REIGN PREVIEW 11/6 – Ontario vs. Abbotsford

WHO: Ontario Reign (3-4-0-0) vs. Abbotsford Canucks (5-4-0-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #8
WHEN: Wednesday, November 6 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCAL+/ FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: Fresh off their first winning streak of the 2024-25 campaign, the Ontario Reign host the Abbotsford Canucks at Toyota Arena on Wednesday night for the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario is looking to get back to the .500 mark with a win, while Abbotsford is looking to avoid falling to the same number. The Reign have improved their standing to a tie for seventh in the division with two consecutive victories, while the Canucks are sitting in a three-way tie for third with 11 points from 10 games. The Reign have been a heavily penalized team in their first seven matchups, averaging over 23 penalty minutes per game thus far this season which has left them shorthanded 36 times, a rate of five per outing. Both teams rank in the top 10 of the AHL in both shots on goal per game and shots allowed per game. Ontario is averaging 33.5 shots per contest (5th), while Abbotsford has 31.9 per outing (7th). Defensively, the Reign allow 25.4 shots per night (3rd), and the Canucks allow 26.5 (8th).

LAST TIME OUT: Three goals in each of the first two periods got the Ontario Reign out to a big lead which finished in a lopsided 8-3 victory over the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. 13 Ontario skaters registered points in the win, which included multi-point efforts from seven different players in Samuel Fagemo (2-1=3), Charles Hudon (1-2=3), Glenn Gawdin (1-1=2), Jack Studnicka (2-0=2), Francesco Pinelli (0-2=2), Jeff Malott (0-2=2) and Reilly Walsh (0-2=2).

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Ontario won four of its eight matchups against the Canucks during the 2023-24 regular season, posting a record of 4-3-0-1 that gave them a slight edge in the season series. Overall, Abbotsford outscored the Reign by a 25-20 margin in last year’s series. The Canucks also held a 252-234 edge in shots on goal in the eight contests. Ontario got the last laugh in the postseason, however, sweeping Abbotsford with three straight wins in the best-of-5 series. Martin Chromiak led Ontario in scoring during the regular season series with five points on two goals and three assists. Both Samuel Fagemo and Francesco Pinelli each scored three times and totaled four points against Abbotsford in the regular season, as did Tyler Madden (2-2=4) and Charles Hudon (1-3=4).

FIRST 2 FOR FAGEMO: Forward Samuel Fagemo scored his first two goals of the 2024-25 season for Ontario on Saturday night in the team’s 8-3 win to go along with his second helper of the season. The attacker, now in his fifth season with the Reign, had gone without a goal in the club’s first six contests, but broke through at 12:14 of the first, scoring on a shot from a sharp angle along the goal line. Fagemo then added another strike in the second period, scoring on the power play at 9:50. A year ago, the Goteborg, Sweden native was one of the top goal scorers in the AHL, finishing with a career-high 43 tallies in 50 games. Overall in his Reign career, Fagemo has 105 goals, the most in team history, in 208 games, which also ranks as the third-most of anyone with the franchise during its time in the AHL.

SCOUTING THE CANUCKS: Abbotsford has the opportunity to move up in the Pacific Division standings with a win on Wednesday, which would put them behind Calgary in second place. The Canucks are coming off a fifth place finish in 2023-24, which qualified them for postseason play. They got past the Colorado Eagles in a three-game first round series, but fell to Ontario in the Pacific Division Semifinals. Before a recent recall from Vancouver, forward Aatu Raty had secured the team lead in scoring with seven points in his first eight games for Abbotsford. Forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki is the top goal scorer on the team with four tallies to go along with two assists. John Stevens has also registered six points in 10 games on two goals and four helpers. Mark Friedman leads all Abbotsford defenders with four points on a goal and three assists. In goal, the Canucks have split time between Jiri Patera, who has played in six games, and Nikita Tolopilo, who has appeared in five. Patera has a record of 2-2-1 with a 2.83 goals-against average, while Tolopilo is 3-2-0 with a 2.98 goals-against.

HOORAY FOR HUDON: Forward Charles Hudon earned his first points of the 2024-25 season Friday night in the win over the Silver Knights with a goal and an assist and was named the first star of the game. The veteran of 443 career AHL games posted the primary assist on defender Reilly Walsh’s first period goal before sealing a Reign victory by tapping the puck into an empty net with 1:11 to play in the third period. He then followed up that performance by recording three points the following night in Ontario on a goal and two assists. Hudon is coming off a 54-point season in his first year with the Reign, finishing with 20 goals and 34 assists in 56 contests. It was the second straight 54-point AHL campaign for the attacker and the fifth time in his career that he’s eclipsed the 50-point plateau. The Alma, Quebec native was originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft at 122nd overall.

STUDNICKA GETS SERIOUS: Forward Jack Studnicka found the back of the net for the first time as a member of the Reign during the first period on Saturday and then produced a second goal to cap off the scoring at 12:32 of the third. The Windsor, Ontario native also played with Abbotsford and San Jose last season, where he combined to post 21 points in 36 games on seven goals and 14 assists. Overall during his AHL career, which has spanned seven seasons, Studnicka has combined to score 121 points in 160 games on 43 goals and 78 helpers.