REIGN PREVIEW – Ontario vs. Tucson, 1/22

WHO: Ontario Reign (18-6-3-2) vs. Tucson Roadrunners (12-14-2-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #30
WHEN: Saturday, January 22 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO: Mixlr – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @ontarioreign

 

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign take on the Tucson Roadrunners for the fourth time during the 2021-22 season in the first of two back-to-back games at Toyota Arena Saturday night. Ontario is in second place in the Pacific Division standings with 41 points in 29 games, while Tucson is in the eighth spot in the division with 27 points thru 29 contests. The Reign are 1-1-1-0 in the previous three matchups with the Roadrunners.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Saturday’s game is the 30th of the season for both teams. Although Tucson averages only 2.55 goals per game, the Roadrunners haven’t had trouble finding the back of the net against Ontario, scoring 15 times already in the three head-to-head meetings. The Reign are the highest-scoring team in the AHL, averaging 3.79 goals per game. Ontario goaltender Matt Villalta was recalled by the LA Kings on Friday, leaving the Reign without their most consistent netminder. The team’s remaining options for the crease are Jacob Ingham, Lukas Parik and Garret Sparks.

LAST TIME OUT: The Abbotsford Canucks erased a 1-0 deficit in the third and got the only goal during a shootout to defeat the Ontario Reign by a score of 2-1 on Monday afternoon at Toyota Arena. The lone strike for the Reign was credited to defender Jordan Spence, who has points in a career-high six straight games, while goaltender Matt Villalta started for the third time in four days for Ontario and finished with 34 saves to secure his team one point in the standings.

STREAKING SPENCE: Rookie defender Jordan Spence saw his streak of power play success end at five games on Monday, but he kept his overall scoring streak intact, registering an assist in the 2-1 shootout loss. Spence now has points in six consecutive contests, with two goals and five helpers during the run. The Sydney, Australia native has turned his game up to the next level as of late, posting nine points in his last eight games (2-7=9). Spence, 20, is second in scoring among active AHL rookie defenders with 17 points in 26 games on two goals and 15 assists. Eight of his helpers have come while the Reign have been on the man-advantage, which is second-most on the team.

MADDEN-ING SUCCESS: Reign forward Tyler Madden stayed hot on Monday, extending his season-high point streak to five games with an assist in the second period. After playing just 14 games last season due to injury, the attacker kept his rookie status and ranks fourth among all first-year AHL skaters with 11 goals. That number is also second-most on the Reign roster, while his 19 points are tied for third-best among all Ontario skaters. During his recent five-game streak, Madden has totaled seven points on three goals and four assists.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Tucson has dropped three straight contests and six of its last seven coming into this weekend’s series in Ontario. Forward Matias Maccelli is leading the team in scoring with 28 points in 27 games on nine goals and 19 assists. Jan Jenik is second on the club with 18 points (7-11=18), while Michael Carcone is just behind him with 17 points on eight goals and nine helpers. Defender Victor Soderstrom leads the team’s blueliners with 12 points (2-10=12). In net, Ivan Prosvetov has gotten the majority of the playing time and holds an 8-8-2 record that includes two shutouts in 18 appearances with a goals-against average of 3.22 and a .898 save percentage.

POWER PLAY PROWESS: Ontario has done much of its offensive damage on the power play this season, which has been at its best recently. The Reign have scored man-advantage goals in five of their last six games, as well as in seven of their last 10. During that stretch, Ontario has converted on 12 out of their 39 opportunities with an extra man for a rate of 30.7%. Overall, the Reign have been successful on 25.4% of their power play chances this season which is the second-highest mark in the league.

GAUNCE GETS HIS FIRST: Veteran defenseman Cameron Gaunce found the back of the net for the first time this season, deflecting home a pass from Jordan Spence from inside the Abbotsford crease on Monday afternoon. Gaunce has been a mainstay on the blueline for the Reign in each of the last two seasons, playing a combined 47 games for Ontario after a two-year stint in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization with the Syracuse Crunch. Last season in 24 games, Gaunce led the Reign with a +12 rating. The Sudbury, Ont. native is just seven games away from 700 in his AHL career.