PREVIEW – Ontario @ Colorado, 3/13

WHO: Ontario Reign (21-27-5-2) @ Colorado Eagles (31-22-3-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Wednesday, March 13, @ 6:05 PM (Pacific)
WHERE: Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, CO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO – iHeart Radio (Away Feed) – TWITTER: @ontarioreign & @reigninsider

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Reign remain in Colorado to conclude a midweek back-to-back set later today. The Eagles took Round 1 with a 5-1 victory yesterday evening, powered by a three-goal second period.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign and Eagles will meet tonight for the final time this season. Ontario has struggled this season at Budweiser Events Center, posting an 0-3-0 record in Colorado with a 5-15 margin against. Forward Matt Moulson was held without a point last night but still leads the Reign with seven points (3-4-7) from the seven previous head-to-head matchups. The Reign did not hold a full-team skate this morning in Colorado with the back-to-back.

MILESTONE MOMENT: Ontario forward Brett Sutter skated in his 800th career AHL game yesterday evening, as he became the 39th player in league history to achieve the milestone. Sutter previously reached the 750 AHL games played milestone earlier this season and played in his 800th professional game late last season. Sutter is also the Reign’s all-time games played leader with 205 and counting.

HERR OF THE DOG: Reign forward and alternate captain Sam Herr scored his team’s lone goal in last night’s defeat in Colorado. Herr tied a professional career high with his 14th point of the season and moved to within one goal of his single-season best, with his seventh tally of the season. Herr also tied Andrew Crescenzi for fourth on the all-time Reign games played list last night, as he made his 180th appearance with the franchise.

HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU: First-year skaters Austin Strand and Sheldon Rempal tallied the assists on Herr’s goal from yesterday, with both players extending scoring streaks in the process. Rempal extended his run to three games with the helper, and now has nine points (4-5-9) over his last 11 games played. Strand collected a point for the second consecutive game and now has 11 points (4-7-11) from 30 games played as a rookie.

TIED AT THE TOP: Ontario forward Matt Moulson currently leads all Ontario skaters with 55 points this season (25-30-55), placing him tied for the franchise’s single-season scoring record. Moulson is currently even with his brother-in-law, Sean Backman, who collected 55 points during the 2015-16 season. Moulson is also two goals shy of Jonny Brodzinski’s single-season goal record, set during the 2016-17 season.

PUZZLES ON THE PP: The Reign went 0-for-3 on the man advantage last evening but still rank as one of the AHL’s top teams, placing fourth in the Western Conference and eight leaguewide on the power play at 20.3%. Ontario has had vastly different fortunes at home and on the road however. The Reign rank fifth in the league at 25.0% at home, but are tied for 24th in the league at 15.6% away from the Inland Empire.

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