PREVIEW – Ontario @ Tucson, 3/8

WHO: Ontario Reign (19-26-5-2) @ Tucson Raodrunners (25-20-5-2)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Friday, March 8, @ 6:05 PM
WHERE: Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, AZ
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV & Facebook Watch – AUDIO (Away Feed) – Fox Sports Radio – TWITTER: @ontarioreign & @reigninsider

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign have hit the road for a stretch with five games away from home, beginning this evening against Tucson. Last time out, the Reign were unable to complete a perfect weekend on Sunday, as they fell 5-4 against Iowa to finish the weekend at two wins and one loss.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: This weekend, the Reign and Roadrunners faceoff for the final times this season in Tucson, with games tonight and tomorrow in Arizona. Ontario sits at 2-2-1 in total on the season against Tucson, though the Reign are just 0-1-1 in Arizona, after a pair of defeats in December. All-time, the Reign have struggled in Tucson, posting just a 3-6-2-1 record at Tucson Convention Center. The Reign skated this morning, with goaltender Cal Petersen off first, while defenseman Cliff Watson and forward Jamie Devane were on late after morning skate, though not for much longer than the rest of the group.

THE ROAD-RUNNERS LESS TRAVELED: Tonight’s opponent, the Tucson Roadrunners, have struggled as of late after a strong start to the season. Tucson is winless in its last five games and has won just two of its last 14 games, with a 2-9-3 record over that span. The Roadrunners have four of their top five scorers from the head-to-head series with the Reign not currently on the roster, including Conor Garland, currently with the Arizona Coyotes, who leads all skaters with nine points (4-5-9).

WE GOT THAT POWER: The Reign and Iowa Wild put on a power-play display over their two games on the weekend. The two sides combined for 10 power-play goals over the two games, with the Reign at 4-of-6 on Saturday and the Wild at 4-of-6 on Sunday. Iowa converted six of their nine power plays in total over the two games, while Ontario scored four times on a single major penalty on Saturday, including the overtime winner.

APPROACHING THE TOP: Reign forward Matt Moulson is approaching Ontario Reign single-season franchise records in both goals and points. Moulson has tallied 25 goals and 53 points to date during the 2018-19 season and sits two points shy of Sean Backman’s franchise record of 55 points from the 2015-16 season. Moulson is also two goals behind Jonny Brodzinski’s total of 27, posted during the 2016-17 season.

MOULS AND HIS GOALS: Speaking of Moulson, the veteran winger has been on a tear since the start of 2019, leading the AHL with 16 goals and ranking tied for third with 30 points (16-14-30), one shy of Chicago’s Daniel Carr in that timespan. Moulson has nine multi-point efforts in total in the 2019 calendar year, including five games with multiple goals scored and four games with three points or more.

THE AMAD COUPLE: Ontario forward Mike Amadio led the Reign with three points on Sunday, as he collected a goal and two assists versus Iowa. Amadio tallied seven points (2-5-7) on the weekend, tied (with Moulson) for the lead amongst all skaters in the AHL thus far in the month of March. Amadio has now collected 18 points (4-14-18) from 17 games played thus far this season with Ontario.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Ontario Reign capped off a six-game homestand on Sunday, finishing the slate with a 4-2-0 record over the six games. Ontario won 2-of-3 games on back-to-back weeks, including wins on Friday and Saturday, before falling on Sunday this past weekend. While they’ve played away from home just three times in their last 16 games, the Reign have points in two straight on the road, and points in five of seven.