REIGN PREVIEW – Ontario at Colorado, 4/22

WHO: Ontario Reign (41-15-5-4) at Colorado Eagles (37-22-4-3)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #66
WHEN: Friday, April 22 @ 6:05 PM Pacific
WHERE: Budweiser Events Center – Loveland, CO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @ontarioreign

 

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign are set for the second contest in a three-game series with the Colorado Eagles Friday night in Loveland at the Budweiser Events Center. The week-long visit marks the lone trip for Ontario to Colorado during the 2021-22 regular season and the Reign started it off with a 5-3 victory Wednesday evening. The Eagles made the trip to Ontario earlier in the month, pulling off a sweep of the Reign at Toyota Arena. In the season series, Ontario is 2-1-1 against Colorado, picking up their lone home win on Nov. 7. The Reign are in second place in the Pacific Division standings with a points percentage of 0.700, while Colorado is in fourth with a 0.614 mark. The Eagles can still finish as high as third and as low as fifth in the table.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: This week’s series represents the final regular season contests on Colorado’s schedule. The Eagles are aiming to move back into third in the division after falling to fourth as a result of Wednesday’s loss, while Ontario can still catch the Stockton Heat for first place, sitting three points behind the top spot with three games to play. The Reign continue to lead the AHL offensively by scoring a league-high 254 goals for an average of 3.91 per game, while Colorado is third in the league rankings with 3.53 goals per outing. The Eagles average the most shots on net per game in the league (34.2). Ontario’s power play is at the top of the AHL league rankings by converting on 27.7% of their opportunities.

LAST TIME OUT: Backed by a hat trick from Akil Thomas and four points by TJ Tynan, the Ontario Reign scored four power play goals, including two in the third period, to defeat the Colorado Eagles by a final score of 5-3 in the opener of a three-game series Wednesday night at the Budweiser Events Center. Thomas, who was later named the first star of the game, scored once in all three periods, while Tynan factored into all four power play goals by netting the first and picking up assists on the other three. The Reign have now won five straight games and earned points in seven straight contests.

AKIL GETS TRICKY: Forward Akil Thomas recorded his second career hat trick in Wednesday’s Reign victory, scoring his fifth, sixth and seventh goals of the 2021-22 season. The Toronto native found the back of the net to make it a 2-0 game at 5:30 of the first period before adding power play goals at 10:29 of the second and 13:52 of the third. The attacker now has five points in his last five games and five of his goals on the year have come on the power play, adding to Ontario’s league-best man-advantage unit. Thomas, a former second-round selection by the LA Kings in the 2018 NHL Draft, has 18 goals in 77 career AHL games.

TYNAN TRACKER: With his fourth four-point night of the 2021-22 season Wednesday, forward TJ Tynan extended his season-high assist streak to 12 games in a 5-3 victory over the Eagles, his former team. Tynan leads all AHL skaters this season with 96 total points and also has 82 assists which is 16 more than the next-highest total by Chicago’s Andrew Poturalski. Both Tynan’s point and assist totals are career-highs for the eighth-year pro. Tynan’s assist total is the most in the AHL since forward Jason Spezza led the league with 85 during the 2004-05 campaign. His current assist streak dates back to Mar. 22 and is the longest run in the league this season. The Orland Park, Ill., native’s points per game average of 1.63 also leads the league, as does his power play assist total (44) and power play point total (46). The last time an AHL player posted 44 power play assists in a season was Syracuse’s Andy Delmore in 2005-06.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Holding fourth place in the Pacific Division, Colorado also has the lowest number of games remaining on their schedule, with just two contests remaining in their regular season. The Eagles are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and have amassed a goal differential of +31 this season. Forward Kiefer Sherwood leads the team with 73 points in 55 games on a team-high 35 goals and 38 assists. Just behind him is Dylan Sikura, who has racked up 69 points with 30 goals and 39 helpers. Defender Jordan Gross leads all AHL blueliners and ranks eighth overall in the league with 65 points (10 goals, 55 assists). Gross’ assist total is also third in the AHL. Justus Annunen has been the team’s backbone in the crease, appearing in 48 games with a 24-13-6 record, two shutouts and a goals-against average of 3.02. Annunen has played the third-most minutes of any goaltender in the league, racking up almost 2,700 minutes in the crease this season and has the fifth-most saves in the AHL (1,123).

TAYLOR-MADE FOR THE REIGN: Forward Taylor Ward earned an assist on TJ Tynan’s opening goal Wednesday night to record a point for the fifth consecutive game, the longest streak of the rookie’s young career. Since joining the Reign last month after completing his fourth NCAA season with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Ward has 10 points in his first 13 pro contests on three goals and seven assists. The native of Kelowna, B.C. has also combined for a +9 rating, finishing as a minus just once.

ALL ABOUT ALLARD: After a scoring correction was issued Thursday, defenseman Frederic Allard ended Wednesday’s win with three assists which tied a career-high. All three helpers came on the power play and were his first man-advantage points since joining Ontario. Two assists came on goals scored by Akil Thomas, while the third came on a goal by Jaret Anderson-Dolan. It was also the first multi-point effort for Allard with the Reign and the blueliner now has six points in 12 games since joining the club on a goal and five assists. That total has already surpassed the five points he accumulated in 36 games with Milwaukee this season prior to being traded.