Ontario Reign: Plus and Minuses From Week 2

Week two has already passed for the Ontario Reign. It was a quick week with only one game on the schedule, which they won in overtime against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The break in the schedule proved valuable for the Reign. Head coach Andrew Lord told Reign insider Cam McGuire in a postgame interview that the first two days of the week felt more like training camp, and that proved to be a good decision.

The Reign fell behind by two goals again for the third straight game, but found a way to climb out of that hole, force overtime, and come away with two points. Now that the week’s game recap is done, let’s get to the pluses and minuses for week two.

Positives

+: A perfect penalty kill

The Reign had an abysmal opening week on both special teams. The penalty kill surrendered five power-play goals against to the Firebirds in two games, but in their lone meeting this past week, Ontario went 5-for-5. Their execution and attention to detail were much sharper.

+: A much better effort

The Reign limited Coachella Valley to 17 shots on goal, largely because they played better in the neutral and defensive zones, especially the neutral zone. Ontario stymied Coachella Valley’s transition attack with fewer turnovers and clogging the neutral zone. That takes away a key asset in Coachella Valley’s offense.

+: Lane Pederson racks up the points

Losing Glenn Gawdin was a big loss, but the LA Kings replaced him by signing Lane Pederson in the offseason. Aside from taking penalties, Pederson had a strong two games offensively, tallying four points. He added another goal and an assist in this past week’s overtime win.

+: Carter George gets the start

Carter George got his first start of the season and made 15 saves on 17 shots. Although he faced few shots, he made three quality saves in the second and third periods. He showed good reflexes, poise, and control.

+: Cole Guttman overtime winner

It took Cole Guttman six games to score his first goal last season, and only half that time this year. Kenny Connors served up a nice pizza on the tape for Guttman, and the latter didn’t miss his overtime chance to complete the Reign’s second comeback win in three games.

Negatives

-: Scoreless power play

The penalty kill was perfect, but the power play went 0-for-4. However, two of the man advantages had some good looks. We’ll see if the Reign implement the strategy of more shots from the inside rather than looking for Martin Chromiak’s one-timer from the left circle.

-: Falling behind the eight ball too often

The two wins are nice, but the Reign can’t keep falling into the habit of multi-goal deficits. The good news is they have shown resilience and the season is early. I don’t expect it to be a theme all 72 games.

-: Too many penalties

The Reign have been shorthanded at least four times in all three games against the Firebirds. Staying out of the penalty box will need to be a focus as they continue to navigate the early stanza of the season.

Featured image credit: Megan Sanders/Ontario Reign

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