REIGN PREVIEW 11/8 – Ontario vs. Coachella Valley

WHO: Ontario Reign (4-4-0-0) vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds (4-5-0-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #9
WHEN: Friday, November 8 @ 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: After earning three straight wins to get back to .500 on the season, the Ontario Reign will look to go above the even water mark for the first time this season when they face the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Friday night for Hockey Fights Cancer at Toyota Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign have improved their standing in the Pacific Division and are now tied with Coachella Valley for sixth, with each team having secured eight points to their name. By virtue of scoring eight goals in each of their past two wins, Ontario has vaulted itself up the league’s offensive rankings, now averaging 3.5 goals per game on the season which ranks sixth highest. In comparison, the Firebirds average 2.78 goals per contest through nine outings and ranks 19th out of 32. Ontario is also averaging 33.13 shots per contest (5th), while Coachella Valley is just above them with an average of 33.78 shots on goal (4th). Defensively, the Reign allow 26.38 shots per night (7th), and the Firebirds allow 29.1 (18th).

LAST TIME OUT: The Ontario Reign had their biggest offensive output in a single period this season, taking a 4-1 lead in the first on their way to an 8-4 win over the Abbotsford Canucks Wednesday night at Toyota Arena. It was the second consecutive game with an eight-goal output for Ontario, which featured 12 skaters who produced points in the victory. Tyler Madden (1-2=3), Jeff Malott (1-2=3) and Samuel Fagemo (2-1=3) each had three-point efforts, while Charles Hudon scored twice, Jack Studnicka added a goal and an assist and Glenn Gawdin, Angus Booth and Joe Hicketts each had a pair of helpers.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Prior to a 5-2 defeat in Coachella Valley for the Reign on Oct. 25, Ontario came into the season series against their I-10 rivals after winning four of the eight matchups against the Firebirds during the 2023-24 regular season, earning a record of 4-3-0-1. Samuel Fagemo had a team-high five goals against Coachella Valley a year ago along with an assist for six points while playing in six of the contests. The Firebirds had the Reign’s number in the teams’ first-ever postseason series, as Ontario’s year ended in the Pacific Division Finals. After 17 regular season matchups in the first three seasons of competition, Ontario has come away with a 7-8-1-1 record which gives the Firebirds an advantage in the series with 10 wins. Last year’s series featured three games that went past regulation and four that were decided by a single goal.

TEAM SCORING TIGHT AT THE TOP: Through eight games, Ontario’s top seven scorers are all within one point of each other. Currently there’s a four-way tie for the team scoring lead, with Samuel Fagemo, who has all seven of his points during the team’s three game win streak on four goals and three assists (4-3=7), tied with Tyler Madden (3-4=7), Glenn Gawdin (1-6=7) and Jeff Malott (1-6=7). Right behind them is another three skaters with six points to their name, including Charles Hudon (4-2=6), Jack Studnicka (3-3=6) and Joe Hicketts (0-6=6). All seven of the team’s highest-scoring players have each played in every one of the Reign’s eight games to begin the 2024-25 year.

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 this season 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 has returned 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. This season McCormick has three points in four games on a goal and two assists. Forward Ben Meyers leads the Firebirds in scoring this year with six points in nine games on two goals and four assists.

HOORAY FOR HUDON: Forward Charles Hudon earned his first point of the 2024-25 season during last Friday night’s win in Henderson with an empty-net goal to seal the victory for Ontario. He then followed that up with a three-point performance on Saturday at Toyota Arena, scoring another goal as well as two assists. Most recently, Hudon kept his scoring streak going on Wednesday with two tallies in the 8-4 win over Abbotsford, while earning a plus-3 rating. The veteran of 444 career AHL games scored at 6:27 of the first on Wednesday, taking a one-handed pass by Glenn Gawdin off the wall before wristing a shot by netminder Nikita Tolopilo. Hudon also scored at 3:40 of the second, burying a loose rebound in the Canucks end. 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.

FIRST 4 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. He then followed that up with an identical performance on Wednesday, scoring two more goals and an assist in the Reign’s 8-4 win over Abbotsford. In those two performances, Fagemo combined to put 13 shots on goal, with six on Saturday and another seven on Wednesday. The attacker, now in his fifth season with the Reign, had gone without a goal in the club’s first six contests. 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 107 goals, the most in team history, in 209 games, which also ranks as the third-most of anyone with the franchise during its time in the AHL.