Jared Wright’s OT Winner Caps The Ontario Reign’s Opening-Night Comeback Victory Over Coachella Valley

The Ontario Reign trailed by two goals three times, but prevailed in overtime on Jared Wright’s tally for the comeback victory on opening night over the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Scoring

First period: 

ONT: Martin Chromiak (1), ASST: Angus Booth (1), Kirill Kirsanov (1)

CV: J.R. Avon (1), ASST: Oscar Fisker-Molgaard (1), Jagger Firkus (1)

CV: Eduard Sale (1), ASST: Jani Nyman (1), Ty Nelson (1)

CV: PP John Hayden (1), ASST: Jagger Firkus (1)

Second period:

ONT: Taylor Ward (1), ASST: Cole Guttman (1), Lane Pederson (1)

CV: Jani Nyman (1), ASST: Eduard Sale (1), Caden Price (1)

ONT: PP Lane Pederson (1), ASST: Taylor Ward (1)

CV: PP Jani Nyman (2), ASST: Tyson Jugnauth (1), John Hayden (1)

ONT: Francesco Pinelli (1), ASST: Jared Wright (1), Scott Perunovich (1)

Third period:

ONT: PP Taylor Ward (2), ASST: Lane Pederson (2), Scott Perunovich (2)

Overtime: 

ONT: Jared Wright (1), ASST: Kenny Connors (1), Angus Booth (2)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 6

CV: 5

Shots:

ONT: 28

CV: 30

Power plays: 

ONT: 2/7

CV: 2/4

In a punch-and-counterpunch game, the Ontario Reign landed the final knockout blow with Wright’s overtime winner. In an opening-night rematch from the two teams’ Pacific Division semifinals five-game duel, the Reign got their revenge. It was a wild, thrilling back-and-forth game with plenty of highs and lows. With that in mind, here are some takeaways from last night’s game.

Takeaways:

Production down the lineup

This barn-burner game saw the Reign get at least one point from ten players, five players with multi-point performances, and five different goal scorers. Last season, the Reign thrived on depth scoring and production throughout the lineup, and they picked up where they left off despite the new faces. Lane Pederson — a newcomer added in free agency — and Taylor Ward — a returnee — led the way with three points each.

The comeback kids are at it early

The Reign had a knack for their late-game dramatics and comebacks last season, but last night it was both. Ontario trailed 3-1, 4-2, and 5-3 before clawing back from three two-goal deficits, then Ward tied it with a game-tying power-play goal with 4:44 remaining in regulation.

At the start of overtime, the Reign used Wright, Kenny Connors, and Angus Booth. In a three-on-three overtime scenario, Wright’s blazing speed is a weapon the Reign have at their disposal, and it paid off immensely. Connors found Wright darting down the right wing, and the second-year pro fired a hard wrist shot far side by Nikke Kokko for the win.

The Reign believe they are never out of a game, and when a team has that mentality, games like this show it.

Special teams good and bad

This game had a lot of special teams. The Reign had seven power-play opportunities to the Firebirds’ four. Both teams struck twice, but the Reign showed some good and bad on their special teams units.

Obviously, the two power-play goals highlight the good, but the zone entries and predictability of the power play stood out. It’s no secret the Reign are looking for Martin Chromiak’s one-time blast from the left circle, and with him being a household name, teams will start to take that option away. That is where the Reign need to look for other options, such as the bumper man and the player down low, to keep the penalty killers honest and collapsing.

As for the penalty kill, the Firebirds have plenty of firepower and control the puck, but the Reign have to do better at winning faceoffs, retrieving pucks, and getting clears to not allow any sustained zone time.

It’s only one game, so I expect the team to shore things up in that department as the season progresses.

Erik Portillo looked shaky

In LA Kings general manager Ken Holland’s words (paraphrasing): Erik Portillo is the organization’s number-three goalie. The Reign are carrying three goalies at the moment: Erik Portillo, Carter George, and Hampton Slukynsky, which could see the trio alternate starts.

Portillo got the start last night and looked shaky. I thought he had ‘happy feet,’ leading to him being out of position and having too much movement in the blue paint. There were several instances where he gave up juicy rebounds, one leading to a goal, and lost sight of the puck after the initial shot. He only appeared in one preseason game, which could explain the rust, but I’d like to see those things tighten up because they have been some of his weaknesses since his rookie year. He made 25 saves on

NOTES:

*Martin Chromiak scored the first Reign goal of the season.

*Lane Pederson scored the Reign’s first power-play goal of the season.

*Francesco Pinelli scored a goal on opening night for the second straight season.

*Taylor Ward and Jagger Firkus had a game-high five shots on goal for their respective teams.

*Angus Booth recorded his fourth professional two-assist game.

*Ward and Jacob Doty both wore an ‘A’ on their jersey.

*Defenseman Jared Woolley made his professional debut and had a rough start. He had a turnover that led to a scoring chance and couldn’t win front-net positioning and tie up the stick on Eduard Sale’s goal.

*Vojtěch Čihař made his North American pro debut and played on the fourth line.

*Jared Wright scored his second professional overtime goal.

*Ontario dressed five left-handed defensemen last night.

NEXT GAME: These two teams meet again, but this time at Toyota Arena. The game starts at 6 PM PST and can be seen on FloSports and for free on the FloHockey YouTube channel. Or you can listen on the Ontario Reign Radio Network. It is the Reign’s home opener, so make sure to get there early if you plan on attending.

Featured image credit: Megan Sanders/Ontario Reign

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