Martin Chromiak Propels The Ontario Reign To Another Comeback Victory In A 5-3 Win Over The Texas Stars

The Ontario Reign beat the Texas Stars 5-3 in game one of the weekend series at H-E-B Center on Friday night.

Scoring

First period:

TEX: Mike Sgarbossa (4), ASST: Ellis Rickwood (4), Dylan Hryckowian (3)

Second period:

ONT: Koehn Ziemmer (3), ASST: Kenta Isogai (1)

ONT: Kirill Kirsanov (1), ASST: Cole Guttman (3), Martin Chromiak (2)

ONT: PP Kenny Connors (1), ASST: Aatu Jamsen (1), Koehn Ziemmer (2)

TEX: Matthew Seminoff (1), ASST: Aram Minnetian (2), Artem Shlaine (4)

Third period: 

TEX: PP Mike Sgarbossa (5), ASST: Matthew Seminoff (6), Dylan Hryckowian (4)

ONT: Martin Chromiak (5), ASST: Lane Pederson (7), Cole Guttman (4)

ONT: EN Martin Chromiak (6), ASST: NONE

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 5

TEX: 3

Shots:

ONT: 27

TEX: 23

Power plays: 

ONT: 1/4

TEX: 1/3

The Reign trailed 1-0 and once again had to play from behind. To erase the deficit, the Reign scored three goals in the middle frame for the third time this season, taking a 3-1 lead. The Stars fought back with late-period tallies in the second (Matthew Seminoff) and third periods (Mike Sgarbossa, power play). After failing to convert on a four-on-two transition scoring chance, Martin Chromiak came back the other way and fired a wrist shot past Arno Tiefensee to regain the lead the Reign wouldn’t relinquish again.

Here are my takeaways from last night’s contest:

More second-period success led by a trio of prospects

The Reign seem to have their alarm clocks set for the start of the second period, not the first. The Reign scored three times in the second period for the third time this season, and the second time they scored three unanswered goals, led by a trio of prospects.

Koehn Ziemmer started the scoring with a low shot from the slot after Kenta Isogai knocked down a pass behind the Texas net. Isogai isn’t a prospect, but his hard-working, gritty style made that play happen.

Defenseman Kirill Kirsanov, known more for defense than offense, fired a one-timer short-side over Tiefensee’s shoulder to give the Reign a 2-1 lead less than three minutes after Ziemmer’s goal. It was Kirsanov’s first goal of the season.

1:40 later, Kenny Connors notched his first tally of the season on the power play, firing from the left circle into the open net after Aatu Jamsen’s shot from the right circle went wide and ricocheted onto Connors’ stick.

Three goals in a span of 4:28. Ontario has outscored its opponents 13-10 in the middle 20 minutes, its best goal-differential period in regulation.

Chromiak to the rescue again

Martin Chromiak again played the hero role, as he did Tuesday night. After squandering a 3-2 third-period lead when Mike Sgarbossa’s power-play strike tied the contest, Chromiak fired a quick, surprising wrist shot with 4:24 remaining. The 24-year-old forward would add an insurance marker with an empty-net tally less than two minutes later.

Known for his shot, Chromiak leads the Reign with six goals, but more impressively, he was out there late to protect a lead before the icing led to the defensive zone draw and his goal moments later. That shows the coaching staff trusts him in those late-game situations because, in years past, we never saw Chromiak in that scenario.

Portillo gets the start

Round three of the goalie rotation started last night. That meant Erik Portillo was given the starting nod, his third of the season. After a rough opening-night outing followed by a strong performance last week against San Diego, Portillo made 20 saves on 23 shots for his second straight win. I thought Portillo had a decent game, with several key saves. I think he would like the second goal back, after he left a rebound lying in front of him after stopping an initial scoring chance. Other than that, he had a decent game. If the rotation continues, that puts Hampton Slukynsky in line for tonight’s start.

NOTES:

*Cole Guttman had a pair of helpers, giving him the 200th pro point of his career.

*Kenta Isogai recorded his first point of the season.

*Martin Chromiak scored his fourth goal in the last two games.

*Kirill Kirsanov recorded a point in his second straight game.

*With Kenny Connors’ power-play tally, the Reign have scored a power-play goal in four straight games.

*The Reign allowed only their second power-play goal against in their last five games.

UP NEXT: These two teams will meet again tonight at 5 PM PST. You can watch the game on Flosports or listen on the Ontario Reign Radio Network.

Featured image credit: Texas Stars

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