a stop at Toyota Arena for the first of a two-game series. The Reign played their best game of the week, earning a 3-0 shutout and ending the week with a dominant performance against the Central Division opponent.

Now that the recap of the week is over, let’s see who earned the three stars of the week!

Third star

Erik Portillo

Stat line: One game played, 1-0-0-0 record, 19 saves on 19 shots faced, 1.000 save percentage

Erik Portillo returned from injury as the backup goaltender on January 3rd and made his debut the following day against the Iowa Wild. Making his first start since November 12th, Portillo stopped all 19 shots for his first shutout of the season. Portillo pushed his goals-against-average to 2.01 and his save percentage to .922. It’s like he never left.

Second star

Andre Lee

Stat line: Four games played, three goals, zero assists, three points, -1 rating, 11 shots on goal

Andre Lee continues to add offense for the Reign. The big man scored three times over the week, including two on the man advantage. Lee’s offensive increase sees him lead the Reign in goals (15), power-play goals (7), and points (27). He continues to play in all situations for head coach Andrew Lord as he looks to catch the attention of the Kings’ brass for a future NHL roster spot.

First star

Cole Guttman

Stat line: Four games played, three goals, three assists, six points, +2 rating, 14 shots on goal

Cole Guttman returned from a two-game suspension and was a man on a mission all week. The former Jr. King tallied six points, including back-to-back multi-point games against the San Jose Barracuda and Coachella Valley Firebirds.

He also scored a slick shootout goal against Henderson and recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick against San Jose.

Guttman was easily the Reign’s best player during the week and was noticeable every game. The offensive results weren’t there early on in the season, but they are starting to show now.

Featured image credit: Megan Sanders/Ontario Reign

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