Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From Game 1’s 3-0 Loss

The Ontario Reign were slow out of the gates and now face a must-win Game 2 on Friday night against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Goal Breakdown

First period: 

None

Second period: 

CV: PP J.R. Avon (2), ASST: Jani Nyman (4), Tyson Jugnauth (1)

Third period: 

CV: Oscar Fisker-Molgaard (4), ASST: None

CV: J.R. Avon (3), ASST: Mitchell Stephens (1), John Hayden (2)

Stats

Goals: 

CV: 3

ONT: 0

Shots: 

CV: 33

ONT: 23

Power plays: 

CV: 1/4

ONT: 0/3

Here are the three takeaways from Wednesday night’s Game 1 defeat:

The Reign couldn’t do the small things right

It was a rough night at the rink for the Reign. It was a bad game from the top of the lineup to the bottom, except for the goaltending. The Reign couldn’t connect on simple passes in transition, leading to very little offense. Their power play was abysmal (more on that later), the Firebirds’ speed and forecheck were bearing down on them in the defensive zone, and from the eye test, they were outmatched in the faceoff circle.

If you think you have seen this movie before, you are correct. Game 1 mirrored last year’s two-game playoff set against the San Jose Barracuda when the Reign’s offense was non-existent for that series. The Reign’s best players — Glenn Gawdin, Cole Guttman, Martin Chromiak, and Andre Lee, to name almost a handful — were invisible for the entire game. If the Reign are going to win this series, they need their best players to be their best and do all the little things, such as passing, winning front net and board battles, and playing better.

Game 2 isn’t an elimination game, but it is a must-win to avoid a 0-2 hole going to Palm Desert.

Coachella Valley wins the special teams battle

This specific area was a matchup the Reign had the advantage in, but Coachella Valley took round one by scoring a power-play goal and going 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Coachella’s power play was ranked 26th in the league but has prolific offensive threats in Tyson Jugnauth, Jani Nyman, and Jagger Firkus on the top unit. Although Nyman had a chance in the first period on a backdoor tap-in that got denied by Erik Portillo, it was the second unit getting a goal from J.R. Avon to open the scoring at 4:44 of the second period.

As for the Reign’s power play, it was far from pretty. Ontario’s five-forward top power-play unit couldn’t crack the code of the Firebirds’ penalty kill. Earlier in the article, I used the word abysmal, but out of sync would be a perfect way to describe how the man advantage went. Trailing 1-0 with 5:45 remaining in the second period, the Reign had a four-minute power play and couldn’t muster up one grade scoring chance.

Power plays come playoff time can either give a team momentum or take the wind out of their sails, and last night was a prime example of how special teams can maybe not lose you a game, but can be an important moment in a game.

Erik Portillo gets his first playoff start in nearly two years

To nobody’s surprise, Erik Portillo was given the start for Game 1. It marked the first time in nearly two years that Portillo started a playoff game for the Reign (missed the playoffs last year with a back injury). Ironically, his last playoff start in 2024 was against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Portillo was one of the few bright spots for the Reign in the 3-0 loss. With Ontario being under siege in the first 5-10 minutes, Portillo weathered the storm by making three or four great saves to keep it scoreless. Even later in the game, with Ontario trailing 2-0 and 3-0, Portillo was doing everything he could to give Ontario a chance.

His best saves, in my mind, came in the first period with a right pad save on Nyman’s backdoor tap-in bid, and a sliding save to come across and rob Firkus in the third period with the Reign trailing 2-0. He finished the game with 30 saves on 33 shots.

NOTES:

*Ontario is now 0-4 in four playoff meetings against Coachella Valley.

*J.R. Avon tallied his second power-play goal of the postseason for Coachella Valley and recorded his first multi-goal game of the playoffs.

*Nikke Kokko recorded his second career shutout in the Calder Cup playoffs.

*Oscar Fisker-Molgaard recorded his sixth point in four games in these playoffs.

*Logan Brown and Jugnauth had a game-high of five shots on goal each for their respective teams.

UP NEXT: Game 2 is set for Friday at 7 PM PST. You can watch the game on KCAL+ (channel 9.6) or on FloSports. You can also listen to the game on the Ontario Reign radio network or on the ESPN LA app. The Reign will look to even the series with a Game 2 win. Meanwhile, the Firebirds will look to take a 2-0 series lead heading back home to Palm Desert for Game 3.

Featured image credit: Christopher Mora/Ontario Reign

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