PREVIEW – Ontario @ Bakersfield, 2/16

WHO: Ontario Reign (15-24-4-2) @ Bakersfield Condors (30-15-2-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, February 16 @ 7:00 PM
WHERE: Rabobank Arena – Bakersfield, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO – Away Feed – TWITTER: @ontarioreign & @reigninsider

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign conclude a home-and-home set this evening against Bakersfield, with the two teams meeting for the second time this season in Northern Califorina. The Condors took Round 1 in a thrilling 7-6 win over the Reign yesterday evening in Ontario.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign and Condors played their fourth and final meeting of the season in Ontario yesterday, with three games still to come in Bakersfield, including tonight’s action. The Condors posted a 4-0-0 mark this season at the CBBA, with Ontario winning the lone tilt to date at Rabobank Arena. Current Kings’ defenseman Sean Walker leads all Reign players with four points (0-4-4) from two games played against the Condors, while forward Tyler Benson has collected five points (2-3-5) from five games played for tonight’s hosts. The Reign did not skate as a full group this morning, but defenseman Kurtis MacDermid can be expected to check back in to replace the departed Matt Roy, who was recalled by the Kings this morning.

BLUE STREAK: Bakersfield extended its winning streak to 14 games with the victory last evening in Ontario. The six goals allowed broke an eight-game run for goaltender Shane Starrett of allowing two goals or less, however and marked the highest number of goals allowed on the streak to date. The one-goal was also one of just three out of the 14 games to be decided by a single goal.

ROYalty: Defenseman Matt Roy earned the first NHL recall of his professional career, getting the nod from the Kings earlier today. Roy leads all Ontario blueliners with 29 points (8-21-29) and ranks tied for second in the AHL in power-play points by a defenseman, third in in power-play assists. Roy has six points (1-5-6) over his last seven AHL games and is expected to enter the Kings’ lineup this evening against Boston.

PHILLING THE NET: Reign forward Philippe Maillet continued his hot streak as he tallied three points (1-2-3) yesterday evening. Maillet has now collected 11 points (4-7-11) over his last four games played and has posted multiple points in each of the four games. The second-year forward leads the Reign with 24 assists this season and his 36 points rank second on the Reign overall, behind only team-leader Matt Moulson.

FOUR SCORE: Ontario defensemen Alex Lintuniemi and Kale Clague each bring a four-game point streak into tonight’s action, extended for both players with an assist yesterday evening against Bakersfield. Both blueliners have reached the 20-point mark on the season, with Clague now the active Reign leader amongst defensemen with 23 points (3-20-23) and Lintuniemi second with 20 (2-18-20).

ROCK YOUR BRODY: Reign forward Jonny Brodzinski found the back of the net in his season debut yesterday evening as he scored on the power play in the second period. Brodzinski had missed the entire season leading up to yesterday with an upper-body injury, suffered during training camp in September. Brodzinski ranks second all-time in goals (56) and points (108) in Reign history, also holding the single-season Reign goal scoring record (27, 2016-17 season).

ONE LUFF: Ontario forward Matt Luff collected a pair of assists for the second straight game in yesterday evening’s defeat. Luff has now tallied 16 points (6-10-16) from 14 games played with Ontario this season, with last night marking the fourth time he’s had two assists in a game this season. Tonight will mark Luff’s first away game with the team since October 20, a game in which he also collected two assists.