REIGN PREVIEW – Ontario at Colorado, 11/3

WHO: Ontario Reign (6-1-0) at Colorado Eagles (3-4-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME #8
WHEN: Thursday, November 3 @ 6:05 PM Pacific
WHERE: Budweiser Events Center – Loveland, CO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO: Mixlr – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign play outside of California for the first time this season Thursday night to open a two-game series in Colorado against the Eagles. The team’s furthest road trip to date is a rematch of last season’s second-round Calder Cup Playoff series that saw Colorado pull off a three-game sweep to advance to the Pacific Division Finals where they then fell to the Stockton Heat. Ontario comes into the matchup having won its last five games, while Colorado recently split a weekend pair of games against Henderson, but has lost three of their last four overall. The Reign finished with a 2-3-1-0 record in six contests against the Eagles during the 2021-22 regular season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: While currently sitting in a tie at the top of the Pacific Division with 12 points, Ontario will look to continue its winning ways as they enter one of the toughest places to play in the AHL this week. The Reign are in the top five of the AHL in both goals for and against, ranking second with 2.00 goals allowed per contest and fifth offensively with 4.0 goals scored. The Eagles have only played two games in front of their home fans so far this season, going 1-1-0, but they’ve had success when taking an early lead, going 3-1-0 after scoring the first goal.

LAST TIME OUT: A four-goal outburst in the second period was enough for the Ontario Reign to skate past the Bakersfield Condors and win their fifth consecutive game by a score of 4-3 on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. Akil Thomas led the way with two power play tallies that both came with assists by captain TJ Tynan and Jacob Moverare picked up his first point of the season in the victory with an assist. Goaltender Pheonix Copley got the start in between the pipes and turned aside 23 shots to secure his fourth victory of the season.

SECOND PERIOD SUCCESS: The Reign have been dominant during second periods this season, outscoring opponents by a 13-2 margin which is the largest positive goal differential for any team in a single period this season. The two goals allowed by Ontario is also the lowest total surrendered during the second period in the AHL.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: The AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the Eagles have had many personnel changes to the team that had success last season, with multiple players finding roles at the highest level with the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Standout returners include Jean-Luc Foudy, who has posted seven points in seven games this season on three goals and four assists, as well as former first round pick Shane Bowers, who has six points (2-4=6). Captain Jayson Megna is also back for another year, as well as defenseman Keaton Middleton. Through seven games, forward Charles Hudon, who spent last season with the Syracuse Crunch, leads the team with eight points on four goals and four assists. Veteran defenseman Brad Hunt has paced the team’s blueliners with five points on two goals and three assists. In goal, Justus Annunen has played five games while Jonas Johansson has started twice. Annunen has been in goal for each of the team’s three wins, while Johansson has the better goals-against average at 3.03.

THOMAS STRIKES TWICE: Reign forward Akil Thomas singlehandedly dug his team out of an early hole on Saturday, scoring two power play goals in less than two minutes during the second period to swing momentum in Ontario’s favor. Both goals were from the slot area, with the first coming off a centering feed by TJ Tynan and the second as a result of a rebound off a shot that missed the net by Lias Andersson. The third-year pro is now tied for the team lead with four goals on the season and has six points in seven games played along with a plus-5 rating. Three of Thomas’ four goals have come via the power play, and the right-shot attacker has found the back of the net on 33.3% of his shots on goal this year (4-for-12).

PHEONIX RISING: Goaltender Pheonix Copley has been a standout in net for Ontario early this season, posting a 2.02 goals-against average and a 0.935 save percentage with four wins in five appearances. Copley’s GAA ranks fourth in the league among netminders that have played at least five games. His overall save total of 143 is sixth in the AHL. Overall, Copley has a 2.57 GAA in 265 regular season games during his nine-year pro career.

DUDAS DELIVERS: Forward Aidan Dudas has been at his best to open the 2022-23 season, scoring five points in the Reign’s first seven games. The Parry Sound, Ont. native has been on the scoresheet in four of Ontario’s last five contests, including a three-game point streak that matched the longest run of his pro career. Four of Dudas’ points have been goals, including a tally on opening night as well as markers in both contests of the Reign’s two-game sweep over San Diego and the game-winning strike on Saturday against Bakersfield. Now in his third pro season, Dudas has appeared in 111 career games with Ontario, scoring 41 points on 20 goals and 21 assists. He reached career highs last season with 10 goals, 13 assists and 23 points.