Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 5-1 Loss to Coachella Valley

The Ontario Reign lost two games in a row for the first time since December, falling 5-1 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

CV: Jagger Firkus (15), ASST: Jani Nyman (3), Caden Price (9)

CV: SH Lleyton Roed (4), ASST: Ty Nelson (12)

ONT: PP Jack Hughes (3), ASST: Samuel Bolduc (12), Francesco Pinelli (14)

Second period: 

CV: Mitchell Stephens (7), ASST: Lleyton Roed (12), Eduard Šalé (9)

CV: Lleyton Roed (5), ASST: Tyson Juggnauth (26), Logan Morrison (19)

Third period: 

CV: Jagger Firkus (16), ASST: Oscar Fisker Molgaard (15)

Stats

Goals: 

CV: 5

ONT: 1

Shots: 

CV: 31

ONT: 21

Power plays: 

CV: 0/2

ONT: 1/4

Here are the three takeaways from Sunday afternoon’s 5-1 loss:

Hughes scores in the loss

Ontario entered yesterday afternoon sixth in the league in goals scored per game (3.37), but was only able to get one puck past Jack LaFontaine. After going 13 games without a goal, Jack Hughes whistled one top shelf on the power play for the lone Reign tally.

In a game where the Reign were sluggish for the majority of the game, Hughes was one of their most noticeable forwards. I liked his ability to protect the puck and evade Firebird defenders with his shiftiness along the wall.

Soaring Firebirds

The Firebirds and Reign were both coming off tough losses to the San Diego Gulls this weekend. Coachella dropped Friday’s game after surrendering the game-winning goal with under two minutes to play, while Ontario dropped its game on Saturday against the Gulls with 17 seconds left remaining.

Fresh off the loss, the Reign came out of the gates sluggish while the Firebirds soared. Second-year pro Jagger Firkus opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game and finished with a two-goal performance, while Lleyton Roed finished with a pair of goals and an assist. It was a game where the Firebirds were the better team from start to finish and never let up, even with a three-goal lead in the third period.

Adversity?

For the third time this season, and the first time since December, the Reign lost two games in a row. One word that came up during Andre Lee, Jacob Doty, and Andrew Lord’s postgame media availability was adversity.

Ontario has done a good job of bouncing back after tough losses, but yesterday it looked like there was a carryover effect from Saturday’s heartbreaking defeat. Whether it had a lingering effect or not, Lee wasn’t one to make excuses.

“A little bit, but that’s an excuse. We should’ve been better,” said Lee.

His coach offered the same sentiment when asked if he felt that fatigue settled in on his club.

“At times. You feel that at different points [in a game or throughout the season], and you overcome that. No excuses. I think we all can be better, take it up a notch, and we’re going to need to,” said Lord.

Good news for the Reign is that they have two days to reset before their next game.

NOTES:

*Hughes’ tally was his first power-play goal of the season and first against a team other than the San Jose Barracuda.

*Lee recorded his first fighting major of the season.

*Ontario is now 11-3-0-0 the following game after a loss.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign will face off against the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday, February 4th. It’s the first meeting between the two teams since October 12th. You can watch the game on FloSports or KCAL+ (channel 9.6). If you are unable to watch the game, you can 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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