PREVIEW – Ontario vs. Colorado, 1/26

WHO: Ontario Reign (12-20-4-2) vs. Colorado Eagles (20-16-3-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, January 26, @ 6:00 PM
WHERE: Citizens Business Bank Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO – Mixlr – TWITTER: @ontarioreign & @reigninsider

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and Colorado Eagles square off again this evening in the final game before the AHL All-Star break. Colorado downed Ontario in a record-setting game last night at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With yesterday’s defeat against the Eagles, Ontario drops to 0-3-1 against Colorado on the season, including a 0-1-1 total on home ice. After tonight, the two teams will meet once more in Ontario, on February 23, plus a back-to-back set in Colorado in early March. The loss also extended the Reign’s winless in regulation streak to 11 games, dating back to November 11, a 4-1 win over the Stockton Heat. The Reign were on the ice for a partial morning skate this morning at the CBBA, after spending the night in Ontario.

KWIK-E MARTIN: Colorado goaltender Spencer Martin stole the show yesterday evening, as he posted a 68-save shutout. The 68 saves were the most in Colorado Eagles history and while the record is not officially kept by the AHL, Martin’s total surpassed the NHL record of a 59-save, regular season shutout, currently held by former Los Angeles Kings goaltender Ben Scrivens, posted in 2014 with Edmonton.

SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS: The Reign threw everything they had at Martin last evening, setting both a season and franchise regular-season record with 68 shots on goal, surpassing the previous season high by 20 shots. Ontario also threw 27 shots on goal in the second period alone, a season high for shots in a single period. The second-period total surpassed ten separate full game totals for the Reign this season.

FROM ALL ANGLES: Ontario forwards Matt Luff and Mike Amadio led the Reign yesterday with eight shots on goal apiece, while defensemen Kale Clague and Matt Roy led the way from the blueilne with six shots on goal apiece. 16 of the 18 Reign skaters tallied at least one shot on goal, 14 collected multiple shots on goal and seven Reign players had at least five shots on goal, adding up to the 68 in total.

WE ARE ALL KINGS: With the additions of forward Austin Wagner and defenseman Sean Walker to the Ontario roster for yesterday’s game, the Reign had a total of 132 NHL games this season in their lineup. In addition to Walker and Wagner, forwards Matt Luff, Mike Amadio, Sheldon Rempal, along with goaltenders Cal Petersen and Peter Budaj, have all played NHL games this season, led by Wagner’s 34 and Luff’s 30.

SPRINGFIELD BOUND: Following tonight’s game, forward Sheldon Rempal and defenseman Sean Walker head to Springfield, MA to participate in the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic. Both players were selected earlier this month as Ontario’s representatives. Rempal has tallied 28 points (10-18-28) in his first professional season, while Walker has collected 17 points (6-11-17) from 21 games played from the blueline.

HOME SWEET HOME: Today’s contest against the Eagles continues a stretch with 13 of 16 games coming on home ice, and all 16 games being within the state of California, that began on Monday against San Diego. Ontario will travel twice to San Diego and once to Bakersfield in that span. The Reign will host seven different opponents over the 13 games, including three matchups against this weekend’s opponent in Colorado.