Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 3-1 Victory Over Abbotsford

The Ontario Reign snapped their three-game losing streak with a hard-fought victory over the Abbotsford Canucks.

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Kenny Connors (10), ASST: Martin Chromiak (23)

Second period: 

None

Third period: 

ONT: Koehn Ziemmer (10), ASST: Nikita Alexandrov (33), Kenta Isogai (3)

ABB: PP Ty Mueller (15), ASST: Danila Klimovich (14), Jack Thompson (16)

ONT: Kenny Connors (11), ASST: Nikita Alexandrov (34)

Stats

Goals: 

ABB: 1

ONT: 3

Shots: 

ABB: 25

ONT: 29

Power plays: 

ABB: 1/3

ONT: 0/1

Here are the three takeaways from Wednesday night’s 3-1 victory:

A pair of rookies light the lamp

It was a great night for Reign rookie forwards. Kenny Connors started the scoring and ended it, and Koehn Ziemmer chipped in with a goal in between, providing the offense for the Reign.

Both forwards hit double-digits in goals. For Connors, he has been Mr. Reliable and consistent for the Reign. He has played as Ontario’s second and third line center while being used in all situations, including protecting the lead late in games.

His first goal happened in one of the wildest plays you will ever see. After Martin Chromiak fed him the puck in the slot, Connors lost his skate blade, fell, and flung the puck while on the ice against Jiri Patera. That’s not how he drew it up, but he’ll take it.

Ziemmer’s first-year as a pro hasn’t been anything like Connors. Ziemmer hasn’t been an everyday player, played big minutes, or had the role he did at Prince George in the WHL, but has scored timely goals all season. His goal initially gave Ontario some breathing room in the third period, but ultimately stood as the game-winner.

The prospects continue to shine this season.

Pheonix Stopley

Pheonix Copley got the start last night, his first at home against Abbotsford. Copley stopped 24 of 25 shots (.960 sv%) for his 17th victory. This game wasn’t a game that was dominated by one team for much of the night, but the veteran netminder made the saves when needed. Two instances that come to mind were the five-minute mark of the second period, when Abbotsford had seven shots, and late in the third period, to preserve a one-goal Reign lead.

Otto Salin gets injured

The Reign suffered injuries on the backend to two defensemen. Angus Booth missed the remaining 4:37 of the second period and five minutes of the final 20 minutes after heading to the Reign locker room after being on the receiving end of a Chase Wouters hit behind the Reign net. The Reign had only four defensemen at their disposal for a short time as Booth was able to return.

On the other hand, the Reign lost Otto Salin in the first period to a possible injury. It’s unclear when and how the injury occurred, but it’s an unfortunate circumstance for the Reign, who have a limited number of right-handed defensemen on the roster.

NOTES:

*Ziemmer scored his third goal in two games. It’s the first time he scored in back-to-back games this season.

*Connors scored his first goal since January 14th.

*Booth played in his 100th AHL game.

*Chromiak recorded his seventh point (5 G, 2 A) in nine games.

*Nikita Alexandrov (o G, 2 A) recorded his first multi-point game since February 16th. That game also happened to be against Abbotsford.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign will hit the road for a six-game road trip, starting with a two-game series this weekend against the Iowa Wild. The first meeting is on Friday at 5 PM PST. You can watch the 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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