Ontario Reign: Notes From 4-1 Victory Over Coachella Valley

Hampton Slukynsky made 21 saves in his professional debut, backstopping the Ontario Reign to a 4-1 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

ONT: PP Logan Brown (1), ASST: Nikita Alexandrov (37), Cole Guttman (28)

Second period: 

ONT: Francesco Pinelli (13), ASST: Nikita Alxeandrov (38), Jack Millar (7)

ONT: Kenta Isogai (3), ASST: Koehn Ziemmer (13), Nikita Novikov (14)

CV: Jakov Novak (5), ASST: Justin Janicke (2)

Third period:

ONT: EN Francesco Pinelli (14), ASST: None

Stats

Goals: 

CV: 1

ONT: 4

Shots: 

CV: 22

ONT: 35

Power plays: 

CV: 0/1

ONT: 1/3

Here are the notes from Friday night’s 4-1 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds:

A franchise best

The Reign not only secured a critical two points in the standings but set a franchise record 45 wins in a single season. The previous record was 44 in their inaugural season back in 2015-16. Ten seasons after establishing that franchise record, this year’s never-quit Reign squad, with many first and second-year players on the roster, has set the new benchmark for wins in a regular season going forward.

Hampton Slukynsky was brilliant in his debut

The goalie position is the strength in the LA Kings’ prospect pipeline. Two seasons ago, Erik Portillo had a solid rookie season in Ontario with the Reign. Last year, Carter George had a cup of coffee with the Reign near the end of the season after his OHL season ended, and won both of his starts and recorded a shutout. Last night, it was Slukynsky’s turn to make his professional debut.

Slukynsky, 20, didn’t see much action to start the game, but looked calm as a cucumber as the game progressed and came as advertised. The former fourth-round pick by the Kings in 2023 made 21 saves on 22 shots, but it was the important things that caught my attention.

His tracking of the puck was impressive, and he showed a calm demeanor when the Firebirds started to get into a rhythm. What I was really impressed with was his game reads. On three occasions, he made the smart decision to cover the puck when the Reign needed a whistle to slow the game down. 363 days ago, he backstopped Western Michigan University to its first-ever NCAA title as a freshman, and now he is in the pros. The sky is the limit for him.

He was named the first star of the game for his performance.

Image
Photo credit: Megan Sanders

Logan Brown finally scores

It took a while, but Logan Brown finally changed that zero in the goal column into a one with a power-play goal. Brown had an opportunity to score his first goal of the season approximately 10-15 seconds before that, as his rebound shot rang off the iron, missing the open net.

Instead of possibly wondering how he missed that opportunity to open the scoring, Brown had his redemption by poking the puck over the goal line in a scramble in front of the Coachella Valley net.

After a rough start, in which he missed the first month with an injury, Brown has recently been a mainstay in the lineup, making contributions on offense and using his size to his advantage on the boards.

Division title set in sights

Three games remain, and the Reign’s magic number to secure their first Pacific Division title since 2015-16 is two points. Ontario can finish no lower than the second seed in the division. Still, with a first-round bye and having the opportunity to escape the randomness of a three-game series in the opening round of the postseason, their eyes should be set on winning the division. A win, an Eagles regulation loss, or an overtime/shootout loss by both teams, and the Reign will be crowned Pacific Division champions for the 2025-26 season.

MORE NOTES:

*Francesco Pinelli recorded his first two-goal game this season.

*Kent Isogai scored his third goal of the season.

*Nikita Alexandrov posted his 10th multi-assist game of the season.

UP NEXT: These two teams meet again, but this time in Palm Desert at Acrisure Arena. The game starts at 6 PM PST and is the final regular-season meeting between the two teams. You can watch the game on FloHockey or listen to it on the Ontario Reign Radio Network or the ESPN LA app.

Featured image credit: Bailey Holiver/Ontario Reign

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