The Ontario Reign (6-6-0-0) withstood a 16-shot effort in the third period by the Colorado Eagles (6-6-0-1) and scored on three of their eight attempts on goal in the final frame to earn a 5-3 win on Friday night in the opener of a two-game weekend series at Blue Arena.
Pheonix Copley stopped 15 of the third period shots and 35 overall in the game to earn the victory for Ontario, while the Reign got goals from five different skaters, including Kaleb Lawrence who netted his first pro tally late in the second.
The two clubs made it through a wild first period with an even 1-1 score after the first 20 minutes. Colorado went in front first on a goal that needed video review before it was credited to Neil Shea at 7:32 of the first period. The shot by Shea was not called a goal on the ice and play continued for two minutes, with the next stoppage coming when Francesco Pinelli streaked down the left wing and sent the puck into the net. But Pinelli’s strike was wiped off the board when the call on Shea’s tally was reversed.
However, moments after Colorado’s opening goal, Ontario went on the power play for the first time after a hooking penalty was whistled to Jack Ahcan at 7:53. It took Ontario just 15 seconds to capitalize on the chance when Reilly Walsh netted a man-advantage goal for the second straight game on a shot from the point that made its way through traffic and into the goal at 8:08.
Chris Wagner put the Eagles back in front by a 2-1 score 1:40 into the second period when a shot from the right-wing wall bounced past Copley.
But the Reign evened the game once again 1:06 before the second intermission when Lawrence deflected a shot by Joe Hicketts into the back of the net for his first professional goal. The tally made the game 2-2 at 18:54 and had a second assist credited to Jacob Doty.
Tyler Madden gave Ontario its first lead of the night at 5:12 of the third with his fourth goal of the season to make it a 3-2 game. Angus Booth got the play going with an end-to-end rush into the offensive zone and put a shot on net which caused a loose rebound in the crease. Madden dove at the loose puck and knocked it into the back of the net to put the Reign on top.
After Copley came up with a diving save to stop Wagner during a Colorado power play in the back half of the period, Glenn Gawdin extended Ontario’s advantage to 4-2 with a shorthanded strike on a breakaway at 12:21 of the final frame. The goal was Gawdin’s fifth of the year and fourth in the team’s last four games. An assist on the play was given to his linemate Jeff Malott, who was also on the ice during the penalty kill.
The Eagles got one back moments later on a point shot by Jacob MacDonald at 12:58 of the third and keep the pressure on the Reign.
Those opportunities continued to come for Colorado in the final minutes, but Ontario did everything they could to help out their goaltender, and any shots that made it to Copley were saved.
Eventually Samuel Fagemo sealed the win for the Reign with 30 seconds remaining with an unassisted empty-net goal, his fifth marker of the season.
It was the second straight contest that Ontario finished with a goal on both the power play and the penalty kill in a victory. The Reign were 1-for-3 on the man-advantage and held Colorado 0-for-5 on the power play. Eagles’ netminder Kevin Mandolese turned out 21 shots in a losing effort for the home team.
Below, read postgame reaction from Copley, Hicketts and head coach Marco Sturm –
Pheonix Copley
On the busy 3rd period he had
They put some pressure on us but you know those are the times where we have to come together as a team. Guys were blocking shots. Joe dove and made an incredible block there just had to kind of come together to stop them. I thought we did a good job. Certainly we want to be better than that, but I think we all battled through it.
On the team blocking shots
That was incredible. I just told him (Studnicka) that was huge because that was a grade A opportunity, that guy was in a great shooting spot, and to sacrifice your body, that’s what it takes to win. That’s one of the reasons why we won. Not only from my perspective, it helps me, but it’s a momentum builder. When guys block shots like that, guys are getting up on the bench, cheering, and getting excited. So that’s the kind of thing that we can build off of. Getting a win and doing those things really helps us build.
On playing in this building
It’s awesome to play in atmospheres like this. It’s a little bit of a smaller barn but they pack, it and make the noise. It’s fun to play in that atmosphere with that kind of energy.
Joe Hicketts
Marco Sturm
On his team getting the win
It feels great and especially in this barn. I know it’s always hard to come here. They have a good team, they have a good crowd, great building to play in, but also very hard for the opponent. For us to come out like that and bounce back. It was just great to see the guys battle very hard on the end. Got some great saves by Cops, especially from him in the third as well as good blocks. The guys deserve the win today.
On Copley’s timely penalty kill save
Those are the times where somebody has to step up. So for us, it was Cops. I’m sure he was not happy with that one goal against. He came up huge in the third and the big boys got it done.
On the team’s effort tonight
You have to stay calm. You have to trust each other. Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty. We had a lot of turnovers because we wanted to make the perfect play. Sometimes you have to chip it away. You have to play behind them. Sometimes you have to let them do the first move and we just kind of react. That’s those things they just have to learn. In the last two years, I feel like that’s what they learned from me. Sometimes it’s not always pretty, but I believe in getting a win like that. In the long run you’re going to get so many more points because of it. They just have to understand it. They have to believe in it too.
The Reign and Eagles finish off the series in Loveland on Saturday night with puck drop scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.
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