Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 5-4 SO Win Over Henderson

Despite being shorthanded, the Ontario Reign found a way to grab two points over the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday night.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

ONT: PP Koehn Ziemmer (3), ASST: Kenny Connors (11), Nikita Alexandrov (22)

HSK: Mitch McLain (7), ASST: None

HSK: Jaycob Megna (3), ASST: Mitch McLain (6) Jeremy Davies (14),

Second period:

ONT: Jacob Doty (1), ASST: Keaton Mastrodonato (1), Jack Hughes (7)

ONT: PP Aatu Jamsen (6), ASST: Jack Hughes (8), Francesco Pinelli (10)

Third period: 

HSK: Sloan Stanick (2), ASST: Tanner Laczynski (22), Jeremy Davies (15)

HSK: Mitch McLain (8), ASST: Viliam Kmec (7), Jackson Hallum (2)

ONT: Otto Salin (2), ASST: Koehn Ziemmer (8), Aatu Jamsen (6)

Overtime:

None

Shootout:

ROUND ONE

HSK: Matyas Sapovaliv – NO GOAL

ONT: Glenn Gawdin – NO GOAL

ROUND TWO

HSK: Ben Hemmerling – NO GOAL

ONT: Kenny Connors – GOAL

ROUND THREE

HSK: Jakub Brabenec – NO GOAL

ONT: N/A

Stats

Goals: 

HSK: 4

ONT: 5

Shots: 

HSK: 33

ONT: 18

Power plays: 

HSK: 0/3

ONT: 2/5

Here are the three takeaways from Friday night’s shootout victory:

Gutsy win while shorthanded

The Reign were without three key players in Cole Guttman, Andre Lee, and Taylor Ward, as all three are up with the Kings as the parent club deals with the injury bug. Even with three key players out of the lineup, it didn’t stop the Reign Train from extending its win streak to four games.

In fact, you can argue it was their gutsiest win of the season. Down 2-1 and being outshot 16-5, taking the lead heading into the third period, losing the lead late in the third period, tying the game, and finding a way to win in a shootout, even while being outshot 33-18 against Henderson.

You can feel that there is a belief within a team that they’re never out of a game. They find a way to win no matter what. Finding a way to win down three key forwards speaks to the character of the team.

A big night for Kings prospects

This game will be known as the ‘Prospects Game.’ The prospects in the LA Kings system filled the scoresheet and had a positive impact on the game. Koehn Ziemmer and Aatu Jamsen both scored a power-play goal and added an assist. My initial thought on Guttman, Lee, and Ward all being recalled to the Kings within the last 48 hours was that a player like Ziemmer would secure a spot on the top power-play unit (he had done so last game as well), and he cashed in early in the first period. As for Jamsen, he has surprisingly added the physical element to his game as of late.

Otto Salin lit the lamp for the first time since October 12th. He’s been skating well and being aggressive in the offensive zone, but hasn’t gotten the results. His tally late in the third period tied the game. The defensive side of the game is still a work in progress, but last night was a good showing, especially in the overtime session, by getting good body positioning on Tanner Lazcynski to keep him to the outside on a cycle chance.

Kenny Connors also added an assist on Ziemmer’s goal and scored the only goal in the shootout on a crafty backhand attempt. Heck, even Jack Hughes added two helpers and had himself a solid night. Then you have Erik Portillo. It wasn’t his finest game, but he had moments of big saves. He slammed the door on all three of Henderson’s shootout attempts to preserve the win.

Power play scores again

The power play continues to go on a heater for the Reign. The Reign have scored at least one power-play goal in five straight games and have gone 6/19 (31.6%) in that span. Even with no Lee, Ward, and Guttman, the five forwards on the first unit continue to find the back of the net. Even the second unit scored a goal as well.

NOTES:

*Glenn Gawdin saw his 12-game point streak snapped.

*Jamsen’s multi-point game gave him 12 points on the season, surpassing last year’s total (11).

*Ziemmer (1 G, 1 A) recorded his thirdmulti-point game of the season.

*Ontario tied its longest win streak of the season (four games).

*Portillo won his seventh game of the season.

*Jacob Doty scored his first goal of the season.

*The Reign are 13-1-0-0 when scoring first and 15-0-1-0 when leading after two periods.

*With the win, the Reign have moved into first place in the Pacific Division (as of this moment). They also went 4-1-0-0 on the five-game homestand.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign will begin a six-game road trip starting on Sunday with a matchup against the Bakersfield Condors. The game starts at 4 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 or on the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: Megan Sanders/Ontario Reign

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