Erik Portillo Stops 32 of 34 Shots But The Ontario Reign Offense Goes Silent In Their 2-1 Loss To Abbotsford

The losing streak extends to six games as the Ontario Reign dropped game one of their weekend series in Abbotsford against the Canucks.

Scoring

First period:

ABB: Ty Mueller (7), ASST: Sawyer Mynio (6), Ben Berard (2)

Second period: 

ONT: Kaleb Lawrence (3), ASST: Koehn Ziemmer (3)

ABB: Trey Fix-Wolansky (4), ASST: Kole Lind (5), Braeden Cootes (4)

Third period: 

None

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 1

ABB: 2

Shots:

ONT: 22

ABB: 34

Power plays:

ONT: 0/3

ABB: 0/4

The Reign entered the game on a five-game losing streak, but the Canucks were riding into their home matchup with a seven-game win streak. Both streaks continued as Abbotsford scored on two costly Reign mistakes Friday night.

Here are my takeaways

Uninspiring and not good enough

For 40 minutes, the Reign seemed to be on their heels and playing in their end instead of Abbotsford’s. Abbotsford’s pressure, grit, and skill were on full display as they constantly kept pinning the Reign in their end. The Reign’s performance reminded me a lot of the Henderson and second Tucson game, when they looked a step slow, couldn’t connect on passes, and hung on in a close game. That’s been the theme of this six-game losing streak: not-good-enough play.

They’ve had spurts where they have played well. In the third period, a five-on-three power play and a few chances late in the game but couldn’t score the game-tying goal. Ultimately, playing well in spurts isn’t good enough, as the Reign have yet to put together a solid 60-minute effort in about two weeks.

Lawrence stays red hot

One of the few forwards who have played well over the last week is Kaleb Lawrence. Lawrence, 23, scored the Reign’s only goal in last night’s game. He found the back of the net in back-to-back games and for the third time in four games.

The scoring play didn’t happen if Koehn Ziemmer hadn’t won the battle for the puck after the dump-in, giving him the opportunity to set up Lawrence sneaking backdoor on the play. The goal wasn’t the only play that stood out. Head coach Andrew Lord put his line on the ice when the team needed an energy shift, and they obliged.

The former seventh-round pick was part of a loan swap and probably has a long shot at making it to the NHL, but has bounced back well lately after a slow start.

Erik Portillo with a strong performance

The goalies have been stellar for three straight, and for the third time in the last five games. They’ve given the Reign a chance to stay in games and grab two points. Well, that trend and the losing both continued. The Reign were constantly under siege, and Erik Portillo kept making save after save. Portillo, clearly the best Reign player on the ice by a mile last night, did all he could to halt the losing streak, but the offense couldn’t net the equalizer. He made 32 saves on 34 shots, against one of the AHL’s best offenses, on a night the Reign were atrocious.

Jared Wright was a late scratch

Jared Wright was slated to play on the top line with Aatu Jamsen and Lane Pederson, but after warmups was a late-game scratch. It was the first time Wright has been scratched from the lineup in his pro career. After quickly shuffling his deck of cards, Lord deployed 11 forwards and 7 defensemen, with Michael Mastrodomenico serving as the seventh defenseman playing as a forward.

In his post-game interview with Reign Insider Cam McGuire, Lord didn’t go into much detail about the 23-year-old’s absence, saying, “Just a little something he’s been dealing with popped up.” The Reign have lost Kenny Connors to a call-up to the Kings (and for good reason!), but losing Wright to a small nagging injury would be a big blow.

Francesco Pinelli’s disappointing season continues

Francesco Pinelli looked like a promising player four seasons ago. Now, his season has been a huge disappointment. The fourth-year pro spent his first two seasons in sheltered minutes as a bottom-six forward before finally cracking the Reign’s top six last season. This season has been a huge letdown, with only one goal in 12 games, and it came on opening night.

On most nights, he’s been hardly noticeable and hasn’t stood out. It’s not ideal for a player in his shoes to drop off so much and not take the next step in his development. As of now, it’s looking far less likely he won’t play a game for the Kings.

NOTES:

*The six-game losing streak for the Reign is their longest since the 2022-23 season when they lost 10 straight.

*Kenta Isogai finished last game after returning from a collision with the post, but missed last night’s game.

*Abbotsford averaged four goals per game in their last ten; they only scored twice due to Erik Portillo’s solid play.

UP NEXT: These two teams meet again tonight at 4 PM PST. You can watch the game on FloSports or listen on the Ontario Reign Radio Network.

Featured image credit: Darren Scott Francis/Abbotsford Canucks

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