REIGN PREVIEW 10/25 – Ontario at Coachella Valley

WHO: Ontario Reign (1-2-0-0) at Coachella Valley Firebirds (1-2-0-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #4
WHEN: Friday, October 25 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Acrisure Arena – Palm Desert, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: After a six-day gap in between games, the Ontario Reign return to action Friday night for a battle in the desert with the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario’s first road game of the 2024-25 season will come against a team that is also rested, as neither the Reign nor Firebirds have played since last Friday night. Both clubs have posted identical 1-2-0 records from their first three outings. Coachella picked up its first win with a 6-5 defeat of San Diego last Friday after losses to Bakersfield and Calgary to begin their schedule. Ontario has regained the services of goaltender Pheonix Copley, who was returned on loan by the LA Kings on Thursday. The Firebirds are without defender Cale Fleury, who was recalled by the Seattle Kraken after netting a hat trick in the team’s victory last week. Coachella Valley only managed one goal in each of its first two outings before scoring six times in San Diego.

LAST TIME OUT: Despite holding an advantage in shots on goal, the Ontario Reign came up short Friday night, falling by a 4-1 score to the Bakersfield Condors at Toyota Arena. Bakersfield was led by forward Seth Griffith, who scored the game-winning goal during the second period and sealed the victory with an empty-net tally late in the third. Tyler Madden had the lone goal for Ontario, while goaltender Jacob Ingham made his first start of the season and stopped 12 out of 14 shots in a losing effort.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Ontario won four of the eight matchups against the Firebirds during the regular season in 2023-24, posting a record of 4-3-0-1. Samuel Fagemo had a team-high five goals along with an assist for six points while playing in six of the contests. But Coachella Valley had the Reign’s number in the postseason, ending Ontario’s year in the Pacific Division Finals with a 3-0 series win. After 16 regular season matchups in the first two seasons of competition, Ontario has come away with a 7-7-1-1 record which gives the Firebirds a slight advantage in the series, with nine wins for Coachella Valley. Last year three games went past regulation and four were decided by a single goal.

MORE OF MADDEN: Fifth-year Reign forward Tyler Madden scored for the second consecutive game last Friday night, picking up a power play goal off a rush on a pass by Jack Studnicka to put Ontario back within a goal of Bakersfield on the scoreboard. Madden is tied with Samuel Helenius for the team’s goal-scoring lead after three games and became the first player to score on the man-advantage for the Reign this year. His first goal of the campaign on Oct. 13 came just 1:33 into the contest and was Ontario’s first goal of any kind during 2024-25. He also picked up an assist that night on a tally by Martin Chromiak. The 24-year-old has quickly picked up where he left off last year when he set career-highs in points (34) and assists (19) during the regular season before scoring five times in the Calder Cup Playoffs to lead all Reign skaters. Last season also saw Madden eclipse the 200-game mark with Ontario, as well as the 100-point plateau. His 207 games rank third all-time in the team’s AHL history and he’s set to move up on the list soon, as he currently sits just two behind former captain Vincent LoVerde.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: Coachella Valley advanced to the Calder Cup Finals in each of its first two seasons in the AHL but came up short of the league’s title both times, falling to the eventual champion Hershey Bears. The Firebirds have finished both of their first two regular seasons with 103 total points in the Pacific Division standings, earning a first-place finish and a bye in the opening round of the postseason last year. Dan Bylsma, who led the team behind the bench in both of those campaigns, has moved up to the NHL as the head coach of the Seattle Kraken. Derek Laxdal has taken over his spot and is now the man in charge for Coachella Valley. Team captain Max McCormick returns for his third campaign with the club after finishing as its top goal scorer a year ago, netting 32 tallies in 68 games and earning 60 total points. He also had success against Ontario, netting two goals and three assists for five points while appearing in six games of the series. Through three games this season, rookie forward Eduard Sale has a goal and two assists while Brandon Biro has recorded three helpers.

HELENIUS’ HEROICS: Forward Samuel Helenius’ two goals in the final two minutes on Oct. 13 vs. San Jose was just the second two-goal game of his AHL career, which has consisted of 145 games dating back to the 2021-22 season. The Jarvenpaa, Finland native tied the game at 18:45 of the third by firing a cross-slot pass from Glenn Gawdin past goaltender Georgi Romanov. Moments later, Helenius was once again set up in front of the net by another newcomer, with Jeff Malott backhanding the puck to him on the right circle for the winning finish. Helenius finished the game with four shots on net, breaking through after coming close on another opportunity the night before when his shot off a 2-on-1 rush hit the post.

INGHAM STEPS UP IN FIRST START: Goaltender Jacob Ingham allowed just two goals in his first start of the season against Bakersfield last Friday, turning out 12 of the 14 shots he faced to keep Ontario within striking distance until late in the game. The Barrie, Ontario native returned to the Reign this year after his best pro campaign in 2023-24, which saw him post a 2.71 goals-against average and a 0.917 save percentage in six AHL games while earning a career-high 17 wins for ECHL Greenville along with a 2.57 GAA and 0.916 SV% in 34 contests with the Swamp Rabbits. That all came after Ingham missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season due to injury.