The Ontario Reign (34-13-4-3) took the lead in the opening minute and never let up on their way to a 6-2 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins (26-26-5-2) that clinched them a spot in the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs at Toyota Arena on Tuesday night. Ontario was led by its first line of Martin Frk, TJ Tynan and Taylor Ward, who combined for four goals in the victory.
Frk and Tynan each posted four points on two goals and two assists, while Ward picked up three helpers. Goaltender Matt Villalta got the start for Ontario and stopped 24 Grand Rapids shots on his way to his 22nd win of the season. Ontario remains in second place in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a points percentage of 0.694 became the second AHL team to punch their ticket to the postseason.
More from Reign Assistant Coach Chris Hajt and Frk below –
Frk got the Reign going in the first, putting Ontario on the board in the opening minute with his first tally of the evening 57 seconds in from Tynan and Ward. It only took four minutes for Frk to find the back of the net again, scoring from Tynan and defenseman Thomas Hickey at the 4:59 mark of the first to make it a 2-0 game.
Late in the first, Grand Rapids got themselves back into the game with a few late goals. Dominik Shine cut the score to 2-1 with the Griffins’ first goal of the night during a power play at 18:03.
But the Reign responded quickly when Tynan one-timed a cross-ice feed by Ward off the left post and into the net to make it a 3-1 game with what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 18:34.
The Griffins cut it back to a one-goal game on a power play goal by Riley Barber with just 11 seconds remaining in the period and the two teams went into the first intermission with a 3-2 score in favor of Ontario.
The Reign resumed control in the second frame with goals by Aidan Dudas and Jaret Anderson-Dolan to push their advantage to three goals. Dudas found the back of the net at 11:32 for his ninth goal of the year with an assist by forward Brett Kemp that stands as his first-career AHL point.
Anderson-Dolan followed with his 22nd goal of the season to make it a 5-2 game at 12:38 off a feed by forward Vladimir Tkachev. The second helper on the play went to defenseman Christian Kasastul.
In the third, Tynan put the game out of reach with his second goal of the night and 13th of the season to extend the lead to 6-2. Assists on the final strike of the game went to Ward and Frk. Tynan’s four-point night put him back in a tie for first in the AHL with 79 points overall.
The Griffins held a 26-20 shots on goal advantage in the game, but Ontario ended with a shooting percentage of 30%. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made the start for Grand Rapids but was pulled from the game after allowing five goals on 11 shots. Victor Brattstrom entered the game in the second period and turned aside eight shots in 27:22 of relief.
Barber’s power play goal was the lone man-advantage tally of the game, with Grand Rapids ending at 1-for-5 and Ontario finishing 0-for-4.
Chris Hajt
On clinching a playoff spot
It’s something to feel good about. Going into a season you want to have an opportunity to be in the playoffs, so we can put a check next to that and move forward. I’m happy with the result and the effort, so we’ll take it.
On the top line combining for four goals
They were flying. They were moving the puck and passing tape-to-tape. The three of them worked nicely on that line. Tynan and Frk were really dynamic. That pair has had a lot of success this year and Ward complimented that line tonight. Good on them and I’m happy for that line.
On Frk’s four-point night
He wants to be out there every single day so we almost forced him to stay off the ice with the amount of hockey he’s played with the Kings and with us. It was nice to see him, against his old team, have a couple snipes and I’m sure he’s pretty happy about that. Again, that line was big for us tonight.
On improving over the last few games
You work on things in practice to get better. It’s a long year. You need reminders. Hockey is a game of reminders. You forget some things sometimes and need to polish some things up and overall the guys refocused and we got better.
Martin Frk
On clinching a playoff spot
It feels amazing. That’s why you play the whole regular season. It’s really nice to get there early but we want to push for the first spot in the division, so there’s a lot of work to do.
On recording four points in the win
It was nice. It’s been tough the last couple of days being with the Kings and then going back to the Reign. It was a lot of games but it felt nice to be off the ice a bit and recharge, but I looked pretty good today. I can’t lie.
On facing his former team
It’s special for me having been with Grand Rapids for so long. Now playing against them is sweet, especially when we beat them, so it’s a good feeling. Maybe sometimes I’ve been too frustrated, but it was a good win for us after losing the last few games, so it felt really good and it’s special to do it against the team I used to play for.
On Matt Villalta’s strong effort in goal
Matty is a good goalie. On the ice he always works hard and off the ice he’s an absolute beauty, so it’s great to see him doing really well. We’ve had a lot of good on the ice. In practice, just trying to score on him, it’s really hard. I can imagine that when other teams try to score on him, it’s really hard as well. When he gets in, he’ll stand on his head and try to help us win.
The Reign are back in action on Saturday night when they pay the San Diego Gulls a visit at Pechanga Arena at 7 p.m. PST.
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