Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 4-1 Win Over Colorado

The Ontario Reign scored 18 seconds into the game and never looked back in their 4-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

ONT: Cole Guttman (14), ASST: Logan Brown (2), Nikita Alexandrov (26)

ONT: Cole Guttman (15), ASST: Nikita Alexandrov (27), Jakub Dvořák (3)

Second period:

ONT: Andre Lee (16), Samuel Bolduc (11)

COL: Danil Gushchin (12), ASST: Bryan Yoon (2), Sean Beherens (10)

Third period: 

ONT: PP Aatu Jamsen (8), ASST: Glenn Gawdin (25)

Stats

Goals:

COL: 1

ONT: 4

Shots: 

COL: 29

ONT: 22

Power plays: 

COL: 0/2

ONT: 1/3

Here are the three takeaways from Saturday night’s 4-1 victory:

Alexandrov & Guttman continue to flourish

Before fans could arrive at their seats, Cole Guttman scored 18 seconds on a transition play to give the Reign a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Northridge native added another one for good measure in transition again on his second shot of the game, later in the same frame, to push the Reign’s lead to 2-0.

Guttman scored twice, and his linemate Nikita Alexandrov assisted on both of them (one primary and one secondary). Both players have made a huge impact on the Reign offensively this season. Alexandrov has 23 points in 22 games since joining the Reign; as for Guttman, he has 15 points (10 G, 5 A) in his last 11 games, 10 goals in his last 10 games, eight goals in January, at least one goal in four straight games, and a four-game point streak (6 G, 1 A).

When Alexandrov first arrived on scene, you could tell that Guttman’s game complemented Alexandrov’s, but it could take a few games to reach their potential once the latter got his timing down with the former’s playmaking and pace. There were no issues last night as they were in sync, being united on a line together again, but with Logan Brown as their centerman this time.

Jamsen making small strides in year two

It was a rough first year in North America for Aatu Jamsen last season. The former 2020 seventh-round pick was injured on two separate occasions and rotated in and out of the lineup, all while adjusting to the smaller ice sheet and style of play compared to Europe.

Year two, however, has seen progress. Jamsen has played in 38 games and scored eight goals, surpassing both his totals in those categories from last season.

Although he is still adjusting, he has looked a bit more comfortable this year. In fact, he’s even added the reverse hit behind the net in the offensive zone to his repertoire. Seventh-round picks don’t garner much attention due to their draft position, but Jamsen’s crafty playmaking and edgework make him an intriguing player. However, last night, and a few times this season, he showed a willingness to drive to the net while shielding off an Eagles defender to protect the puck with his 6’2 frame on his power-play goal that we didn’t see him do last year.

Moving ahead

The Reign Train is rolling, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down. After going 4-2-0-0 on their six-game road trip, which included a sweep in Colorado, the Reign returned home and didn’t miss a beat. Both the Eagles and Reign were tied for first place in the Pacific Divison but after the win, Ontario has sole possession of that spot.

Colorado has two games in hand on Ontario, which they could easily gain ground on them, and have two more meetings with the Reign this season. For the Reign, it’s important not to look too far ahead and focus on what’s in front of them while playing good hockey.

NOTES:

*Ontario improved its record to 5-1-0-0 in six games against Colorado and has officially won the season series.

*The Reign are 16-1-0-0 when scoring first and 17-0-1-0 when leading after two periods.

*Martin Chromiak did not play in this game. After blocking a shot that went off his left leg late in the first period in Friday’s game against Coachella Valley, he left briefly but returned and finished the game. Unfortunately, he wasn’t available last night, but let’s hope he’s good to go on Wednesday.

*Brown recorded an assist in his second straight game.

*Pheonix Copley stopped 28 of 29 shots for his 11th win of the season. Both Copley and Erik Portillo played excellently this month, as Head Coach Andrew Lord has been comfortable going with a goalie rotation.

*Andre Lee’s goal gave him his 16th, and he now leads the team in goals. He’ll represent the Reign at the AHL All-Star Game at Rockford, Illinois, in two weeks.

*Guttman and Danil Gushchin led their teams in shots on goal with five.

*Ontario is 12/41 (29.3%) in the last 12 games on the power play.

*All four of the Reign’s goals occurred in transition/off the rush.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign return to action with a home game against the Abbotsford Canucks on Wednesday, January 28th. The game starts at 7 PM PST. You can watch the game on FloHockey or KCAL+ (channel 9.6), or listen to it on the Ontario Reign Radio Network or on the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: Megan Sanders/Ontario Reign

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