PREVIEW – Ontario vs. San Antonio, 2/22

WHO: Ontario Reign (16-24-5-2) vs. San Antonio Rampage (24-23-5-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Friday, February 22, @ 7:00 PM
WHERE: Citizens Business Bank Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO – Mixlr – TWITTER: @ontarioreign & @reigninsider

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign continue their six-game homestand this evening as they host the San Antonio Rampage. Ontario enters tonight’s action off of a 4-3 victory over Stockton on Wednesday evening on home ice.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign and Rampage will meet for the second and final time this season, the lone meeting in Ontario. San Antonio overturned a two-goal deficit to claim the victory in the first meeting, a 3-2 win over the Reign in Texas on December 28. All-time, the Reign are 11-5-3 against the Rampage, including a 3-3-0 split from six meetings a season ago. Forward Kyle Bauman leads all Ontario skaters with two points (1-1-2) from the one meeting to date. Goaltender Cal Petersen was first off this morning for Ontario, while forward Jamie Devane and defenseman Cliff Watson, were on late for extra work after morning skate.

ZACK ATTACK: Reign forward Zack Mitchell found the back of the net for the third straight contest as he opened the scoring in yesterday’s victory. Mitchell has collected a point in four consecutive games, with five points in total (3-2-5) during that run. The fourth-year forward has collected 14 points in total (7-7-14) this season from 41 games played and is approaching the 300 AHL games played mark (291 to date).

PUPPY LUFF: Ontario forward Matt Luff collected a goal and two assists in the win over Stockton, his third three-point effort of the season. Luff’s tally marked his first goal of 2019 and the second-year winger has now amassed seven points (1-6-7) from four AHL games since he was most recently assigned to Ontario. Luff has tallied 19 points (7-12-19) from 16 games overall this season with the Reign.

MOULTI-POINT NIGHT: Reign forward Matt Moulson collected a trio of assists yesterday, with helpers on each of the three goals that Luff played a part in. Moulson’s three-assist night marked his first of the season, the third time he’s netted three points. Moulson is Ontario’s leading scorer this season with 45 points (22-[23-45) from 47 games played with the Reign, scoring at nearly an identical rate to last season (.96 points-per-game in 18-19, .94 points-per-game in 17-18).

PETERSAVE: Reign netminder Cal Petersen stopped 44 of the 47 shots he faced in Wednesday’s victory. Petersen’s 44 saves were his second highest total of the season, trailing only his 55 save effort from earlier this month against San Jose. The Notre Dame product, who posted his seventh victory of the season on Wednesday, has seen 40 or more shots in five of his last nine games, including 45+ shots in three of those five games.

MID-DERM EXAM: Ontario defenseman Kurtis MacDermid scored the game-winning goal in Wednesday’s victory, as his second period tally stood up as the difference in the 4-3 win. MacDermid’s tally was his fifth of the season, one shy of his AHL career high in a single season. The 6-5 blueliner has collected 14 points in total this season and leads the AHL with 141 penalty minutes.

THERE GOESSSSSSSS JONNY: After he skated in the third game of his conditioning assignment with Ontario on Wednesday, forward Jonny Brodzinski was recalled by Los Angeles on Thursday. Brodzinski tallied one goal in his three games with the Reign, his 56th all-time in a Reign jersey, which ranks second in franchise history. Brodzinski also departs second all-time in points (108), sixth (52) in assists and seventh in games played (156).

BREAD AND BUUDER: Ontario netminder Peter Budaj made his first start of the month on Saturday and turned aside 26 of the 28 shots he faced in an overtime defeat. Including a relief appearance on Friday, Budaj stopped 35 of 38 shots in total on the weekend. Budaj has found success in Bakersfield this season, making 61 saves on 65 shots in total, with Ontario posting a 1-0-1 mark in the two starts.