PREVIEW – Ontario vs. Colorado, 12/15

WHO: Ontario Reign (9-9-2-2) vs. Colorado Eagles (13-8-3-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, December 15, @ 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 host the Colorado Eagles for the first time this season, after falling twice to the Eagles in a back-to-back set in October on the road. After a 5-0 loss against the Tuscon Roadrunners last Sunday, the Reign are looking to find the back of the net and notch their first win of the season against Colorado. Tonight is game one of two this weekend for the Reign, with the team hosting the San Jose Barracuda tomorrow afternoon.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario enters tonight’s matchup with a 5-4-0-1 record in their last ten games. Tonight marks game three of eight against Colorado this season. In their first two trials against the Eagles, the team was outscored 11-3 and has yet to find the back of the net in the first period against the club. This will be the Eagles’ first landing in Ontario at the AHL level, with both of the previous matchups taking place in Loveland, but the teams did meet several times as members of the ECHL.

SCOPING OUT SPECIAL TEAMS: In their two games last weekend against the Tuscon Roadrunners, the Reign went 0-5 and 0-4 on the power play. They rank 17th in the league with a power play percentage of 19.2%, while the Eagles are ranked 30th overall at 12.9%. On the penalty kill however, Colorado’s kill is 85.8% with Ontario coming in at 18th at 79.8%.

STRAND THE MAN: Austin Strand was reassigned to Ontario from the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs yesterday in advance of this weekend’s games. Strand made his AHL debut with the Reign earlier this season on November 25. After trailing 6-2 to the Tuscon Roadrunners in the third period, Strand recorded an assist on Boko Imama’s first professional goal, the first of four unanswered goals in the third to tie the game at six and force the game into overtime, with Brent Sutter tallying the game-winner. 21-year-old Strand has played in 9 games with the Monarchs this season notching a total of three points (1-2-3) with the club.

WYSZO-on-a-PTO: Mahwah, NJ native, Craig Wyszomirski, joins the Reign on a PTO. Last season, he played in 63 regular season contests with the Manchester Monarchs and also saw a brief seven game stint with the Syracuse Crunch. The 6’4”, 220-lb defenseman last played with the Reign in the ’16-’17 season for three games in which he had a +2 rating.

BRICKLEY ON THE BRINK: As reported by Zach Dooley on LAKI, defenseman Daniel Brickley was called up to the Kings on Wednesday. With several of LA’s veteran defensemen out of the lineup, the team has had to rely on young players, such as Sean Walker and Paul LaDue, to fill in gaps caused by a injury-ridden roster. Brickley, who played in one game with the club last season, will likely make his season debut with the big boys tonight, as the team faces Pittsburgh in the final stand of their four game road trip.

GET YOUR TEDDIES READY: Teddy Bear Toss tradition dictates that fans are invited to toss stuffed animals onto the ice following the first goal scored by the home team. The Reign are taking part in the tradition with all of the teddies tossed in tonight’s game benefitting Toys4Tots. No bear? No fear. Bears will be available to purchase on the concourse for $10.

Need a bear for tomorrow? Sunergy Construction and US Marine Corps will be selling bears on the concourse tomorrow for $10 🧸🐻
All proceeds benefit Toys for Tots! pic.twitter.com/lOBGxfvMmr

— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) December 14, 2018