Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 5-1 Victory Over Tucson

The Ontario Reign bounced back in a big way against the Tucson Roadrunners with a three-goal first period to snap their two-game losing skid.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Jacob Doty (2), ASST: Kaleb Lawrence (3), Samuel Bolduc (13)

ONT: Martin Chromiak (16), ASST: Kirill Kirsanov (5)

ONT: Glenn Gawdin (9), ASST: Martin Chromiak (19), Andre Lee (13)

Second period: 

TUC: PP Kevin Rooney (8), ASST: Cameron Hebig (21), Sammy Walker (13)

Third period:

ONT: PP Aatu Jamsen (10), ASST: Andre Lee (14), Jack Hughes (10)

ONT: EN Francesco Pinelli (7), ASST: Jared Wright (10)

Stats

Goals: 

TUC: 1

ONT: 5

Shots: 

TUC: 19

ONT: 21

Power plays: 

TUC: 1/2

ONT: 1/2

Here are the three takeaways from Wednesday night’s 5-1 victory:

Rapid fire

After getting two days to reset after two tough losses, the Reign came out of the gates on fire. They didn’t dominate the opening period; they capitalized on the opportunities that were given to them.

Jacob Doty, the longest tenured Reign player, got things started by getting around a Tucson defender, cutting to the middle, and firing one by Jaxson Stauber on Ontario’s first shot of the period.

Martin Chromiak would score his 16th tally of the season nearly eight minutes later on a fortuitous bounce off the glass that saw Stauber leave his net expecting the puck to wheel around the boards. Eight seconds after Chromiak’s goal, Glenn Gawdin scored his ninth goal before anyone could have time to sit back down in their seats.

The best way to respond after two tough losses is to get separation, and the Reign did just that.

Jamsen on fire

Aatu Jamsen is enjoying a strong sophomore campaign. The 22-year-old has scored six times in his last fifteen games with three on the man advantage. While his scoring has been noticeable, one area I have been impressed with in Jamsen’s game is driving the puck to the net. He did it three times in this game

Although he has to put on more muscle, taking the puck toward the net is something we’re starting to see in his game, in addition to his offensive creativity. If his development keeps heading down the right path, the Kings might have a player here with the former seventh-round pick.

Bounce-back effort

This was more of a Reign game. It wasn’t a flashy game, but one where they stuck to their principles and strengths: a strong structure type of game and capitalizing on opportunities in a low-shot event game. Given how tight the standings are between the top four teams, getting back on track against a fringe playoff team is huge; now they must carry this play over to Bakersfield. With the win, Ontario is 12-3-0-0 after a loss and hasn’t lost three straight games this season yet.

NOTES:

*Andre Lee extended his point streak to four games (3 G, 1 A).

*Jack Hughes recorded a power-play point in back-to-back games.

*Francesco Pinelli recorded his seventh goal of the season.

*Jared Wright’s assist gave him his fifth point in four games. The rookie has 21 points (11 G, 10 A) in 45 games.

*Chromiak posted his eighth multi-point game of the season.

*Samuel Bolduc recorded an assist in back-to-back games.

*Jack Millar returned to the lineup for the first time since 11/11/2025. He missed the last 31 games with an injury.

*Kirill Kirsanov’s assist gave him his third in three games.

*Pheonix Copley stopped 18 of 19 shots for his 12th win of the season.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign will hit the road to start a crucial home-and-home series against the Bakersfield Condors. The first game of that series is on Friday, February 6th, at 7 PM PST. You can watch that game on FloSports and 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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