REIGN PREVIEW – Ontario vs. Tucson, 12/18

WHO: Ontario Reign (14-5-0-1) vs. Tucson Roadrunners (9-9-2-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #21
WHEN: Saturday, December 18 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO – Mixlr – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @ontarioreign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign complete a weekend set of home games when they battle the Tucson Roadrunners on Teddy Bear Toss Night Saturday at Toyota Arena. The contest will be the third meeting of the two teams this season. Their previous matchups resulted in a split last month at the Tucson Convention Center Nov. 12-13.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario and Tucson clashed for two entertaining contests last month, resulting in 21 total goals scored and 158 combined penalty minutes. The three Reign defenders that made their team debuts on Friday are all expected to once again be in the lineup for tonight’s game. Ontario currently sits in second place in the Pacific Division standings, while the Roadrunners are in sixth with a .500 points percentage.

LAST TIME OUT: Seven different skaters scored for the Ontario Reign, who earned a 7-4 defeat over the San Jose Barracuda in the teams’ first meeting of the season Friday night at Toyota Arena. TJ Tynan had a game-high three points with a goal and two assists, while Ontario defenders Blake Siebenaler (one goal, one assist) and Cameron Gaunce (two assists) each posted multi-point nights. Goaltender Matt Villalta turned aside 26 shots to earn his 10th victory for the Reign and Martin Frk scored his team-leading 12th tally of the year.

MADDEN GOES ON OFFENSIVE: Reign forward Tyler Madden has been the team’s hottest attacker as of late, scoring six goals in his team’s last seven games. The 22-year-old found the back of the net twice in Ontario’s win over Stockton on Nov. 22 before striking in back-to-back road contests Dec. 1 in Abbotsford and Dec. 4 at Bakersfield. He also posted an empty-net goal in the final minute of last Friday’s 4-2 win over San Diego and scored in the second period of the Reign’s 7-4 win over San Jose. In total, Madden’s eight goals are second-most on the team, and his 36 shots on net rank third, giving him an impressive shooting percentage of 22.2%. The Deerfield Beach, Fla. native has totaled 12 points (8-4=11) while appearing in all 20 contests for Ontario in 2021-22.

SIEBENALER’S SUCCESS: Ontario defender Blake Siebenaler had a big night in his Reign debut Friday, scoring a goal on his first shot in the opening period before assisting on a tally by Tyler Madden at the start of the second frame. It was just the second time in his AHL career that Siebenaler has posted a multi-point outing, with the first coming on Oct. 25, 2016, when he picked up a pair of assists. The goal was also his first in the American League since Dec. 8, 2018, when he was with the Cleveland Monsters.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Tucson began the 2021-22 season with three consecutive series splits against Stockton, Texas and San Diego and has continued to stay around the .500 mark two months into their campaign. Forward Matias Maccelli is leading the team in scoring with 19 points in 20 games on seven goals and 12 assists. Hudson Fasching is second on the club with 13 points (4-9=13). Attacker Ben McCartney has also had a good start to his year with six goals, while defender Victor Soderstrom leads the team’s blueliners with seven points (1-6=7). In net, Ivan Prosvetov has gotten the majority of the playing time and holds a 6-5-2-2 record that includes two shutouts in 13 appearances with a goals-against average of 2.95 and a .906 save percentage.

TOAST TO TYNAN: Forward TJ Tynan picked up three points in Ontario’s win over San Jose Friday night. The veteran attacker is second on the team in scoring with 22 points in just 15 games on four goals and 18 assists. Friday’s output was his seventh multi-point game of the season and the second time he’s posted three points in one contest. The Orland Park, Ill. native is the reigning AHL Most Valuable Player from the 2020-21 season when he amassed 35 points in 27 games with the Colorado Eagles.

NEW LOOK DEFENSE: Multiple transactions in the past week will have Ontario’s defensive unit looking different as they return to Toyota Arena. Since their most recent contest in San Diego on Saturday, the Reign have seen blueliner Christian Wolanin recalled by the LA Kings, while Helge Grans was loaned to Team Sweden for the World Junior Championships scheduled to begin on Dec. 26 in Alberta. Christian Kåsastul, a native of Skien, Norway made his AHL debut on Friday, while defenders Blake Siebenaler and Michael Prapavessis played their first games in a Reign sweater.